Pros and Cons: Skyfall
Bleuville
Posts: 384MI6 Agent
Whilst I prefer my Bond to be more like the books (Dalton) and less like jokey Moore,
Skyfall is just too gloomy and Grim for me.
The story is good and the action scenes are well done but there's not much light relief to
the gloomy story. You need a balance. I left the cinema thinking ,I'm not sure I want to see this again.
(Having seen CR 5 times and even QOS twice.)
Ignoring the new film hype after 4 years, this is nowhere near "The best Bond Film".
I would put the 1960s films and Casino Royale ahead of it.
With a different composer the music was mediocre, so much so, that having collected every Bond soundtrack,
I'm seriously contemplating not buying this one. Bring back David Arnold.
It's good that the story is up to date and refreshed, but it falls short of being in the top ten.
Bleuville.
Skyfall is just too gloomy and Grim for me.
The story is good and the action scenes are well done but there's not much light relief to
the gloomy story. You need a balance. I left the cinema thinking ,I'm not sure I want to see this again.
(Having seen CR 5 times and even QOS twice.)
Ignoring the new film hype after 4 years, this is nowhere near "The best Bond Film".
I would put the 1960s films and Casino Royale ahead of it.
With a different composer the music was mediocre, so much so, that having collected every Bond soundtrack,
I'm seriously contemplating not buying this one. Bring back David Arnold.
It's good that the story is up to date and refreshed, but it falls short of being in the top ten.
Bleuville.
Comments
Pros:
Great PTS
Good song from Adele. Welcome relief after Another Way to Die
A more human Bond. Less of the indestructible superhero of previous movies. More the character created by Fleming.
Top villian with a genuine motivation for his actions
Excellent new Q.
One of the best casts ever assembled for a Bond movie.
Great chemistry between Bond and M, Bond and Q, Bond and Eve.
Shanghai scenes brilliant. The fight with Patrice with the lights in the background was excellent.
Nice moment hearing someone call Bond a jumped up little ****.
Cons:
Missed David Arnold for the score.
Lack of real Bond girl. Severine came and went (probably literally) very quickly. Was surprised when she got killed. Eve didn't really classify.
Apart from the PTS no real stunts. Plenty of action but no real stand out stunts.
Final confrontation with Silva a bit low key.
Better than QOS, Not quite as good as CR.
Although I did think that if you take out the PTS. Then most
of the action is Plenty of running around London, with a few
shoot outs, As mentioned no Big stunt sequences.
Then again that was probably done because thay wanted the
audience to focus on the story. Hopefully they'll have some
Big sequences for 24.
Like an idiot, I bought the Sky fall sountrack CD at HMV (No Adele-that's separate) and I still think it's poor.
I think they saved some money by filming mostly in Britain and a bit of Turkey. SF-£90M, QOS-£120M. approx.
A side theme is the use of exotic animals. The Scorpion and the Komodo Dragon.
CR had the Mongoose and Snake.
(Pop quiz-How many times have scorpions appeared in Bond films? A- 3 - DAF, CR and SF.)
Severine in casino, was actually smoking-haven't seen that for a while.
That's when Bond does some more of his amateur psychology, like with Vesper in CR.
The silhouetted fight was stylish, but the deserted island looked like a rubbish tip-not very scenic !
The silhouetted fight appears as a clip at the end of Everything Or Nothing.
That's a CD I can't wait to get ,about Brocolli and Saltzman with all 6 Bonds contributing.
I may go and see SF again just to absorb the details when I blinked!
Also if M is one of the more important members of MI6, why doesn't she stay behind her desk, and get several people protecting her-not just Bond.
I look forward to Ralph Fiennes as the new male M-Mallory in Bond 24.
Bleuville.
- Intresting plot, keeps you entertained and wondering. (Unlike Qos!)
- Beautifull cinematography!
- Daniel Craig seems to be really comfortable in the role now, it took me untill this film to really realise: "Yes, I now believe that this guy is James Bond!"
- Great acting from everyone in the cast!
- The Bond theme is back, loved when it came on when he got in the DB5!
- Great twist to bring back moneypenny at the end, I didn't see that one coming! I also loved how they put a homage to the old universal exports office, and got it back to that style!!
Cons:
Having just seen it yesterday, and being pretty much blown away by it, so far I can only think of this:
- Severine didn't have much screentime, which I thought was a bit of a shame, her character was intresting, and I think she did well.
There werent much other dissapointments on first viewing for me. Maybe when it sinks in a little bit more, I'll have some more complaints.
