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Comments
I had a good amount of fun in this, always have done. No exception here. Great fun.
I enjoy seeing Bond most as a broken man, having been shot by Eve, his return and his attempts to get back up to speed. Not really seen anything like that before with 007. Even Brozzer's Bond, having been kept prisoners over a year, came back and was pretty much fit for action. Here, he isn't and i like to see how he, gradually, becomes the agent that many expect him to be.
I also enjoy the finale at Skyfall, even though it does seem to have a little A-Team essence about it.
There's plenty of action, plenty of story telling, decent villain, lovely nods to previous Bonds.
It's not perfect by any means but i have Always thought it a good movie. Looks like Craig will be having 3 in the top ten of my new ranking, even though Skyfall drops a place. I just can't rank it higher than GF or FRWL, despite the praise i give it. Man, this Bondathon isn't half making some changes.
New Ranking
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Casino Royale
The Spy Who Loved Me
Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
Skyfall
Octopussy
Goldeneye
Licence To Kill
Quantum Of Solace
Dr No
The Living Daylights
Live And Let Die
A View To A Kill
For Your Eyes Only
Moonraker
Tomorrow Never Dies
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
The Man With The Golden Gun
The World Is Not Enough
Diamonds Are Forever
Die Another Day
Previous Ranking
1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Casino Royale
4. From Russia With Love
5. Skyfall
6. Goldfinger
7. Octopussy
8. Spectre
9. Dr No
10. The Living Daylights
11. Goldeneye
12. Live And Let Die
13. Licence To Kill
14. A View To A Kill
15. For Your Eyes Only
16. Moonraker
17. Thunderball
18. Quantum Of Solace
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. You Only Live Twice
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
23. Die Another Day
24. The World Is Not Enough
I'm coming over to join you, I've yet to watch it for the Bondathon.
Meaning that within 1 year, all 6 Bond actors will be at least 50 years old.
Woooow. Righteous.
Ah, QOS, The Bond Film That ITV2 Shows On Christmas Eve - which means I watch it after my mum's gone to bed, and grumble about why can't they put a good one on while I work my way through the contents of the parental booze cabinet.
Craig's second outing didn't do a lot for me when I saw it in the cinema and hadn't improved with repeated viewings, but this was the first time I'd watched it so soon after CR, so I was hoping things would be different this time round.
I do like the PTS a great deal, and I remember thinking after my first viewing that if I’d left the cinema after that, I’d have had a pretty good Bond experience. A really tight, involving car chase, made all the sweeter by the coincidence that I’d been motorcycling in Italy a few months previously and was scared half to death by that very road tunnel.
I had no recollection at all of the theme before the rewatch, and it has completely gone from my head again now. Alicia Keyes and Jack White are fine artists, but I don’t think this was the right gig for them. (My flatmate, who had wandered in to steal my chips, asked me WTF it was and ventured the opinion that it was the worst Bond theme ever, below even Madonna.)
It’s a shame, because I thought the rest of the score was great - especially blending in the opera.
The titles don’t really do it for me. I think someone mentioned re DAD that they don’t like to see Bond during the titles? Maybe that was on my mind, but I could have done without him in these ones. (The best part was when Judi Dench’s credit appeared over a nubile young lady, and my flatmate and I said together “And there she is!”)
Craig’s Bond seems a little more subdued than before, without the emotional and action highs of CR, but perhaps he and the audience need a breather after that. (I don’t find him quite as well-dressed, either, though I enjoy the gratuitous pants shot at the opera.)
Mr White may be my favourite of the villains here. The way he sits in the chair and laughs at MI6 is reminiscent of Bond being tortured in the previous film. Dominic Greene is soft-spoken and calm, with gentle eyes and a fairly flat delivery, which makes his ruthlessness all the more chilling.
Agent Fields is probably the first Bond girl to make me go “she’s so young!”, which, coupled with her many funny moments, makes her death all the more horrifying and unexpected. I love her trench coat, and her "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" as she expertly throws someone down the stairs. RIP.
