When Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it’s up to Bond, aided only by field agent Eve, to locate the mastermind behind the attack.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- James Bond: Daniel Craig
- M: Judi Dench
- Silva: Javier Bardem
- Gareth Mallory: Ralph Fiennes
- Eve Moneypenny: Naomie Harris
- Séverine: Bérénice Marlohe
- Kincade: Albert Finney
- Q: Ben Whishaw
- Bill Tanner: Rory Kinnear
- Patrice: Ola Rapace
- Clair Dowar: Helen McCrory
- Doctor Hall: Nicholas Woodeson
- Ronson: Bill Buckhurst
- Vanessa: Elize du Toit
- MI6 Technician: Ian Bonar
- M’s Driver: Gordon Milne
- Vauxhall Bridge Police Guard: Peter Basham
- Vauxhall Bridge Police Guard: Ben Loyd-Holmes
- Bond’s Lover: Tonia Sotiropoulou
- CNN News Anchor: Wolf Blitzer
- Shanghai Barman: Orion Lee
- Shanghai Art Collector: Dave Wong
- Séverine’s Bodyguard: Roger Yuan
- Séverine’s Bodyguard: Liang Yang
- Floating Dragon Cashier: Yennis Cheung
- Floating Dragon Floor Manager: Chooye Bay
- Boat Captain: Milorad Kapor
- BBC News Anchor: Huw Edwards
- Boat Crew: Elio Lo Tauro
- Boat Crew: Amir Boutrous
- Boat Crew: Nicholas Goh
- Q’s Assistant: Kurt Egyiawan
- Q’s Assistant: Oliver Johnstone
- Q’s Assistant: Harry Kershaw
- Inquiry Member: Burt Caesar
- Inquiry Member: Crispin Letts
- Inquiry Member: Beatrice Curnew
- Whitehall Police Guard: Jim Conway
- Silva’s Henchman: Jens Hultén
- Silva’s Henchman: Michael Pink
- Wife at Tube Station: Jo Cameron Brown
- Husband at Tube Station: Anthony O’Donnell
- Tube Driver: Hannah Stokely
- Silva’s Mercenary: Wayne Gordon
- Silva’s Mercenary: Tom Wu
- Silva’s Mercenary: Jake Fairbrother
- Silva’s Mercenary: Christopher Sciueref
- Silva’s Mercenary: Daniel Adegboyega
- Silva’s Mercenary: Selva Rasalingam
- Casino Player / Train Passenger (uncredited): Steve Barnett
- Armed Police Officer (uncredited): Lee Nicholas Harris
- MI6 Agent: Duncan Casey
- Floating Dragon Barmaid: Angela Tran
Film Crew:
- Original Music Composer: Thomas Newman
- Director: Sam Mendes
- Casting Consultant: Debra Zane
- Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
- Camera Operator: Roger Deakins
- Screenplay: John Logan
- Production Design: Dennis Gassner
- Editor: Stuart Baird
- Characters: Ian Fleming
- Makeup Artist: Sallie Jaye
- CG Supervisor: Colin Strause
- CG Supervisor: Greg Strause
- Stunts: Tina Maskell
- Costume Design: Jany Temime
- Stunts: Lucy Allen
- Casting: Debbie McWilliams
- Producer: Barbara Broccoli
- Stunts: Talila Craig
- ADR Editor: Anna MacKenzie
- Sound Designer: Dino Dimuro
- Sound Designer: Christopher Assells
- Supervising Sound Editor: Per Hallberg
- Draughtsman: John King
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Greg P. Russell
- Screenplay: Robert Wade
- Screenplay: Neal Purvis
- Executive Producer: Callum McDougall
- Supervising Art Director: Chris Lowe
- Draughtsman: Julia Dehoff
- Draughtsman: Roxana Alexandru
- Art Direction: Paul Inglis
- Associate Producer: Gregg Wilson
- Producer: Michael G. Wilson
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Lisa Kelly
- Storyboard Artist: Jane Clark
- Art Direction: James Foster
- Main Title Designer: Daniel Kleinman
- Camera Operator: Burak Kanbir
- Camera Operator: Tolga Kutlar
- Theme Song Performance: Adele
- Gaffer: Ali Salim Yaşar
- Camera Operator: Peter Field
- Art Direction: Jason Knox-Johnston
- Art Direction: Dean Clegg
