Most Bond movies are kinda uninspired and interchangeable. They’re good at giving the audience what they want, but because most installments aren’t interested in challenging the formula in any way, they don’t make for very visionary pieces of art. That is not the case for Skyfall, you can feel the inspiration and vision that the filmmakers had for this one. It stands out primarily as a result of it being driven by a concept and theme, rather than just action and tropes. Sam Mendes directs the hell out of this movie, combining the gritty Daniel Craig era of Bond with some more traditional elements in a way that works very well (something he would subsequently fail at with Spectre). There are some campy ideas in this (the whole hacking plot is complete nonsense if you know the slightest bit about hacking, Javier Bardem’s performance is over the top), but because they’re presented in a dark/sinister way, rather than a silly way, it doesn’t mess with the tone (kinda like Nolan did in his Batman movies). The acting is great, the action is very well handled and memorable, it’s shot extremely well (Deakins should’ve easily won the Oscar for this), good music, and most importantly: all the new characters leave an impression. Naomi Harris is very likeable, Berenice Marlohe gives an excellent performance for the little time she’s on screen, Ralph Fiennes has a nice little arc, and Javier Bardem is a terrific bad guy. I only have one small nitpick, and it has to do with the whole ‘I wanted to get captured’ trope, which makes the plot a little less tight than it should be. It worked for The Joker given how psychotic that character is, but here it just seems like forced nonsense. I love that chase scene through the London underground that comes out of it, but there are quite a few conveniences in it because they lean into the ‘I planned all of this’ trope so hard.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2021-09-29T22:25:11Z— updated 2022-12-08T12:14:29Z
Most Bond movies are kinda uninspired and interchangeable.
They’re good at giving the audience what they want, but because most installments aren’t interested in challenging the formula in any way, they don’t make for very visionary pieces of art.
That is not the case for Skyfall, you can feel the inspiration and vision that the filmmakers had for this one.
It stands out primarily as a result of it being driven by a concept and theme, rather than just action and tropes.
Sam Mendes directs the hell out of this movie, combining the gritty Daniel Craig era of Bond with some more traditional elements in a way that works very well (something he would subsequently fail at with Spectre).
There are some campy ideas in this (the whole hacking plot is complete nonsense if you know the slightest bit about hacking, Javier Bardem’s performance is over the top), but because they’re presented in a dark/sinister way, rather than a silly way, it doesn’t mess with the tone (kinda like Nolan did in his Batman movies).
The acting is great, the action is very well handled and memorable, it’s shot extremely well (Deakins should’ve easily won the Oscar for this), good music, and most importantly: all the new characters leave an impression.
Naomi Harris is very likeable, Berenice Marlohe gives an excellent performance for the little time she’s on screen, Ralph Fiennes has a nice little arc, and Javier Bardem is a terrific bad guy.
I only have one small nitpick, and it has to do with the whole ‘I wanted to get captured’ trope, which makes the plot a little less tight than it should be.
It worked for The Joker given how psychotic that character is, but here it just seems like forced nonsense.
I love that chase scene through the London underground that comes out of it, but there are quite a few conveniences in it because they lean into the ‘I planned all of this’ trope so hard.
8.5/10