Skyfall
 

I went to see Skyfall earlier this afternoon before the Jets game -- which, of course, turned out to be the highlight of the day. As a huge Bond fan, my review is as follows...

First some critiques. It's a long movie, about 2hr30min, and it drags in the middle. It really could use another big action set piece to keep it moving along. The villain is way over the top; he's like some kind of homoerotic mix of the Dark Knight's Joker and some of the Bond villains from the Roger Moore days.

There's a lot about Skyfall to love, and there are many elements and callbacks to the classic Bond movies. A few characters emerge that we haven't seen since the Pierce Brosnan days, in some surprising ways. The references are subtle and supremely enjoyable for any Bond fan. Some of the references are, admittedly, a bit too heavy-handed. At one point the classic Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger made an appearance, and the audience cheered. That was neat.

Backstories are a staple of modern superhero movies, and we get Bond's backstory as well, delving all the way into his childhood. For me, it was a little much. I felt like we were learning about Bruce Wayne and his love/fear for bats. However, it worked for what seemed to be greater good of the movie.

With the backstory combined with the callbacks -- and without giving away too much -- this movie ends on a note that is full circle to the whole canon. It's a really very cool way to end the movie, and obviously you'll have to see it to see what I mean.

Great movie, way better than Quantum of Solace, though not quite as good as Casino Royale. Nevertheless, I plan on seeing it again. :yes:

I got thrown out of my house because my big action kept sagging in the middle

Dude, next time? Goldfinger.

Wouldnt it be funny if it was love/fear for cats?

Catman? The riddler would just put tuna out.

Robin would be like, later dude, nice costume.:rolleyes:

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it was a great Bond movie, not as good as Casino Royale, but better than pretty much every other Bond of the past 20 years.

what it lacked in action it made up for in character development and we get a whole new look at who Bond is/was. it's also a great setup for the upcoming films.


and major props to Bardem, the dude is a fantastic actor. that was not an easy role to play and any lesser actor would've just come across as a complete assclown, but Bardem pulls it off. he takes a ridiculous, over-the-top villain and makes him believable, which makes the whole thing all the more disturbing. kudos.

I went and saw it with my wife.

While Quantum of Solace ended up being lame at the end, the first half plus Casino Royale ushered in an entirely new era of Bond with Craig positioned as a gritty, serious Bond somewhat like Dalton was, but far, far more athletic.

This was far more of a classic Moore-era Bond movie and I thought it was spectacular. Bardem was bizarre and disturbing and the new M is a great selection. Gadgets were at a minimum minus the Aston's Machine Guns (great call back on the 50th anniversary of Bond.)

I recommend it. Highly.

I agree that Casino Royale was probably a better overall movie (stick Eva Green in a dress like that and it's VERY difficult to top) but Skyfall was a great Bond movie. Casino Royale will probably go down as one of the top 3 Bond movies ever and was, in my opinion, one of the best movies of the past decade.

+1 Loved it and loved the Bond nostalgia. Bardem was this close to being too campy but stopped just short. Any big time Bond fan figures to enjoy this one immensely.

Nice to hear a good review from a serious Bond fan!

For a casual Bond fan are there any must-see movies from the library that you'd suggest viewing before going to see Skyfall? (And please don't say all of them) What are the two or three previous Bond movies you'd recommend getting a refresher on before seeing this one?

Casino Royale, definitely.

it's the first of the Craig series and one of the best Bond films ever, if not the very best. it'll introduce you to the more physical/brutal Bond as portrayed by Craig, which is a total departure from the Pierce Brosnan movies. it will also give you all the "background" necessary for Skyfall.

if you're not a serious Bond fan, i suggest skipping Quantum of Solace. by Craig's own admittance, they were working without a script because of the writers' strike, so he and the director ended up writing a big part of the story. it explains why Quantum of Solace feels more like a sloppy sequel to Casino Royale instead of a stand-alone story, which is what Bond films tend to be.

Maybe I'll see a movie during every Jets game for the rest of the season. Expand my horizons and such.

You have to see at least one of the old Sean Connery movies to get all of the "in-jokes" and references. I recommend Goldfinger.

Guess I'm in the minority but I couldn't freakin' stand Casino Royale...goddamn Bond movie that was 3/4 filled with a card game.

Don't like Daniel Craig as Bond either...not English enough for that role.

I agree... you are certainly in the minority.

Just saw it, and while I thought the first half or so (after the chase sequence in the beginning) went very slowly, I love where it went. A lot of stuff towards the end that was hinted at in the old books, and lots of cool stuff from the old school movies....even one of the chicks bodyguards in Macau looked like Oddjob.


But as an old fan of the movies, the books and the older Connery era film, I loved








****SPOILERS*****






The end of the movie, where they basicaly walked into M's office from the Dr. No, Goldfinger era, complete with the coat/hat rack in the anteroom where the girl introduces herself as "Eve Moneypenny", and Bond was like, "Ms. Moneypenny...", and then he walks into M's office and M has the old school office with the Turner Painting and club furniture and M is all totally nonchalant matter of fact in the Bernard Lee style, with, "Well, BOnd, we have work to do..."

It was like it came full circle right to where COnnery started in Dr. No.

Brilliant and worth the wait for the slow our plus of the movie and Berdiems weird asian/spanish ambiguously gayish villain.

Oh, and good to see someone from Q branch again, but nobody will ever be Desmond Llewellyn

Double post








****SPOILERS*****

Honest opinion, it lacked substance compared to the previous two in the Daniel Craig series. Predictable story line which sucks because they completely wasted Javier Bardem... dude is one of the best villain actors ever. I did like how the meaning of Skyfall was woven through the movie. Outside of that, it was good but I was disappointed. I was really excited about this movie and maybe I expected more than an OK Hollywood payday effort.

I loved how the office was nearly identical to M's in the Connery movies. They even had the padded door. Great touch.

Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome.


Really, it's like it or lump it with this Bond. So I use mind control. :cool:

Best Bond movie in years. Truly remarkable.

I read the reviews and they all seemed to agree that the Bond childhood stuff was too much. However, if fans like it, I'm going to see it.

As for must see Bond films:

Goldfinger
Thunderball
Live and Let Die
Man with the Golden Gun
Goldeneye
Tomorrow Never Dies
Die Another Day
Casino Royale

IMHO, of course.