Skyfall review
I may have mentioned this to everyone I know or have met recently, but I have seen every Bond in the cinema since Moonraker in 1979. (Which isn’t a silly film at all when you are 7 years old.)
I am something of a fan. Bond films may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but going by box office success they are clearly a beverage of choice for many. For those of you who don’t like attractive people or exotic travel or excitement or just generally having fun then feel free to continue your bitter/smug existence and skip to another website page. Because I may gush a bit.
People always debate who is the best Bond, but I think they are missing the point. Each Bond actor had his own style of movie that is unique to them. They are different incarnations of Bond. Like killer Doctor Whos. Moore was camp but fun, Brosnan was colder but with bigger action, Dalton’s films were more ‘boys own adventure’, and Lazenby was just short lived and quite sad. Connery and Craig are more like the Bond of Fleming’s books – a hard but charming loner.
So, what is Craig’s hard-edged new Bond like?
In Skyfall Bond is chasing a cyber-baddy who has got a list of all British agents that are currently undercover. The chase leads him through distant but stunning locations, and into distant but stunning women until he meets the mastermind, who is brilliant but a bit mental. That is pretty much the entire story and I think you will agree, it is classic Bond.
The movie has all the necessary elements too – hot chicks, fights, explosions, envy inducing travel, great cars, tuxedos, psychos, peril, cocktails etc. Like Craig’s other outings, it also fleshes out Bond as a character. He is more believable and his motivations are more understandable. In as much as that is possible for a government assassin. Whether you think that this character study is good or bad is up to you, but I quite like it and Craig does it brilliantly with superb support from Dame Judi Dench (and Bardem, Fiennes, Finney and more).
Skyfall is a great movie with incredible set pieces, and an excellent supporting cast. I loved it and will be buying the Bluray. Do I think it is the best Bond film ever? No. Top 5? Possibly… but it would be competing with (in chronological order) From Russia with Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale.
Daniel Craig looks set to be in the next Bond film at least and that is a great thing. It will be interesting to see how they go about it. Because… SPOILER ALERT, KIND OF… at the end of Skyfall, we now see Bond as he is in all the other films. The trilogy has finished establishing who he is and how he got there. We are now back to a cold, suave, ruthless agent, who is aided by M, Q, and Moneypenny in an oak-walled office in London with an endless supply of whisky for at-work drinks. Which is actually pretty cool.
In summary: I bloody loved it. Craig’s Bond is great. Here’s the trailer again:
