Melting a Sceptic's Cold Heart

SPOILERS AHEAD!

It's no secret that I wasn't overly enthusiastic about Skyfall. I had no doubt it would be a slick production and visually impressive, but a high-quality James Bond movie? No, I expected more of the same tosh we’d been served four years ago. Tosh that beats out any beef vindaloo in its ability to make a mess of things.

For the first twenty to thirty minutes I may have been inclined to agree that we were in Toshville, heading on a one-way trip to Drecksville. Like in Quantum, we’re hurled almost immediately into a lifeless action sequence that barely has any context. Bond jumps around and flies here and there. Once more, a PTS that’s there to serve kiddies who need their fix right away. We’re then treated to a main titles sequence which was, as I recall one reviewer describing it, “oddly macabre.” It was different, yes, but not all that great. It looked like something out of a cheapo horror movie. They really overdid it with the tombstones and skulls. More chicks n’ tits please. Adele’s tune, as I’ve said previously, was adequate, but I don’t think it’ll stand out as one of the greats of the series.

A furrier Daniel Craig reports for duty soon after. Fun times ahead. Shame he couldn’t transfer some of that facial hair onto his noggin. Whishaw’s Q? Didn’t care for him. Not a terrible character in his own right, but you can’t expect some cardigan-wearing hipster to step into the shadow of Desmond Llewelyn or, hell, even John Cleese. The Shanghai stuff was standard and dull. Recall thinking that it was all starting to feel like a big budget Jason Statham movie.

Now, don’t pack your bags and leave just yet. The movie shifted gears for me from Macau onwards. Not only was it more interesting and engaging as a film in and of itself but, and it’s a biggie, I think I can pretty much say that Skyfall has the most Fleming feel to it since any post-TLD movie. Dare I use that much loathed term “Fleming-esque?” Well, perhaps I’ll keep it in the vault, but this certainly has the right elements in it.

Severine certainly feels like she’s stepped out of the pages of old Ian’s work, with her troubled past and a renewed flame of hope that this British agent could be her salvation. Alas, not to be. Her death scene was terrific (which feels like an odd thing to say!)

Bardem, suffice to say, was fantastic as Silva. Flamboyant, cocky, hideous, totally fucking nuts. He’s everything the last three or four villains weren’t. He’s the kind of villain one could expect to find in the imaginatively perverse mind of Ian Fleming. The scene where he reveals his deformity... far out! I certainly would’ve liked to see him get a bit more screentime though.

Harris was pretty decent as Eve. Shame he had to become Moneypenny! Really don’t see the need for a backstory to that character.
Oh well, let’s go on.

Comparisons with the literary Bond aside, it was also nice to see some of the traits of the cinematic 007 creep back in, namely the humour. Craig can crack a joke once in a while – whodathunkit! It was certainly a more relaxed, comfortable performance, as opposed to the perpetual pout in QOS. Solid work from the leading man. I will say that’s he’s starting to show his age and one naturally wonders if he should’ve left on this high note.

Finney and Fiennes were great too. I look forward to the latter’s work as M.

The finale at Skyfall Lodge and chapel was tense and electrifying. As far as I’m concerned, the best Bond finale in a good thirty years or more. I didn’t mind Dench as much in Skyfall. Ironically she seems to mother Bond a bit less this time. Now it’s Bond saving her chops. The scene where she quotes Tennyson as Bond dashes through London was brilliant. Made you think: “This guy... this is a pretty good guy.” As others have said, Skyfall tosses QOS's Marxian bitchiness onto the ash heap of history and unashamedly delcares that Bond is a hero who fights villains for England's sake. Also liked M's defence of MI6 at the parliamentary inquiry. Reckon I’ll be borrowing some of her points for my next International Relations essay.

Her death was handled in an appropriately sedate manner. Didn’t want her to go out all guns blazing (though... technically that’s how she received her fatal wound). Didn’t expect Bond to cry though (looked like was crying, maybe I’m blind). Glad she left Bond that ceramic bulldog and not her ashes. Bond hurling M’s ashes at London’s pedestrians would be a bit much.

Brilliant looking film. Best cinematography in... hell, maybe any Bond film. Brilliant sounding? Well, honestly, Newman’s score didn’t do much for me. It was nice to take a breather from Arnold (long may it last), but I dunno, thought it was a bit too techno-y in places. Not bad really, just not memorable. Don’t think I could hum you anything from Skyfall, save for the titular song.

Favourite moment of the film was undoubtedly Bond opening the garage to reveal the Aston Martin DB5. I can assure you that everyone in the audience, male and female, got collective wood at that point. The ending in M’s office was pretty much exactly what I imagined it would be – and it was great. Again, can’t wait to see Fiennes in action. An old-school M of Bernard Lee’s stature? Time will tell, but I’m optimistic.

