I haven’t seen a Bond film for yonks’ so no one can accuse me of any bias? I am very surprised at the `varied’ ratings on here – 50% of reviews are five stars, and yet 20% give just one measly star. I expected an all action film; with great special effects. Of course, a plot that was to be the ruination of world peace, a’ baddy’ who survives all attempts to kill him, a few great `one liners , a beauty or two and a finale that sees Bond face to face with his nemesis. Essentially, that’s what I got and I loved it. It was all action; a thrill a minute. Great, what else do you want for your money? The opening sequence would match any film made in terms of grasping your attention, and I thought that overall the `special effects’ were tremendous. This is Bond as he’s always been; there is no difference what so ever? To those, who say he’s changed, and he’s the poorer for it, I say, oh no he hasn’t! For those who gave it one star, I would say, “Look Pal, it is fiction you know?”
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This review is from: Skyfall (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray)
It’s more like a traditional Bond than anything in years but is also nothing like any Bond film we’ve seen before. It has more invention in every scene than all of the 90s and 00s films put together and almost every set piece is as good as the parkour scene in Casino Royale. It’s beautifully directed and really puts pretty much every Bond film ever to shame in that department, it’s bloody hilarious while taking its subject matter completely seriously, and Daniel Craig IS Bond. It’s like they looked at Quantum of Solice and thought “Yeah, you know that film nobody liked. Let’s make the COMPLETE opposite of that”.
There were so many wonderful moments. The entire opening teaser (I especially liked how it began with its own spin on the gunbarrel). The title sequence. The scenes of Bond trying to cope living on an island and trying to recapture the thrill of his job with the scorpion drinking games. The reveal that Bond didn’t pass the tests but M took him back anyway. The scene in Shanghai where Bond grabs onto the bottom of a flipping lift as it’s going up and then witnesses an assassination and gets into in a punch-up in the shadows, all against the surreal backdrop of the reflected Shanghai skyline. The Q-Branch scene which brings back all the sorely missed elements of Bond and Q’s relationship yet still feels like a completely new take on the character (certainly more than Cleese). The casino scene complete with a dangerous pit with a man-eating Kimodo Dragon (slightly dodgy CGI aside), which contains the great moment where the underwhelming isomorphically-controlled gun turned out to work just as well as any of Q’s gadgets should. Silva’s island, a brilliant spin on the classic Bond Villain Lair with considerably more creepy undertones due to the whole ghost-town vibe. The introduction of Silva himself. (“What makes you think this is my first time?”). The twisted shooting contest between Bond and Silva. “It’s from Q-Branch. It’s called a radio”. Silva taking his jaw out. The moment where Q realises he’s been had. The whole Tube chase, which was my favourite bit of the film and full of so many wonderful little moments that I’m not even going to bother listing them. The rather sinister scene where Silva strolls into the courtroom dressed as a policeman a starts shooting the place up, which is made even creepier once Bond shoots out the fire extinguishers. The DB5. The DB5! I actually clapped in the cinema when it turned up. That’s a way to acknowledge the past with for the Anniversary without going into fanwank overdrive like Die Another Day, and I loved that the ejector seat was confined to a knowing little gag. The assault on the house, as a small army rounds on an old building containing three people with a couple of shotguns; it’s got a bare-bones, nothing-but-me-and-the-elements feel to it but still manages to feel like an inventive Bondish action scene (my personal favourite moment being M’s light-fitting bombs). “I hated this place!” The fact that the epic climax of the film which Bond has to stop is simply one raving man running across a field after an elderly woman, yet it still manages to feel epic and climactic due to the hellish glaze it’s seen through.
I loved every minute of the film, it just felt right – it felt Bond. Casino Royale was a great film, but I don’t think any part of it besides the Parkour chase and “That last hand… it nearly killed me” made me grin like Skyfall did. It’s got that intangible quality that only a Bond film can have, but without any of the sameyness that pervades even some of my favourites in the series.
The Bond series is in a good place. I genuinely can’t wait to see what Craig, Harris, Whishaw and Fiennes get up to next. It feels like Bond is back, back where he should be. But at the same time, I don’t think the franchise has ever felt so new.
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I know not everyone will agree with this but I have never been more impressed with any bond intro then Skyfall. I went to see Skyfall on the day of release in the UK and the cinema was totally packed out. I really enjoyed the movie, it had a good plot and the action was brilliant. The intro just stood out completely for me, the way the opening scene transcended to the intro just blew me away. The Skyfall theme by Adele was fantastic aswell, it just came together really well and seeing it in the cinema just enhanced it even more. It usually takes a lot for me to be impressed when I go to the movies and this has to be by far the best movie I’ve seen this year (especially after seeing that DREADFUL paranormal activity 4 😉 I am definately pre-ordering this and for anyone who hasn’t seen this, BUY IT, you won’t regret it, but I know there are a few bond fans who will think Casino Royale is better, you might spend the rest of your life debating that question but will see how good the next movie is. Five stars 😉
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A Thrill a Minute,
I haven’t seen a Bond film for yonks’ so no one can accuse me of any bias? I am very surprised at the `varied’ ratings on here – 50% of reviews are five stars, and yet 20% give just one measly star.
