Dodging newspaper and podcast reviews as well as YouTube trailers is fairly easy but it's more difficult to avoid spoilers when a preview is shown ONE MINUTE BEFORE THE FILM STARTS. Twats. Anyway, onto the film itself. Skyfall is Daniel Craig's third Bond effort but not his best - Casino Royale still holds that mantle. It's hard to talk about this movie without bringing the previous two in as comparisons, but I'll try.
I enjoyed Skyfall but rather less than I had imagined I would. I think one of the reasons was the storyline, which seemed a bit old hat. Without giving too much away, the villain (a brilliantly camp Javier Bardem) seems based on Sean Bean's character in Goldeneye. Bondies will get the reference. The M-centric part of the plot worked in a kind of oedipal, 'mummies boys' sort of way, with both Bond and Bardem's Silva hovering around Judi Dench, albeit with different motives. But the MacGuffin that begins the film buggers off halfway through, leaving the emotive, character-based stuff to take hold. There are many nods and winks to Bond of old and even one or two corny lines, which hark back to Roger Moore's stint and these are generally well handled.
The action set pieces are fine (though not as exciting as in Casino Royale or even the plane crash in Quantum of Solace), with a special mention for the Istanbul sequence. The DOP was Roger Deakins and he is as classy as usual here, shooting on digital.
The performances are very good all round with Bardem a stand-out. He has a great introduction monologue, shot in a very teasing way. His scenes with Daniel Craig are creepy and funny and he seems to be playing it just this side of hysterical. Craig is really growing into the suit, grizzling into it sometimes and Judi Dench has a lot more to do here than in previous Bond films but she's an old pro. She handles it all with dignity. Ralph Fiennes could act with only his little fingers if need be, so no worries there. Naomi Harris was the requisite sassy and Ben Whishaw as Q was OK, as was Albert Finney in a minor, but important role. My only gripe was that Berenice Marlohe was so unceremoniously dispatched but this is a script point, not performance issue. I guess M was the "Bond girl" in this one, no room for anyone else.
On a nerdy note, I stumbled upon a blog that talks about the paintings in Skyfall (above) and their significance to the story and characters. Pretty interesting reading.
The performances are very good all round with Bardem a stand-out. He has a great introduction monologue, shot in a very teasing way. His scenes with Daniel Craig are creepy and funny and he seems to be playing it just this side of hysterical. Craig is really growing into the suit, grizzling into it sometimes and Judi Dench has a lot more to do here than in previous Bond films but she's an old pro. She handles it all with dignity. Ralph Fiennes could act with only his little fingers if need be, so no worries there. Naomi Harris was the requisite sassy and Ben Whishaw as Q was OK, as was Albert Finney in a minor, but important role. My only gripe was that Berenice Marlohe was so unceremoniously dispatched but this is a script point, not performance issue. I guess M was the "Bond girl" in this one, no room for anyone else.
On a nerdy note, I stumbled upon a blog that talks about the paintings in Skyfall (above) and their significance to the story and characters. Pretty interesting reading.
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