- Art Direction: Neal Callow
- Costume Supervisor: Funda Buyuktunalioglu
- Songs: Paul Epworth
- Still Photographer: François Duhamel
- Makeup Artist: Wakana Yoshihara
- Art Direction: Marc Holmes
- Assistant Costume Designer: Joe Hobbs
- Additional Casting: Tusse Lande
- Makeup Artist: Donald Mowat
- Makeup Artist: Alessandro Bertolazzi
- Additional Casting: Annette Borgmann
- Construction Coordinator: Catherine Haugh
- Assistant Art Director: Andrew Bennett
- Property Master: Jamie Wilkinson
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Hugh Macdonald
- Boom Operator: Orin Beaton
- Foley Artist: Dan O’Connell
- Script Supervisor: Jayne-Ann Tenggren
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Scott Millan
- Foley Artist: John T. Cucci
- Visual Effects Producer: Philip Greenlow
- Visual Effects Producer: Diane Kingston
- Dialogue Editor: John C. Stuver
- Draughtsman: Gregory Fangeaux
- Camera Operator: Julian Morson
- Additional Gaffer: Eddie Knight
- Assistant Art Director: Helen Xenopoulos
- Camera Operator: Clive Jackson
- Script Supervisor: Susie Jones
- Still Photographer: Jasin Boland
- Still Photographer: Susie Allnutt
- Camera Operator: Tony Jackson
- Visual Effects Producer: Thomas Nittmann
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Edson Williams
- Sound Effects Editor: Bill R. Dean
- Visual Effects Editor: Andy Stevens
- Visual Effects Producer: Carrie Rishel
- Underwater Director of Photography: Mike Valentine
- Supervising Sound Editor: Karen Baker Landers
- Sound Designer: Peter Staubli
- Aerial Director of Photography: John Marzano
- Aerial Director of Photography: Adam Dale
- Dialogue Editor: Chris Hogan
- Sound Effects Editor: Dan Hegeman
- Supervising ADR Editor: Chris Jargo
- Visual Effects Editor: Mark Edward Wright
- Visual Effects Producer: Melinka Thompson-Godoy
- Steadicam Operator: Pete Cavaciuti
- Rigging Gaffer: Wayne Leach
- Supervising ADR Editor: Simon Chase
- Visual Effects Producer: Kristopher Wright
- CG Supervisor: Martin Chamney
- Digital Intermediate Producer: Rob Farris
- Camera Operator: Karl Morgan
- Makeup Designer: Naomi Donne
- Digital Intermediate: Patrick Malone
- Art Department Coordinator: Anna Skrein
- Animation: Andrew McEvoy
- Visual Effects Editor: Sam Lane
- Digital Intermediate: Laurent Treherne
- Script Supervisor: Sharon Mansfield
- Hair Designer: Zoe Tahir
- Visual Effects Editor: Laura Jennings
- 3D Artist: Fabio Zangla
- Makeup Artist: Christine Allsopp
- 3D Artist: Laurent-Paul Robert
- 2D Supervisor: Ed Hawkins
- Storyboard Artist: Martin Asbury
- Prosthetics: Love Larson
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Asregadoo Arundi
- 3D Supervisor: Bruno Baron
- Makeup Artist: Luca Vannella
- Extras Casting: Pinar Celik
- First Assistant Sound Editor: Philip D. Morrill
- Armorer: Richard Hooper
- Key Set Costumer: Sunny Rowley
- Construction Manager: Steve Bohan
- Key Grip: John Flemming
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Mark Webb
- Key Set Costumer: Laurent Guinci
- Assistant Costume Designer: Vivienne Jones
- Armorer: Dave Evans
- Additional Casting: Zoe Thompson
- Head Carpenter: Paul Duff
- Casting Assistant: Lucy Hellier
- Assistant Costume Designer: Richard Davies
- Armorer: Greg Corke
- Visual Effects Producer: Leslie Lerman
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Steven Begg
- 2D Supervisor: Zave Jackson
- Foley Mixer: James Ashwill