Camille is a classic Bond woman: strong, capable and independent, but used as a pawn by powerful men, and in need of rescue. "Touch me and I'll break your wrist" is another great line, and one I plan to start using at every opportunity. I like Bond doing the chivalry thing and giving her his jacket in the sinkhole, and I’ve already mentioned how fond I am of their farewell scene. (I happened to watch The Princess Bride today, and noted how similar Camille’s closing dilemma is to Inigo Montoya’s: ‘You know, it's very strange -- I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life.’)
There’s a good selection of vehicles, from seeing Bond in Camille’s ridiculously tiny car to getting him on a motorbike, which we see all too rarely. Highlights: Bond’s “Well, I MISSED” as he kicks the rider off the bike, and the boat chase.
The winner for me, though, is that beautiful Douglas DC-3. Some say the plane scene is unnecessary or too long; me, I could stare at that thing for hours. Too bad it gets written off, but that’s Bond for you.
Meanwhile, back at MI6: it’s pretty obvious that I’m just going to fangirl Judi Dench like I do every week. M gets out and about a bit in this one; I’m not convinced she needed to be in Russia with Bond, much as I love that final scene. Cut those apron strings, woman, he’s a big boy now. She’s also on the back foot, and somewhat grumpy, throughout; we haven’t seen her thoroughly pleased with herself for a while, which is a pity.
Allies Leiter and Mathis are back. Poor, poor Mathis - I’m glad he got some good scenes, and to live out his final months in a seaside villa with a sarcastic babe. And Leiter makes it clear where his trust and allegiance lie, hooray!
I wouldn’t have minded a gadget or two. The closest we get is one of those touchscreen tabletops Microsoft were telling us was The Future Of Computing back then.
The oil-related plot makes this a bit of a ’current affairs’ Bond movie, like TND, and I wonder how well it will age.
There are some nicely humorous touches; the whole sequence of Bond, Mathis and Fields in the taxi, then the hotel, is delightful, and I enjoy the running gag of Bond killing everyone and M’s disapproval.
The scenery is always very striking, whether it’s Italy, Bolivia or Austria, with the desert shots the most atmospheric.
Conclusion: Watched as part of the Bondathon, this did feel a lot more coherent than on previous viewings. I’m still calling it missable, though. Sure, there are bits I like, but there are bits I like in every Bond film.
There is at least one copy of this movie in every charity shop in the UK. Next to the copy of DAD. The people have spoken. QED, QOS.
And I will always prefer Adam and Joe’s proposed theme, which is catchy and memorable:
That's a 10/10 for SF then?
Anyways i saw it once in theater and was a bit dissapointed, but that is to be expected as hype as i was after reading all the reviews calling it "THE BEST BOND EVER". I didn't watch it again until February at its home video release, and was even more dissapointed. Then i started to appreciate it on the 3rd viewing and the 4th was the best viewing i've ever had of the film. It peaked at 7th place in my rankings after the 4th viewing, but now it has gone down to 12th.
What bothers me most about the film is Silva's escape from captivity and him knowing exactly where to plant bombs months ahead of time. This can sometimes ruin the whole viewing for me.
On the positive side though the characters are mostly great, the performances good and the film looks stunning.
It's not her fault Ronson and the agents didn't have a guard on the disc and weren't prepared for an attack, just as it's not on her that Moneypenny isn't a grand shot. She also couldn't just up and leave in the middle of the inquiry, with the hot water she was already in with everyone who failed to understand her job.
She did give Silva up, but in that situation I understand why. He was being reckless and unprofessional, and in giving him to the Chinese she was able to save 6 agents who deserved to be rescued in the exchange. Whereas M was able to hone Bond into a good agent over time, Silva was impossible to influence positively, and that break away is all on him and not her. Bond clearly understands this, and stands behind her.