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Craig is very good! I liked his performance in CR and QoS and SF also.
Cinematography!!! Beautiful!
Bringing moneypenny in.
DB5
The whole shanghai part. Everyting beautiful shot and the atmosphere was exactly how it should be. The silhouette fight was good!
The long shot of our villain introduction. I liked it that it was one shot of him talking. No cutting in this introduction.
Bonds roots. I'm a big fan of the books. I liked how they give Bond some character.
The title sequence. Very good! I liked it. Good images and the correct font!
I liked the Q scene! Very different, especially Bond being negative (no Christmas..
Cons:
The music in the end was a bit of a mess.
Not a great story. I liked it how they wrote the characters, they are interesting, but there is not really a story. I hoped after QoS, they would bring back a world domination plan. I know there was something with computers and stuff but there was no threatening what so ever.
Our villain wasn't very threatening. I know everybody likes him but for me it wasn't bad but there were moments I just saw a man acting.
The pre title sequence. Can someone please explain to me what was so good about this? I was already a bit furious we didn't saw the gunbarrel in the beginning. The pts didn't made this up. I liked the opening shot but the pts didn't gave us anything new. Fight on the train, lost list... mission impossible 1 flashback.. The motorracing on the rooftops sounds cool but wasn't convincing by all the quick cuts, trying to hide the stuntmen. For me, there was no bond feeling to the PTS sadly. I liked it that Bond gets shot by his own team ( i'm so glad i didn't saw the trailer).
No memorable stunt.
The gunbarrel at the end.
No good torture scene, i liked the torture scene in CR. I hoped it would be in this one also...
A lot of cons... but I liked the movie, but I recon that Bond isn't the trendsetter anymore...
Wrong. Scorpions were used to torture Bond in DAD.
Yes 4 times then. and as in DAD,he had so many scorpions-how poisonous are they?
Will they kill you? or is it just like a bad bee sting ?!
Bleuville.
No scorpion is poisonous, you can eat them all. They are venomous though
Toxicity depends upon the species. Some are only like bee stings (usually the big ones with big pincers as we saw in DAD, that species are quite docile and you can handle them safely without getting nailed). A very select few are deadly to humans to some extent though and these are usually the small variety with small pincers.
I'm with you on most things here, particularly regarding the chemistry between Eve & Bond which I thought was excellent. Hopefully will lend itself well in the next movie and add a little bit of playful tension. Very positive about Ralph Fiennes too, as he's a superb actor and lends the harsher persona that I believe such a role would exhibit, (as well as having a leather backed door!!). Albert Finney was excellent too and probably delievered the line of the entire film.
Wasn't so bothered about a lack of high-end stunts after the PTS tbh (which I thought was absolutely superb), as I found the tube chase to be very enjoyable and it meant that there was more focus upon the acting / story. Having the DB5 back in was a great call, especially when the machine guns were put to use. Perhaps another major stunt would have put the icing on the cake, but I'm sure with everything else going on the coffers were nearly bare!
If I were to have a gripe it would be that Silva didn't possibly have the screen time he deserved / needed and I don't truly believe that he came across as the totally evil so & so that we should have been witness too. Wasn't entirely sold upon the deserted island bit, but it wasn't a major negative. Also would have liked to have seen more of Severine (for more than one reason
The bloody trailers!
T
I agree pretty much apart from:
Cons:
I didn't like Severine at all, smoking made this worse.
The Eve Moneypenny reveal at the end was a little bit obvious and Bond's line "we've never been formally introduced" was a bit artificial and forced.
Bond picking up her ID or desk name plate and quipping about the surname would have been much more Flemingesque, classy and a real 007 moment, missed opportunity!
With regards to final set-piece, It seemed very protruded and didn't build in the proper way.
I kind of felt a bit let down by Bond that he, to be harsh, caused her death with his pretty awful plan.
Edit: The Royal Navy Wildcat CGI was a bit pants too.
Skyfall. 23rd film in the Bond series, the 3rd to feature Daniel Craig. The development cycle was 4 years long because of MGM's uncertain financial situation. Coming after the relatively less successful Quantum of Solace, Skyfall was widely acclaimed and stands as one of the best selling movies of all time.
