853 replies to this topic

[Harry Fawkes]

I know I'm in a minority here but what the heck here goes. I can definitely say that SKYFALL and QUANTUM OF SOLACE are the best Bond movies I have ever seen out of all of them.

SKYFALL Number 1
QOS Number 2

Both soundtracks by Arnold and Newman are also my all time favorites too.

What has this got to do with this thread?

Dunno, just thought I'd share that's all

[S K Y F A L L]

http://www.guardian....mes-bond-review

Thanks- good to see a less show-offy review from them now.

I like his point about Dench playing Smiley- I can actually see that!

Had to stop reading that one, has some spoilers in there. EDIT I should have known.

[Shrublands]

http://www.guardian....mes-bond-review

Thanks- good to see a less show-offy review from them now.

I like his point about Dench playing Smiley- I can actually see that!

Actually, this is from the Observer, not strictly speaking the Guardian.

However, it's good to see the Guardian providing a second, sensible review. This time from Peter Bradshaw. So, that's 3 reviews on the Guardian site now.

http://www.guardian..../skyfall-review

[solace]

Skyfall was simply amazing

[007jamesbond]

nice to hear more positive reviews.......but I read that some fan dislike it because there is lack of action in SF than before......I guess they didn't watch Dr.No or FRWL where action was limited...

[Vauxhall]

I think my feelings about Naomie Harris in "SKYFALL" are pretty obvious, considering some of my past comments on this board.

Having taken the time to read some of your previous comments, as advised, I now see why you'd say a thing like that...

[DamnCoffee]

A review from one of my friends. Fantastic. He's a very hard guy to please, too.

“We’re under attack and you know we need you” croaks M (Judi Dench) in her familiar monotonic sincerity, a trademark sincerity that’s granted Judi Dench with being the hardest, ball busting M to grace the now 50 year franchise. We do need Bond, not least after Marc Forster’s bumbling, unenthusiastic shrug of a filmQuantum Of Solace. Audiences undoubtedly left the screening to the aforementioned disaster wondering if there had indeed been a verifiable plot. While it’s eco-villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) is left for dead in the middle of a desert, we’re already drinking the can of oil so graciously thrown to our feet by the ever-steely 007.

Enter Sam Mendes. Enter Skyfall. One could look deeper into M’s callous delivery and see it as a message to Sam Mendes himself, him being the one bringing Bond back onto solid ground from his underground reservoirs and sky diving shenanigans. The central underlying theme of Skyfall becomes evident through the discovery of M’s secrets. With the film’s opening operation going south, names of British agents and their identities are stolen and released into the world. M must be getting rusty. Precisely the thoughts of Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) playing the scrutinising alter-authority figure sent to investigate and evaluate M’s usefulness in a modern world of intrigue and secrecy.

M’s confidence in her idealism keeps the main majority of the films vast running time bursting with an overwhelming sense of sadness and insecurity in a moving society. In addition to this, Bond’s loyalty to M is insecure. The deep relationship and professional understanding between Bond and M is current throughout the entire film. Out to disturb this mother-son relationship is Silva (Javier Bardem), an ex-agent with a psychotic, almost Freudian eroticism for the destruction of M. Silva steals the scenes with similar amounts of menace that Heath Ledger created with his performance as The Joker, not to mention the attention to similar body disfigurement. The array of performances and the attention to the character’s determination is what creates a thoroughly well-paced drama with a screen melting amount of spectacle to shame the entire Brosnan Bond era.

Crafting a relationship drama beneath a furore of spectacle and exoticism was Mendes’ greatest achievement, an idea he claims influenced by the king of clever blockbusters Christopher Nolan. “What Nolan proved was that you can make a huge movie that is thrilling and entertaining and has a lot to say about the world we live in”. It isn’t entirely hard to notice the influences gained from the Brit-American director. The scenery almost flirts with its audience. A set piece on the top floor of a Shanghai sky scraper oozes amounts of cool unreachable with the Tokyo punch em’ up in The Dark Knight. Silva’s desolate island almost mirrors Nolan’s interpretation of limbo from Inception.

