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shadowkatJust got back from seeing Skyfall. To the people who didn't like it? IT'S A BOND FILM!
Okay, now that's over with....
But that's more or less the sum of it.
Skyfall is possibly the best of the Bond films and does a lovely job of capping the Judi Dench films. In some respects it works as a nice bridge between the Dench era and the Scean Connery/Roger Moore era. And if you've seen practically all the Bond films, as I have, you'll appreciate the shout-outs and inside jokes. Such as ...Bond being a Scot, because Connery was Scottish. Craig in many respects reminds me a lot of Connery's Bond, both fit the character in the books or my image of him at any rate.
And it's a treat for people like myself who not only read the books but saw most, if not all of the films. I think the only one I didn't see was last of the Pierce Bronsan films - the one with Halle Berry - I skipped that one.
Gotta give the Brits credit on this point, folks, no one does long-running film and tv franchises better than the Brits. Oh, we Yanks try...but the closest we've come is maybe Star Trek...and that's not quite cutting it. The Brit's managed to do 50 years of James Bond films off of a series of books, and not to be outdone...on TV, did 50 years of Doctor Who...and oh yes, least we forget?
Sherlock Holmes, anyone? And of course there's also...Harry Potter - the first time anyone has successfully done a serial film series that last seven movies, that I'm aware of. The disturbing thing about this - is they are all male centric series, and all about powerful men. Proof, in case you needed any that in our cultural media at least...white male privilege still reignes supreme and yes, we are all sadly to blame for it. We like to justify it, or live in denial, but it is true. Folks. We live in a sexist society because we choose to. That said, Bond is getting a little less sexist as the years roll by, as is for that matter Doctor Who, I'm on the fence about Sherlock. Bond, Who, and Sherlock got less racist a lot earlier, I think...it's taking longer on the sexism bit. But let's face it...when you watch Doctor Who, Bond or Sherlock - you sort of ignore these things or try to. And are bloody well surprised when they aren't quite as sexist as you expected. Have to say Dame Judi Dench did a great job of cutting through some of that trademark Bond sexism, as well as explaining it. And of the Bond films this one is by far the least sexist and least racist. Kudos.
Skyfall is a film that works better on a big than small screen. So do recommend lugging your ass off to the cineplax to see it, if you like Bond films. Sam Mendes is an excellent director and the cinematogrpahy is above par. There's a sequence on the Scottish Moors with fire blazing behind that is quite...striking. Amongst other bits - Bond's entrance in Macau...through an ocean garden filled with floating lanterns, and a fight sequence in Shang-hai. None of these scenes would resonate quite so adeptly on a smaller screen.
The story is amongst the better ones, possibly the best I've seen. It focuses on the characters and what they are doing and the human cost. In short it is not quite mindless fun. It's not the Avengers (nothing against the Avengers, I enjoyed it...but that was good mindless fun with nothing to say). The director and writers appear to have something to say about this brave new world we are living in and how we got there.
The villain, portrayed by Javier Bardem, manages to scare the bejeesus out of me. No one does villains better than Bardem. No one. And his villain...is a sort of dark mirror to Bond, an anti-Bond. The former super-agent that went bad. And his entrance is the best entrance I've seen to date of a villain in a Bond film. It's all in the dialogue. He enters with little aplomb...or fan-fair. And his performance isn't as over-the-top as one might think. I was expecting something different. What I got, I found frightening and disturbing. What he says in his opening monologue which is a great piece of writing...and a great way to introduce a villain...is chilling. Very quickly he explains exactly why the beautiful Severin is frightened of him and hopes Bond can kill him, before he kills her.
Bardem peels back the layers...he tells Bond that he is M's creation. She created him, she created them both. Both of them were rats that she turned into killers - who now eat and destroy each other. Meanwhile M is desperately defending her actions to the Ministers...defending what MI6 does...we have to fight this battle in the shadows. We need trained killers to defend us against killers...we need to create monsters to fight monsters...yet, all the while, you can see she's questioning everything she says - this is a testament to the great Judi Dench's skills as an actress. She displays steel and vulnerability at the same time.
