FieldsMan reviews Skyfall

Well, not yet. I'll be seeing it tomorrow night at an Australian pre-screening event, and I needed to post somewhere about how f*cking excited I am.

Woo-hoo! :)

The only thing I'm not looking forward to is slotting it into my ranking.

But at the moment, I'm going nuts on twitter. Tomorrow, I will listen to all the themes and have a Vesper afterward.

The figure to beat down under is US$20,645,336 which is what Quantum grossed 4 years ago.

Mrs Aural Sects wrote:

The figure to beat down under is US$20,645,336 which is what Quantum grossed 4 years ago.

So get that wallet out, Fieldsman!

GeneralGogol wrote:

Mrs Aural Sects wrote:

The figure to beat down under is US$20,645,336 which is what Quantum grossed 4 years ago.

So get that wallet out, Fieldsman!

Going by the reviews, I think I will!

Just over 6 hours to go!! :D

I've watched it! I'll try give an overview, but it'll be hard to write based on one viewing.

I really enjoyed it. It is an absolutely beautiful film. The Shanghai/Macau stuff was really stunning. Everything was though, from the streets of London to the Turkish rooftops, to Skyfall's surrounding grasslands.

I guess for me, my favourite parts were the DB5 reveal with M and the final minute or so, when Bond and MONEYPENNY!! are in the office. Why, why, why is she Moneypenny? Look, the writing is all there, Naomie Harris is very charming but I'm a traditionalist. Why couldn't they just let Eve be a Bond girl, and write in a character named Jane Moneypenny - as it was? But Fiennes being M is absolutely fantastic. Loved the retro office set. (I'm just writing from thought to thought here. I think of something and then think of something else) The production design was fantastic. I think they found a great balance between modern and retro with the MI6 at the beginning of the film (when she tells Eve to "take the bloody shot!"). QOS's did look too futuristic, and I had liked the MI6 during Brosnan's/CR era. It seemed like the new situation room.

But going back to the writing of Moneypenny, it works, but I just wish it wasn't Naomie Harris as Moneypenny. The dynamic between Bond and Q is flawless. The writing, the humour, the respect (or lack of) is very interesting and I like it. I hope Winshaw and Fiennes are here to stay. Though the former seems to be working his way up with acting - how long will he stay? He can be the next Llewellyn. I hope he is. And Fiennes. Iknow he's getting into directing now too, but will he settle for such a small role? Or will they expand like Dench's M?

And Dench. Fantastic performance as always. I will miss her. I wanted at least one more movie from her, though one where she gives Bond them mission from her desk, and we maybe see her at the end. Like GE/TND, or even like the M scenes from the first 16 Bond films. I've never disliked her and I will miss her from the series. Fiennes is a more-than-worthy replacement, but I kind of didn't want to see Dench finish up that way.

Severine is horribly underused. Her scenes brought back some genuine intrigue missing since the 60s Bond films. I felt she was lifted from Fleming. Her sex trade back story reminded me of the "fallen angel". So really, Solange, Vesper, Fields and Severine are dead. Eve is a dead end because she'll never get laid by Bond, and he shares a kiss with Camille. Oh he bangs the Greek girl, and not the leading girl - M - in SF. I suppose I wanted Eve to be a Bond girl just so he can finish off with a girl. 3 films in a not finished with a leading lady?

And the entire rookie-Bond to senior agent arc seems to sudden. The rookie Bond was unnecessary in CR, but the senior agent thing really works well with an ageing Craig. But Bond was supposed to be Bond by the end of CR. Scratch that, let's let him find his way in QOS. The gun barrel will solidify his character journey. Fuck that. Let's put the gun barrel at the end of Skyfall, when Bond is introduced to the new Q, Moneypenny and M. Now Bond is Bond. I won't hold my breath for Bond 24. I'm being cynical. Sorry lads.

Do the action sequences match the opening one? I really like the hearing shootout, especially with the fire extinguishes. The opening chase felt like TND meets QOS minus Arnold. I really miss Arnold. There were some solid, Bondian moments, but I would have preferred Arnold's touch. A second viewing may change that.

Bardem! What a fantastic villain. A seeming amalgamation of Ledger's Joker and Buffolo Bill of Silence of the Lamb, with a touch of Max Zorin and Wint/Kidd. Brilliant. To me, the film seemed like GE. I thought it was going to be another TWINE (Which I would have loved), but it feels more like GE. Moody (though TWINE is too), with a vengeful villain out to get M/London. All I could think about though was her track record: Alec, Miranda, Mitchell, not trusting Mathis and to certain extents, Vesper and Elektra. Fuck. Now Silva too?

And what do you guys think of the MI6 attack. Was it just me, or did TWINE's looks so much more realistic.

Anyway, before I place it in a ranking, I will rewatch it. Plenty to love in it though, plenty to love!

EDIT: The way the film opened was pretty cool! Though I don't see why the gun barrel could not have worked. It could haver expanded from the bottom right corner, then Bond could appear with that wonderful cue.

Well, my post provoked such heated discussion. Going to a midnight screening tonight so I'll post more thoughts either when I get back to tomorrow.

Some more thoughts:

- I like how conservative this film is and the discussion between old and new
- Silva is up there Goldfinger, Zorin (and for me) Elektra and Carver and a brilliant villain.
- Love the old office!!
- Really like the scotch/Severine death scene. It's comical yet dark and puts a new swing on the Bond vs. Villain dual.
- Anyone think the videos Silva sends M on her laptop are modern examples of 'Benign Bizarre'?

