Saturday, November 10, 2012

License to Thrill: “Skyfall” Just May Be the Best Bond Movie Ever



If any movie could convert a non Bond fan it would be “Skyfall.” I guess the third time’s the charm, as they say? “Casino Royale” rebooted the James Bond franchise in a wonderful way, but it was my first foray into the franchise and while I liked it, I didn’t make me really care to see any of the other films. “Quantum of Solace” was a big slump for the non-fan. It was boring and mostly unmemorable. “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes’ first foray into the action-spy series is a glorious piece made all the more terrific because not only is it a great James Bond movie, but it’s just a great standalone film as well. Having recently watched some of the old James Bond films made me appreciate this new entry even more, but it has everything a general fan of action films have come to like. It shows surprising emotional depth and a keen eye for splendid camera trickery and is a truly spectacular adventure.

“Skyfall” opens with a glorious chase sequence that almost rivals “Casino Royale’s” famous parkour chase scene that many have described as one of the series’ top action sequences. Bond (Daniel Craig) and fellow MI6 agent Eve (Naomie Harris) are in hot pursuit of a bad guy who has stolen a hard drive with classified information. Bond ends up presumed dead and doesn’t return to headquarters. But since he’s immortal he shows up extremely mad at his superior M (Judi Dench) since her orders caused Eve to mistakenly shoot him instead of the bad guy they were pursuing. Eventually this stolen hard drive takes Bond to various exotic locations until it’s revealed this is all the work of super villain Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) who turns out to be a disgruntled former MI6 agent. He begins to hack into their system and even bombs the headquarters causing massive chaos and killing several agents. But his true target is M who he seeks deep personal revenge against.

“Skyfall” is so special for several reasons. It has all the trademark Bond things like the sexy, mysterious Bond girl, an over the top villain, martinis shaken not stirred, a terrific opening title theme and sequence (sung by Adele), and superior action set pieces. But this film has surprising character depth not previously seen in the other entries. Bond and M’s relationship is very fleshed out and M gets to become a more fully realized character (and we even get to see Ms. Dench fire a gun). We can credit that to co-screenwriter John Logan who gave surprisingly depth to such films as “Gladiator” and last year’s “Hugo.” The film is sprawling and long but never boring and flows nicely from one location to the next eventually landing at Bond’s childhood home called Skyfall where he proceeds to booby-trap the place ala “Home Alone” to catch the bad guys.

Oscar-winner Sam Mendes has never crafted a film of this scale before but his superior creative eye is certainly responsible for the sheer visual power of the film. Working together with fellow cinematographer Roger Deakins they have made such a visually scrumptious action film. The film’s opening and climax are amazingly filmed sequences in an altogether outstandingly well-made film. And all of the performances are top notch. Bardem is a truly wonderful and frightening and bizarre villain. This guy could be a flamboyant cousin to his Anton Chigurh.

“Skyfall” is a Bond film that longtime fans will love (with loving nods to the series) and new fans will enjoy as well. It’s everything one could want in a truly great Bond adventure without and of that truly corny stuff from way back in the 60s. I’d like to see Mike Myers try and attempt a parody of this.  GRADE: A

4 comments:

Unknown said...

2015-07-11 zhengjx
oakley outlet store
louis vuitton borse
ed hardy clothing outlet
toms outlet store
gucci bags
fitflops
gucci
coach factory
louboutin
abercrombie and fitch
ralph lauren uk sale
soccer outlet
cheap ray bans
louboutin pas cher
kate spade
michael kors
toms shoes for women
true religion outlet
michael kors handbags
cheap ray ban sunglasses
burberry handbags
pandora jewelry sale
tory burch handbags
mont blanc
cheap oakleys
true religion jeans
chanel handbags
michael kors bags
snapbacks hats
mcm backpack
rolex watches for sale
michael kors
ray bans
pandora jewelry stores
oakley sunglasses
ralph lauren sale
coach outlet
true religion
coach outlet store online
gucci borse

John said...

michael kors
polo ralph lauren
louis vuitton
celine
hollister co
louis vuitton handbags
sac longchamp
longchamp bags
barbour coats
chanel handbags
tods outlet store
lululemon
timberland boots
louis vuitton
gucci outlet
ray ban sunglasses outlet
true religion outlet
ray ban glasses
coach outlet
coach factory outlet
jrodan retro
longchamp handbags
ray bans
louis vuitton handbags
michael kors
jordan 11 concord
polo ralph lauren
ray ban outlet
mont blanc
jordan pas cher homme
true religion jeans
2015724yuanyuan

Anonymous said...

lacoste shirts
true religion outlet
michael kors handbags
nhl jerseys
cheap jordans
cheap oakley sunglasses
coach outlet
nike tn pas cher
coach outlet canada
michael kors outlet
reebok outlet store
longchamp pliage
nike air max 90
true religion jeans
football shirts
air max 90
nike air force 1
kobe shoes
true religion jeans
michael kors outlet
nike air max
cheap nfl jerseys
longchamp pliage
louis vuitton bags
christian louboutin outlet
longchamp solde
herve leger dresses
pandora outlet
juicy couture outlet
cheap ray ban sunglasses
coach outlet online
true religion outlet
louis vuitton outlet online
michael kors outlet sale
ray-ban sunglasses
20160322zhenhong

chenlina said...

chenlina20160326
coach factory outlet
louis vuitton outlet stores
louis vuitton handbags
louis vuitton purses
ugg outlet
cheap rolex watches
lebron 12
abercrombie and fitch
air max 90
louis vuitton outlet
cheap basketball shoes
louis vuitton uk
ray ban sunglasses
michael kors outlet online
louis vuitton outlet
louis vuitton handbags
michael kors outlet
ray ban sunglasses uk
canada goose sale
ray ban wayfarer
ray ban outlet
louis vuitton outlet
lebron 13
ray bans
tory burch shoes
air jordans
kobe shoes
christian louboutin shoes
rolex watches
montblanc pens
coach factory outlet
canada goose outlet store
michael kors outlet online sale
ugg boots outlet
copy watches
rolex watches
michael kors
retro 11
nike roshe run
ugg on sale
as