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Comments
Considering the hundreds if not thousands of agents in deep cover, a spy agency isn't going to make every one of them exit their terrorist cells (essentially outing themselves) after so much effort. In actual spycraft it can take years to get in with cells to infiltrate them, and MI6 weren't about to burn all those bridges and risk every agent's life just as a knee jerk reaction to Silva's plans.
Silva has the list of agents, but MI6 would have no idea of knowing who was going to be named, or at what time. It makes no logical sense to then pull everyone out.
Never one to dwell on the gun barrel. I like it to be there, preferably at the start, but as long as Bond walks, turns and shoots I'm more than happy.
In this film though why did they not put it at the start and then blur that in to Bond walking towards the camera to open the film's proceedings? It could have looked every bit as cheesy as Die Another Day's CGI bullet, or it may have looked like the dog's proverbial bollocks.
The pre title sequence is an absolute mind blower. A shoot out, a bike chase, a fight on a train, a riot of destroyed vehicles, massive stunts and that lovely moment of calm as M waits for Eve's report to crackle over the radio.
What's not to love?
Always unsure why Eve gets such a hard time. That last shot from over 500 yards, at two men clinging together and fighting on top of a moving train, with all sorts of other factors to build in - I'm surprised she hit anything.
The gadgets are played down and yet another gentle joke at the expense of Bond's cinematic heritage ('What were you expecting? An exploding pen?) Bond now has to use his wits, especially in the Scotland section of the film, rigging gas bottles and setting traps.
But the man who traditionally scoffed at M's increasingly outlandish gadgets (despite the fact they always save his life) now looks quite disappointed to be getting nothing more than a small transmitter device.
The action is good without being outstanding. The PTS is terrific, and is probably the stand out sequence (the PTS often is).
Bond finally catches up with Patrice in Shanghai and they have a beautifully crafted and shot fight sequence.
In Macau Bond battles more bad guys in the dragon pit.
Eventually we have a minor fight with Bond killing Silva's guards, but the main centre piece is the pursuit of Silva through the underground and the rather strange set up of a train crashing into the disused underground line.
On to Scotland and we have a homage to Apocalypse Now and an unusual climax for a Bond film as Bond, M and Kincade take on a small army led by Silva.
So the locations are of course outstanding as Bond pursues Patrice and then Silva into the Far East, finally leading them all to the wilds of Scotland. Terrific.
Craig's Bond has lightened up a little after the intensity of the first two films, but he is still best when ridden with a degree of good old angst. He isn't a naturally funny actor, but the humour comes out of the characters, especially Javier Bardem's emotionally damaged Silva.
Bond's mental and physical assessments have their moments, but it's M's withering put down of Bond after he breaks into her house (again) that gives the film it's funniest moment.
OK, plot plausibility can be brushed over, safe to say that Silva's plan which bears some resemblance to Spectre's in From Russia With Love (discredit the secret service, kill M) is incredibly complex in it's setting up and execution. But you know what these psychos are like?
The film ends up in a small chapel in the wilds of Scotland where Silva sort of achieves his aim (if the fact one of his henchmen actually kills M is acceptable to him). But the scene itself is overshadowed by the actors who take part. In the past the Bond films have been snubbed by many great actors, yet here we have Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem and Albert Finney present and correct. Is there a director on earth who wouldn't snap this little lot up, if they could?
After this it became drab again, with the pointless train crash, and the dull shootout at the enquiry!
Very. I enjoy how Silva isn't remotely phased by killing her, only focusing on the fact that he beat 007.
hey i try generally not to be rude but that is a genuine question, wouldn't that scare girls off, seeing the equivalent of my sandwich when it gets crushed by my textbooks in my school bag.
@Birdleson, I often have to keep reminding myself he's 14 years old. That puts a bit of perspective on those kinds of comments. He'll learn, he's just young yet.
Mate, the point is that this is a Bondathon thread for actual analysis, where that kind of thing has no place. That inquiry wouldn't even fly in a "Bond questions" thread. Strive for more grown up commentary.
No gun barrel at the beginning and, as I may have said before, this does bother me. However, the gun barrel we do see at the end is a lot better than the one at the end of QOS. Here, Craig doesn't have the shoulder movement he had in QOS, giving for a much better looking gun barrel.
The pts is great, full of action. All the way through to the fight on the train, this is excellent and features some superb stunt work. It's almost a mini movie in itself, except for the fact that it is part of the story. I agree with @Birdleson that it would be nice to go back to the pts not being connected to the story of the movie. The ending of the pts, Bond falling, fits nice and smoothly into the opening titles.
Some lovely locations in show here, giving us a beautiful looking movie. The standout for me though is London. London looks wonderful and the final scenes give us a wonderful view.
Side note: The beach where we find Bond, post titles, is Fetihye, Turkey. Visited there a few years ago, lovely place.
Gadgets make a bit of a nice comeback here. Bond is given the new Walther, with palm print reader and his radio transmitter. His dismay at the choice is great and his line telling Silva "It's a radio" is very good and, for me, very funny. As with most of his gadgets, they all have their use.
There's also the DB5. Now, am I correct in assuming that this is the same car won in the card game from Alex Dimitrios in CR; just with new number plate and all the gadgets instaled by Q Branch, or is this a completely different car?? Either way, it was great to see it back. M's line about ejecting her is very well played.
