SPOILER ALERT - Skyfall Media Reviews Thread

Nope, french press screening was yesterday. Do you want me to post spoilers to prove it? French reviews are all over by now.

But OK, I'll give you something not spoilery, but not mentionned before: Silva is so fantastic a vilain, he gets breathless trying to keep up with Bond in the end.

That was pathetic and ridiculous, and it's only one part near the end of the movie.

When you see Albert Finney utter "welcome to scotland", you will understand also the part was written for Sir Sean (he probably refused unless he was paid 10% of all profits of all the Bond films made in the last 50 years).

(it would have worked with Sean in The Rock mode thought)

Stamper wrote:

Nope, french press screening was yesterday. Do you want me to post spoilers to prove it?

Sure. Many of us are spoiler-seekers anyway.

Stamper wrote:

When you see Albert Finney utter "welcome to scotland", you will understand also the part was written for Sir Sean (he probably refused unless he was paid 10% of all profits of all the Bond films made in the last 50 years).

(it would have worked with Sean in The Rock mode thought)

Albert Finney is a far superior actor to Sir Sean Connery. I have no doubts that he will utterly own the part.

Stamper wrote:

When you see Albert Finney utter "welcome to scotland", you will understand also the part was written for Sir Sean (he probably refused unless he was paid 10% of all profits of all the Bond films made in the last 50 years).

This reminds me of the idea for Connery's cameo in DIE ANOTHER DAY, which if memory serves was revealed a few years ago by Tamahori. Between leaving Hong Kong and turning up outside Buckingham Palace, Bond would have gone to Scotland for advice from the original James Bond (yep, this scene would have endorsed the codename theory, which for some reason is almost universally loathed by Bond fans). Not sure whether this idea ever got as far as an actual approach to Connery.

So Stamper, is there anything good about SKYFALL, in your opinion? And how would you rank it alongside the other films, particularly the recent films? Presumably you view it as one of the worst Bond outings - would you say that it's the worst?

I think we've mostly seen reviews from British critics so far, and as we all know the Brits tend to give Bond (and Mendes) a very easy ride. How is the film faring among French critics?

Loomis wrote:

(yep, this scene would have endorsed the codename theory, which for some reason is almost universally loathed by Bond fans).

Because it's utterly ridiculous.

It literalises the loosely connected Bond series into some kind of grand saga. It's too much of a mindfuck.

Not to mention that there are instances in Bond's past (Tracy's death) that are referenced by different Bond actors. Therefore, if we are to believe the codename theory, either most of the Bond's are widowers or Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan are the same person.

Bond should never bring any form of overarching continuity to the table. You can reference significant events (Vesper, Tracy, SPECTRE), and have characters carry over (Felix, Sylvia, the Anya cameo written into AVTAK); but nobody should try to directly tie DR NO to present films.

Thing is, Brozzer Bond doesn't react when Electra asks him if he's ever lost someone he loved, not even with a simple 'Yes' . Guess Craig's Bond now has Vesper to say it about, should it come up.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Thing is, Brozzer Bond doesn't react when Electra asks him if he's ever lost someone he loved, not even with a simple 'Yes'.

And he doesn't even answer with a simple "no" either. I'd say that his non-response to the question suggests he has lost a loved one and that he simply didn't want to get into that discussion so quickly brushed it aside to talk shop.

Harmsway wrote:

Stamper wrote:

Nope, french press screening was yesterday. Do you want me to post spoilers to prove it?

Sure. Many of us are spoiler-seekers anyway.

Some of the spoilers seem more like warnings, but I'm still super-hyped for the film and trust it to be close to Casino Royale in quality.

Welcome back M.

Thanks Python, much appreciated.

Is it true that Bond shoots traitor Mallory in the shooting range as the last shot of the film and that shot forms the gunbarrel?

... No.

Do you know stuff we don't, Laz? That's a few things I've read by you now which I don't seem to have heard anywhere else. What next? Is it true that Bond sleeps with M?

M wrote:

Do you know stuff we don't, Laz? That's a few things I've read by you now which I don't seem to have heard anywhere else. What next? Is it true that Bond sleeps with M?

There's more chance he'll sleep with Silva.

There is a homosexual scene in the film. I won't aay more on it.

Spoiler:

The movie ain't bad... it's just borrows too much from Nolan films, and it's inferior to CR because they sanitised the violence, I feel like they went back to Disney Bond, even if some of the content is quite dark and heavy.

The problem is that unlike CR, you can't remember one "classic" stand out scene in the film. It's all very slow and everything about the spy is told by dialogue (is Bond still needed in these times etc.) instead of by visuals.

