Monday 12 November 2012

Today's Review: Skyfall


Bond is back, and moodier than ever. The latest instalment in Daniel Craig's humanised Bond story is probably one of the most interesting that I've seen, taking the time to explore some of the past of some key characters in the franchise.

Instead of concerning a plot to take over the world, Skyfall presents us with the villain, Silva (Javier Bardem) threatening a very personal attack on MI6 itself. While seeming perhaps a little silly at first, Silva turns out to be a very formidable and cunning opponent who always seems one step ahead. Forget "I've been expecting you, Mr. Bond", there is some very unexpected stuff going on in this movie. But as brilliant as the movie was, it was hard not to make instant comparisons with The Dark Knight's Joker. If you watch it I'm sure you'll pick up on them too. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I still really enjoyed watching the plot unfold, but it does jar the experience somewhat.

As always, though, the meat of the movie lies in the action scenes, and Skyfall delivers perfectly in that respect. Taking place in several exotic locations, there are chases, gun fights, crashes, explosions, every action scene seemed different and exciting, and was always accompanied by some fitting Bond style music. Despite being almost two and a half hours long, I didn't find myself wishing it to be over anytime soon.

Skyfall is certainly a well made movie. There are some awesome action scenes and stunts, coupled with a well thought out villain and a Bond who isn't as perfect as he seems to have been over all these years. This movie does go to some length to bring certain aspects back in line with the Bond movies of old, but when the pieces fall together at the end, there's a sense that it's not quite the same. Now we have a more mature, broken Bond, and I look forward to seeing what happens in the coming movies.

My rating: 5/5

No comments:

Post a Comment