Skyfall (2012)

Why so much hype?

Redundant and unnecessary.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This Bond is suited for arthouse movie lovers too! Anyone ofcourse can enjoy it, but this edition is very dear to me, because for the first time adults that love acting are taking seriously and the acting by Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney is to be thanked for that. Topped with the brilliant direction by Sam Mendes.This Bond really went out of its way to make it something really special: it is RAW and REAL. And it has got story twists never seen before in any Bond in all of its history. Really, all cliches went out of the window and everything was up for grabs. Young viewers wont notice ofcourse, but for all those adults who have been watching Bond since the sixties or seventies, this edition is really unique and special.Some highlights: 1 One of the best Bond themes ever performed by the lovely Adele. 2 Photography by mutliple Oscar winner Roger Deakins 3 The return of the greatest bond car ever: the old and glorious aston martin DB5 All in all this Bond has got a feel to it none of all the other modern Bond editions ever have had. The fighting spirit of this movie breathes the energy that it could have been the last Bond ever made. It wasnt the last, but it was one of the very best, if not the best modern Bond ever!

A good Bond movie? Yes. The best Bond movie ever? No. Skyfall gives us more traditional Bond movie moments than its two predecessors do, and it seems like it's attempting to steer the franchise back in that direction - which makes me happy. However, it's very slow and drawn out. They could have cut out a half-hour from Skyfall and it would have been a sharper, better Bond film. Still, I will gladly accept Skyfall into the Bond canon.

Me and my oldest son have been doing a bit of pseudo binge watching of James Bond. Every weekend we have been watching two of the movies starting with Dr. No quite a few weekends ago. Last weekend we arrived at the Daniel Craig ones. I had actually not watched those ones before. I have to, grudgingly (I am a Sean Connery fan), admit that the first two we watched were not at all bad.However, today we watched Skyfall. What the f...? This is not a James Bond movie! If it had been just some other movie I would probably have thought it would not be a too bad one. However, it pretends to be a James Bond movie and as such it is utter crap. It is a bloody Hollywood drama written by someone with a total lack of respect for the Franchise, not to mention the old Bond fans.James Bond should be out hunting international villains. Villains with a good chunk of bad guy charisma I might add. What we got however was some loathsome prick having a grudge because M didn't come to his rescue when he fucked up.The British Secret service should also be just that, a powerful organisation protecting Britain (and the rest of the civilized world) from communists, terrorists, criminal superorganisations like Spectre or whatever. Having scenes with M more or less on trial and having to defend herself in front of a bunch of clueless political asshats is just crap and it is definitely not the kind of crap that should be in a James Bond movie.The whole movie is just full of sensationalist shit, politically correct crap, killing of popular characters, sentimental bullshit and other nonsens of the kind you would expect in a bloody Hollywood soap opera. And what about the new Q? A boring brat with a over-inflated ego. Not fun at all.Even the special effects are debatable. For example, if you make a subway train crash by blowing a hole in it's path then for Christ sake put some crash test dummies or something in it to at least make some pretense of it not being an empty mock-up!This is undoubtedly the worst Bond movie ever. My disappointment with this movie cannot be overstated.

There are three items which make Skyfall worth some credit. First there is the title song. Regardless of whether the lyrics make sense (like all the other bond songs) 'Skyfall' is destined to be a soul classic someday. Second there is Javier Bardem's performance. His bond villain is as deliciously whimsical as he is sinister. Third there is Roger Deakin's cinematography, which compliments all the set pieces with extraordinary light and colour, and subsequent texture.Aside from this, Skyfall is dismissible. The biggest problem is Daniel Craig who plays James Bond with no love. He seems to interpret 007 as a creation of the cold and seclusive espionage world of John le Carré. That wouldn't explain however the way he just shoots back a shot of thousand dollar scotch as if it were a tequila and lime. What happened to your class Mr. Bond?Between the action set pieces, Skyfall is rather ponderous and void of wit or charm. The movie brings in a 'would be' bond girl (with the whole package; lips, legs) only to bump her off a couple scenes later in a way it feels like an attack on the bond girl tradition itself.Skyfall succeeds in dodging most of the gimmicks but fails to capture the highlights of the 007 legacy.