And what casting...as M is being "retired"...we learn her successor is Montgomer, another M, portrayed by another piece of Brit Royalty...Ralph Fiennes.
There are shout-outs to old vintage Bond, the BMT...or original Bently...that Scean Connery and Roger Moore drove with its bullets. The name exchange... "Bond, James Bond". The fitness tests - which remind one of Scean Connery's last Bond film..."Never Say Never Again", and the reference to the "exploding pen". We also learn in this film the origin tale of the indomitable "Miss Moneypenny" - who is far more feminist and less sexist version, and the indomitable "M".
In an odd way...the film acts as a sort of prequel to Doctor No. It tells us...that the Bond films from Dalton through Craig are in a way the prequels for the Connery and Moore films. Or the films with Dench prequelled the 1960s films.
It also is beautifully framed - we have the alleged death of a major character at the beginning of the arc, and the actual death of a major character at the end. Nice. And in both cases the character dies as the result of an accidental bullet or a ricochet...it's not the villain who kills them. Depicting how dangerous this game of shadows is, and how deadly. That friendly fire is often the killer.
Javier Bardeem's villain gets this across as well. M makes a decision...for the better of Queen and Country, thinking of Bardeem's agent as expendable, a hacker who was skimming, and here was an excellent chance to get rid of him. Yet, that's not what happened. And instead she created a monster. And it is a commentary on Bond as well - who is dangerous. As well as the Jason Bourne films. What happens when these guys go rogue? When you can no longer control the weapon you created?
I don't know how well this film works for people who aren't familiar with the Bond genre. In some respects it would be like seeing The Avengers or Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings or Star Trek, without being a fan of any of them or liking that sort of thing.
On a side note? Or rather a musical note? For Bond films are known for their songs and music. Who doesn't love "Live and Let Die" or "Goldfinger? That said? I didn't like the song by Adele as much as I expected to. She does sound quite a bit like the classic Bond singers of the 60s, such as Shirley Bassy. But the song Skyfall is neither hummable or memorable. Oscar fodder, it's not. Adele sings it well though. She has a great voice...just not an interesting one.
I do love the Bond theme music ...which is hinted at in the beginning and slowly becomes more and more prevalent throughout the film...until towards the end when it is quite recognizable.
Also how they do the credits is interesting...and the images of death and water. And what dancing with death feels like. Ending the film, as opposed to starting it...with the traditional red bullet shot.
But both of these bits may be a bit lost on people who either haven't seen Bond films or don't like them. A bit of backstory? My parents love genre. I was weaned on Westerns, Star Trek, Star Wars, sci-fi, fantasy, noir films, and Bond movies. Genre and Masterpiece theater. Our taste was eclectic.
The theater was packed. And seeing the film required a bit of patience and tolerance. For one thing they had no picture for a bit - this was during the trailers. A few industrious audience members did go and complain, thank god. I couldn't without losing my seat. So they fixed it. Then we saw an hours worth of previews. Seriously...the film was supposed to start at 3:20, it didn't start until closer to 4:20. I don't mind previews...but an hour's worth is a bit much. Even if they are halfway decent. Right now the only previewed films I have any interest in seeing are: Iron Man 3, Les Miz, and The Hobbit. Everything else...I can skip. But no text messaging during the film thank god. It had too much action - so held everyone's attention.
Overall? A great Bond film. And a better than average action film, actually I'd say it was one of the better action films that I've seen.
If you don't like this sort of thing? Skip it. If you do...see it in the movie theater.
Okay, now that's over with....
But that's more or less the sum of it.
Skyfall is possibly the best of the Bond films and does a lovely job of capping the Judi Dench films. In some respects it works as a nice bridge between the Dench era and the Scean Connery/Roger Moore era. And if you've seen practically all the Bond films, as I have, you'll appreciate the shout-outs and inside jokes. Such as ...Bond being a Scot, because Connery was Scottish. Craig in many respects reminds me a lot of Connery's Bond, both fit the character in the books or my image of him at any rate.
And it's a treat for people like myself who not only read the books but saw most, if not all of the films. I think the only one I didn't see was last of the Pierce Bronsan films - the one with Halle Berry - I skipped that one.