Missing from Quantum but present and correct inSkyfall, the script is peerless. Whereas Casino Royale delivered the origin of Bond, John Logan does his duty to ground the other well-known characters pre-Daniel Craig era. The writer invests time in the characters while also making every encounter dryly hilarious, a humour not matched since Roger Moore’s innuendo-ridden spy. Q (Ben Whishaw) is not yet as untrusting as Desmond Llewelyn’s hair wrenchingly agitated Q yet hints towards said untrustworthiness are made. Eve’s (Naomie Harris) origins are hinted at (and revealed) in the flirty, sex-infused encounters with Bond.

It’s something to be treasured when such a long standing franchise keeps giving more. Under Mendes’ direction, we’re given an unflinchingly honest story of three characters intertwined with dark pasts. It’s real, believable, (not to mention outright hilarious) and tear inducing

“007, reporting for duty”.

Rating - ★★★★★

Edited by DamnCoffee, 30 October 2012 - 01:24 PM.

[DR76]

From the blog of a guy named Phil Dodd:

"We have moved from a Bond world in which the highest authority is held by a woman, a strong female figure to one in which the MI6 is run again by the old boy network from a room in which you wouldn’t be surprised to find Bertie Wooster. The men are back in charge and the women are secretaries again. Thank God for that."

This is one of the main reasons why "SKYFALL" turns me off.

[Harry Fawkes]

Can someone explain why the producers decided to open SKYFALL without the traditional gun-barrel sequence.

What's with 'relegating' it to the very end?

I can understand why Casino Royal didn't (He wasn't the Bond we know yet).

I can appreciate that QOS was Bond coming full circle at the end and therefore becoming 'OO7', hence the gun-barrel sequence indicating that the Bond we know and have grown up with (most of us at least) is back in action.

But relegating it once more to the end in SKYFALL?

Has it got something to do with the fact that Sony has their fingers in the pie (?????)

What are the producers trying to convey - if they're trying to convey something, that is.

Is there ultimately a reason or is it simply because they don't give a damn where the hell the Gun-Barrel is put, like perhaps most fans.

But then, isn't the gun-barrel just as significant as the James Bond theme in a James Bond movie (which is, thankfully, prevalent throughout in some wonderful arrangement or other in all Bond movies)?

Now I know a lot of CBn members and Bond fans out there probably don't give a where the gun-barrel is placed and good luck to them.

But then I also know there are an equal amount of members and fans out there who do and (I am not embarrassed to say it) like me probably held their breath when the Lion ceased to roar and the screen went black and silent for a few seconds, only to open up with just a sharp hint of the signature tune but devastatingly (for me at least) without the gun-barrel dots (not that such a scene wasn't effective or insignificant mind - on the contrary, I thought it was fab).

So, to my original question: After 20 great Bond movies opening up with it, across the span of over 40 years, why the not have it on this one: the fifty year anniversary Bond movie???

Would appreciate your thoughts and comments if any.

Harry Fawkes

[The Shark]

Can someone explain why the producers decided to open SKYFALL without the traditional gun-barrel sequence.

Because they wanted a slow dramatic build-up, in terms of both music, pacing and light. Otherwise the shot of Bond walking out into the Istanbul wouldn't have the same effect.

[Harry Fawkes]

Thanks Shark. Good answer and clear perspective but it still numbed it up for me to an extent. I don't know but it felt like having my favorite cocktail without a specific ingredient (if that makes any sense). Personally I think it would have complemented the scene significantly. But once again thanks for your thoughts on it.