- Sound Recordist: Stuart Wilson
- Key Set Costumer: Kevin Pratten
- Assistant Editor: Mike Clark-Hall
- Animation: Paul Lee
- Key Grip: Kenneth Atherfold
- Makeup Artist: Andrea Finch
- Stunts: Angela Meryl
- Casting Assistant: Shayna Markowitz
- Makeup Artist: Morag Smith
- Concept Artist: Corran Brownlee
- Concept Artist: Arran Brownlee
- Visual Effects Supervisor: John Paul Docherty
- Stunts: Liang Yang
- Digital Intermediate: Laura Pavone
- Digital Intermediate Assistant: Aurora Shannon
- Supervising Carpenter: Peter N. Brown
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Lara Lom
- Concept Artist: Chris Baker
- Art Department Assistant: Archie Campbell-Baldwin
- Aerial Coordinator: Lucia Foster Found
- Draughtsman: Tim Browning
- Key Grip: Gary Hymns
- Storyboard Artist: John Davis
- Pilot: Will Samuelson
- Stunts: Géza Kovács
- Stunts: Sian Milne
- Stunts: Belinda McGinley
- Animation: Dimitri Bakalov
- CG Supervisor: Axel Akesson
- CG Supervisor: Sheldon Stopsack
- Costume Coordinator: Sanaz Missaghian
- Boom Operator: Hasan Sayin
- 3D Artist: Thomas Biller
- Digital Intermediate: Neil Harrison
- Construction Buyer: Tracy Low
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Samantha Townend
- CG Supervisor: Pascal Loef
- Lead Animator: Tom O’Flaherty
- Marine Coordinator: Ian Creed
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Genevieve Claire
- Draughtsman: Emma Vane
- Supervising Carpenter: Gavin Gordon
- Assistant Costume Designer: Emily-Rose Yiaxis
- CG Supervisor: Richard A.M. Bell
- Foley Mixer: John Guentner
- 2D Supervisor: Michael Brazelton
- Concept Artist: Chris Rosewarne
- Makeup Artist: Pollyanna Coxon-Smith
- Assistant Art Director: Mary Mackenzie
- Assistant Art Director: Charlotte Leatherland
- Set Dresser: Harley Wilkinson
- Storyboard Artist: Jim Cornish
- Storyboard Artist: John Davies
- Supervising Carpenter: John Casey
- Supervising Carpenter: Graham Cole
- Supervising Carpenter: Martin Hammerton
- Supervising Carpenter: Bernie Mayor
- Supervising Carpenter: John O’Connor
- 2D Supervisor: Steve J. Sanchez
- 2D Supervisor: Jason M. Halverson
- 2D Supervisor: John J. Galloway
- 2D Supervisor: Matthew Packham
- 3D Artist: Gabor Ekes
- 3D Artist: Christopher Anciaume
- 3D Artist: Yakov Baytler
- 3D Artist: Miguel Bilbao
- 3D Artist: Carl Fairweather
- 3D Artist: Marieke Franzen
- 3D Artist: Howard Fuller
- 3D Artist: Ahmed Gharraph
- 3D Artist: Sebastien Haure
- 3D Artist: Byung Gun Jung
- 3D Artist: Owen McGonigle
- 3D Artist: Malcolm Neailey
- 3D Artist: Michael Prince
- 3D Artist: Ed Pulis
- 3D Artist: Jonathan Reilly
- 3D Artist: John Seru
- 3D Artist: Ross Stansfield
- 3D Artist: Nick van Diem
- 3D Artist: Christopher Whittle
- 3D Artist: Bret Lu
- 3D Artist: Dzung Phung Dinj
- 3D Artist: Petter Steen
- 3D Artist: Roger Tortosa
- 3D Artist: Chi Kwong Lo
- 3D Artist: Gal Roiter
- CG Supervisor: Helen Newby
- CG Supervisor: David Basalla
- CG Supervisor: Nick Pitt-Owen
- Matchmove Supervisor: Ryan E. Seymour
- Matte Painter: Richard Collis
- Matte Painter: Jean-David Solon
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Michelle Rose
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Sara Khangaroot
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Emma Moffat
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Holly Price
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Clare Mayhew
