Saturday, February 16, 2013

Skyfall

First and foremost James Bond has never been my favorite film franchise. I respect it's longevity as a franchise as well as respecting it's rightful place in film history. However, I have personally never been a massive fan of the franchise. That all began to change when Daniel Craig took over as the new James Bond. I was captivated by his performance in Casino Royale and really enjoyed the film. Skyfall has become one of the most anticipated and hyped movies of the year. My expectations were pretty high and I was excited to see this film. Overall, I think Skyfall was a good film that fell a bit short of being great. The bad? The movie was quite long and at times, especially after the film's opening sequence, was quite boring. It did not advance the plot in any meaningful way. In fact it actually takes the viewer out of the narrative because the real meat of the story does not develop until much later into the second act. The film's plot could have been tighter. Daniel Craig although solid in the role does not really bring anything extra special to this film. Granted James Bond is one of the most formulaic and rigid film characters that exists. So the fresh face of Bond with Daniel Craig was worn out by this time in my opinion. Now for the good and borderline great. Javier Bardem was simply astonishing in this film. His screen presence for me was the closest thing I have seen on film to Anthony Hopkin's performance in The Silence of The Lambs. In fact I think the film missed an opportunity not to introduce this villain immediately in the film and give us way more screen time with him. His entrance into the film however, is the stuff of movie legend and was exceptionally well done. In short this film is worth watching just to see Javier Bardem. He is exceptional! The opening title sequence with Adele's beautiful song Skyfall was brilliant and was one of the most brilliant opening credit sequences I have seen in a long long time. The images in the sequence also foreshadow major events in the film which was exceptionally well done. Judi Dench as M is beyond terrific as always and her story in the film was handled incredibly well. The film also looks beautiful and the camera work was exceptional. Sam Mendes proved that he can be adept at making an action adventure type film that is quite good. His other work includes American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, and The Road To Perdition, just to name a few. My only other gripe was that Ralph Fiennes also was deserving of way more screen time then he receives. Overall, I think Skyfall could have been a truly great film but I think it falls short of that goal. However, it was definitely a good film and one of the better entries into the James Bond franchise. Well worth watching!

6 comments:

  1. Matt Azinheira Hollywood Blockbuster.

    I agree with you on the idea that Ralph Fiennes should have gotten more screen time. Overall the main purpose of Skyfall was to bring all the James Bond movies together by bringing the audience to the start of how James Bond began.

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  2. It pains me to see you speak so lowly of Skyfall, honestly I believe Quantum of Solace was the bad movie of the Daniel Craig trilogy and the fact that someone actually had the gull to kill Dame Judi Dench is incredible to me. Although I understand your want for more screen time for Ralph Fiennes if they were to have given him more screen time it wouldn't have made since because it wouldn't have fit in well. Also I understand your complaints about the plot because as a bond fan I know that this is the first movie in a long time that is actually not based off one of the books or other writings.
    -Chelsie Green

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  3. I liked the movie!
    Professor Giordano

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  4. I agree that the opening title sequence was amazing and Adele's Skyfall really was a perfect fit. It gave me chills. Although I enjoyed the film, I was also expecting a little bit more from it. I feel like they didn't develop Javier Bardem's character enough.

    Samantha Catalano

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  5. I am a big fan of the James Bond franchise. I just watched Skyfall with my father. He came home with a copy, said "I got Skyfall" and we both rushed to the basement to watch it. I've been watching James Bond films since I was about 4 or 5. I thought Skyfall was a good movie but as you said it fell short of being great. I agree that Javier Bardem's character should have been introduced earlier. He was one of the best villains the franchise has had in a while. Overall I loved the movie, but it might be just because I am a huge James Bond fan.

    Andrew Lisanti

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  6. Professor, I was very pleased to see that you finally saw "SkyFall". This film, by far, was one of my favorite Bond films so you can imagine my surprise when I read that you thought how Daniel Craig brought nothing extra to this film. Did you fall asleep? I think he was amazing. I agree with you that Javier Bardem was arbuably one of the best villains on screen in a Bond film. I personally think he is the best villain I have seen in a film in general. I think his introduction was perfect timing and had they brought him out earlier, our overall reaction may not be the same. I think the film did a great job building the viewer up with suspense of what is to come, knowing something great is about to happen and then, Javier Bardem is on the screen. I think his screen time was just enough to love him and not play his role out. In my opinion, "SkyFall" was a truly great film.

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