I missed my window for posting a movie review, but the movie just came out on video. So here it is.
Bond Tradition?
If you are a long-time fan of the Bond movies, and you're looking for more of the same, you may be a bit disappointed. Skyfall is not like the Sean Connery or Roger Moore films. I would say that Skyfall is more comparable to The Bourne Supremacy than any of the other bond movies. I think you'll discover, as you read this, that I'm a Bond geek, but I thought it was a great movie, even though a lot of traditions were broken. I saw it twice within a week. On the other hand, I didn't much like Quantum of Solace, and the last few movies I saw in a theater were pretty crap, so perhaps Skyfall benefited from low-expectations.
The Adele theme-song, I would say, is pretty traditional. The lyrics are minimal though, and it's not going to be one of my favorites. The Walkways rock cover is, at least, more interesting. (Insert Walkways rock cover of skyfall, "Dig the kickin' mullet!)
Characters
As far as Daniel Craig's performance goes. . . eh. Physically, he did a fine job, but as far as acting goes, Craig is outdone by his female co-stars and the villain, I think. Not a great Bond performance, in my opinion. The Bond character in the this film is kind of tired and bitter. Mostly lacking the class and charm of the Bond of old. One notable exception is when 007 hops off the bucket of the excavator into the train car and straightens his cuffs, while everyone stares at this guy in the suit standing at the edge of the now ruined car. (Hey, wouldn't someone have STOPPED the train, as all this mayhem was going on, and why hadn't that chain fallen off the top of that train car)
And, then, of course, there is Judy Dench, once again playing "M." I think she outclassed Bond in Skyfall. How great was that speech she gave in the courtroom? Great movie, terrific performance by Dame Judy Dench!
"M" and "Q" take much more active roles in Skyfall than in previous films. Moneypenny reappears, which I think is pretty awesome, but you may be a little surprised to find out who it is.
Field agent Eve, is played by Naomi Harris, who you may remember as Tia Dalma (Calypso), the black-toothed pirate wench from the latter two Pirates of the Caribbean movies. She looks pretty amazing in that Gold dress. I thought that Ms. Harris also upstaged Craig, giving several small but very impactful moments.
Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem, is the villian. You may remember Mr. Bardem as the assassin in No Country For Old Men. Formerly an MI6 agent who worked for M, Silva was taken captive, and tortured. Politically unable to help him, M had no choice but to leave him be, and he was left phyically and mentally scarred, and blames it all on M, and makes it his mission to get to her and kill her. It would seem that Silva is homosexual, and there are several creepy moments between James Bond and Silva. Silva's first real appearance in the film is a rather melodramatic monologue for Bond, about a barrel full of rats. At one point, Silva tells his goons not to harm M; that they were to leave M intact, for him to deal with personally. A little cliche, idn't it?
Watching the movie, I'm sitting there thinking that "Mallory" is being played by real British badass Ranulph Fiennes, but no, it's just Ralph Fiennes. Regardless, Ralph does a great job of it. When you see the movie, watch him stand up out of the cheap office chair, and stick out his chest, as he addresses Bond. I thought that was perfect.
The baddie goons look like stereotypical baddie goons. MI6 extras are average clean-cut types.
At the Bond family home (more on that later) we meet Kincade, the gamekeeper. He has a fairly small part, but he gets in a good number of the jokes. An older man, I kind of wonder if Kincade sort of has a thing for M, or should I say Emma?
Photography and Sets
Bond gets some more time in the tropics in Skyfall. At the end of the opening scene, Eve takes a shot at Partrice, even though she can't get a clear shot, but she's ordered to shoot by M, and hits Bond. Bond falls from the train, which is going over a bridge, and falls, unconscious into the river below. After the theme song sequence, we find Bond in an island setting. As he's sitting at a beach-side bar, Bond hears of the attack on MI6 headquarters building. It's at this point that 007 decides to come out of retirement.
Bond makes his reappearance in England at M's flat, where he waits in the dark, with a bottle of her scotch. In this scene, in M's flat, it looks like the camera was shaking. I'm not sure if that was actually on the film, or if the theater was having "technical difficulties," with the projector.
There's a scene at the beginning of the movie, in M's office, where we are introduced to Mallory. There are several, large, British electrical outlets visible in the office. They stick out like sore thumbs. I would have either hidden them behind furniture or had them removed entirely.
The new MI6 headquarters may not be as cool as the field office in The Man With The Golden Gun, but I though it was pretty impressive. If you remember the shooting range scene in Die Another Day, it's more of that kind of thing.
I thought all the blue lighting in Shanghai really popped off the screen. Not entirely sure what the roof-top pool scene was supposed to accomplish though, and shouldn't the letters of the electronic billboard have been reversed, as seen from the inside of the building?
The Macao casino reminds me of Epcot center. Over-the-top Asian style, with giant illuminated dragons and fireworks and the whole deal. A bit tacky for a Bond movie, perhaps, but I think it looks good up on the screen. The Komodo dragon pit is reminiscent of the shark tanks and pools of piranha in multiple 007 movies (You Only Live Twice, Thunderball, License to Kill). I suppose you could also compare it to the lion scene in Diamonds Are Forever also.
The abandoned chemical plant town was pretty great. The toppled statue may remind some of you of Goldeneye, either the video game or the movie. Add in the music from the Victrola though, and it reminds me of the moments before the battle of Ramelle in Saving Private Ryan.
Toward the end of the movie, M and 007 retreat to the Bond family home. . . in Scotland. They stop for a moment, shrouded in fog, to look over the mountains, and presumably for 007 to reflect on his childhood. Perhaps this helps explain the accent of Sean Connery's Bond, but not Daniel Craig's. . . but I digress. The Bond family home is an old stone mansion, that appears to have been mothballed for decades, presumably since James was a teen, at least.
Silva makes another rather dramatic entrance, flying to the Bond home in a helicopter with music playing through a large loudspeaker, a bit like that scene from Apocalypse Now. Nobody surfs.
I was a bit disappointed that the flags weren't set to half-staff in the closing scene on the London roof-top. Show a little respect, eh?
Gadgets
MI6 has another new quartermaster. The new guy is a hacker, naturally, and commands all the computer gadgets. All Bond gets is a Walther PPK/S pistol (yup, that's what "Q" said) with a palm reader, and a tiny radio. Q quips that MI6 doesn't go in for exploding ball-point pens anymore (another Goldeneye reference).
The assassin, Patrice, probably gets the coolest gadgets in the film.
If you've been paying attention, you've probably heard that the Aston Martin from Goldfinger makes a reappearance. Real Bond geeks will get a laugh out of the scene where "M" is complaining about the car.
Product Placement
When Bond gets into the excavator, and starts to operate it, the camera holds for a little too long on his left wrist, giving you a good look at his watch. Later in the tube station 007 walks past a couple big wristwatch ads.
Overall
This Bond geek is very happy with Skyfall.
