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All the traditional elements return in this film, modernised, updated, and they all work. The humour has returned, but never once did I think it was used inappropriately, or used in a cheesy way.
When the Aston Martin DB5 made its appearance, it was received with a huge round of applause in the audience - something I've not witnessed before in a cinema, and the last 5 minutes of the movie will put a smile on your face if nothing else, as it celebrates all what has gone before for the past 50 years.
There are plenty of nods to previous Bond films, but again done in such a nice, effective way, it puts both DAD and QoS to shame.
All the characters work - M (surprisingly), Q (surprisingly) and Moneypenny (very surprisingly). Bardem is without doubt one of the best villains of the entire franchise, and the script is the strongest of the entire franchise.
All the talk of Oscar nominations is entirely justified. This is the best Bond film. I may sound like I'm overreacting, and my opinion may wane over time, but I was blown over by what I saw this evening. Truly amazing film.
Finally to Craig. Yes, he looks old in this film, and no I don't like the short hair. But my God he puts in a hell of a performance, and there are a few moments when I felt truly sorry for the character of Bond, and understood him far more than any previous film. This was close to getting in Bond's head, the same way Fleming did with the books. The opening is loosely based on YOLT and TMWTGG.
The film is nicely paced, beautifully shot, and for the first time I understood all the characters I've seen over the years - Bond, M, Q and Moneypenny. This film will be a very hard act to follow.
Ralph Fiennes revealed as the new M wasn't exactly a major suprise but he was excellent as always. I will sadly miss Dame Judi though despite some idiots criticising her saying that the Bond/M realtionship has to be all male.
Bernice Marlohe was the only real weak link IMO. A not particularly well written character but as has been said many times already M is the real Bond girl in this. Not sure if this has replaced Casino Royale as my all time favourite Bond movie but it's certainly in the top 5 even after first viewing and a definite return to form after the misfire of Question of Sport (as Mark Kermode refers to it!), even though it does has some good moments in it. Memo to EON, please bring back Kincade if Albert Finney is still around. Would also love to see a flashback to Bond's childhood with his parents although I think they may have missed the boat now.
Highlights: Craig, Dench, Bardem & Fiennes. Especially Craig. He owns, and that there are still people who whine about hair and his looks is unbelievable. The cinematography is breathtaking, especially in Scotland. (When Bond looks at the landscape, it even has some newly discovered planet feel!)
Downpoints: Bérénice Marlohe is a bit wasted, meanin:. I'm still not sure what her purpose was.
Bring on Bond 24...
"All the traditional elements return in this film, "
Slightly outrageous comment to make, surely? If the gun barrel is at the end of the film how can all the traditional elements return? You did say "all". With respect, you should have said "most". And I'm not aware of previous Bond films using the f word. So that's hardly a tradition!
I'm not wishing to dispute your review, Jet, but you do have to careful when you make sweeping statements such as ""All the traditional elements return in this film, " because that is not 100 percent correct.
You clearly prefer a terrible Bond movie filled with traditional elements over a great Bond movie which is less traditional. I know that many Bond fans are like that and that's why I'm happy that the Bond films are not made by fans.
See the film first, if you don't mind.
You can't be serious. The only CGI that wasn't good were the helicopters but that was a 2 seconds long shot.
Secondly, the music was great. Not Barry class but coherent to the narrative.
Thirdly, from the moment we see Mendes' version of the gunbarrel you know this going to be a different Bond film fullstop. Yet again they've rebooted Bond in a way that males it right for DC's age which bodes well for the next two films.
The destruction of the DB5 is of course symbolic of this new beginning along with his Bonds past.
An intelligent outing for film buffs and not gamers or fanboys.
A big thank you to all involved and indeed it will be a pleasure for the next outing.
It can be. You gotta move with the times. We're not fighting the USSR anymore. So what are you saying? That tradition is ALWAYS a good thing?
Good
Bond He's still no Timothy Dalton but Craig nails it. I've felt mixed on him for a while but he's really good in this. He's still great in the fight scenes, he's funny, and is still dark in some scenes. Great Bond.
Villian Camp, OTT, memorable and evil, Bardem stole the film. He's so camp on the surface, but then he shows a really evil dark side in some scenes, like when he tells M to say his real name. Best villian since Sanchez.
Action- The fight scenes aren't as great and brutal as CR, but they're still cool. The PTS is amazing and the finale is action packed. There are a few fights but there's only about 3 stand out action scenes in the film- the PTS, the shootout in the court room, and the finale. But you can actually tell whats going on and the action is really well done.