As for the finale, the way I see it is this: M is essentially like a president during the November to January period of their last term in office. She has no power as a leader of MI6 anymore, and for all intents and purposes no longer even has that job at all, with the coming inquiry essentially symbolizing her government's way of saying, "You're past it and will be replaced." So M has only one move, a decision Bond basically makes for her. She has no protection, nobody who would stick their neck out for her to give her any aid knowing how blackened her name is. She also has no real power, and wouldn't be able to mount any defense in the face of the inquiry board, who want her head. All M can do is work with Bond to draw Silva out, and get him in a position where he can be killed. If Silva ever suspected a trap, or if he was able to see a bunch of MI6 or SAS agents waiting for him, he would suspect it immediately and escape with ease, waiting for another time to attack.
So Bond has to use M as willing bait and is forced to make themselves vulnerable enough for Silva to face them, knowing the force that stands against them. I think M is very aware that she could and likely wouldn't make it, as Silva was a long looming omen telling her it was her time. Her objective was to help take him out, and to avoid anyone else being harmed through his raid for her head, and if she died it was a worthy way to go out.
The film represents another example of a pyrrhic victory, which is something of a Craig era staple. There's no boring endings with all the loose ends tied up as Bond faces an enemy and survives, but winning and losing doesn't come into it. As the thematic line of the film notes, all you have as a victory in his world is being the "last rat standing." To survive is all.
In the latter Spectre intend to kill the man who killed Dr No, embarrass the British secret service, and steal the Lektor.
Silva's plan isn't just to kill M, it's to totally undermine the British Secret Service and discredit M totally. He discredits her, has her up in front of a Governmental committee, and causes utter chaos within the service and throughout the capital.
Bond has to isolate M just to put an end to Silva, as Brady says. By doing so he is not just killing Silva, but re-instating M's reputation. Yes she dies, but her reputation is restored, as Mallory becomes party to what is happening and clearly supports Bond and Q.
Daniel Craig, for me, is on terrific form here. As he has been with both movies that came before this, he puts in a very good and varied performance. Great in the pts, super in the action sequences and in the fight. I did love the little cuff straightening as he jumps to the train carriage. I really enjoyed his portrayal of 007 as, pretty much, a broken man as well, it's great to see that and despite what some non-Bond fans may think, Bond is not invulnerable. This has been a common thing in Craigs first few movies as 007. After being shot by Eve, Bond takes time out (how he managed to get to where he was without MI6 knowing is a bit strange but never mind) and we see him drinking very heavily among other things. When he returns and he makes his way to M's apartment, his "007 reporting for duty" line is delivered brilliantly, with a certain amount of sarcasm in his voice. All the way through his testing, Craig is excellent. As the movie goes on, we see Bond gain back what makes him a brilliant agent, some super one-liners delivered superbly and just an all round great performance. Here, Craig gives more of a performance that feels in line with the actors of the past and I think he gives us nice nods back to all the actors who have played 007. It's a super and very confident performance from DC.
Javier Bardem is also very good as Silva. His introduction as he walks towards a tied up 007 is an introduction that have looked good in any era of the 007 movies. Bardem gives us a very sinister, cold hearted villain in Silva. His killing of Severine is such a ruthless one, it's reminiscent of say Moore's Bond killing Locque, or Brosnans Bond killing Elektra. I like the fact that, as the story unfolds, you could almost feel sorry for the character, especially when finding out the reasons for his efforts to kill M and create havoc within the Secret Service. Quite excellent.
Judi Dench, as always, is just great. Never lets anyone down and I like how, this time, she isn't as confident or as calm as she generally would be, you can see the pressure getting on top of her and the fear she feels as Silva is after her. The highlight of her performance was her quoting Tennyson during her hearing. Fantastic.
Naomi Harris takes on the role of Moneypenny, although we see her in the field and before she takes on the desk job with M. She's ok here and I thought it was nice to see the character in the field before becoming the Moneypenny we have seen before.
Ben Whishaw as Q, I like very much, however, i do believe that it would be better to see the character takes on the role as in previous movies, rather than a bigger part as we see here and even more so next time out. However, his first scene and introduction to 007 is a scene I really enjoy. Both actors play their part and there is a great chemistry between both men. A scene that is very well done.