Oh yeah, the gunbarrel. Well, I still think it should’ve been at the start. It didn’t serve a purpose at the end and would not have detracted from the PTS one single bit. Just shove that baby in the right cot next time, pretty please.

Overall, a surprisingly pleasant experience. A grand Bond adventure, replete with both humour and a hard edge. “Benign bizarre” elements are in full swing with a superb villain. Solid Bond Girls sexy up the film. Dench is bearable, if you can believe it. Craig himself gives a good performance. He’s become comfortable in the role and is finally given a script that doesn’t shy away from Bond’s much loved wisecracks. Not sure if I can rank it decisively after a single viewing, but it’s definitely one of the standout Bond films of the last quarter century.

Fine work, Babs. I think I’ll watch your next Bond offering... “With pleasure. “

Good stuff, man. Great review. Pretty much agree with everything you said there, excluding Shanghai. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I love about the whole Shanghai sequence.

"As others have said, Skyfall tosses QOS's Marxian bitchiness onto the ash heap of history and unashamedly delcares that Bond is a hero who fights villains for England's sake. Also liked M's defence of MI6 at the parliamentary inquiry."

Yes it is a refreshing change-up from the last offering. Almost as if someone was listening. Good to see Bond behaving like Bond again and Craig did seem much more at ease in the role. And the film does have Flemingesque ambience. And Craig fights real good too. This time I could make sense of his fights. They were better edited.

Very good review, CJB. And I really agree with your assessment of the title credits. Not that they were awful, but they were rather macabre, morbid and out of place in a Bond film.

My only serious disagreements are on Shanghai and Whishaw. To my mind, the Shanghai setting may have been the best and most Bondian of the film. Bond wearing the cap and shades in the Shanghai airport is the toughest-looking Bond I've ever seen. The aerial shots of Shanghai at night were marvelous. The cue as Bond tails Patrice is SF's musical highlight. And the fight backlit by the holographic jellyfish is exemplary Benign Bizarre.

As for Whishaw, I never would have guessed it, but he somehow works as Q. Couldn't be more different from Desmond, naturally, but I did like the reprise of the injunction to bring back the equipment in good condition. Indeed, sometimes the old ways are the best. The meeting between Q and Bond in front of the painting (Gainsborough?) was a real corker. Inventive setting and classic Bondian repartee. I also loved the scene where Silva hacks Q and the pneumatic doors open. Very creepy. You know some bad shit is about to go down.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Not that they were awful, but they were rather macabre, morbid and out of place in a Bond film.

Since when is the macabre out of place in James Bond? Just take a look at Fleming's YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

The imagery in the SKYFALL titles would have been more than appropriate for a Bond book cover.

Yes. It also reminded me of the LALD title sequence. Never can have enough skulls.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Very good review, CJB. And I really agree with your assessment of the title credits. Not that they were awful, but they were rather macabre, morbid and out of place in a Bond film.

My only serious disagreements are on Shanghai and Whishaw. To my mind, the Shanghai setting may have been the best and most Bondian of the film. Bond wearing the cap and shades in the Shanghai airport is the toughest-looking Bond I've ever seen. The aerial shots of Shanghai at night were marvelous. The cue as Bond tails Patrice is SF's musical highlight. And the fight backlit by the holographic jellyfish is exemplary Benign Bizarre.

As for Whishaw, I never would have guessed it, but he somehow works as Q. Couldn't be more different from Desmond, naturally, but I did like the reprise of the injunction to bring back the equipment in good condition. Indeed, sometimes the old ways are the best. The meeting between Q and Bond in front of the painting (Gainsborough?) was a real corker. Inventive setting and classic Bondian repartee. I also loved the scene where Silva hacks Q and the pneumatic doors open. Very creepy. You know some bad shit is about to go down.

At the screening I went to, the whole theatre laughed out loud at that disguise! Craig handled it coolly, of course.

Another review from one of my favourite members. Good one, CJB. Still haven't watched it. Fatherhood do that to you. This sunday, if I can get a goddam babysitter.

Get to it, groucho! :)

Mates dragged me to the cinema, so that's twice I've watched Skyfall now. 'Twas even better the second time. The first 20 minutes aren't so bad when you know there's a brilliant 2 hours coming your way. I think I'm also developing a greater appreciation for Newman's handiwork.

Gonna safely place Skyfall into my top 10 now.

I think the PTS would have been a little better if there had been some context to it. The idea was evidently to build up a sequence that kept the audience in suspense without really knowing why it was so critical that Bond succeed. It's a bit like the GOLDFINGER pre-titles, but it doesn't work as well because the SKYFALL pre-titles deal with something that is key to the early stages of the plot and jumping straight into action over-rides it.

