Even though people have told me that I needed to watch this film (ever since it first came out) and the reviews were very positive, it still took me some time to finally give in. After engaging in the horrible action-overdose that was Quantum of Solace, coupled with some seriously bad memories from the Pierce Brosnan years, I had pretty much given up on all things Bond. A viewing of the equally amazing Casino Royale remake sparked my interest once more, but it is Skyfall that makes me actually want to pony up more money for the franchise.
In Skyfall, we find Bond missing and presumed dead after a failed mission. After some time away contemplating the reasons he does what he does, James finally returns, though in less than top form. He is, after all, getting older and older and, as one character points out during the film “it’s a young man’s game”. But Bond persists and sets out to catch the guys that stole a hard drive containing the identities of
The secret to success for this film is unarguably director Sam Mendes. Known for such great flicks as American Beauty, Road to Perdition and The Kite Runner, Mendes brings something to the Bond franchise that it has rarely seen - directorial excellence. The visuals are striking, the action scenes are (aside from one digression at the start of the film) realistic and engaging, the characters are well-developed and well-acted and the script doesn’t suffer from the usual load of Bond-ism that have come to be cliché even within their own franchise. And the presence of Javier Bardem as the main bad guy… anyone who’s seen No Country for Old Men knows that this guy can be seriously evil when he wants to be.
It’s been some time since I’ve gone back to watch the old Sean Connery run of Bond, so it’s hard to be completely accurate on this, but I’d say that Skyfall is my favorite Bond film of all time. The folks at Rotten Tomatoes tend to agree with me and the movie made #5 overall out of every Bond movie made (bringing in a decent 92/85% rating). If you’ve given up on Bond like I did, now is time to go back. This film will blow you out of the water.
Photo Credits -
Skyfall courtesy of fanpop.com
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