Ralph Fiennes as Mallory is good. Firstly, he's, pretty much, against M, giving the order that she is about to retire, but as the movie goes on, you see the turn in his character, starting with the hearing scene, where he stance seems to turn. His interruption of Clair Dowar to allow M to speak is a nice touch and the nod that M gives in appreciation is a nice little touch. Quite obvious that he was to become the new M.
Berenice Marlohe as the doomed Severine, in a short time, gives another decent performance. Initially coming across as a confident character, the turn when speaking to Bond and you can see her despair at the hands of Silva. One of the most ruthless killings of the series.
Rory Kinnear as Tanner - a bit wet isn't he? Bring back Kitchen?
Finally, Albert Finney as Kincaid. Finney is an actor I really like and there is no exception here. He is a big highlight in this movie for me and you can't help but like the character. He has no idea what Bond does for a living and he won't take any stick. He has no problem putting 007 in his place. "Try and stop me, you jumped up little shit" is a brilliant line, delivered superbly and the reaction from Craig is great. Would love to see a return, even if a tiny cameo in the movie that would prove to be Craigs last. A very memorable character.
For such a grand, large scale film this is quite a small cast.
Daniel Craig returns after a long break to resume the role of Bond. He is now an experienced agent on a mission to recover a microchip containing information blahdy blah..we all know that stuff.
Looking lean with close cut hair, he has lost non of that GungHo assault on life. The free running agent from Casino Royale is just as much the resilient risk taker here as he manages to get himself shot twice in the opening 10 minutes of the film.
It's after the PTS we see Bond dishevelled and a little bit lost, as he clearly contemplates his future working for a woman who insists that Eve should 'take the bloody shot'. Why he sulks about it is questionable as she (M) has said enough times about having the balls to send a man to die. She has never pulled her punches.
And as Bond clearly heard her give the order why didn't he push Patrice away so that Eve could get her shot off?
We watch Bond slowly pull himself together, until the old 007 is back.
As always Craig gives a thoughtful, rounded performance. Vesper is now in the past, the secret service is his mistress. He flirts outrageously with Eve, beds Severine without considering how he is going to save her. He doesn't of course, which further pushes home the slightly disturbing belief that Bond is only a man of principle when it suits. All of his dead lovers show that Bond loves the service far more than any woman. Severine joins Solange and Fields as tragic characters who really should have found themselves a different bed fellow.
It's ironic that Bond even bothers to help Lucia in Spectre.
Judi Dench is absolutely outstanding as M. In London she is struggling to keep control of her crumbling Empire, in Scotland she is a small girl, totally reliant on Bond's skills to protect her. A great actor can display every emotion with barely a flicker of a change in expression. It's there in the eyes. Dench is astonishing in this film.
Javier Bardem is Silva. He gives us a slightly effete villain which curiously adds to his dangerous persona. With peroxide blonde hair his vanity is there to see, and is possibly a weakness for Bond to exploit. It doesn't happen although Bond does tease Silva and distract him during the interrogation scene with Bond tied to a chair (clothes on this time).
It isn't the massively camp performance, which some actors may have found too irresistible to ignore. He is after all simply an ex MI6 agent who we get to learn has been funded by Spectre. It turns into quite a restrained turn with his two big scene stealing moments (the 'rat' speech, and the meeting with M) being perfectly executed.
Maybe Bardem wanted to offer something totally different to his other famous villain in No Country For Old Men. If so it's a total success.
Berenice Marlohe is very good in her brief time as Severine. The image of her staring at Bond after Patrice's death I presume was designed as some kind of iconic Bond moment. It isn't, but it's good nonetheless.
Her scene with Bond at the Casino is much more successful and she nails the character of the poor sex slave girl totally.
We get a new Q, Ben Wishaw. It's a refreshing and well considered re-casting. Wishaw is splendid.
Ralph Fiennes offers true authority and discipline as the new M in waiting.
Rory Kinnear is back as Tanner.