- Visual Effects Editor: Simon Gretton
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Jonathan Neill
- Camera Operator: Ercan Yilmaz
- Aerial Camera: Emmanuel Prévinaire
- Costume Illustrator: Warren Holder
- Textile Artist: Nicola Belton
- Textile Artist: Sacha Chandisingh
- Textile Artist: Joanna Weaving
- Additional Casting: Timka Grin
- Assistant Editor: Myles Robey
- Digital Intermediate Assistant: Peter Collins
- Digital Intermediate Colorist: Adam Glasman
- Digital Intermediate Colorist: Mitch Paulson
- Digital Intermediate Data Wrangler: Dan Helme
- Digital Intermediate: Fiorenza Bagnariol
- Digital Intermediate: Timothy P. Jones
- Digital Intermediate: Gordon Pratt
- Digital Intermediate: Emily Greenwood
- Boom Operator: Lloyd Dudley
- Aerial Coordinator: Andy Stephens
- Armorer: Steve Wilkerson
- Armorer: Kadir Onur Okutan
- Title Designer: Johnnie Frankel
- Unit Publicist: Heather Callow
- Stunts: Elaine Ford
- Stunts: Donna Williams
- Stunts: Sarah Lochlan
- Stunts: Annabel Wood
- Stunts: Belle Williams
- Stunts: Tracy Caudle
- Stunts: Annabel Canaven
- Stunts: Zarene Dallas
- Assistant Director: Tufan Şimşekcan
- Standby Property Master: Buddie Wilkinson
- Fight Choreographer: Nikki Berwick
- Stunts: Heather Philips
Movie Reviews:
- Travis Bell: Skyfall was a solid movie in its own right but as a Bond movie, it was one of my all time favourites. Unlike Quantum of Solace, I felt like they actually took the time to tell this story and the pay off was worth it.
Something I found interesting is the idea about Bond getting old and how the job of an MI6 agent is not something you can do forever. It makes me wonder if they might explore some of these themes in the next movie.
It’s true that the last 1/3 of Skyfall didn’t feel like a Bond movie at all and I think that’s why I loved it. The Daniel Craig Bond movies have always taken a different look at James Bond and Skyfall was no exception.
Like I said, great movie. Execution on all accounts were solid like you’d expect. I hope Mendes gets a chance to do the next film.
- GeekMasher: Skyfall is a great movie. In my opinion the best proformas by Daniel Craig I have see in all his Bond movies. The title song was not to my taste like in previous movies. The story line is one of the most compelling I have seen in a while. Silva, played by Javier Bardem was excellent and he played him very well. All in all a very good movie.
- Kenneth Axel Carlsson: Bond (Daniel Craig) is on another (important) mission somewhere in the big world, this time on the heels of someone who has stolen a hard drive with all the names of the British agents who work for MI6. On the mission, Mr. Bond is shot by one of his own (an agent named Eve, played by Naomie Harris) and presumed dead. However, Bond is not dead, and when he resurfaces, he jumps right into the game in the pursuit of an old agent called Silva (Javier Bardem), an old favorite of M (Judi Dench).
While Bond is out in the world, M discovers that someone, presumably Silva, has hacked their computers and threats to expose the true names of the British agents. However, it is also clear that the enemy has other plans, plans of terrorism. Bond is now in a race against time before more agents are revealed, or worse yet, before M is killed by their mysterious enemy. Fortunately, everything works out perfectly for 007, who finds the mysterious Silva with little effort.
