SPOILER ALERT - Skyfall Media Reviews Thread

I've read a review (can't remember which one) describing Silva as "openly gay", but I wonder whether anything new is really being brought to the table here.

He'd hardly be the first Bond villain of whom it's implied that he's less than wholly heterosexual, or even the first such villain in recent years. Look at Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre, and maybe also Damian Greene. There are also suggestions of something going on between Colonel Moon/Gustav Graves and Zao, not to mention Sanchez and Dario. I could go on.

It won't surprise me if Silva isn't quite as openly gay as all that. I doubt that there'll be a moment in the film along the lines of:

M: Bond, do you know a man named Raoul Silva? Anglo-Brazilian, 42 years old, quite tall, rather handsome and gay.

BOND: The name rings a bell. Gay, you say? Is he in the closet?

M: No, he's very much out.

BOND: Oh, yes, I think I know him.

Point being, he may be merely the latest in a long line of Bond villains whose sexuality is just a matter of none-too-subtle hints. Business as usual, then.

Loomis wrote:

I've read a review (can't remember which one) describing Silva as "openly gay", but I wonder whether anything new is really being brought to the table here.

He'd hardly be the first Bond villain of whom it's implied that he's less than wholly heterosexual, or even the first such villain in recent years. Look at Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre, and maybe also Damian Greene. There are also suggestions of something going on between Colonel Moon/Gustav Graves and Zao, not to mention Sanchez and Dario. I could go on.

It won't surprise me if Silva isn't quite as openly gay as all that. I doubt that there'll be a moment in the film along the lines of:

M: Bond, do you know a man named Raoul Silva? Anglo-Brazilian, 42 years old, quite tall, rather handsome and gay.

BOND: The name rings a bell. Gay, you say? Is he in the closet?

M: No, he's very much out.

BOND: Oh, yes, I think I know him.

Point being, he may be merely the latest in a long line of Bond villains whose sexuality is just a matter of none-too-subtle hints. Business as usual, then.

I think the new villain, with his powerful presence, blonde hair and hints of homosexuality is a nod to Scaramanga from the novels?

And another positive review - http://www.filmoria.co.uk/2012/10/film-review-skyfall/

Another 5 star review - http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/10/movie-review-skyfall-2012.html

And another - http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/view/351791/Skyfall-review-and-trailer

And more - http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/movies/skyfall-the-spoiler-free-review/30408

Another 5 star, not sure if it already been posted - http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/skyfall-review-224751356.html

Even Chris Tookey loves it - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2217146/CHRIS-TOOKEY-Skys-limit-Bond-50-years.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Best Bond ever - http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/skyfall-review-the-best-bond-has-ever-been/

Skyfall is the smartest Bond film for many years - http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/393898/20121013/007-james-bond-skyfall-review-javier-bardem.htm

Loomis wrote:

He'd hardly be the first Bond villain of whom it's implied that he's less than wholly heterosexual, or even the first such villain in recent years. Look at Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre, and maybe also Damian Greene. There are also suggestions of something going on between Colonel Moon/Gustav Graves and Zao, not to mention Sanchez and Dario. I could go on.

Yep.

Yet another - http://movies.uk.msn.com/reviews/skyfall-review

And another - http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/90537/skyfall.html

Loomis wrote:

I've read a review (can't remember which one) describing Silva as "openly gay", but I wonder whether anything new is really being brought to the table here.

He'd hardly be the first Bond villain of whom it's implied that he's less than wholly heterosexual, or even the first such villain in recent years. Look at Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre, and maybe also Damian Greene. There are also suggestions of something going on between Colonel Moon/Gustav Graves and Zao, not to mention Sanchez and Dario. I could go on.

It won't surprise me if Silva isn't quite as openly gay as all that.

Point being, he may be merely the latest in a long line of Bond villains whose sexuality is just a matter of none-too-subtle hints. Business as usual, then.

Except in this film the hints are not subtle. According to one review, in the interrogation scene Silva runs his hands across Bond's chest and then strokes his legs and knee, asking him if 'his training ever prepared him for something like this?' and Bond replies 'What makes you think this is my first time?' There's also one review that inferred, or intimated, that Silva plans to keep Bond alive as his own personal sex slave (but that may just be me reading too much into their vague hints).

And that's just from one review. Maybe Silva openly kisses one of his assistants. Who knows?

I do think it's fair to say that this villain will leave no one wondering or doubting his sexuality, where at least with the other characters you mentioned, there were some hints or some conjecture, but nothing really ever expanded upon. In that respect SKYFALL looks to be different.

And for the record, I don't ever recall any conversations where Sanchez's relationship with Dario was ever speculated upon (there hug and kiss just seemed a "Latin thing" to me. I think we Americans are just so sex-saturated that we ascribe sexual motivations to every human behavior that, just 50 years ago, was considered a sign of friendship). That's a new one for me. Homosexuality has always been just beneath the surface in the films, certainly much more so than in the novels. That's been changing recently.