Gotta give the Brits credit on this point, folks, no one does long-running film and tv franchises better than the Brits. Oh, we Yanks try...but the closest we've come is maybe Star Trek...and that's not quite cutting it. The Brit's managed to do 50 years of James Bond films off of a series of books, and not to be outdone...on TV, did 50 years of Doctor Who...and oh yes, least we forget?
Sherlock Holmes, anyone? And of course there's also...Harry Potter - the first time anyone has successfully done a serial film series that last seven movies, that I'm aware of. The disturbing thing about this - is they are all male centric series, and all about powerful men. Proof, in case you needed any that in our cultural media at least...white male privilege still reignes supreme and yes, we are all sadly to blame for it. We like to justify it, or live in denial, but it is true. Folks. We live in a sexist society because we choose to. That said, Bond is getting a little less sexist as the years roll by, as is for that matter Doctor Who, I'm on the fence about Sherlock. Bond, Who, and Sherlock got less racist a lot earlier, I think...it's taking longer on the sexism bit. But let's face it...when you watch Doctor Who, Bond or Sherlock - you sort of ignore these things or try to. And are bloody well surprised when they aren't quite as sexist as you expected. Have to say Dame Judi Dench did a great job of cutting through some of that trademark Bond sexism, as well as explaining it. And of the Bond films this one is by far the least sexist and least racist. Kudos.
Skyfall is a film that works better on a big than small screen. So do recommend lugging your ass off to the cineplax to see it, if you like Bond films. Sam Mendes is an excellent director and the cinematogrpahy is above par. There's a sequence on the Scottish Moors with fire blazing behind that is quite...striking. Amongst other bits - Bond's entrance in Macau...through an ocean garden filled with floating lanterns, and a fight sequence in Shang-hai. None of these scenes would resonate quite so adeptly on a smaller screen.
The story is amongst the better ones, possibly the best I've seen. It focuses on the characters and what they are doing and the human cost. In short it is not quite mindless fun. It's not the Avengers (nothing against the Avengers, I enjoyed it...but that was good mindless fun with nothing to say). The director and writers appear to have something to say about this brave new world we are living in and how we got there.
The villain, portrayed by Javier Bardem, manages to scare the bejeesus out of me. No one does villains better than Bardem. No one. And his villain...is a sort of dark mirror to Bond, an anti-Bond. The former super-agent that went bad. And his entrance is the best entrance I've seen to date of a villain in a Bond film. It's all in the dialogue. He enters with little aplomb...or fan-fair. And his performance isn't as over-the-top as one might think. I was expecting something different. What I got, I found frightening and disturbing. What he says in his opening monologue which is a great piece of writing...and a great way to introduce a villain...is chilling. Very quickly he explains exactly why the beautiful Severin is frightened of him and hopes Bond can kill him, before he kills her.
Bardem peels back the layers...he tells Bond that he is M's creation. She created him, she created them both. Both of them were rats that she turned into killers - who now eat and destroy each other. Meanwhile M is desperately defending her actions to the Ministers...defending what MI6 does...we have to fight this battle in the shadows. We need trained killers to defend us against killers...we need to create monsters to fight monsters...yet, all the while, you can see she's questioning everything she says - this is a testament to the great Judi Dench's skills as an actress. She displays steel and vulnerability at the same time.
And what casting...as M is being "retired"...we learn her successor is Montgomer, another M, portrayed by another piece of Brit Royalty...Ralph Fiennes.
There are shout-outs to old vintage Bond, the BMT...or original Bently...that Scean Connery and Roger Moore drove with its bullets. The name exchange... "Bond, James Bond". The fitness tests - which remind one of Scean Connery's last Bond film..."Never Say Never Again", and the reference to the "exploding pen". We also learn in this film the origin tale of the indomitable "Miss Moneypenny" - who is far more feminist and less sexist version, and the indomitable "M".
In an odd way...the film acts as a sort of prequel to Doctor No. It tells us...that the Bond films from Dalton through Craig are in a way the prequels for the Connery and Moore films. Or the films with Dench prequelled the 1960s films.