FieldsMan wrote:

Some more thoughts:

- I like how conservative this film is and the discussion between old and new
- Silva is up there Goldfinger, Zorin (and for me) Elektra and Carver and a brilliant villain.
- Love the old office!!
- Really like the scotch/Severine death scene. It's comical yet dark and puts a new swing on the Bond vs. Villain dual.
- Anyone think the videos Silva sends M on her laptop are modern examples of 'Benign Bizarre'?

Silva is at the top of my list of best villains, a most unique character. Bardem's looks, expressions, mannerisms etc complimented it beautifully. I like the film more each time I see it...but am still bitching about it needing another major Bond action set...you'd think with 143 minutes in the bag they could fit another one in... :drunken:

FieldsMan wrote:

Anyone think the videos Silva sends M on her laptop are modern examples of 'Benign Bizarre'?

Yeah, no doubt. I really dug that scene, M wearing MI6 for a crown with God Save the Queen (I think it was?) in the background. Got a little chuckle out of it too.

Toppers wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Anyone think the videos Silva sends M on her laptop are modern examples of 'Benign Bizarre'?

Yeah, no doubt. I really dug that scene, M wearing MI6 for a crown with God Save the Queen (I think it was?) in the background. Got a little chuckle out of it too.

But the graphics were so 1980s Atari...clearly Silva doesn't play XBox or PS3...

Mrs Aural Sects wrote:

Toppers wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Anyone think the videos Silva sends M on her laptop are modern examples of 'Benign Bizarre'?

Yeah, no doubt. I really dug that scene, M wearing MI6 for a crown with God Save the Queen (I think it was?) in the background. Got a little chuckle out of it too.

But the graphics were so 1980s Atari...clearly Silva doesn't play XBox or PS3...

Everything about Silva is 1980s. That's why he's so great.

Toppers wrote:

Mrs Aural Sects wrote:

Toppers wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Anyone think the videos Silva sends M on her laptop are modern examples of 'Benign Bizarre'?

Yeah, no doubt. I really dug that scene, M wearing MI6 for a crown with God Save the Queen (I think it was?) in the background. Got a little chuckle out of it too.

But the graphics were so 1980s Atari...clearly Silva doesn't play XBox or PS3...

Everything about Silva is 1980s. That's why he's so great.

Well, all Bond decades had to be represented fairly in Skyfall. The awkward '80s are no exception. :D

Well, Zorin and Max Largo were always two of the best anyway. The combo of creepy, intelligent and dangerous really works when there's a great actor attached.

Toppers wrote:

Everything about Silva is 1980s. That's why he's so great.

Yeah, there's that 1980s vibe. But more importantly, Javier Bardem had the balls to play the part with more than three emotions.

I think one of my favourite moments came when Silva finally confronted M in the chapel. We know that he is planning to kill her, but just for a moment, there is a look in his eye that says he wants nothing more than to be her favourite agent again, and he seems to genuinely care that she has been injured. This just triggers another wave of grief-fuelled rage.

In fact, I think this might be one of SKYFALL's biggest draw-cards: the characters actually feel something, one way or the other, about what is happening. They don't start the film in one state, and by the end of the film they have moved into another - the way Bond did in QUANTUM OF SOLACE - but rather, they react to things around them in very human ways. They feel like actual characters because of it.

On FieldsMan saying on previous page about TWINE's MI6 explosion looking 'much more realistic' ... erm, no. That was a hole being blown in the side of a (admittedly very good) model. Skyfall's had what looked to me like the actual MI6 building properly fully in-shot, and the explosion didn't look 'superimposed' onto it to me at all ... no idea if it was achieved with CGI, greenscreen work or whatever, but I was impressed. Utterly convincing.

[quote="Lazenby."]Well, Zorin and Max Largo were always two of the best anyway. The combo of creepy, intelligent and dangerous really works when there's a great actor attached.[/quote]

More spittle required from Bardem for us to hit those Max Largo heights.

I think there's some similarity there, though. The idiosyncrasy-meter goes off the chart for Silva, M. Largo and Zorin. Damn good thing too.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

On FieldsMan saying on previous page about TWINE's MI6 explosion looking 'much more realistic' ... erm, no. That was a hole being blown in the side of a (admittedly very good) model. Skyfall's had what looked to me like the actual MI6 building properly fully in-shot, and the explosion didn't look 'superimposed' onto it to me at all ... no idea if it was achieved with CGI, greenscreen work or whatever, but I was impressed. Utterly convincing.

The SKYFALL mi6 shot was a miniature pyro shot comped into the background plate. When Steve Begg mentioned that, I admitted to being very surprised, as the trailer shot to my eye seemed like a real practical effect.

FourDot wrote:

Lazenby. wrote:

Well, Zorin and Max Largo were always two of the best anyway. The combo of creepy, intelligent and dangerous really works when there's a great actor attached.

More spittle required from Bardem for us to hit those Max Largo heights.

I think there's some similarity there, though. The idiosyncrasy-meter goes off the chart for Silva, M. Largo and Zorin. Damn good thing too.

Walken made a brilliant Bond villain, easily the best of the 80s or 90s...if only the film around him was up to the same standard.

Just came back from a third viewing. The Shanghai/Macau/Chimera/Silva Intro/Death of Severine/Silva Interrogation/Enquiry Shootout/Aston Martin Reveal is all classic Bond, up there with the collection of sequences akin to Krilencu's assassination/Bond meets Tanya/Gypsy camp sequence of FRWL.

And, I didn't think I'd say this, but I think I can handle Eve as Moneypenny. She has a sassiness that works and so long as the impeccable writing holds up, I'll get used to her.