Yes, definitely. The contemporary lust for films commencing in the middle of a fracas weakened SF's opening.

The movie should've rightly started with the Gunbarrel, followed by a steady build-up to the action.

To be fair the PTS does have some context to it, certainly more than QOS did which just started straight with a car chase, while in SF you have M telling Bond "get the hard drive!" thus you at least know what the hell is going on in the PTS and why Bond is chasing some Matthew Fox lookalike.

I can understand why Mendes moved the gunbarrel to the end of the film - he felt that having it at the start would have been silly because of the way the first shot involves Bond walking down a corridor towards the camera. And I felt it actually worked quite well with the 50 Years logo at the end. In the end, I'm not really that bothered by the gunbarrel appearing at the end of the film, to be honest.

At the very least, we should have seen the exchange between Ronson and Patrice. And afterwards - probably in the scene where Mallory encourages M to retire quietly - some rationalisation would have been nice. After all, MI6 put a list of undercover agents from a dozen countries in a positon where it could be compromised. Why risk that? Why not send out a dummy list? All it would have taken is a single line of dialogue from M explaining that they only way MI6 could be sure that Patrice would take the bait was if the offered up the genuine list; if Patrice thought there was a chance it was fake, he would never have shown up to the meeting and MI6 would have no way of finding out who was trying to acquire the list.

Yeah, I like the opening. The silence of the Colombia logo followed by the alien-like out-out-focus Bond turning to the camera, followed by the brass sting reminding us what we're watching. It's a great moment, and I can forgive them for not throwing in the gunbarrel. Otherwise the hallway shot (effectively a non-abstract gunbarrel) would be redundant.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

At the very least, we should have seen the exchange between Ronson and Patrice. And afterwards - probably in the scene where Mallory encourages M to retire quietly - some rationalisation would have been nice. After all, MI6 put a list of undercover agents from a dozen countries in a positon where it could be compromised. Why risk that? Why not send out a dummy list? All it would have taken is a single line of dialogue from M explaining that they only way MI6 could be sure that Patrice would take the bait was if the offered up the genuine list; if Patrice thought there was a chance it was fake, he would never have shown up to the meeting and MI6 would have no way of finding out who was trying to acquire the list.

As usual, you're not seeing not see the wood for the trees. The NOC list MacGuffin is not central to the film and its ideas. It's just a means to an end.

No, I know what it's there for. It just seems odd that nobody questions why MI6 put it in a position where it could be taken in the first place. Especially considering that the dialogue was changed from "MI6 agents" in the trailer to "NATO agents" in the final cut of the film. Surely one of the twenty-eight NATO states would want to why their agents had to be put in jeopardy in the first place, but it's never addressed.

Just because something is a MacGuffin, that doesn't mean that it should just be accepted with no further discussion. Particularly when discussing it doesn't alter its function. In fact, discussing it could even further its function in the story. M is outraged that she is being squeezed out of her position because of one episode, overlooking every other success she has had. Concentrating on that one episode even more could get more frustration out of her, thereby continuing one of the themes of the film - that the politicans don't understand what MI6 is doing or why; they only care about how it reflects on them.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Yeah, I like the opening. The silence of the Colombia logo followed by the alien-like out-out-focus Bond turning to the camera, followed by the brass sting reminding us what we're watching. It's a great moment, and I can forgive them for not throwing in the gunbarrel. Otherwise the hallway shot (effectively a non-abstract gunbarrel) would be redundant.

I liked the subtle prayer call you could hear during the Colombia logo. I hope further Bond films continue that for the following films as it has now been done with both QOS and SF.

Python wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Yeah, I like the opening. The silence of the Colombia logo followed by the alien-like out-out-focus Bond turning to the camera, followed by the brass sting reminding us what we're watching. It's a great moment, and I can forgive them for not throwing in the gunbarrel. Otherwise the hallway shot (effectively a non-abstract gunbarrel) would be redundant.

I liked the subtle prayer call you could hear during the Colombia logo.

Huh? Never noticed that. Was it a Fajr?

Hard to tell, as I said it was subtle.

Should have been the Westminster Quarters, but then again, there's a lot of religious imagery in the film.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Yeah, I like the opening. The silence of the Colombia logo followed by the alien-like out-out-focus Bond turning to the camera, followed by the brass sting reminding us what we're watching. It's a great moment, and I can forgive them for not throwing in the gunbarrel. Otherwise the hallway shot (effectively a non-abstract gunbarrel) would be redundant.

The "alien-like out-of-focus Bond" was highly reminiscent of the image of Indrid Cold in The Mothman Prophecies.

CJB wrote:

Get to it, groucho! :)

I did ,mate. Will be posting my review.