[Harry Fawkes]

I hope I'm allowed to reproduce something I read without getting into trouble. Please forgive me if I breach any rules by copying this part of a review by SFX which sums it up beautifully in my opinion:

“Is there any of the old 007 left?” asks Raoul Silva, the pansexual supervillain of Skyfall, brought to the screen in a masterclass of bug-eyed camp by Javier Bardem.
It’s a question that stalks the superspy’s 50th anniversary adventure. For all the pre-release chatter of this being “Bond with a capital B”, steeped in “a magical Goldfinger feel”, it’s a film that fights surprisingly shy of the franchise’s time-honoured rites. There’s no world-throttling masterplan, no monstrously memorable henchman, no final-reel tumble with the leading lady. The immortal gadgets are now nostalgic museum pieces, our unshakable hero a man haunted by “unresolved childhood trauma”. Tellingly, it’s another Bond film that refuses to open with the crowd-baiting promise of the gunbarrel walk and its attendant swaggering fanfare. Always a sacred part of the Bond ritual, its absence declares this to be one birthday bash that refuses to be caged by the past.

But please don't get me wrong - I still consider SKYFALL to be one of the best Bond movies I've seen so far - if not the best!

[quantumofsolace]

http://www.derbyshir...-hype-1-5076623

[Colombo]

Still waiting (impatiently) to catch SKYFALL and have managed to avoid major spoilers, but still couldn't resist getting a feeler on the reviews out there. Been keeping an eye on Rotten Tomatoes:

http://www.rottentom....com/m/skyfall/

And even though it's 8 days till the US premiere, with only 72 reviews in so far it is "Certified Fresh" with a 94% positive rating.

For those lucky enough to have seen it (counting the hours till the 9th ) what do think SKYFALL's chances of equaling or surpassing Casino Royale's 95% score, in actual if not perceived quality?

[JazzyBond]

By my math 8 more positive reviews with no poor ones thrown in and we should hit 95. When Skyfall hits the US I think the reviews will be very favorable for the ones that have not already reviewed the film (ie. Entertainment Weekly etc).

[Harry Fawkes]

Just got back from seeing it again an hour ago. F*** It was better than the first time I saw it. Craig is fantastic as Bond (Full circle and more), the story is great, the characters are brilliant, the direction is pure magic and the music is literally captivating. SKYFALL is 10 times better than Casino Royal.

Well ing done EON and all the team!!!!

Worth both visits to the cinema by a mile :-)

[thecasinoroyale]

Great to hear you second viewing was beter Harry!

Good reviews and opinions still out there too!

[SecretAgentFan]

From the blog of a guy named Phil Dodd:

"We have moved from a Bond world in which the highest authority is held by a woman, a strong female figure to one in which the MI6 is run again by the old boy network from a room in which you wouldn’t be surprised to find Bertie Wooster. The men are back in charge and the women are secretaries again. Thank God for that."

This is one of the main reasons why "SKYFALL" turns me off.

My opinion is this: I don´t see the ending of SKYFALL at all as a sign for the "old boy network" with "men back in charge and women secretaries again".

In fact, it is a woman who is in charge during the enquiry, striving to put M out of service. Mallory does not seem to be part of the "old boy network" at all, he actually is similar to Bond, having a distinct "follow-your-own-instincts"-perspective, encouraging others to not follow orders. And Eve is far from the "oh, I´m just a secretary"-type. Like Mallory she knows exactly what´s going on in the field and has made her choice to move into the assistant role, with Mallory appreciating her ideas.

The quote from this blog IMO is just polemics, either deliberately misunderstanding what´s on the screen or misjudging it completely.

[Pussfeller]

From the blog of a guy named Phil Dodd:

"We have moved from a Bond world in which the highest authority is held by a woman, a strong female figure to one in which the MI6 is run again by the old boy network from a room in which you wouldn’t be surprised to find Bertie Wooster. The men are back in charge and the women are secretaries again. Thank God for that."

This is one of the main reasons why "SKYFALL" turns me off.

