Skyfall (Sam Mendes)

[Morris Schæffer]

Skyfall put those back in, so I think it's fair to say that it's an antidote to the last two Bond movies or the Bourne movies, just like The Avengers was an antidote to The Amazing Spider-Man.

Doesn't an antidote usually come after the poison?

[Grouchy]

This was everything I wanted and expected it to be, considering the director and cinematographer.

That being said, the obvious attempt to ground and modernize Bond sometimes goes a little bit too far. "What makes you think this is my first time?" Really? Bisexual Bond? Not that it bothers, me, just, really? Or the dialogue with Q.

But really, it's all nit-picking on my part. Just an awesome, epic, wildly entertaining Bond film. Definitively Craig's best.

[number8]

Daniel Craig's been wanting to play a bi Bond for years. He talked about trying to convince the producers to include a gay sex scene in Casino Royale, and then again in Quantum of Solace. I guess they finally threw him a bone with that exchange.

[Grouchy]

I bet once he's done with the Bond franchise someone's going to take him up on the idea and go somewhere awkward with it.

[[ETM]]

I didn't see it as a "Bond is bi" moment.
More like "Bitch please, I'm a 00 agent."
I'm certain someone like him would take one for Queen and country, if it was necessary.

[Sven]

The credit sequence, Bardem's performance, and the Shanghai assassination sequence are standouts. Nearly everything else was such a blend of thoughtlessness and cliches that the positive reaction is a little confusing. Dug the twist, though.

[transmogrifier]

I assume you are kidding, because there is no twist.

[Morris Schæffer]

I assume you are kidding, because there is no twist.

Wasn't Q very young this time?

[transmogrifier]

Wasn't Q very young this time?

?

[Mr. McGibblets]

[

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Maybe the fact that M gave Silver up counts as a twist?

The other thing was ridiculous. I'm going to imagine that the breakout plan was jut a backup because if he got himself captured on purpose on the strength of that plan - what happens if Q tries to decrypt the computer offline? what happens if there are armed guards nearby? what happens if he's in an iron cell instead? - then he's about the dumbest criminal mastermind in the world.

]

[Sven]

Line of the movie:
[

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That's a waste of good Scotch.

]

[

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His reaction to the murder of a sex slave (whom he didn't think twice about boning himself in the scene directly previous). Psychopathic.

]

[EvilShoe]

[

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His reaction to the murder of a sex slave (whom he didn't think twice about boning himself in the scene directly previous). Psychopathic.

]

[

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I may be wrong, but isn't this the first time in the franchise Bond has explicitly stated not to care at all about endangering other people's lives?

]

[Watashi]

I assume you are kidding, because there is no twist.

Well...[

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I guess you can call the film being a prequel to the whole series by introducing a new Moneypenny, M, and Q kind of a twist. It's basically what Star Trek did. I wonder if they will remake any of the older Bonds (Dr. No).

]

Anyway, this movie was fun. It was fucking gorgeous. I mean, Roger Deakins. Goddamn. A lot of The Dark Knight influences (and there is a lot) bothered me, but it never took me out of the film. Probably my favorite Bond film.

[transmogrifier]

[

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Eh, I just assumed they were all code names with people rotating in and out of the role. Nothing really exciting about that. In fact, the idea of it being a prequel to anything else is just....silly, I think.

]

[transmogrifier]

[

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His reaction to the murder of a sex slave (whom he didn't think twice about boning himself in the scene directly previous). Psychopathic.

]

I agree with you here. The scene sat wrong for me.

[Ezee E]

Absolutely dug the heck out of this. I'll have to let it resonate some more, but pretty sure it'll be my favorite Bond. There's a variety of action sequences that are a little more stripped down from previous Bond movies, but nonetheless, far more suspenseful to watch. Cinematography easily beats any Bond movie, and is probably the most striking of the year. The Shanghai sequence is simply jawdropping to watch, something that hasn't happened in a while.

And Javier Bardem plays a fantastic villain. I wish he was able to speak more, as he really only has 2-3 scenes of speaking. Each of those scenes, he's basically doing a monologue, and absolutely killing it. A penultimate Bond villain.

It is a little long, but I suspect I felt that way because I was in a sold out, hot theater. Lordie, it's been a while since I went to an opening movie at night. Bad move there.

[Sven]

Octopussy > Skyfall

[Ezee E]

Octopussy > Skyfall

That's what my gf said. :lol: Disagree!

BTW, she thought this was dumb.

[Sven]

BTW, she thought this was dumb.

She's a good woman.

[Grouchy]

Octopussy > Skyfall

Hahah right. In your fucking dreams.

As for the scotch line... It's very in-character. It got a chuckle out of me.

[Sven]

Hahah right. In your fucking dreams.

With diligence, we will reach a point where we, as a people, will reserve praise-heaping for only deserving films. This fantasy, along with sweet, sweet dreams of Octopussy, does help get me through the night.

As for the scotch line... It's very in-character. It got a chuckle out of me.

...because you, like Bond, are a sick person. :lol:

[Derek]

With diligence, we will reach a point where we, as a people, will reserve praise-heaping for only deserving films.

Says the guy who calls The Ladykillers and Crank films the best of last decade.

[angrycinephile]

The scotch line is so clearly Bond trying not to show his weak side in front of an adversary. He doesn't want to appear hurt or shocked.

Same thing when he says "The bitch is dead" at the end of Casino Royale.

[Sven]

I'd buy that argument if there was any indication that Bond actually had felt something for this woman. But all he does is recognize that she's been a sex slave her whole life and uses his cool to bed her. Then she dies and he bemoans the alcohol. There is no nuance.

Accepting that some lives are intrinsically more valuable than others is a cornerstone of the Bond franchise, but this film takes it to a sour extreme while still attempting to paint Bond as someone to admire. Mendes amplifies that pathology by refusing to temper scenes of undoubted collateral damage with any sort of consideration. Massive Tube explosion/derailment? Just an inconvenience, really.

Anyone knows me knows that I love a good action film, so it's not that I can't accept premises necessitating willy-nilly deaths, but there are degrees, and sometimes egregious disruptions. This movie doesn't care about anything, so thoughtless is its trajectory (the plot as well is utterly nonsensical), and that apathy I cannot abide.

Also, Mendes's action is tacky, and Deakins's photography, while pulling out a couple of good shots, is pale compared to the thick, rich atmosphere of Meheux's in Casino Royale. But this is a whole 'nother can of worms.

For verisimilitude, I will reiterate my admiration for the credits and Bardem and the cool reflection/jellyfish fight.

[number8]

Those are my favorite parts too, Sven. I really think the first half of the film is a near-perfect Bond movie. While it would've pissed people off surely, if it had ended with Silva's capture, I'd call it the best Bond on the spot. As it is, I'd settle for "good enough to not be disappointing."