Let me preface this first……I grew
up on James Bond. My father almost religiously had me watch all the Connery,
Moore and even Lazenby Bond films. Then as I was able, I went to the theaters to
see the late Roger Moore and then the reboot Timothy Dalton Bond films. Then
there was a disconnect and I walked away from these movies and missed most of
the Pierce Brosnan films, until they hit they rental market. Then Bond changed
to Daniel Craig and I have now seen all his films as Mr. Bond. Where am I going
with this? Well…until now I had my favorite Bond films and villains. After
seeing Skyfall, the paradigm has shifted.
Skyfall is my new go to Bond film!
Why?
1. The villain is great.
Mr. Silva is just creepy and crazy enough to be equal parts evil and fun.
 |
| bad touch! bad touch! bad touch! |
2. There is no real “Bond”
girl.This bit of pop culture has fallen out of favor with me. I could care less
about what hot new actress wants to be or is the new Bond girl. They usually
suck and add so little to the stories. I’m done with this and it would be cool
if the focus shifted away from the hottie and more toward the story and
action.
3. The action sequences
are great and not too campy or extremely over the top: running on crocodiles,
driving a boat down city streets, another random ski-slope chase, cello sled
escape, etc, etc.
4. Bond has been made
human. He actually shows signs of damage, age and fatigue. If Mr. Bond takes a
beating it is noticeable. Hell he went unshaven for a descent amount of the
film. He also looked worn and tired when he should. A more human hero is always
a better hero. If you want unblemished good guys, go watch some
Superman.
5. The lack of wacky
gadgets continues. Sure these were fun when I was growing up, but the “cool” spy
gear has just become tired and lame to me. Just give the guy a gun and a few techno
things, like we all seem to covet these days, and he is good to go. There is no
repelling belt, exploding capsules, watch garrotes, blow’em up pens, etc etc
etc. Sure there is a throwback to the old films, but that is all it was , an
exception and not the new norm.
5.1 There is a great
throwback with an Aston Martin DB5 and I was fine with that. I'm not a car guy,
but the Aston Martin has always had a soft spot in my heart (the only other cars
that are worth a damn are the Firebird from Smokey and the Bandit, the Audi RB Tony
Stark has in Iron Man 1 and the Back to the Future Delorean). This model was
used in Goldfinger and I think Thunderball....but I'm not sure, google it later.
It was a bit of cool nostalgia and not heavy handed spy gear gadgetry, so I was
ok with it. Plus is a great looking car.
6. The loss of the evil
Russians has sucked for the spy world, but that has changed. Thank you global
terrorists and those wacky black ops mercs. The new bad seems to not be the angry
Russian bear, or the maniacal bazillionare, but sleeper cells, terrorist
organizations and small groups that look to cause problems. These can be
utilized well or poorly (and usually they are). This time around the small group
of trouble makers works and pretty damn well. The shift from evil countries
and wacky rich guys with an army of hapless minions is a good thing.
So are there any not to like
bits?
I really wanted more
villain. It was a shame to have a great bad guy off screen for 2/3 of the film.
The return of the
Quartermaster is both good and bad. If it continues to be used like this film,
it is good. If it just a slow return to campy gadgets in the future, then it is
bad.
The plot was predictable as
are all Bond films. It did have a bit of....this has happened before. Then again
don't they all though. I wasn't a film killer, but it was handled decently and
didn't pull away from the story.
Can we get Javier Bardem in
a film without awful hair? Great bad guy, but just an awful mane.
Will Daniel Craig become the
new go to and favorite Bond? Well for me yes. Sure Connery was good and I can
always go back and enjoy those films. However, his bond was cool and sounded
cool, but he would get the shit kicked out of him today. The Roger Moore films, that I cherished as a kid,
just look horrible now. Poor Timothy Dalton never really got a real chance and
everyone has forgotten him. You'll always be my Prince Barin of Arboria Mr.
Dalton. Pierce Brosnan's films just get worse as they go. Goldeneye is fairly
descent, and has my man crush as the villain, but the remaining Brosnan Bond
films are just drek!
Just me, but the new Bond is
the best Bond! Skyfall was great movie time fun and my favorite bond movie yet.
The perfect mix of dark, serious, fun and awesome!
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