Incidentally, I think DAD deliberately implied a relationship between Verity and Miranda (or at least a desire on Verity's part to have one). Less so between Graves and Zao, but it did cross my mind. Never really got the whole vibe from Le Chiffre, despite his reference to Bond's fit body (that's more of a statement of fact than anything else).

Blofeld? Gay.
WInt and Kidd? Gay.
Bambi and Thumper? Lesbians.
Erich Kriegler? Gay.
Jaocba Brink? Lesbian.
Trevelyan? Bi or confused.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Never really got the whole vibe from Le Chiffre, despite his reference to Bond's fit body (that's more of a statement of fact than anything else).

Well, it's also hinted that his girlfriend is simply a "beard".

Loomis wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Never really got the whole vibe from Le Chiffre, despite his reference to Bond's fit body (that's more of a statement of fact than anything else).

Well, it's also hinted that his girlfriend is simply a "beard".

True. I guess I"m most concerned with the notion that somehow SKYFALL is a prequel, of sorts, to Dr.No. I hope that is not the case, and that this reboot under Craig is simply a standalone universe.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Never really got the whole vibe from Le Chiffre, despite his reference to Bond's fit body (that's more of a statement of fact than anything else).

Well, it's also hinted that his girlfriend is simply a "beard".

True. I guess I"m most concerned with the notion that somehow SKYFALL is a prequel, of sorts, to Dr.No. I hope that is not the case, and that this reboot under Craig is simply a standalone universe.

If that were the case, then Mallory would be Messervy, and the final scene would be Bond being asked by M if he knew anything about toppling.

This franchise is the only thing being "toppled".

Gunbarrel not at the beginning again? Wondering why? Find my ancient post about these current f*ckers being ashamed of such things, and there's your answer. The opening gunbarrel may be their big novelty being saved for Bond 24, just as M's death, Moneypenny being a gun-toting, Bond-killing Sista and the intro of Q are the novelties in SF. Babs cares for shocks and novelties a hell of a lot more than making a convincing, authentic and agenda-free Bond film.

Just wasted £1.50 on The Times to read their review... Five stars out of five, one of the best, etc, but absolutely nothing to back it up beyond a pile of facts which have been available to the public for weeks. Didn't for one second believe that the reviewer had even seen the film. They called M the real Bond girl in this film. F*ck.

I'm not reading the reviews, but what did they say about Craig's performance as Bond?

Unfortunately I get the feeling that from now on the "nu-Bonds" will have the gunbarrel sequence at the end of the film, possibly intergrated into the "James Bond Will be Back" card. This is probably being done as an excuse to have a snazzy opening every time like QOS's (ironically it is one of the few good scenes in the entire film, until the epilectic, scizophrenic car chase that is).

Control wrote:

I'm not reading the reviews, but what did they say about Craig's performance as Bond?

Here's a few excerpts:

Quote :

Daniel Craig is looking the part - he’s got the right mileage now

Quote :

Craig manages to deliver any potentially cheesy one liners brilliantly with his characteristic dry wit.

Quote :

Craig's harried, stern Bond is as inscrutable and wordless as ever. He has plenty of welcome one-liners ('I'm just changing carriages,' he quips, leaping from the roof of one train car to the next), but delivers them like someone cracking gags at a funeral.

Quote :

Craig is excellent, taking the character to the limit.

Quote :

Bond has never lost his edge like this. There's a moment where he stands at an MI6 testing facility, struggling to steady his weapon as he stares down the gun range through bloodshot eyes. Of course he'll make it back. But it's an arresting moment. We genuinely fear for him.

Quote :

Craig is on cracking form as Bond, all rippling muscles and curling lip

Quote :

Daniel Craig is superb as a Bond well past the first flush of youth, and not the crack shot or finely honed athlete he used to be.

Quote :

Daniel Craig is a little more craggy faced these days but still manages to look cool in Tom Ford’s suits, ensuring 007 is as suave as ever and effortlessly pulling off his action scenes to boot. It’s Craig’s blistering turn as Bond that elevates the film above and beyond your average 007 flick; he can be both brutal and suave as needs be, showcasing his versatility as an actor in a demanding role such as this.

Quote :

Craig finally feels like he’s finally fully embraced the role of Bond with a cold and callous exterior covering that of a man of heroism and honour.

Quote :

Indeed, for all its intimations of mortality and harping on obsolescence, Skyfall is more often than not a hoot, Craig having the confidence at last to lace his Bond’s killer instinct with a bone-dry wit and wry nonchalance.

Quote :

Put through his paces after some Mediterranean down-time involving scorpion-baiting drinking games and post-shag Heineken, 007 can hardly manage a chin-up before collapsing in a heap. He can’t even dangle from the undercarriage of an ascending elevator without wincing in discomfort.

If Casino Royale was Bond finding his footing, Skyfall is him remembering where he left it - a clever turnaround made all the more effective by giving 007 an adversary who, for much of the film, is crossing the finish line while Jimmy’s putting on his trainers.

Quote :

Craig, as ever, makes for a splendidly authoritative Bond, even when he's suffering a crisis of faith and scowling at his reflection inside dirty mirrors.