OK, admittedly, this was a very short summary of the plot in Skyfall, but in all honesty, there isn’t a big plot in this movie. I could have given some spoilers about the ending, and maybe added a bit about Mallory (Ralph fiennes), but really, this is an extremely simple plot. Not at all worthy of a big iconic character like James Bond.
It is classic 007, with everything thats part of such an adventure, like product placement (not a favorite of mine, in fact I get rather annoyed when its as obvious as the watch in the opening of the movie), car chases (in this case, more like a motorcycle chase across the roofs of some unknown city), beautiful women (which are exactly as shallow and pointless as you would expect), and lastly a total lack of emotions and realism.
I am not a big Bond fan, and haven’t seen all of the movies in the series, so I am probably not the right person to review this movie. I do not understand what it is that draws people into the cinema time after time, to watch yet another Bond movie… when they can watch something original with a real plot and real characters. Perhaps these people like the shallow characters, who care little for the safety of the innocent people in the world, yes, I said it. Look carefully in the opening sequence, how the female agent cares little for the people on the bridge, as she shoots after the enemy. Later in that scene, she finds it really hard to shoot the enemy, because what if she hit Bond instead. I may be wrong in this assumption, but isn’t MI6 here to protect the innocent people? Perhaps these people like the almost infinite number of one-liners that made my ears bleed at one point. Why are we treated this way? Do the people who makes these movies really think we are so stupid?
Before I actually say something nice about Skyfall, because I can do that, I just want to give a small piece of advice to future Bond villains, because who are we kidding, there will be more Bond movies in the future… my advice is this: Always remember to close the door behind you, whether its an actual door, or maybe a manhole (cover). If you don’t do this, Bond will surely find you. But of course, perhaps you are dying to have him on your tail, in which case, you are doing it exactly right!
OK, something positive. Skyfall is a beautiful movie, in a very obvious (and superficial) way. The colors are just stunning, especially when we follow Bond swimming through the night of Shanghai, high above the streets. There is no denying the imagery and action of the movie, in every possible way, this is some of the best the world has to offer. I’d also like to give a shout out to Albert Finney, whose character (Kincade) raises the quality of the movie, and actually give it some human emotion.
The very last thing I want to say is this… why hire Sam Mendes for this movie? Why hire him when he is not allowed to use the powers that God have given him? Where are the human emotions, where are the dark humor, where are the personal stories that capture our hearts as much as our minds? If you want to watch a real Sam Mendes movie, I suggest the following American Beauty, Jarhead and even, Revolutionary Road.
_Last words… only watch this movie if you have nothing to do… at all… and if you are a hardcore fan of 007 and feel forced to watch every movie in the franchise. This movie reminds me why I only rarely watch big Hollywood blockbusters._
- John Chard: How safe do you feel?
Bond 23 and 007 has to literally come back from the dead when a stolen hard-drive makes M (Dench) look bad at a time when a face from her past comes homing into blood thirsty view.
There is one sure fire fact in cinema that nobody can dispute, that of there never ever being a James Bond film that all Bondphiles will agree on. From each corner of the spectrum will come arguments that said Bond film is not gritty enough, not fun enough, not enough sex, not enough action, not enough fantastical stunts and etc etc etc. Well that’s fine of course, we all have our peccadilloes we prefer in our Bond movies, but we do live in different times now, the world has changed, and so has Bond. You may not get the ultimate Bond you want, but this is a 21st Century Bond and a new era of 007 is upon us, something which makes Skyfall even the more bolder and braver because it marks the 50th anniversary by blending the old with the new and mostly achieving brilliant results.