Pros:
*** The theme song (Adele did a great job capturing the magic of the older soulful theme songs)
*** Opening set pieces (The film wastes no time giving you an eventful action packed introduction)
*** Strong acting (Craig as a human Bond, Bardem as a terrifyingly insane villain and a great outro for Dench)
*** Excellent cinematography (Great directing, and every dollar of it's massive budget shows in the final product)
*** The burning house 3rd act (Dedicating a lot of time in one area, redolent of the train act in From Russia With Love)
*** Show's Bonds vulnerabilities and weaknesses (Particularly showing his home and where he came from)
*** Bond is armed with his wits (Just a knife and a handgun, supplied by the wonderfully witty new Q)
*** 21st century relevant themes (Addresses the issue of cyberterrorism and the good/bad of modern technology)
*** Lots of nice scenes overall (M at the conference, Silva in cop disguise, Shanghai fight, Bond wetshaving)
Cons:
*** Story isn't very original (Borrows a lot from The Dark Knight, Silence of the Lambs, Home Alone, Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough ; but older classic Bond films borrowed elements from other movies too)
*** Plot is a bit contrived (Some parts make no sense, don't adhere well to reality, but it's a movie, so I don't care too much)
Severine (Bond pursues a sex slave. That's like Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves and say "Hey, want to work on my garden")
How will Skyfall age? I would guess that it's going to age well, because there are a lot of undeniably good elements to it. Sure, the glitter and glow might wear off in years to follow but even so, it's a big accomplishment for its time.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
You forgot "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Mission Impossible".
Its a primer on how NOT to do a Bond film and will be useful for those writing future ones.
Cons
Everything
thats being vague.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
* Gives us insight into Judi Dench's 'new' M
* Widens the mythology and trappings of the 'new' James Bond universe by bringing in Q, gadgets, Moneypenny, and Gareth Mallory's 'M'
Cons:
* The story bogs down after Bond goes to Shanghai
* Silva is so over-the-top that he becomes a caricature, especially since there's no real explanation offered for why he's doing what he's doing
* Severine is pretty much useless as a character, and there's absolutely no explanation as to why Bond was interested in her or how he knew she was connected to Silva
* It feels like like Moneypenny was 'shoehorned in' in a few places, especially since she really doesn't have much involvement in what James is doing
Isn't he doing it to hurt M and to get revenge for when she left him to die after he was captured and tortured?
"Greatness From Small Beginnings."
Yeah, the explanation was pretty much in your face and unmissable. Being betrayed, tortured and disfigured would do it 8-)
May have been avoided.
Hmm. Perhaps :v
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Pros:
- exciting and beautiful PTS sequence
- great title sequence
- Ralph Fiennes!
- Judi Dench gives a fantastic performance
- Good chemistry and dialogue between Bond and Eve
- beautiful cinematography. It accentuates the feel of the locations, like Istanbul and Scotland. The finale at Skyfall looks fantastic
- Severine is an interesting character
- Great casino scene
- Hashima island is a great location, even if it's not really filmed there. It's created very well through CGI.
- SIlva is an interesting and unique villain with some great lines
- Ralph Fiennes is beautifully dressed by Timothy Everest
- The tube sequence is fantastic. It's great to see the most English character involved in one of the most iconic parts of London.
- Action scenes are not overdone, they are very interesting, diverse and overall well done.
- M's fight for James Bond's relevancy, both to the characters within the film and to the film's audience.
- A nice look into Bond's childhood. I love how it debunks the codename theory
- The Skyfall manor is a great location, and it makes me want to live there
- Albert Finney is a welcome addition, and his personality balances Bond's lack of personality
- Great to see M's office back on Whitehall again
Cons:
- The gunbarrel sequence should have opening the film. Bond walking down a hallway lacks impact for the opening. The gunbarrel at the end is just stuck on and not synched with the music. It looks pretty awful as well.
- Why should M put Bond's life in the hands of an inexperienced agent? It's not like Bond's chances are over once the train goes into the tunnel. M has a terrible excuse, and Mallory is right for wanting her out. With all of M's and Bond's experience, this should not have happened. Poor writing.
- Title song. The tune and the lyrics are just so simple and boring. At least it has a Bondian sound.
- Is Bond's poor performance due to his age or his injury? And he's blamed for his injury?. Poor writing.
- M shows more poor judgement in hiring a kid to be in change of Q-Branch. He's very capable, but skills alone do not make anyone qualified for that job. The head of Q-Brand should be someone who shows maturity and leadership skills and good judgement. It makes no sense he would be the head of Q-Branch. Again, poor writing.
- Shanghai is too obviously not Shanghai. Its grandeur is completely absent.
- Bad dialogue when Bond has to tell Severine about herself
- Terrible CGI Komodo dragon. CGI works much better for inanimate objects, like Hashima. Why bother to do something if it can't be done believably? It just ruins the suspense of the fight.
- The plot holes of Silva's plan that are routinely brought up.
