A Random Collection of Thoughts on Skyfall

I went to the nearest multiplex cinema with the two blokes and a chick yesterday, and there was an interesting turn of events. Prior to seeing the film, the two blokes weren’t brilliantly keen on Daniel Craig’s Bond and I was rather fond of him (he would rank second behind Sean Connery on my list). Following our viewing of Skyfall, I wasn’t so sure of Craig’s Bond and the other two blokes now think he’s alright (the chick thought the film was alright, too).

I’ve slept on it and I think I’d rate Skyfall as a pretty damn good Bond film. I get the feeling that the amount of hype didn’t do the film any favour, and everyone I’d spoke to who’d seen it had described it as “non-stop action”, which it really isn’t; I can think of several parts of the film where it dragged its feet. Critics citing it as the “best Bond film ever” were presumably not accounting for the 50 years of Bond films, as Skyfall is definitely not that – remember, I’m a picky Bond fanboy with opinions (just like every arsehole with a blog on the internet). Within the Craig era, I’d rank Skyfall as being better than Quantum of Solace but not quite as fun as Casino Royale.

I can guarantee that I’ll get around to recapping the film in full when it comes out for home viewing, but in the meantime here’s a random collection of thoughts and points to think on if you’ve seen the film. Warning: SPOILERS!

• Was “crum-ball” really the best rhyme Adele could come up with to match “skyfall”? “Play ball”? “Find all”?
• M doesn’t seem to make a single correct decision during the film. M is really terrible at her job. The chick felt that there should have at least been one moment of redemption for her, a moment that never came.
• Bond’s gadget-laden Aston Martin from Goldfinger makes a reappearance, which is fantastic – I loved it. Unfortunately, when the Craig films rebooted the franchise, Casino Royale had it so that Bond won the Aston in a card game, making it a bog-standard Aston. This means one of two things, either Casino Royale apparently took place before Goldfinger, or Bond had Q branch load the car up with 1960’s gadgets¹.
• Will was concerned about the Aston blowing up as we’ve only got about three of the damn things left!
• Was the komodo dragon pit an alternative to a tank full of piranhas? Is it that good of an idea to have a bridge over a pit of carnivores as a feature of your casino?
• Why did the film feel quite like a Batman film? The villain was quite like the Joker, there was that bit where the villain is captured because he wanted to be, Bond kept skulking around like he’s trying to be Batman, and we even got to see the gravestone of Bond’s parents.
• The film shows that Bond was raised in some horrible old mansion in the middle of nowhere in Scotland. Siy wondered if this was some way of explaining Connery’s accent (and also the new owners must have been pissed when they found out the building had gone up in smoke).
• How come Mr. Silver’s false jaw never cropped up again? It was a bit of a missed opportunity for him to get into fisticuffs with Bond and have Bond punch it out of alignment.
• Was making the villain vaguely attracted to Bond the only way to make Bond meet his match? Was it necessary for Bond to imply that he’s had at least one gay encounter? I didn’t need to start thinking about Bond picking up soap in the shower while he was in the navy!
• Was M really that major a character to deserve the focus this film gave her? I get the feeling that it was just because it’s Judi Dench’s last film, which isn’t a very good reason. Bernard Lee and Robert Brown never got a send off!
• Did we really need the whole M = mother connection? And did James Bond really have to start crying² at the end when she goes?
• After Mr. Silver scared everyone off of that island, did nobody ever think to come back later to see if the chemical plant had really exploded? Not even a passing aeroplane noticing the distinct lack of explosion?
• When Bond approaches the woman from behind in the shower, why is her reaction not to scream and flail at the sudden intrusion of her personal space?³
• Was Q belittling GoldenEye‘s exploding pen really necessary? It’s not big to make fun of older films just because they seem a bit camp now, just to make your film look better by comparison.
• Is England really safe now Voldemort/Francis Dolarhyde is in charge of MI6?
• Is Bond really that old? I’m sure being in your 40’s is old in the spy game but still, he’s fitter than most people younger than him!
• Bond’s ability to shoot straight came back rather suddenly.
• When Bond is driving that bulldozer towards the villain on the train, why does the villain just stand there shooting? Why doesn’t he just run away down the length of the train?
• Was M really the designated Bond girl for this film?
• The film didn’t seem too teal and orange but definitely has some colour adjustments. I’m intrigued to see whether the conversion to the small screen will make the colour quality a lot more teal and orange.

Those points aside, it’s still the best film this year and I highly recommend it as a worthy addition to the Bond franchise (it certainly did a better job of honouring the series than Die Another Day did!). In particular, I applaud the people who made the film for pressing the reset button and returning things to the way they were pre-Casino Royale by the end of the film; I eagerly look forward to seeing what I assume will be a return to Bond basics in the next film (and maybe we’ll get back to foiling that Quantum group that was revealed in the last film?).

Post by Sean Patrick Payne+ | November 4, 2012 at 9:46 pm | Films, James Bond, Three Blokes and a Chick Watch | 2 comments

Tags: 007, Batman, Daniel Craig, James Bond, Seriously it's basically The Dark Knight, Skyfall