Skyfall allows us to bathe in nostalgia whilst also forcing us to re- evaluate just where we are at in terms of our beloved super secret agent. One of the great things about this Bond is that there is a bubbling under current of time’s importance delicately perched on each side of James Bond’s shoulders. Is he (and M etc) outdated? Or is the future still in need of such operatives/organisations? Director Mendes and his team don’t take any of the easy options that were clearly available to them to answer the question, they instead build a film around Bond and M as characters, embrace the traditions of the series and hit us hard in head and heart.
The plot of Skyfall as written is simple, absolutely nailed on it is straight and true to Hollywood conventions, but what fills out the simple plot is a series of Bondian delights, thrills spills and emotionally splintered kills. The stunning pre-credits sequence sees Bond traverse the rooftops of Istanbul on a motorcycle and then fight on top of a speeding train. Only to then find himself expendable. Which leads to Daniel Kleinman’s title credits sequence that is filled with ominous portents of death and blood, in turn backed by the wonderfully Bondian of old title song warbled by Adele. It’s clear at this point that this Bond movie is nodding to traditional values whilst promising to deliver some emotional pain. And so it proves.
A washed up Bond enters the fray, and he convinces, he’s dishevelled, unshaven and unfit, but he’s still a tough bastard who can drink hard and stare a scorpion down. He’ll be back soon, we know this, and he will be in wonderful physical shape, and loyal to his surrogate mother for sure. Ah, but there’s the adversary on the scene now, a villain to finally give Craig’s Bond something to fret about. It’s Javier Bardem’s (perfect) Silva, a cyber terrorist with a shock of blonde hair, a nasty dental trick and a devilish sexiness that unnerves during an interrogation scene; to which Bond cheekily opens up some wink wink possibilities. There is other sexual tension in the film as well, not just a steamy shower scene, but the ongoing banter with Naomie Harris’ (excellent) Eve that positively fizzes with smirking innuendo.
But ultimately this comes down to the love between a man and a woman, the kind that is so different to the type that has so often underpinned a Bond movie. Bond will kill or be killed for M, and how marvellous to see a director really able to give Judi Dench the direction she so deserves, and Bond, in Craig’s magnetic and gritty hands, responds in kind to deliver a last half hour as good as any in the 50 years of Bond on film. As we know, all turf is Bond’s turf, but this time it really is HIS turf, and as a little back story comes seeping out, Bond gets to exorcise some demons whilst kicking considerable ass. Get ready Bondphiles, this has the emotional wallop only seen in the best Bond movies of old.
All the Bondian trappings are still here, exotic locales, gorgeous women, speeding vehicles, fights, stupendous stunts, bizarre lairs and balls out machismo. It’s also funny! I myself commented when reviewing Quantum of Solace that it was pretty ace as an action film, but for many it’s not Bondian enough, and the truth of the matter is Bond still needs to have a degree of fun, no matter how grim and gritty the story line is. Thankfully Skyfall is often a blast, with Craig (surely convincing even the most stubborn of dissenters how good a Bond he is) having the confidence and skill to lace his Bond’s macho broody instinct with a desert dry wit and shrug of the shoulders nonchalance. Other side of the camera the tech credits are high, with Deakins proving to be one of the aces in the pack. His capturing of vistas, be it a neon city scape or a mountainous valley, are eye delights, his colour tones are beautiful, I promise you, nobody these days does golden browns like Deakins.
It’s not the masterpiece that I or gazillions of others hoped for, and it does have flaws (new Q a bit too geeky safe, finale lacks a substantial battle with the villain) and it remains simple in plot, but it’s Bond’s birthday and the birthday boy has been done proud by the makers. It’s a new era Bond for sure, but that most definitely isn’t a bad thing, it knows its past and it now knows its future, and without doubt we all still know the name. 9/10
- Per Gunnar Jonsson: Me and my oldest son have been doing a bit of pseudo binge watching of James Bond. Every weekend we have been watching two of the movies starting with Dr. No quite a few weekends ago. Last weekend we arrived at the Daniel Craig ones. I had actually not watched those ones before. I have to, grudgingly (I am a Sean Connery fan), admit that the first two we watched were not at all bad.