It(s better than QOS, but that won't say a lot.

Is it better than any other Bond films apart from QUANTUM OF SOLACE?

Excessive (and clunky) dialogue that attempts to narrate the plot was my biggest gripe with INCEPTION, which is essentially a sort of illustrated radio play. I also found the overuse of dialogue as opposed to visual storytelling to be a problem with Mendes' AWAY WE GO.

However, I'm sure that I'll find that SKYFALL has compensations that INCEPTION doesn't have. I'm expecting SKYFALL to have much more striking cinematography, more interesting locations and more imaginative and exciting action scenes. I'm also looking forward to the performances, particularly those of Craig and Bardem.

Stamper wrote:

The movie ain't bad... it's just borrows too much from Nolan films, and it's inferior to CR because they sanitised the violence, I feel like they went back to Disney Bond, even if some of the content is quite dark and heavy.

As I have a problem with the gratuitous, manipulative and almost sadistic violence in CASINO ROYALE (i.e. the PTS fight, stairwell fight, death of Getler) along with LICENCE TO KILL - I welcome more 'sanitised' violence, like the earlier films. Good to show a bit of class and subtlety.

Long live DIsney Bond™.

Python wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Thing is, Brozzer Bond doesn't react when Electra asks him if he's ever lost someone he loved, not even with a simple 'Yes'.

And he doesn't even answer with a simple "no" either. I'd say that his non-response to the question suggests he has lost a loved one and that he simply didn't want to get into that discussion so quickly brushed it aside to talk shop.

Yeah, could be. Think I vaguely remember Mike Wilson also saying something along the lines of that maybe 30 years was too much 'time passed' to be referring back to OHMSS specifically.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Stamper wrote:

The movie ain't bad... it's just borrows too much from Nolan films, and it's inferior to CR because they sanitised the violence, I feel like they went back to Disney Bond, even if some of the content is quite dark and heavy.

As I have a problem with the gratuitous, manipulative and almost sadistic violence in CASINO ROYALE (i.e. the PTS fight, stairwell fight, death of Getler) along with LICENCE TO KILL - I welcome more 'sanitised' violence, like the earlier films. Good to show a bit of class and subtlety.

Long live DIsney Bond™.

Was anyone seriously expecting SKYFALL to contain any graphic, unsanitised violence? It is not an R-rated film (certificate 18 for us Brits) and was never planned as such.

Stamper wrote:

There is a homosexual scene in the film. I won't aay more on it.

Spoiler:

The movie ain't bad... it's just borrows too much from Nolan films, and it's inferior to CR because they sanitised the violence, I feel like they went back to Disney Bond, even if some of the content is quite dark and heavy.

The problem is that unlike CR, you can't remember one "classic" stand out scene in the film. It's all very slow and everything about the spy is told by dialogue (is Bond still needed in these times etc.) instead of by visuals.

It(s better than QOS, but that won't say a lot.

I pretty much prefer everything Nolan has done to the turgid and generic mess that was 2006's Casino Royale, sanitised violence with some story context is infinitely preferable to the sterile and arbitrary adrenalin interludes that fracture CR's running time. Skyfall does at least seem to be trying to place the right emphasis on story although the dogmatic insistence on using dialogue as the exclusive form of exposition is very much the trend of films of the last 10 to 15 years.

Loomis wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Stamper wrote:

The movie ain't bad... it's just borrows too much from Nolan films, and it's inferior to CR because they sanitised the violence, I feel like they went back to Disney Bond, even if some of the content is quite dark and heavy.

As I have a problem with the gratuitous, manipulative and almost sadistic violence in CASINO ROYALE (i.e. the PTS fight, stairwell fight, death of Getler) along with LICENCE TO KILL - I welcome more 'sanitised' violence, like the earlier films. Good to show a bit of class and subtlety.

Long live DIsney Bond™.

Was anyone seriously expecting SKYFALL to contain any graphic, unsanitised violence? It is not an R-rated film (certificate 18 for us Brits) and was never planned as such.

I've got no idea what's going on in Stamper's head.

Nope, but CR was pretty edgy, what with the opening killings, or the torture scene.

Here's a french review, get it via google translate

http://www.premiere.fr/Cinema/News-Cinema/Skyfall-a-l-epreuve-des-Bond-3527172?

Stamper wrote:

Nope, but CR was pretty edgy, what with the opening killings, or the torture scene.

If by "edgy" you mean crude and tasteless.

This is what people thought of Dr No and FRWL back in the days, Largo ;)