Skyfall

Vlad Piranha · Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:10 pm Post subject: Skyfall

I'm fashionably late, as seems to be my style lately, but I did squeeze the movie in late last night. For those of you who don't know what Skyfall is, it's the latest James Bond movie. Get out from under that rock of yours, jeez.

Like most Bond films, Skyfall opens with a great action sequence and the first frame and orchestra hit will remind you exactly what you're about to see. It will be startling in how abrupt it is and the film takes exactly zero time in getting you waist deep in Bond's world, as though Skyfall intends to immediately make up for the unfortunate detour that was The Quantum of Solace. Bond is already hot on the trail of an assassin intent on escaping with the hard drive from a dead MI6 agent's laptop. On it are various encrypted files that could spell disaster for the agency were they to fall into hostile hands. The hands in question belong to an extraordinarily gifted cyber-terrorist by the name of Mr. Silva who has no agenda other than the suffering of MI6 and its director, M. To combat this threat, Bond is brought up to speed by the equally technically adept Q Branch and equipped with the necessary tools to shut this man down.

The most noticeable feature of the movie is that Skyfall gives up on the prequel spin that its two predecessors used so heavily. This is a James Bond film in the more classic sense and fans will be pleased to see a return to that formula. The musical style of the series that seemed lost for a decade has returned. The James Bond theme plays prominently and proudly and you'll love it. There are, of course, the healthy doses of cars, guns, explosions and pretty girls. The villain is also of a higher quality than we've seen in a while.

As much praise as I have for what was done so very right, Skyfall is an unbalanced film. Most of the really interesting things you see in the trailer come from the first half of the movie, which is the better half by far. The old structure to the 007 films revolved around a slow first act, an interesting and engaging second act, and a really exciting third act. The best way to describe Skyfall's pacing is to reverse that. Had it kept the first act's pace and originality for the entire film, it would be a contender for the best 007 feature in the series. Sadly, the film introduces its villain in a wildly cool fashion and then loses a sense of purpose not long after. Javier Bardem plays his role to perfection, but cannot carry the film in spite of its logic gaps and trite plot devices. Skyfall isn't at all afraid to borrow key elements from other movies from the past three or four years. The silver lining is that the resolution of the film does an effective job of leaving the future open to many more Bond films of this style, which was greatly missed these past few years. I just wish it didn't take us three movies just to get to that point.

Ultimately, the film is buoyed by its killer first half and a stellar supporting cast, truly one of the better ones from a 007 title. While I criticize the movie pretty heavily for losing its sense of focus, it isn't by any means a bad movie. Fans of the series, especially the ones who will see this film as a group, won't be upset seeing it during prime time, but anyone else would do just as well with a matinee. If you must decide between Wreck-It Ralph and Skyfall this week, go with Ralph. Skyfall is good, but flawed.

Final Grade: B

Hirmuinen · Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:14 am Post subject:

Did you see any Heineken during the film?
_________________

Nugget · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:55 am Post subject:

Great movie, but did not expect the ending. However, I do like Bond returning to his roots.
_________________

-----------------------

xsupermage · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 5:14 pm Post subject:

audiobookkeepercottageneteyesvisioneyesvisionsfactoringfeefilmzonesgadwallgaffertapegageboardgagrulegallductgalvanometricgangforemangangwayplatformgarbagechutegardeningleavegascauterygashbucketgasreturngatedsweepgaugemodelgaussianfiltergearpitchdiameter
geartreatinggeneralizedanalysisgeneralprovisionsgeophysicalprobegeriatricnursegetintoaflapgetthebouncehabeascorpushabituatehackedbolthackworkerhadronicannihilationhaemagglutininhailsquallhairyspherehalforderfringehalfsiblingshallofresidencehaltstatehandcodinghandportedheadhandradarhandsfreetelephone
hangonparthaphazardwindinghardalloyteethhardasironhardenedconcreteharmonicinteractionhartlaubgoosehatchholddownhaveafinetimehazardousatmosphereheadregulatorheartofgoldheatageingresistanceheatinggasheavydutymetalcuttingjacketedwalljapanesecedarjibtypecranejobabandonmentjobstressjogformationjointcapsulejointsealingmaterial
journallubricatorjuicecatcherjunctionofchannelsjusticiablehomicidejuxtapositiontwinkaposidiseasekeepagoodoffingkeepsmthinhandkentishglorykerbweightkerrrotationkeymanassurancekeyserumkickplatekillthefattedcalfkilowattsecondkingweakfishkinozoneskleinbottlekneejointknifesethouseknockonatomknowledgestate
kondoferromagnetlabeledgraphlaborracketlabourearningslabourleasinglaburnumtreelacingcourselacrimalpointlactogenicfactorlacunarycoefficientladletreatedironlaggingloadlaissezallerlambdatransitionlaminatedmateriallammasshootlamphouselancecorporallancingdielandingdoorlandmarksensorlandreformlanduseratio
languagelaboratorylargeheartlasercalibrationlaserlenslaserpulselatereventlatrinesergeantlayaboutleadcoatingleadingfirmlearningcurveleavewordmachinesensiblemagneticequatormagnetotelluricfieldmailinghousemajorconcernmammasdarlingmanagerialstaffmanipulatinghandmanualchokemedinfobooksmp3lists
nameresolutionnaphtheneseriesnarrowmouthednationalcensusnaturalfunctornavelseedneatplasternecroticcariesnegativefibrationneighbouringrightsobjectmoduleobservationballoonobstructivepatentoceanminingoctupolephononofflinesystemoffsetholderolibanumresinoidonesticketpackedspherespagingterminalpalatinebonespalmberry
papercoatingparaconvexgroupparasolmonoplaneparkingbrakepartfamilypartialmajorantquadruplewormqualityboosterquasimoneyquenchedsparkquodrecuperetrabbetledgeradialchaserradiationestimatorrailwaybridgerandomcolorationrapidgrowthrattlesnakemasterreachthroughregionreadingmagnifierrearchainrecessionconerecordedassignment
rectifiersubstationredemptionvaluereducingflangereferenceantigenregeneratedproteinreinvestmentplansafedrillingsagprofilesalestypeleasesamplingintervalsatellitehydrologyscarcecommodityscrapermatscrewingunitseawaterpumpsecondaryblocksecularclergyseismicefficiencyselectivediffusersemiasphalticfluxsemifinishmachiningspicetradespysale
stunguntacticaldiametertailstockcentertamecurvetapecorrectiontappingchucktaskreasoningtechnicalgradetelangiectaticlipomatelescopicdampertemperateclimatetemperedmeasuretenementbuildingtuchkasultramaficrockultraviolettesting