However, today we watched Skyfall. What the f…? This is not a James Bond movie! If it had been just some other movie I would probably have thought it would not be a too bad one. However, it pretends to be a James Bond movie and as such it is utter crap. It is a bloody Hollywood drama written by someone with a total lack of respect for the Franchise, not to mention the old Bond fans.
James Bond should be out hunting international villains. Villains with a good chunk of bad guy charisma I might add. What we got however was some loathsome prick having a grudge because M didn’t come to his rescue when he fucked up.
The British Secret service should also be just that, a powerful organisation protecting Britain (and the rest of the civilized world) from communists, terrorists, criminal superorganisations like Spectre or whatever. Having scenes with M more or less on trial and having to defend herself in front of a bunch of clueless political asshats is just crap and it is definitely not the kind of crap that should be in a James Bond movie.
The whole movie is just full of sensationalist shit, politically correct crap, killing of popular characters, sentimental bullshit and other nonsens of the kind you would expect in a bloody Hollywood soap opera. And what about the new Q? A boring brat with a over-inflated ego. Not fun at all.
Even the special effects are debatable. For example, if you make a subway train crash by blowing a hole in it’s path then for Christ sake put some crash test dummies or something in it to at least make some pretense of it not being an empty mock-up!
This is undoubtedly the worst Bond movie ever. My disappointment with this movie cannot be overstated.
- JPV852: Great theme song and a much more balanced movie compared to Quantum of Solace, and the story is well written, revealing Bond’s background and the motherly relationship with M (contrast with a more antagonistic portrayal in the Brosnan series). Javier Bardem as the villain was fantastic, almost Joker like in his planning. The only setback is the finale, sure some nice action and explosions but not quite as thrilling versus Casino Royale. Still, one of the better in the Bond series overall. **4.0/5**
- Wuchak: _**Can you go home again?**_
After 007 (Daniel Craig) is thought dead-in-action in Turkey, the computer of ‘M’ (Judi Dench) is hacked and there’s an attack on the MI6 headquarters in London. M & Bond suspect it’s an inside job, which leads James to Shanghai, Macao and a mysterious island off the coast of China, then back to London. Bond has to find sanctuary for M, but you know what they say about going home again? Javier Bardem plays a heavy and Ralph Fiennes an MI6 official.
“Skyfall” (2012) thankfully includes the character depth of “Casino Royale” (2006) and fixes the confusing 4 clips-per-second action of “Quantum of Solace” (2008). Don’t get me wrong, “Quantum” can be appreciated as the action-oriented second half of “Casino Royale,” but it’s easily one of the lesser installments in the franchise. “Skyfall,” by contrast, stands with the best.
The movie saves the best for last, but I don’t want to give anything away. Let’s just say it’s a refreshing change for the series, the locations are fabulous and a classic actor unexpectedly shows up.
Besides Dench on the feminine front, there’s Bérénice Marlohe as Severine in China and Naomie Harris as MI6 agent Eve. Tonia Sotiropoulou also has a brief scene in Turkey.
The film runs 2 hours, 23 minutes, and was shot in Turkey, England, China and Scotland.
GRADE: A-
- MSB: FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/skyfall-spoiler-free-review
“Skyfall is not only the entry that this James Bond saga needed, but it’s my favorite movie of the Daniel Craig Era. From the exceptionally intriguing narrative filled with shocking developments to Javier Bardem’s terrifying portrayal of a fascinating antagonist, Sam Mendes offers his remarkable directing skills to create a film worthy of much praise.
The GOAT of cinematography, Roger Deakins, makes every inch of the screen drip cinematic beauty with eyegasmic wide shots and mind-blowing lighting, making this the best-looking Bond flick ever. Technically, it’s challenging to find elements less than simply perfect.
Phenomenal acting all-around elevates an extraordinarily impactful character work, culminating in an emotionally powerful third act. A slightly overextended runtime doesn’t stop me from considering this a flawless Bond movie.
I can’t endorse it more than this.”
Rating: A