The new Moneypenny is Naomie Harris. I preferred her in Spectre where she becomes Bond's mole (maybe she carries the guilt of her botched shot at Patrice), but she's good casting as Penny. She likes Bond and happily joins in the flirting game.
Albert Finney, a possibility for Bond himself back in the 60s is Kincade, a hardened grounds man of the Bond family, now old and not as ready for a fight as he says. His age has caught up with him as he fumbles with his bullets and begins to recognise the danger of the situation. Even so he gamely battles on instinctively supporting his 'damsel in distress'.
It's so good to see Finney in anything now, and the joy of his appearance greatly outweighs the importance of the character to the story.
This is a Grade A, heavyweight cast with three icons of British cinema and theatre, as well as an Oscar winning actor as the villain and upcoming film stars in Ben Wishaw and Naomi Harris. Mendes must have punched the air when he pulled this lot together.
But until I get around to watching it again, I do have some thoughts.
Skyfall - Original Soundtrack Notes
With Mendes coming on board, so does his usual collaborator Thomas Newman. This was especially exciting for me, given that Newman is one of my favourite movie composers - American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Wall-E, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile - I was curious to hear what a Bond score by Newman would sound like. My main concern is that he would either go 'full Newman', ending up with a score that was 'un-Bondian', or the complete opposite - where he would try and go 'full-Bond' and we'd end up with a generic Bond score that had no composer signature or flair.
Luckily, we fall somewhere in the middle, with a score that is both heavily 'Newman-ised' as well as being fully within the expected Bond score sound.
We start with the first beats from the Bond theme, and immediately it is the case that this is gonna be a Bond score. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul has some lovely Bond moments, especially when the motorbikes are skidding across the rooftops, as well as when Bond flies off the bridge. Straight into The Bloody Shot and we again have some great Bond cues (the digger) and some pulsating action scoring as Bond fights Patrice on top of the train. I do think an opportunity was missed at the end of this sequence, the Bond theme should have been building up, tricking the audience into thinking Bond was about to do something heroic, before it cutting out completely as he is shot.
As we move out of the titles and into London, the plot starts with Voluntary Retirement. I have to say I don't care much for M's theme, though I suppose it is supposed to be rather stoic and 'British Upper Lipped' so serves its purpose. I do like the bit where the Jaguar zooms through the streets of London though.
Enjoying Death has to be one of my favourite cues on the soundtrack. Its extremely evocative of Bond's current situation and state of mind - very understated, almost tinged with sadness and loneliness and Bond eats up the painkillers and drinks the night away. The strained strings as he walks along the beach towards the bar is excellent.
Back to London, and Bond's trip to the new HQ is scored by New Digs and Day Wasted. Both have the Bond theme subtly woven into them, and I do like it when Bond cuts the shards out of his shoulder - Bond is returning to normal and the theme kicks in.
We're off to Shanghai, with Brave New World and Shanghai Drive. I do like the establishing location shot music in this movie - here, on the Chimera, the trip to Skyfall - and the brash music and electronica works well - Bond is now in a more technologically advanced part of the world - all neon lights - and the music reflects this.
Jellyfish is another excellent highlight, and works perfectly with the scene in creating tension and Bond weaves his way through the glass partitions, camouflaged by the reflections. Silhouette is sadly somewhat generic fight music.
Close Shave is a fun little cue, and seems to be Moneypenny's theme (as it pops up again in Spectre. A fun little piece, I prefer it to the originally proposed piece Old Dog, New Tricks which is on the iTunes album.
We then get to the Macau casino and Komodo Dragon incorporates Adele's Skyfall beautifully, with all the fireworks and lit dragons and Bond walks into the Casino, suited and booted in that beautiful Tom Ford Blue Tuxedo. The oriental sounds and woodwinds as he walks around the casino with Eve is also nicely done. Someone Usually Dies is a nice, suspenseful piece of music, and I do like the Bond theme kicking in at the end when Bond raises a drink to Severine's Guards.
