skyfall

Mild spoilers for Skyfall, if you want to know if I liked it?  I did, should you see it? Yes.  I try to avoid major spoilers if possible, but minor ones may be discussed and might  ruin plot twists, depending on your perception.  You have been warned.

I went to Skyfall the other day, and I gotta say, it lived up to the hype.  The opening chase scene was great, loved the little nods to previous Bond movies with special attention payed to the 60's movies in general, and being a thematic follow-up to Casino Royal, I thought it worked quite well on that level.  I know Quantum of Solace came after Casino Royal and before this, but Quantum is largely ignored as the sequel bait in that movie is not referenced, and Skyfall feels more like a follow-up to Casino Royal than anything else.  Thematically there is a definite narrative of old vs. new, and given the ending, I would say it is also everything old is new again.

Acting wise, two people really carry this movie, M played by Dame Judy Dench in probably her biggest role in a Bond film, and Silver played by Javier Bardem who is both unsettling and intimidating in ways that aren't traditional in a Bond film.  Can't remember the character name, but Ralph Fiennes does a great job as M's heir apparent.  The actress who played Eve did quite well too, though I don't think I've seen her in anything before, and the new Q was pretty entertaining, and I hope he stays with the franchise long term.

Non-plot spoilers for various references and Easter eggs I noticed.  the Aston Martin DB 5 was a can't miss nod to Goldfinger, the bottle of 1962 scotch is a reference to Bond himself, being from Scotland and debuting in 1962, not sure if it is a direct reference or just a thematic one, but Q giving Bond a gun and a radio, and only a gun and a radio just felt like a 60's spy thing.  The line about exploding pens is a reference to Goldeneye.  The last scene of the movie might as well be the beginning of Dr. No.   The title sequence the Adele's Skyfall feels like an opening to a 60's Bond film, and I loved every moment of the opening.

some of the negatives I noticed were that the third act was maybe a little too slow, though there were some good character moments, and I liked the "lethal Home Alone" sequence.  Would have liked to see a watch laser or a pen gun or something, but I guess they wanted to keep Bond low tech to contrast with Silver who could hack anything, anytime, anywhere.

Really? Just go see it, its great.

in Pokeymans news, my Giratina is lvl 72 having gained a lvl while helping train Ludicolo from 25 to 39.  That is all, see you next time I got something important to say.