M For the first time ever I actually like Craig and M together. The stupid mum/son trust issue stuff is for the most part gone. There's some funny scnes with Bond and M too. Mallory is also cool and should make a great new M.
Q He's funny and works well with Craig. I think they made him too much of a computer wizz though, I'm going to miss gadget man Q.
Other good things are the comedy, the cinematography, the locations, the titles, the gadgets in the DB5, the ending finishing the reboot, Albert Finney, Severine.
Mixed
Girls Eve was decent enough and looked hot, but I'm not sure about her being Moneypenny. She's a secretary, I didn't want some big backstory about how she shot Bond. Severine is great but really underused. The greek girl doesn't even open her mouth. Bond doesn't get laid much either but that's not really a problem, as long as he gets one girl per film I'm happy.
Music I'm not a huge Adele fan and the song feels generic. The score fits in well with the film but it feels a bit forgettable and I miss the full on Bond theme playing during the action scenes. Last time we really got that I think was TWINE, when he jumped out of the window. They should bring back Arnold.
Characters underused Severine is the main example, she doesn't have much screentime. Silva deserved more screentime too, and we don't see much of Mallory either.
Bad
CGI There's not that much of it but when it is used it's obvious. Silvas teeth, the dragons and the helicopters arriving are the dodgy bits. Not on a DAD level but it's still not the best CGI job.
Gunbarrel It's crap. The design is bad, it's too quick and it's at the end. A bit better than the QOS one but that's not saying much.
Skyfall is definetly in my top 10, maybe my top 5, and I'd give it 8.5 or 9 out of 10. Great Bond film, and after 3 films we've FINALLY come full circle and the reboot/Bond Begins arc (which I think was a bad idea in the first place) is over. Really can't wait for Bond 24 now.
Are you saying, that you won't mind if the James Bond theme, the gun barrel intro, etc, became part of history, and were never to be used again? And Bond turning metrosexual? You gotta "move with the times", right?
That's funny. I'm sure I remember seeing a GB and hearing the James Bond theme tune in Skyfall.
As for Craig I got the feeling he's rellishing the role and will take it from strength to strength. With a new supporting cast and a line drawn under the new/old Bond the future does look good for 007 fans.
Bardem's the man!
The scene with the reptile in the casino was very Flemingsque but could have been more suspenseful and certainly could have done without Bond making the cheesy quip at the end after pulling himself back onto the bridge.
I was also hoping Bond would have gone into more detail about his childhood but at the same time I was wondering how they would do it as M was undoubtedly aware of Bond's history.
I'll have to see this a couple of more times but I think Casino Royale is the better film. Campbell made the right decision keeping the one liners out. With Mendes, it just seemed in some parts that he was just ticking all the boxes.
Why does the DB5 have guns and an ejector seat? Are we supposed to believe that Demetrious had all this fitted into his car before Bond won it off him in CR? Why would Q do all this when he said that exploding pens are not what they do anymore? Unnecessary. Silly.
I thought that Bardem’s character might have been a little too light hearted and comical for my liking but thankfully I was proved wrong. He did a wonderful job. One of the best villains in the series.
I love who became the new M at the end but the character who turned out to be Moneypenny was a bad move in my opinion.
I was hoping the scenes at the beginning when Bond is "enjoying death" would be a little more panned out. Sadly, they were cut too tightly.
I was hoping that they would go into more detail about Bond’s background history too.
Loved the scenes on the island with Silva (great how they played that vintage music over the speakers. This worked very well) but they could have done without the Bond theme at the end. They should have used this cue in the opening scene with the bulldozer. Newman's score was pretty average. Overall, better than Arnold's but Arnold has the odd well composed individual cue where as Newman doesn't have anything that really stands out.
It felt too rushed too how Bond was suddenly getting it on with Severine.
Currently, I rate the film around 7 out of 10. CR is better. Campbell had the right idea - leave out the one liners as they just don’t belong in the Craig era. It seemed like Mendes was just ticking off all the boxes in some parts, not unlike in the Brosnan era. I’m not even sure where I would rate this film at the moment. Maybe in the top 10. I did like how there was more character development in this film. It was part action, part thriller, part drama instead of all just action like in the majority of the post Dalton films.
Oh, and I don't buy into Mendes's comments about how the gunbarrel doesn't match up the with the first shot. The white circle could have easily faded out into the silhouette of Bond.
For Bond 24 and beyond, I'm going to avoid these photo threads because otherwise I will accidently read all this speculation. It was no surprise what happened at the end of the film for me.