We then move onto Severine's theme, the most romantic cue of the Soundtrack. Its a typically lush, romantic theme which is bread and butter Newman, and sounds great. I feel it could have been incorporated more, especially during the Macau Casino scenes, but is great never-the-less. Newman will continue to provide great romantic themes in Spectre, with Donna Lucia and Madeleine.
As mentioned previously, The Chimera is a great, soaring location shot cue.
Back to London, and I'm gonna bunch these all together. Quatermaster is a great, techno cue that works well with the Q scenes, Health & Safety works fine, but is nothing special, and Granborough Road, which is also used in the Komodo fight scene, is passable, with a nice Bond theme sting at the end.
Both Tennyson and Enquiry are superb, the music heroically swelling up and Bond charges down Whitehall to save M, and the action cues during the shoot out are great, with some lovely Bondian moments weaved in.
And finally, we get to the Bond theme proper with Breadcrumbs, and Newman does not disappoint, a fine rendition of the Bond theme accompanying the Aston Martin through the midnight streets of London.
We're off to Skyfall, an eerie and haunting piece of music that really drives the notion that things will not end well here for all concerned. Bond returning to his childhood home, apprehensive, his mood excellently reflected in the score. Kill them First is a nifty piece of 'montage' music, and She's Mine is very intense, bombastic, and when the DB5 is destroyed, thunders the Bond theme out at the perfect moment.
As the characters become desperate, fighting for their lives, the urgency of the action ramps up, and so does The Moors. Its a great cue that drives Bond's run across the moors, and is used by Newman as the main third act cue in Spectre. Deep Water is a great fight cue, and should have been used more in Silhouette. The loud brassy Bond music is where is should be.
And lastly on the Soundtrack, Mother, M's theme reprised as she passes. As I've said, I don't care much for M's theme, but it works well enough in the context of the scene.
In the movie we do get the James Bond Theme at the end, but its David Arnold's arrangement, which is disappointing. Either Newman did one and it wasn't very good, or he didn't as he ran out of time/budget, or by arrangement with Arnold - whatever - Newman did the score and he should have done the end track as well. Adrenaline and the Skyfall Medley over the credits is fine, though I'd have preferred the instrumental to Adele's Skyfall instead.
So, Overall...
I do like Newman's first crack at a Bond score. A lot. But I do have one complaint, and it is a fairly major one.
The lack of a unifying theme for the soundtrack is very disappointing. Bond scores are defined by their relationship with the title song, the best Bond scores incorporating the theme's melody. Apart from Komodo Dragon, Adele's theme is nowhere to be found. Officially, Newman claims he 'had his hands full with the soundtrack, and that the theme was too late in the process to be used in the score (which is utter crap, by the way).
Either Newman didn't want to use it, Adele didn't want it used, or whether it was a studio issue, its disappointing. If there was another theme, this would've softened the blow. According to the The Music of Bond by John Burlingame, Newman did write a melody for the film but it was rejected by Mendes. Also, there were noted issues with the budgets for the orchestra, resulting in it getting smaller as recording went on.
So, in summary, a great first effort by Newman which complements the film and its themes and characters very well, whilst retaining both the 'Newman' sound, and being a Bond Score. The lack of a unifying theme is disappointing, but we have the next best thing, a great Bond score.
The PTS is a masterpiece (even sans gunbarrel). Once Bond walks outside and the music kicks in, you really feel like you're right there with him. Then we see Eve driving(!) but not without Bond's lightest of corrections of the wheel - still showing that he's in charge - a nice touch imo. The action here is great. It goes from car to motorbike to train. This makes it feel like the slightly overblown PTSs of the previous era. Except it isn't. One of my favourite parts of the film is when MP is getting ready to shoot and we get a close up of her looking as focused as a laser but she can't help shaking. Great acting from her part.
Bond getting shot and falling off the bridge is pretty stupid since he survives but this is a Bond film and who cares? Anyway, his fall connects beautifully into the title sequence, which Adele does without fault imho...