The action is very good in this movie, the pts quite a standout. The fight with Patrice in Shaghai also superb and the chase through the London Underground is very exciting, culminating in the tube falling though below. Nicely set up and well executed scene. The finale is, also, very good at Skyfall but I think it feels a little like The A Team. Also, now it's been mentioned, I can see the Home Alone thing as well, haha.
Some nice bits of humour throughout this movie, without being too much. Very much like Connery back in the 60's, as opposed to the humour seen in the Moore era.
The plot does have some holes in it such as the disc seemingly going missing, or forgot about as the movie goes on. It appears that Silva has been planning for so long to get his revenge on M and MI6, a little too convenient for me. Can't imagine how it was planned as it panned out, just too convenient. However, this doesn't affect my enjoyment of the movie.
Production
I didn't really know much about Sam Mendes, if I'm honest, before this movie. I hadn't seen anything from him before, although I'd heard that he was a top notch choice. He does a fine job here and gets the best out of the actors at his disposal, some fine performances. He has given us a very good looking, well acted movie with Skyfall. Action pieces are well done and the scenes in Shanghai are quite a standout for me.
The opening titles are ok, I don't think they are the finest of the series but they are certainly good and better then some we saw in the late 80's. A nice, gothic feel to them at times, they pretty much take us through the story of the movie (too much? maybe).
The script is fine, some nice dialogues, one-liners nice and subtle. Again though, as mentioned, there are a couple of plot holes. To be fair though, we get a very good movie.
The movie looks beautiful. I mentioned Shanghai earlier and I will again. The scenes in Shanghai are some of my favourite looking scenes in the Bond series. They are beautiful. Same with London, looks fantastic with some great shots.
The score is good, though not up to the standards of Barry. There are some nice moments though, such as the opening in Istanbul and I really like the music played during the Tennyson poem scene. Very dramatic scene and a dramatic piece of music. He also fits the Bond theme in very nicely during the course of the movie.
I love the theme tune. I was pleased to see that Adele was chose to sing the song and it is quite superb. While not a fan of her music, I must say that she has a wonderful voice, perfect for a Bond movie and this a great song, in line with those big ballads that we've had before. I do hope that she comes back to do another.
The editing is fine and I didn't notice any cuts that were out of place. I think, though, that if I'm really enjoying a movie, I wouldn't tend to notice unless I was really looking for it.
Craig looks great in all that he is given to wear, as do the rest of the cast. Berenice Marlohe looks astounding in the black dress she is wearing when she first meets Bond. I almost feel like she had a Vesper (during the card game) look about her during that scene. Also love the look of Silva when we first meet him. As I have said once or twice, this is a great looking movie.
A few sets to speak of here. The Macau casino is certainly the best of the bunch and looks great. The abandoned city is another nice addition and a great set where we are introduced to Silva. There's also Skyfall itself. All good looking sets, for me.
Final thoughts
As much as, easily noticeable, stuntmen are, I'm not a fan of seeing a cgi version of Craig's face being inserted. I found it a little off putting as it was quite obvious.
"You must be joking."
Bond checking his cufflink is brilliant.
The flying kick to one of Silva's henchman, and carrying straight on (during the chase through the long grass towards the end), not missing a beat - very good.
M's F-Bomb.
The Komodo Dragons, while cgi, still give us a nice little nod to the Moore era.
The effects of the cyanide on Silva, while cgi, is still fairly horrifying.
Bonds reaction to the death of Severine. Despite his reaction, you know it bothers him and forces him in to action, resulting in the capture of Silva. Silva shows no bother regarding his killing of her, or that of his men. He, obviously, wanted capturing.
"Put it all on red." Did Eve do that and was it a winner?
The final scene - superb. New M, Moneypenny etc. The touches like the door to M's office are excellent and a nice nod to classic Bond.
"With pleasure.......M, with pleasure."
This. I've seen several people take this route of "What I say, goes," where whatever they see or feel regarding a Bond movie should be the case for everyone else, and it's simply not.
Also, it doesn't have to do with noticing the faces of the stuntmen - that doesn't bug me in the slightest - it's the bad CG utilization that goes with an attempt to get Craig's/Rapace's faces on the respective bodies.
This sums it up nicely, as does Creasy's post. I mention as it was something i picked up on, on watching the movie.
In answer to Aficionado, yes, I do watch the action, but i also enjoy watching the actor doing his thing, stuntman or not and that's what I've tried to do during this Bondathon. I may not be great with words but, during this, I've looked everywhere closer at the movies as I've watched them and I'm picking things up I've never noticed before and I've learnt a hell of a lot from everyone else involved in this.
Anyway, i look forward to this next...
I was actually trying to understand how you could possibly spot it in the first place. Calm down.
The "Go ahead eject me, see if i care" got a lot of laughs at my first viewing of it at the cinema.
Skyfall gets mentioned alot when talking with non-bond fans about which bond is the best... Have they forgotten Casino Royale? CR is on another level in my opinion, but Skyfall is still very good so i guess it is alright.
I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!
Try to capture the James Bond Radio spirit. Look for the positives and don't dwell on the negatives. If you do that you might find that you will get 10 plus points At worst, spacing out through the negatives will give you a couple of hours of sleep.
I do have a Craig era bias, but that's unavoidable at this point.
I was just about to post the same thing. I haven't even watched it a 5th of that.
We all have blind enthusiasm for different things. Mine is the Craig era, and a bit of Sean's films, yours is GF. ;)