Skyfall

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Ok I've now seen all 25 theatrically released James Bond movies.

Well I was gonna leave it at that because I'm all Bonded out but I'll write some more.

I wrote before about how I didn't like them getting personal with Judi Dench's M. Well this get very personal, not just for her character but for Bond as well. I'm hoping with this film we are well and truly done with the re-booting phase now all the elements are back in place and they can get back into the action adventure side of things, going after Quantum or whoever else.

I miss Bond films that end with a bang. All the Craig ones have been kinda downers. Or at least certainly not action oriented.

Not to say it wasn't good, because it was really great but it's a very different Bond movie. So personal. Filled with backstory. It's strange because I know I saw huge action set pieces but because none of these end that way it feels like I missed out. Judi Dench gets to say the f-word so I guess that makes up for anything. And it definitely leaves you wanting to see what's next. They've got to deliver on the promise of their 3 film prequel set-up now.

Javier Bardem is all kinds of glorious. I think this is the first time they've played up sexual tension between the two male leads to this degree. A lot of fun, even if it's all just for show. We can still dream. 

He has an island secret lair. He's that kind of big villian. And yet it still somehow plays out more plausibly than any of the latter Brosnan films could manage. Even with the Home Alone style ending. That's a big harsh, Straw Dogs is closer, plays less comical...

I love Ben Whishaw.

You know what, I was so intrigued by what a Thomas Newman scored Bond would sound like and perhaps not surprisingly enough, it sounds just like you'd expect a Thomas Newman scored Bond film to sound. I actually don't think it fit it a couple of places, to quirky comedic for the tone of the rest of the film. 

I was surprised to find myself liking the title song much more now that I've seen it in context. Bonds decent into the underworld is beautifully realised in the title sequence and all the imagery from here keeps recurring throughout. Some striking images.

Which brings me to Roger Deakins and his awesome work, shooting digitally again on the Alexa. It should be noted that I saw the film at IMAX digital so I saw the 1.90:1 ratio version. There's a few times you notice the space in the framing but for the most part the compositions still work wonderfully on the big format, but I'll be interested to see it again cropped for scope.

This has got to be one of the most colourfully lit films of the series. And a lot of low light and practical looking sources. It's beautiful. Probably my favourite thing about the film. 

There's quite a lot of nods for fans of the series. some not-so-subtle. The reveal of the car got applause at our screening. "Carplause"we have coined it. Blatant fan-service. And why not? 50 years is cause for celebration.

I think fans might have a tough time with this one. It will entirely depend on what you are expecting from it. Watching it after the frantic last week of catching up on the films has left me in a bit of a Bond blur. I'll wait a while and try and catch it again later when the memories of the previous films aren't foremost in my mind and my knowledge of what the film is rather than what expectations of it informed by said films actually are won't hinder the experience. 

Geez, reading this back it looks like I'm on the fence, but I really really did like it. I want to make that clear. It's awesome. Still it's going to promote a lot of discussion from fans.