It goes without saying that Craig's spontaneous adjustment of his cuff is now iconic. That's another little touch that he adds to the character. You can tell that he's acclimated to the role by this film because he gives such a great performance throughout. He's great a subtle acting, which we later see at the Macau casino and at Skyfall during M's death scene. I think people criticize Craig for not acting enough but if you look closely, then you'll see how brilliant he really is.
Moving on with the film; I don't particularly enjoy the scenes when Bond is on the beach: the Bond girl here is forgettable (I don't know her name), a Heineken ad and the scorpion scene, which shouldn't be in the film. Then the plot gets driven forward by Bond coincidentally hearing the tv....SIGH.
Now we get a brilliant scene between M and Bond. The dialogue is sharp and shows how their relationship has developed ever since QoS ( but how long is anyone's guess). I can appreciate the humour in this scene. Bond is being his cynical self again (CR flashbacks ahh) and M is tired and 'aged' but she still has control over Bond, both as a boss and as a mother. (I won't go any further into the themes of this film because they are so deeply woven and there are dozens. All I'll say is that this film has the best "thematic structure" than any other Bond film.) My one problem with this scene is that M told Bond to never come back to her home..well..he just did.
Later, we see the team at Whitehall. I find these scenes surprisingly depressing, despite the great interaction between MP and Bond; "A moving target is harder to hit."
"Then you better keep moving." The interrogation scene is well acted but I think they only left it in to get Bond to call M a b*tch (great moment). I can imagine the writers thinking that they've been allowed an F-word later so the rating agency would surely pass something less crude.
Q's scene in the museum is short and I enjoy the dialogue about old vs new and what it means to be in their respective situations. Nevertheless I hate the new Q.
Shanghai scenes are either my favourite/2nd favourite of the entire movie (the other scene being the climatic finale). The cinematography peaks here imho. The colours of the pool and the skyline are breathtaking and who can forget the jellyfish fight? Absolute masterpiece. I think it's one of the longest shots of the entire film and everyone involved makes sure every millisecond looks perfect. Even Newman managed here to make a score worth listening to. How about that!
Next is Sévérine who is one of the most stunning women on this Earth. Hot damn!! Luckily she can also act the hell out of a scene, like in Macau. The way she takes her time before speaking, while eyeing Bond to spot his worth and if he means what he says, is brilliant. She also displays her character's fear and pain as she subtly starts shaking but it never gets overacted imho.
The casino fight is rather bad. All due to the CGI lizard and how Bond's fingerprint ppk would of killed him if it didn't have the scanner. How convenient.
Tbh I don't think that it's rapey or cringey how Bond shags Sévérine in the shower. She literally asks him to join her later in the boat and the idea gets cemented by the two glasses she has left out - for both of them.
Silva's reveal and speech is admirable and makes me think of the good 'ole villains of the 60's who would talk and talk and talk. Once again, Craig's Bond gets a villain who is no match for his strength but at least the character is smart and versatile (perhaps too much *ahem* tunnel escape *ahem* ). But all in all, Silva is a great James Bond villain.
Now I know most of you loathe the untimely death of dear Sévérine but I think it works. I would of preferred that she'd live past the movie but alas, this is a Bond film and Craig's wonderfully blunt/cynical line after she dies is one of my favs for Craig. Bond never really loved her otherwise he'd cry like in OHMSS or CR (2006) but did in fact care for her enough that you can tell that he's angry at Silva. That's why he risks it and goes nuts. And Bond is also trying to hide any weakness so why would he show emotion?
Ugh. Silva's escape is one of the worst plot conveniences of the entire franchise. You're telling me that he planned this out way in advance? Why not just haunt M (like he did) and then capture and kill her?! Why does he want to be incarcerated? Makes no sense.
Q connecting Silva's pc is stupid and Silva managing to kill the guards is laughable because they were 10 meters away at the very least.
Thankfully we get a good moment out of this: M's Tennyson poem. Love the meaning behind it (see: themes) and how they montage it all with Craig as the focus. Amazing.