It also is beautifully framed - we have the alleged death of a major character at the beginning of the arc, and the actual death of a major character at the end. Nice. And in both cases the character dies as the result of an accidental bullet or a ricochet...it's not the villain who kills them. Depicting how dangerous this game of shadows is, and how deadly. That friendly fire is often the killer.
Javier Bardeem's villain gets this across as well. M makes a decision...for the better of Queen and Country, thinking of Bardeem's agent as expendable, a hacker who was skimming, and here was an excellent chance to get rid of him. Yet, that's not what happened. And instead she created a monster. And it is a commentary on Bond as well - who is dangerous. As well as the Jason Bourne films. What happens when these guys go rogue? When you can no longer control the weapon you created?
I don't know how well this film works for people who aren't familiar with the Bond genre. In some respects it would be like seeing The Avengers or Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings or Star Trek, without being a fan of any of them or liking that sort of thing.
On a side note? Or rather a musical note? For Bond films are known for their songs and music. Who doesn't love "Live and Let Die" or "Goldfinger? That said? I didn't like the song by Adele as much as I expected to. She does sound quite a bit like the classic Bond singers of the 60s, such as Shirley Bassy. But the song Skyfall is neither hummable or memorable. Oscar fodder, it's not. Adele sings it well though. She has a great voice...just not an interesting one.
I do love the Bond theme music ...which is hinted at in the beginning and slowly becomes more and more prevalent throughout the film...until towards the end when it is quite recognizable.
Also how they do the credits is interesting...and the images of death and water. And what dancing with death feels like. Ending the film, as opposed to starting it...with the traditional red bullet shot.
But both of these bits may be a bit lost on people who either haven't seen Bond films or don't like them. A bit of backstory? My parents love genre. I was weaned on Westerns, Star Trek, Star Wars, sci-fi, fantasy, noir films, and Bond movies. Genre and Masterpiece theater. Our taste was eclectic.
The theater was packed. And seeing the film required a bit of patience and tolerance. For one thing they had no picture for a bit - this was during the trailers. A few industrious audience members did go and complain, thank god. I couldn't without losing my seat. So they fixed it. Then we saw an hours worth of previews. Seriously...the film was supposed to start at 3:20, it didn't start until closer to 4:20. I don't mind previews...but an hour's worth is a bit much. Even if they are halfway decent. Right now the only previewed films I have any interest in seeing are: Iron Man 3, Les Miz, and The Hobbit. Everything else...I can skip. But no text messaging during the film thank god. It had too much action - so held everyone's attention.
Overall? A great Bond film. And a better than average action film, actually I'd say it was one of the better action films that I've seen.
If you don't like this sort of thing? Skip it. If you do...see it in the movie theater.
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no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 02:54 pm (UTC)I love Judi Dench's M. Craig maybe my favourite Bond, although I haven't really seen any of Moore or Daltons films. I really liked Naomie Harris as Moneypenny. She held her own. I don't agree with those who think just because she chose not to go back to being a field agent that it somehow demeans her character. I like one theory I saw that she is training to become a future M. Bardem is always good. also kudos on them not making Ralph Finnes character a bad guy for no reason. He had no hidden agenda, he was only doing his job.
It was tense, and thrilling and funny at times and heartbreaking at others. I cared when people died and I was never bored, which i was at times during The Avengers. (sorry Joss)
It is best to avoid Die another Day. It is just bad.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-04 12:16 am (UTC)This one made me want to re-watch the Scean Connery Bond films, although I think I agree - I prefer Craig, he is by far my favorite Bond. There's a lot going on behind his eyes and I believe he can and will cold-bloodly kill people, the only other one who could convince me of that was Connery. Both have a panther like feel to them.
Also agree on The Avengers vs. Skyfall. Skyfall was more entertaining and held my attention, the Avengers...I got bored during, too much filler. Skyfall - granted, could have been cut shorter. The chase scenes in the beginning went on too long (keep in mind - I just had sat through an hour's worth of action movie trailers - they are nothing but chase scenes and explosions). But other than that...