Let the sky fall [Bond Spoilers]

*SPOILERS* Skyfall: Review *SPOILERS*



[SOUNDCLOUD]http://soundcloud.com/sarkilarimolsundiye/adele-skyfall[/SOUNDCLOUD]
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So finally, my friend found the time to come with me to go see Skyfall. And my god, was it worth the wait. In one brief summary, all I can say is: Bond is back. Officially, Casino Royale was the reboot of the series, but this movie blew it and Quantum of Solace out of the freaking water. Why? Because until this movie, it didn't feel like Bond, just a spy movie with his name plastered onto it. No martinis, no gadgets, no original characters, no traditional black-haired Bond. But now, Jesus. Not only was it a fantastic way to celebrate the 50th anniversary, it was an amazing way to celebrate Bond period.

So just what has made this a crowning success in Bond history?

Well firstly, I think just about almost everyone has heard the Adele song of the same name, if not, it's up there ^ ya freaking genius.


Anyway, my point being, it sounds like a traditional James Bond film theme right? Those who have watched the older movies will know what I'm talking about, there's no words for it except: Bond. And that is what made this film so great, because this theme goes on all the way through. I'm not just talking about the music, I mean everything you might consider under the name Bond is in this film. They even make some hilarious jokes out of the fact.

How many of these references did you spot?:
- Dry martini, shaken not stirred in Shanghai
- Aston Martin DB5, complete with ejector seat and frontal guns as Bond and M demonstrated
- Original Bond theme when pulling out of the DB5 garage
- Walther PPK, the traditional Bond weapon of choice
- The license plate of the DB5, BMT 216A, the same plate used in Tomorrow Never Dies
- Miss Moneypenny, loyal secretary to Bond through several classic missions
- The return of Q, 007's infamous loyal ally and gadget expert
- "Bond. James Bond."
- "What did you expect, an exploding pen?"

My god I was fangasming so hard whilst my friend looked at me as if I was having a seizure. Why? This shows that Bond is going back to it's original roots. Clearly the directors realised it was straining too far from "Bond" and they needed to reel it in a bit to keep the magic of the old 007 alive. It's like they've completely restarted over, and that's a good thing, traditional Bond, but in the 21st century. They've even got rid of Judie Dench as M (lol spoilers), so it's the clean slate most Bond fans have been dreaming of since Craig took over.

And don't get me wrong, Craig by no means is a bad actor, especially not in this film. I can honestly say I thought the best part of the entire film was the pure look of absolute disgust and anger on his face as in one scene the DB5 went up in flames. He didn't say anything, but my god, that look on his face was so powerful, so meaningful, it said more than words ever could. From the way he checked corners, to the way he fought, Daniel Craig was truly putting his all into this film. As for supporting actors, they all played it well too, it created a very believable/realistic experience, as if all of this actually could happen. I certainly felt the tension and heart-stopping moments, like at the very start when he is walking down a dimly lit corridor and finds a room full of dead bodies, it actually felt like I was almost physically there, seeing the blood for myself, feeling the sunstruck dust pass by. It was only the beginning but it felt ominous.

Now as for location and special effects, they were incredibly well done. The amount of time, effort and money that must have gone into hiring what essentially was London has to have been immense. They pulled out all the stops to make this an anniversary to remember. In one instance, Bond is in pursuit of the villain until an explosion blows the roof of the underground tunnel behind him. Bond is unfazed, unleashing a witty one liner, "I hope that wasn't meant to be for me," until a goddamn tube train comes hurtling through the crumbling hole. Now that, was tense. Other memorable mentions include the explosion at MI6, something which I'm surprised they could pull of in the middle of a city, although I guess it was all CGI in some way. Probably the one that will catch most people's attention is the destruction of the Skyfall lodge, and I have to admit, it was well done, that's all I can really say, it was a superb job.

If I had one problem though, it would have to be the villain. He didn't really appear until like, a quarter of the way through the movie, and even then I thought he'd be more of a henchman than the head honcho. His appearance wasn't that imposing, he's meant to be more of a hide in the shadows sort of guy. But my problem was, for someone who wants to hide in the shadows, he certainly did a lot of the dangerous suicidal dirty work for himself. It was like England, against just him, and it felt...weird. Just the way he was never backed up with any other men until the lodge in a sense. His sole aim was to kill M whilst looking into her eyes, and his attitude reflected that. Once he'd used tools like the list to make her vulnerable, he took no notice of them again and purely went after her. All that genius, but he was quite mad. He scared me in a way, he was actually a little terrifying, especially with dem teeth.



But like I say, he was just a weak villain, although I suppose the main focus was Bond and his relationship with M, so I can kind of forgive them for not developing him more.

So my last point is of course, the story. How does it hold up you may ask? Well there's good and bad. The film begins in Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople for all you fellow Assassins Creed Revelations players out there, and has a chase through the Grand Bazaar all the way to the train where obviously Bond gets accidentally shot by another agent and loses the perpetrator. Now...this was good for tension I guess, but to do this in the first 10 minutes of the film and then act as if he's truly dead when there's like 2 hours of movie left?....It kind of made little sense for them to do that. If anything, they should have shown how he survived, then goes into hiding, because there was another problem, while the gunshot wasn't a direct hit...how did he survive? The mystery of James Bond I guess, although it kind of made me feel the whole death plot point was pointless. He could have easily just fallen off, they discharged him because he's lost his touch, then he applies again when he sees MI6 under attack. Would have worked exactly the same way, but I digress.

The next part he's in Shanghai, and it holds up pretty well, you've got the martinis, the one liners, the womanising, the casinos, and the over the top big henchman death i.e. DEATH BY KOMODO DRAGON. With the introduction of Q, I feel this will add something, taking us back to the glory days of Bond with 21st century gadgets and briefings (Q is best pony by the way). The rest of the movie's pretty solid, I don't think I questioned anything else except for the rushed way they did the whole Bond's death thing, although I do wonder what happened to the whole list of MI6 agents being posted every week plot point.

So to cut a long story short, they really really did their best with this film, and it truly does show, I can't fault them for much except for the weakish villain. It was all about bringing back the old Bond ways, and they've succeeded.

All I can say is, I can't wait until the next instalment, and will eagerly be awaiting that next

DUN-A DUN DUN-A DUN DU-DU-DU-DU

9/10