The Aston Martin DB5 was a great surprise for me and I just love M and Bond's banter in the car. Also, the fact that M wants to rid herself of her guilt by going to Skyfall is admirable and she did what she thought was right.. baiting Silva to fight away from people who don't deserve to be killed etc. She knew she was going to her death (ironic).
Scotland/Skyfall manor is beautifully shot and they leave in long shots so you can take in the view as well. DoP does this film justice (the night shots at Skyfall with the flames is well lit as well). I love these little introspective parts of the Bond films, like in this case, about his parents and his childhood.
Kincade is a welcome comic relief without the campy b*llshit and I love the way he tries to tell Bond how to do things and he must oblige - he's almost still like Bond's guardian. I'm glad that the producers (according to rumours) didn't get Connery to take the role because that would of been too distracting and ruined some continuity issues of the franchise's history.
The action in the manor is top-notch. I don't accept the arguments for it being a ripoff and it perfectly fits into the Bond type finales. We get to see some levolution (house gets destroyed bit by bit) because they are restrained to a small space. Usually the protagonists would be running around during a set-piece, but Mendes still manages to make it feel 'grand' and large scale. This finale also delivers the fantastic shot of Bond watching his car explode and then subsequently working faster, as the music roars.
The following scene marks M's death and it works well. I don't think we wanted her to die but this scene does her character justice.... Imagine if she simply died immediately from the wound. Judi Dench aces this scene as always. When Silva is telling her to shoot, I get the chlls. Throughout the film, Silva has been haunting her and she's gradually gotten weaker and weaker through her own guilt and for him to tell her to commit suicide is the cherry on top. Very underrated villain imho.
The ending back in London is great. It ties off all loose ends (who is Eve and what happened to Mallory?) and also gets us excited for the next film.
As a final statement I'd say that Skyfall is brilliantly directed, acted and the action is top tier. This film sits firmly in my top 5 Bond films of all time and nothing will change that.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
About the same as they've always been. Upon rewatching this yesterday, I had a slightly bigger appreciation for certain moments, but overall, my big issues, nitpicks, and complaints reared their head as they always do, and I was left not enjoying myself with this one (once again). It's flat-out not enjoyable to me, and works better as a film on its own, one that is incredibly depressing, dreary, and lacking in a sense of fun or escapism. Mendes is a rather inconsistent director, and the script opens up a sea of questions for me that'll never be answered - some are plot holes, others are odd additions that needn't have been added to the script. I'll post an analysis here in the next few days.
Like I said, as a non-Bond movie, this could work, but this isn't why I fell in love with the series, and certainly isn't why I enjoyed it over the last couple of decades, so this'll be one of the only installments that will rarely be rewatched. I'd enjoy being a fan of it like others are, but it's not for me.
TITLE SONG:
One of the few crowning highlights - Adele's track is gorgeous and haunting, and really nails the feel of the film. Happy that the series finally managed another Oscar win of this, it was more than deserved. One of my favorites.
TITLE SEQUENCE:
Probably one of my least favorites in the series - becomes way too foreshadowing and "deep" for a series such as this - it's a Bond title sequence, keep it simple and straight-forward. The ominous hinting at what's to come and imagery throughout doesn't do anything for me, and most of the shots leave me unimpressed.
+1, I'm glad that I love to watch qos though, i know some people hate that film
I don't know if this is exactly what your getting at, but I find skyfall and SPECTRE title sequences to just be a weird cgi world, and titles sequences are supposed to be a fun maybe underwater maybe dancing naked ladies montage as opposed to just a strange daniel Craig wandering around shooting shadows and getting abused by tentacles
I much prefer their sort of surreal, dream-like design to random shots of naked women and guns shooting off which Binder was able to coast by on for so long. All of Kleinman's titles are a new experience, and I could never say that for Binder a lot of the time.
Other titles have teased the film, even with lyrics that teased the story. I just don't know what you mean by saying the SF and SP titles try to be too deep.
I just see it how I see it. Don't care for the imagery, Bond walking around shooting mirrors, the M:I feel of it as it hints to locations that Bond will be visiting later on, etc.