Skyfall

[SchumacherFTW]

I liked it a lot. It was structurally and visually daring without forgetting it was still a big franchise movie. I didn't find it camp (apart from intentionally on Bardem's part) and if anything probably would have appreciated a tad more humour. Mendes has talked about TDK being the biggest influence in this movie and it's often very obvious - especially the intercutting montages and relentless score.

I rate it on par with CR and maybe even above after another viewing. Catch it in IMAX if you can, it looks beautiful.

Only negatives were the CGI komodo dragons and the absurd Heiniken placements. The part where M's assistant drinks one while they're tracking Bond was outrageous. The setting of the traps near the end also felt a bit Home Alone-esque, which I'm sure wasn't intentional.

They had a Heineken in that scene? I remember one at the start but thats it.

[Hatebox]

They had a Heineken in that scene? I remember one at the start but thats it.

When Q and the assistant are talking to Bond in the car after he's saved M from the shoot out, her assistant is just necking a Heiniken bottle for no apparent reason. It's hard to feel tension when someone's casually sipping a beer. I saw this at the IMAX and there were a few laughs every time a Heiniken or Vaio placement appeared..

[SchumacherFTW]

Huh, I didn't notice that. I was keeping more of an eye on Q's Scrabble mug

[tawasal]

Amazing movie, watched it on it's premier day on Europe.A

[glassfairy]

A.Not my favourite Bond movie (not even my favourite Craig as Bond movie) but still very well done. I loved the direction, cinematography and score in this movie plus the acting was top notch. GOAT Adele also makes everything better.The quibbles I have with the movie are minor. I felt it maybe dragged a bit at parts and I didn't care for the villain. The main thing I didn't like was a soon as the villain was taken so easily you know that being taken was all part of his plan and waiting for intelligent people to put two and two together makes a movie experience rather exhausting (plus I liked the he-wants-to-be-taken scheme much better when it was Loki in The Avengers).And let us all have a moment of silence for the poor fictional inhabitants of Turkey who have been caught up in the shenanigans in Taken 2 and here again in Skyfall. It's a real pity when people come into your country and have no respect for it and it's people.

[JackO]

In Skyfall, James Bond (Daniel Craig) has to retrieve a stolen list of agents that are getting posted on the web by a criminal mastermind, Silva (Javier Bardem), while M faces a hearing for not only endangering Bond's life but losing the list as well.I guess I should get this out of the way, this is the best Daniel Craig Bond film in the trilogy. It's got heavy duty action, a decent story, and a wonderful villain. At times it felt like a retreat of The Dark Knight, but it came into it's own in the 3rd act. But ti is not without it's issues.Javier Bardem's Silva will no doubt be compared to Joker. His effeminate antics, his hacks that end in jokes, and his maniacal laughter will make you wonder where is the clown makeup. He is the most liveliest part of the film and when it drags, and yes with a 2 hour and 30 minutes runtime and paper thin story, it does drag, he stands out with his entrance music. It's one of the few callbacks to the yesteryear of Bond back in the 90s when he used to be cheesy, before this more serious and somber incarnation.Now, I felt that the story was thick enough for it's runtime. That is probably the most frustrating thing. There were moments where it could have taken that next step and been a great film. Like the cold open for instance. And then it chooses to take the standard blockbuster route. It is very disappointing. I mean I try my best to not impart my opinion on where I think a film should do onto the film while I am watching it. I don't know have anything specific in mind when I say that. It's just felt like the film took the easy way out when it could have dealt with major things.And I swear if I see another film where the main character pretends to die again, I am walking out. This happened in so many films this year (Avengers, TDKR, Wreck it Ralph, Skyfall). What was once a semi-good way to add emotion tot he film is now feeling like a cheap add on put in by studios to cover up flaws of the film.I also felt like the film was really dark. The few fight scenes they had were in pitch black. I mean it looked really cool in one scene with the kind of annoying advertisement but after that, turn on the damned light. Another thing I felt kind of cheated on was that there was no showdown with Silva. Bond just throws a knife in him (kind of reminiscent of TDKR and Miranda). It felt cheap with how build up he is in this movie. That isn't the only place where the film calls back to TDK series, just like first act of TDK, Bond somehow finds himself in China chasing down a guy who would lead him to the guy who stole the list (or in TDK, go to China to chase down the money guy funding the Joker's operation).While it is very derivative, is way too long, and ends disappointingly, it does provide solid action in massive set pieces. Like there is callback to Inception's train but much bigger. And yeah, Skyfall blows up.B/B+EDIT: Just realized there was something missing in my review that is very telling. The Bond Girls. Uh yeah.