Why? Because people are free to interpret it in any way they please? I invite you to name a Bond film that is resistant to dubious interpretations. In fact, name any text, in any medium, that can't be abused to serve any conceivable purpose. If some twerp wants to see SF as a patriarchal parable, that's his right. You could say the same about Goldfinger. And just imagine how Archie Bunker must have interpreted Live and Let Die.

[quantumofsolace]

http://www.telegraph...ond-russia.html

[MkB]

You could say the same about Goldfinger.

That's putting it mildly!

On the other hand, I'd be curious to see some twerp abusing Goldfinger to make it sound like a feminist, gay-friendly allegory. Now that would be interesting...

[Colombo]

Still waiting (impatiently) to catch SKYFALL and have managed to avoid major spoilers, but still couldn't resist getting a feeler on the reviews out there. Been keeping an eye on Rotten Tomatoes:

http://www.rottentom....com/m/skyfall/

And even though it's 7 days till the US premiere, with only 72 reviews in so far it is "Certified Fresh" with a 94% positive rating.

For those lucky enough to have seen it (counting the hours till the 9th ) what do think SKYFALL's chances of equaling or surpassing Casino Royale's 95% score, in actual if not perceived quality?

[jamie00007]

I'd say its chances are good. Every time the rating drops another bunch of rave reviews come in and it goes back up. Its back up to 95% now with 76 reviews.

What Im liking most about Skyfall on RT though isnt the score, but the reviews themselves. The "fresh" reviews are almost all extremely positive. Compared with QoS which ended up on 64% Fresh but many of those fresh reviews were borderline. And so far even the few "rotten" reviews Skyfall has are good reviews, I have no idea how a rating of 3/5 and another one with a 'B' could possibly qualify as "rotten".

[The Shark]

Why do people care about the tomato-meter? It should be about quality, not quantity.

[SecretAgentFan]

Absolutely. It´s so high school-ish: "hey, the majority loves it therefore I´m happy about it!"

[Dustin]

Agreed. The tomatometre is mainly interesting for the accountants who have to estimate how fast the invested cash comes rolling back. Watch it for yourself, make up your own minds whether you like it or not.

[jamie00007]

With those attitudes whats the point of reviews at all? Whats the point of coming to forums like this to read other peoples opinions?

The tomato-metre is a useful tool. Most people read reviews to see if a movie is worth seeing or not or to get recommendations. And the consensus of 100 professional critics is a lot more useful than one. I've seen many movies that would otherwise not have crossed my radar because of it and saved money by avoiding a few turkeys. Most recently RT made me change my plans to see Taken 2 to seeing Frankenweenie instead. A decision I certainly dont regret.

[quantumofsolace]

http://www.telegraph...ine-review.html

[Dustin]

With those attitudes whats the point of reviews at all? Whats the point of coming to forums like this to read other peoples opinions?

I didn't argue against reading reviews in general, I refute the idea of them forming my opinion of something in advance. And indeed I avoided SKYFALL reviews until I've seen the film myself.

The tomato-metre is a useful tool. Most people read reviews to see if a movie is worth seeing or not or to get recommendations. And the consensus of 100 professional critics is a lot more useful than one. I've seen many movies that would otherwise not have crossed my radar because of it and saved money by avoiding a few turkeys. Most recently RT made me change my plans to see Taken 2 to seeing Frankenweenie instead. A decision I certainly dont regret.

All good and fine, but you can hardly be sure you wouldn't have enjoyed TAKEN 2 also, can you? Of course reviews are useful to help you finding what you want to see. But I'd still rather see for myself if something agrees with my tastes than letting a review - or hundreds of them - make the decision for me.

And life to me isn't solely about just seeing the very best films. At times I also need to watch a damp squib, just so I can appreciate the better ones more. That said I wouldn't feel obliged to watch the nth iteration of franchise/series XYZ, just because I need to see the corpse decaying for myself.

[JCRendle]

I have no idea how a rating of 3/5 and another one with a 'B' could possibly qualify as "rotten".

It's the tone of the review, not the final score.