I expected an all action film; with great special effects. Of course, a plot that was to be the ruination of world peace, a’ baddy’ who survives all attempts to kill him, a few great `one liners , a beauty or two and a finale that sees Bond face to face with his nemesis. Essentially, that’s what I got and I loved it. It was all action; a thrill a minute. Great, what else do you want for your money?
The opening sequence would match any film made in terms of grasping your attention, and I thought that overall the `special effects’ were tremendous.
This is Bond as he’s always been; there is no difference what so ever? To those, who say he’s changed, and he’s the poorer for it, I say, oh no he hasn’t! For those who gave it one star, I would say, “Look Pal, it is fiction you know?”
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|Skyfall,
It’s more like a traditional Bond than anything in years but is also nothing like any Bond film we’ve seen before. It has more invention in every scene than all of the 90s and 00s films put together and almost every set piece is as good as the parkour scene in Casino Royale. It’s beautifully directed and really puts pretty much every Bond film ever to shame in that department, it’s bloody hilarious while taking its subject matter completely seriously, and Daniel Craig IS Bond. It’s like they looked at Quantum of Solice and thought “Yeah, you know that film nobody liked. Let’s make the COMPLETE opposite of that”.
There were so many wonderful moments. The entire opening teaser (I especially liked how it began with its own spin on the gunbarrel). The title sequence. The scenes of Bond trying to cope living on an island and trying to recapture the thrill of his job with the scorpion drinking games. The reveal that Bond didn’t pass the tests but M took him back anyway. The scene in Shanghai where Bond grabs onto the bottom of a flipping lift as it’s going up and then witnesses an assassination and gets into in a punch-up in the shadows, all against the surreal backdrop of the reflected Shanghai skyline. The Q-Branch scene which brings back all the sorely missed elements of Bond and Q’s relationship yet still feels like a completely new take on the character (certainly more than Cleese). The casino scene complete with a dangerous pit with a man-eating Kimodo Dragon (slightly dodgy CGI aside), which contains the great moment where the underwhelming isomorphically-controlled gun turned out to work just as well as any of Q’s gadgets should. Silva’s island, a brilliant spin on the classic Bond Villain Lair with considerably more creepy undertones due to the whole ghost-town vibe. The introduction of Silva himself. (“What makes you think this is my first time?”). The twisted shooting contest between Bond and Silva. “It’s from Q-Branch. It’s called a radio”. Silva taking his jaw out. The moment where Q realises he’s been had. The whole Tube chase, which was my favourite bit of the film and full of so many wonderful little moments that I’m not even going to bother listing them. The rather sinister scene where Silva strolls into the courtroom dressed as a policeman a starts shooting the place up, which is made even creepier once Bond shoots out the fire extinguishers. The DB5. The DB5! I actually clapped in the cinema when it turned up. That’s a way to acknowledge the past with for the Anniversary without going into fanwank overdrive like Die Another Day, and I loved that the ejector seat was confined to a knowing little gag. The assault on the house, as a small army rounds on an old building containing three people with a couple of shotguns; it’s got a bare-bones, nothing-but-me-and-the-elements feel to it but still manages to feel like an inventive Bondish action scene (my personal favourite moment being M’s light-fitting bombs). “I hated this place!” The fact that the epic climax of the film which Bond has to stop is simply one raving man running across a field after an elderly woman, yet it still manages to feel epic and climactic due to the hellish glaze it’s seen through.
I loved every minute of the film, it just felt right – it felt Bond. Casino Royale was a great film, but I don’t think any part of it besides the Parkour chase and “That last hand… it nearly killed me” made me grin like Skyfall did. It’s got that intangible quality that only a Bond film can have, but without any of the sameyness that pervades even some of my favourites in the series.
The Bond series is in a good place. I genuinely can’t wait to see what Craig, Harris, Whishaw and Fiennes get up to next. It feels like Bond is back, back where he should be. But at the same time, I don’t think the franchise has ever felt so new.
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|Best intro to a bond movie ever……,
I know not everyone will agree with this but I have never been more impressed with any bond intro then Skyfall. I went to see Skyfall on the day of release in the UK and the cinema was totally packed out. I really enjoyed the movie, it had a good plot and the action was brilliant. The intro just stood out completely for me, the way the opening scene transcended to the intro just blew me away. The Skyfall theme by Adele was fantastic aswell, it just came together really well and seeing it in the cinema just enhanced it even more. It usually takes a lot for me to be impressed when I go to the movies and this has to be by far the best movie I’ve seen this year (especially after seeing that DREADFUL paranormal activity 4 😉 I am definately pre-ordering this and for anyone who hasn’t seen this, BUY IT, you won’t regret it, but I know there are a few bond fans who will think Casino Royale is better, you might spend the rest of your life debating that question but will see how good the next movie is. Five stars 😉
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