Edited November 8, 2012 by JackO

[fmpro]

Saw it last night.. 70% full theater on a wed.. Insane around here. Almost never happens..And i loved it.. A little slow at first, but when JB (Javier that is) stole the screen it took shape and ended up being the best Craig Bond by far and one of the best in 20 years or so..Can´t wait for the next one..

[MrPink]

Loved it. There's a couple of slow stretches but it's my favorite of the Craig films, most importantly because it has a memorable villain. Lots of great humor, solid action scenes, and a personal touch that isn't usually present in Bond films makes this a top 3 Bond film in my book.

[Vanilla]

Javier Bardems for best supporting actor? If it was up to me he'll yea. I loved his character. Awesome film.

[Travod]

Javier Bardems for best supporting actor? If it was up to me he'll yea. I loved his character. Awesome film.

I would so love that.

[AniNate]

I'm not a big Bond fan, and I kinda doubt that will change after seeing this, but it's a solid spy thriller that still has too many slow stretches for my taste. It felt like the movie had only two modes: Slow, talky scenes that sometimes really succeeded in building tension but not always, and abrupt, crazy action setpieces that were often too short to really be satisfying with the exception of the opening and closing scenes. I too would've appreciated a bit more levity to at least make the slower scenes more interesting. Bardem was good but I think he came in a bit late in the game to leave much of an impression. Loved the cinematography and music score.

B+

[BK007]

I didn't even notice any Heineken's casually being sipped.

[Impact]

Skyfall2:40PMOn the biggest screen-about 90% full! This thing was PACKED! Quite a few older people (Well the franchise is 50 years old so yeah)Trailers:Zero Dark Thrity: No reaction. Looks decent.Django (New trailer): Quite a bit of laughs.Last Stand (New trailer): TONS of laughs.Bitter Pill: Never even heard of this till today. Looks...intresting. Some laughs at the rather cheesy tagline.Good Day to Die Hard: Some laughs and people really wanted to see this.Identify Theft: I noticed they changed the Spring 2013 on this. Laughs. Looks okay.Movie: Probably the best Bond. M's character was in it more then ever (Though I think it might be because Dench is getting ready to retire-feel sorry for her right now). The Bond girl was barley in it. Bardem was great. The part by Albert Finney was great. Audience really loved it.A

[mattmav45]

Let's get something out of the way....this is an awesome film.Once Barden arrives, it's the stuff of action legend. The action builds effectively throughout, leading to an absolute insane display of intense, harrowing action for the last half hour. The added depth is the touch that ices the cake in not just a good Bond movie, but something more special.It's quite simply the best movie of the year thus far.A-

Edited November 10, 2012 by mattmav45

[Ozymandias]

Mostly, an incredible film. The only thing I thought that was REALLY missing was the bond girls. The ONLY hot one in the movie was killed off like 10 minutes after she was introduced, which kinda pissed me off.I didn't like the Skyfall song when I listened to it on youtube a week ago, but goddamn, in the theater with theater sound and what it was playing to made it awesome. LOVED the opening credits.A-

[Jack Nevada]

The sex was missing entirely from this film

[Impact]

BTW-the old guy was Albert Finney in a role I am most certain was meant for Connery-but Connery was retired so yeah.

[CoolioD1]

BTW-the old guy was Albert Finney in a role I am most certain was meant for Connery-but Connery was retired so yeah.

I'm glad Connery didn't do it. That would've been crazy distracting.

[MrPink]

I'm glad Connery didn't do it. That would've been crazy distracting.

Crazy distracting....but crazy awesome. The 'Welcome to Scotland' line delivered by Connery would have probably killed me, straight up

[Hatebox]

Mendes said he toyed with having Connery in that role for about 2 seconds, but never seriously considered it. Probably a wise move.