Skyfall
Posted: November 4th, 2012, 7:25
An expanded version of the small review I posted in mini-reviews. We've been away for a week for a massive family love-in in the saaaf of france, hence the gap.
Mrs B and I were skiving off work celebrating the last day of her radiotherapy last week when we realised that Skyfall had opened but not yet premiered here in Brussels, they call it the "avant premiere" apparently. we had intended to spend the afternoon getting drunk, but decided to put that off in favour of some bondage (so to speak)
so, to the movie. Well, it was certainly better than the last one (which wasn't really a movie, lacking the traditional beginning - middle - end that I believe you're supposed to have in these things) and closed the circle that they had opened with the last two, implying a return to the "good old" bond movies. Daniel Craig continues to be a good Bond, but runs ... if not like a girl then like some sort of wooden mannequin. Xavier Bardem was, as you would expect, an excellent villain, although I think they didn't give the character enough ambition. Bond villains should be bent on world domination, rather than simply. The first meeting between Bardem and Craig is a very well played indeed, including something I don't think we've ever seen in a bond movie before, a male villain flirting (quite faaabulously) with Bond. The third act is a backwoods defense of the shed type of thing and, to be honest, I thought it lacked something but there you go, at least it contains exploding helicopters. Oh, and I think that they've (finally) got hold of how to do product placements without allowing them to get in the way of the film (I was *really* worried about the Heineken product placement, but narf it was hardly noticeable in the movie itself). New Q is OK, but I think they missed a trick to give him a smartphone (one, if not the major theme of the movie is Bond being over the hill), but perhaps they couldn't tie up a placement deal with anyone but symbian and just didn't have the front.
All in all pretty entertaining which is, frankly, what you want. As far as rebooting the franchise, it's no batman begins but it'll do, I think this bodes well for the future, something I really didn't expect to be thinking or saying. Also, they do destroy a DB5, which (CGI or no) was pretty painful to watch. I also must profess a personal interest as my cousin was in the film as Xavier Bardem's isolation guard.
I recall I gave it 7/10 in mini-reviews. I see no reason to change that.
7/10 it is then
I may at some point sit down with some beer to watch the 3 Craig movies back to back in an attempt to make sense of QoS in context with the other 2, but I don't hold out much hope of that happening and/or being successful
btw, I know I'm an ex active member turned lurker who now pops up every so often with a movie review or technical request and then dissapears again. Sorry about that but I'm just not playing many games at teh moment (although I did fire up X3 TC recently ... I wish I'd done that sooner) and this is the only way I could think within my current constraints to keep contact with you guys. great job on new widgets for the forum btw although I would echo a call for the return of the 5cheduler. never know I may hay-splat into ARMA one day if I could see when people are playing from my lurk-tower
Mrs B and I were skiving off work celebrating the last day of her radiotherapy last week when we realised that Skyfall had opened but not yet premiered here in Brussels, they call it the "avant premiere" apparently. we had intended to spend the afternoon getting drunk, but decided to put that off in favour of some bondage (so to speak)
so, to the movie. Well, it was certainly better than the last one (which wasn't really a movie, lacking the traditional beginning - middle - end that I believe you're supposed to have in these things) and closed the circle that they had opened with the last two, implying a return to the "good old" bond movies. Daniel Craig continues to be a good Bond, but runs ... if not like a girl then like some sort of wooden mannequin. Xavier Bardem was, as you would expect, an excellent villain, although I think they didn't give the character enough ambition. Bond villains should be bent on world domination, rather than simply
Spoiler:
All in all pretty entertaining which is, frankly, what you want. As far as rebooting the franchise, it's no batman begins but it'll do, I think this bodes well for the future, something I really didn't expect to be thinking or saying. Also, they do destroy a DB5, which (CGI or no) was pretty painful to watch. I also must profess a personal interest as my cousin was in the film as Xavier Bardem's isolation guard.
I recall I gave it 7/10 in mini-reviews. I see no reason to change that.
7/10 it is thenI may at some point sit down with some beer to watch the 3 Craig movies back to back in an attempt to make sense of QoS in context with the other 2, but I don't hold out much hope of that happening and/or being successful
btw, I know I'm an ex active member turned lurker who now pops up every so often with a movie review or technical request and then dissapears again. Sorry about that but I'm just not playing many games at teh moment (although I did fire up X3 TC recently ... I wish I'd done that sooner) and this is the only way I could think within my current constraints to keep contact with you guys. great job on new widgets for the forum btw although I would echo a call for the return of the 5cheduler. never know I may hay-splat into ARMA one day if I could see when people are playing from my lurk-tower