- Bond's DB5 did not have to break continuity for nostalgic purposes. It's Bond's personal car that he won in CR, but Mendes had to go against the writers and make it into something else for an out-of-place gag.
- Bond shouldn't have survived the drop off the train or the drop in the freezing water
- M's death is horrible. When she is shot, it doesn't seem like anything fatal, especially when she can still walk for a while after she is shot.
- Bond fails his missions: retrieving the hard drive (though it's M's fault for not trusting Bond) and letting M die. Daniel Craig's Bond failing so often makes him a less interesting character to me. I could lose these missions too!
- Bond's wardrobe: Poorly fitted suits that are much too tight. Bond is supposed to be out of shape, but is he supposed to look like he got too fat for his clothes? Tab collar shirts are out of place and too fussy on Bond. And a single vent on a dinner jacket? Awful! Bond also would not make the mistake of pairing a grosgrain bow tie with a satin shawl collar.
- Bond's haircut. It makes him look like a thug. It should have been longer when Bond lets himself go living on the beach. He doesn't shave often, yet he keeps his hair consistent? And how is Bond's stubble always the same length? It doesn't make sense that Bond would put work into maintaining his stubble for a few days and then have it shaven off.
- Is Bond supposed to look bad? He's still in great physical shape, yet he looks 10 year older than Daniel Craig really is. If Ralph Fiennes still had a full head of hair, he would no doubt look like he should be Bond's replacement.
- Thomas Newman's score is boring and lacks a Bond feel. Severine's motif is the only decent part, but it's still not a fully developed theme. The score lacks musical development. Some of the cues don't work well in the context of the film, like at the casino or when the Skyfall mansion is being prepped for battle. I know I could write a better score for the film, and I don't like that the score makes me think that.
- Daniel Craig plays Bond too much like a machine and shows no personality. Why bother to show his background to make him more human if he doesn't act human?
My list of cons isn't actually longer than my list of pros, it's just that I feel the cons need more explaining.
Pros:
- PTS is well done, especially with Eve
- Title credit sequence by Danny K (good to see him back)
- Excellent action sequences
- Great casting choices and acting by all involved, in particular Bardem, Craig and Dench
- Tanner and Q
- Locations, especially UK
- Severine is stunning
- Shanghai/Macau sequences very well done, Eve is stunning at the casino
- Skyfall in Scotland, raid on house
- Resetting of roles with Moneypenny, Q, Tanner and M
- Beautifully shot
Cons:
- Pacing is slow and too deliberate, some shots are too long (Shanghai skyline in particular)
- Film is too inwardly focussed on MI6, Bond's life/past and M
- Adele's "Skyfall" is boring
- Newman's score is boring too
- Removal of Silva's teeth is a too horror-film for JB
- Film's length
- Bond's weak joke before M collapses
- Elaborate revenge plot against a mother-figure for a boss 8-)
Overall:
It's an enjoyable watch without a doubt. The film is very well put together, acted, and it's even extremely beautiful to look at. But one thing I find myself thinking about when watching Skyfall is "yeah I get it, he's an orphan and troubled, but who cares, can we just get on with it!?". There's too much inward focus in this film and while it is needed to resolve the questions posed in CR and QoS - it all just feels a little too serious for the Bond I love.
Even with that said, Skyfall is a very well crafted film from a talented director that many people enjoy and was enormously successful. For non-Bond fans I can understand why so many like it, because it does feel original within the universe, but when Craig couldn't shoot worth a damn because he'd drunk too much while being dead, I couldn't help but think about Dalton's shot when escaping the bar and Moore's "did I?". I don't feel any relief or "Bond's back" when he regathers his aim. Bond IMO, in the universe I love, should never really lose it. DAD (heaven forbid) did the Bond/M trust conflict and Bond disappearing element much better, because it was brief.
Spectre is much better than Skyfall because it does get back to where it should be as teased-on at the end of Skyfall. But made all the more frustrating by this viewing, because it still continues with the inward focus and political posturing :S
"Better make that two."
Pros:
PTS
Titles/Song
All the actors.
Direction, Photography, Script.
JB, M, Q and Moneypenny - the "team" are back!
Shanghai sequence
Macau sequence
Skyfall sequence
Some fabulous establishing shots.
Cons:
Music is so-so.
The tube train crash looks poor and is really not needed anyway.
It's back to form after the disastrous QOS. The story is good and everyone plays off each other really well. It's almost, if not quite as good as CR, but it's very close. DC has grown into the role, he is a very believable Bond. This ranks very high in my "new" list.