Quote :

And, oh yes, there's Daniel Craig. He owns Bond now, and the role is undoubtedly his for as long as he might want it.

Quote :

Craig again impresses as Bond. He switches without fuss from Roger Moore-style self-deprecating comedy (adjusting his cuff links in action sequences) to the darker, more intense scenes which focus on Bond’s childhood traumas.

Quote :

It’s a reading of the role that comes from the later Ian Fleming novels, the ones that had their titles used on films which otherwise threw away the material, and much of Skyfall feels like the kind of post-John Buchan/Bulldog Drummond thrillers Fleming wrote rather than the fantastical, science fictionish films which grew out of them.

Thanks, Sharky.

Quote :

He has plenty of welcome one-liners ('I'm just changing carriages,' he quips, leaping from the roof of one train car to the next), but delivers them like someone cracking gags at a funeral.

Added a few more.

Another positive one - http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2012-10/13/skyfall-review

I know that this may be a VERY long shot but maybe EON will move the gunbarell at the very last minute due to the uproar it has caused amongst the Bond fan community, again, it is a VERY long shot but atleast it is worth a shot. Anybody want to start up a petition?

James Bond wrote:

I know that this may be a VERY long shot but maybe EON will move the gunbarell at the very last minute due to the uproar it has caused amongst the Bond fan community, again, it is a VERY long shot but atleast it is worth a shot. Anybody want to start up a petition?

Maybe for home video. Then again this is what everyone said when QOS came out.

James Bond wrote:

I know that this may be a VERY long shot but maybe EON will move the gunbarell at the very last minute due to the uproar it has caused amongst the Bond fan community, again, it is a VERY long shot but atleast it is worth a shot. Anybody want to start up a petition?

Noble effort, Mr.Bond. But unfortunately it's a sad state of affairs when we as fans feel we have to petition the makers of the James Bond movies to put the gun-barrel sequence at the beginning of the film (it's rightful place). With EON's logic, why don't they put "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN" at the beginning of the pre-credits sequence?

I don't really understand why it's at the end of SKYFALL. Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it's enemy action.

Lazenby. wrote:

Didn't for one second believe that the reviewer had even seen the film. They called M the real Bond girl in this film. F*ck.

And the reason why I believe that quote about M being the real Bond Girl in the film is because I've read it in other reviews and I've read it from reviewers who don't criticize every move and counter-move that EON makes like we do. They have less skin in the game. For them to say "M is the real Bond GIrl" feels like it's coming from an unbiased source, which I think is great because it totally backs up what some of us have been complaining about this series since Craig took over (and Barbara apparently pushed Michael out of any substantial decision making).

It appears for the third straight Bond film we're going to get a 007 that hasn't gotten the girl in the end (no pun intended). One killed herself, one thought he was damaged goods and refused to get involved with him, and the other one chose to become M's secretary and not get into a relationship any more serious than mild flirtation.

I think it's safe to say that the Craig films (however many more he has left in the tank) are simply not going to adhere to every tradition, and that includes having a Bond GIrl at the end of the film as a reward for a job well done.

Also, I'd love for the Moneypenny-deniers to come on out of the woodwork, kneel before Gravy, and apologize for ever doubting.

James Bond wrote:

I know that this may be a VERY long shot but maybe EON will move the gunbarell at the very last minute due to the uproar it has caused amongst the Bond fan community, again, it is a VERY long shot but atleast it is worth a shot. Anybody want to start up a petition?

I would assume Skyfall is locked right now.

Yeah. Nice idea, JB, but there's nothing we can do at this point.

Not that EON would bother listening, anyway.

Yes, but didn't the character of 'Jaws' die in the original test-screening of TSWLM although was so popular that they decided instead to re-cut the scene and film a brief shot of Jaws swimming away from the 'Atlantis' unharmed? I know that was a test-screening all the way back in 1977 although I shall still be keeping my fingers crossed.

James Bond wrote:

Yes, but didn't the character of 'Jaws' die in the original test-screening of TSWLM although was so popular that they decided instead to re-cut the scene and film a brief shot of Jaws swimming away from the 'Atlantis' unharmed? I know that was a test-screening all the way back in 1977 although I shall still be keeping my fingers crossed.

Skyfall is long past the test-screening phase now. It's locked and screening for critics. Critics don't review test footage.

Are we Bond fans so shallow that the placement of the gunbarrel is enough to cause an uproar? I, for one, could pretty much care less. Bond is defined by so much more than It's box-ticking elements.

dr. strangelove wrote:

Are we Bond fans so shallow that the placement of the gunbarrel is enough to cause an uproar? I, for one, could pretty much care less. Bond is defined by so much more than It's box-ticking elements.

Hopefully the film will be good enough that we can put aside the gunbarrel as a nitpick. How they end the flick might justify the gunbarrel at the end. It didn't really work for QOS because it went from a somber ending to the gunbarrel. Hopefully this is more upbeat like CR, but in the end I think if there was one film that truly deserved to have a gunbarrel at the end it was CR. Bond says the line, gunbarrel, his arc is complete.

Oh well, we'll see how it pans out in theaters ourselves.