Skyfall (2012)

Friends, just finished watching Skyfall. Let's get into it.

There are spoilers below the cut.

First, let's talk about story, which I am pretty much unsatisfied with. Skyfall basically has Bond back as an old pro, which is fine per se. But, unfortunately, the film delves somewhat into the now woefully cliche story arc of the hero tired of his job, which I feel is out of place. Another weakness with Skyfall's story is the villian, Silva. There is a lot of build up for the character with a very underwhelming pay off. The only story arc I liked was M's. I was getting afraid she'd be annoying like before. But her arc was meaningful and logical.

One more thing I will stay about story, the overall plot isn't very good. Silva is supposed to be a badass techno-terrorist. But there is more telling than showing. And in the end, it comes down to him and his guys gunning for Bond and M, which is when the movie really starts to get going.

While the story was weak, I thought the script was pretty good. Unlike Casino Royale, none of the characters were hyperdramatic. And I have no complaints about the cast. I liked how Daniel Craig is so physically intense as Bond, not just in the stunts, but the way he moves and even the way he glances around with his gun drawn. I liked Javier Bardem as Silva, even though I didn't really like Silva. He gave a very charismatic performance. I've read that Naomie Harris as Moneypenny wasn't the best, but I had no problems with her performance. Ralph Fiennes was... Ralph Fiennes. And I actually liked Judi Dench as M in Skyfall. I thought her M in this one harkened back to M in GoldenEye, which was a nice change of pace from annoying M. Before I forget, I think Ben Whishaw as Q was excellent. I thought and Daniel had good chemistry. And Q got along well with Bond.

Skyfall's production is definitely the strong point of the film. Overall, it looks gorgeous. And I liked the old Bond elements which seemed very organic to the movie and not out of place at all. There is a beautiful fight scene with Bond and his quarry in silhouette. No quick cuts or anything like that. And I loved the Bond family pile in Scotland. Including Andrew and Monique's headstone in the cemetary beside the old chapel was a nice touch.

Skyfall is 143 minutes and I think that is a bit too long. I think the first two-thirds of the movie could benefit from a trim, tighten things up. I think Skyfall's plot is a touch too ambitions considering it's is only the third movie since the reboot and Daniel has signed on for two more Bonds. Overall, I give Skyfall a B. It's pluses outnumber it's minuses. But I don't think it's as good as it was made out to be.