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The third Daniel
Craig/Bond film is
as good as the
previous two. The
difference is that
Bond’s not a fresh
00 agent anymore-
he’s years into her
service for MI6, in
fact he’s probably
at the end of the
line. He’s an old
dog with old tricks,
not a new dog with
old tricks. It’s a
different place for
Craig’s Bond, but a
fun place
nonetheless.
Skyfall is a
tremendous movie for
a number of reasons,
but mainly because
we get to see Bond
in new places and
circumstances,
dealing with things
he’s never had to
deal with before.
When you think of
James Bond, the word
old doesn’t come to
mind, but that’s
where Bond is at in
Skyfall. On a
mission to recover a
lost list of
terrorist
organizations, Bond
is on point on a
mission, and he’s
being assisted by a
fresh field agent
named Eva. While
fighting a deadly
efficient assassin
named Patrice on top
of the train, Bond
is in danger of
losing the list. Eva
is on higher ground
observing the fight
with a sniper rifle,
and she’s not sure
if Bond is going to
get the job done or
not. She asks for
M’s call to take or
pass up on the shot,
a shot that’s going
to be close- she
could miss Bond and
hit Patrice or she
could hit Bond and
miss Patrice. M
gives Eva the
go-ahead to take the
shot. She takes the
shot, hits Bond and
he drops down into a
river several feet
below and is assumed
to be dead. Of
course James Bond
isn’t dead, he makes
his way back to MI6
after a terrorist
attack blows up the
headquarters.
Behind the explosion
at MI6 headquarters
and the theft of the
list, is one Mr.
Silva. He’s an
ex-agent of MI6 who
was once the
agency’s top 00.
However, at one
point things went
south and M had to
make a tough call.
Silva felt betrayed
and years later he’s
out to get revenge
on M. Bond of
course, has been
very close to M over
the years and he has
to protect his
friend. He goes on
an all out mission
to find and track
Silva, and then to
guard and protect M.
Daniel Craig is my
favorite Bond. His
entrance into the
role was greeted
with only slight
enthusiasm, but
throughout these
three movies, he’s
been brilliant. He’s
not like the Bonds
of old. He’s about
substance over
style. Craig fits
this generation best
because he’s the
perfect anti-spy.
You’d expect
everything to be
overly technical,
but it’s the
opposite- Bond gets
shot, breaks bones,
gets poisoned- he
gets thoroughly
bruised and battered
through the course
of these movies.
It’s nothing but the
capability of Daniel
Craig that pulls
this off. Craig is
an amazing actor,
but he’s a better
Bond. In a way he’s
evolved the
character so much
that he reshaped it
for a new
generation. That’s
the main reason why
Skyfall works. The
action is amazing,
the acting, the
writing, everything
is great, but Daniel
Craig is the engine
that makes Bond run
and he makes it run
perfectly with
Skyfall.
As good as Craig has
been, he’s never had
his equal play the
villain during the
past two films. That
is until now- Silva
(played perfectly by
Javier Bardem. (No
Country for Old Men.)
Bardem’s character
is amazing and Silva
is the best Bond
villain that there’s
been in a long time.
The blu-ray release
of Skyfall from MGM
and Fox comes home
with a plush
transfer. The
picture and the
sound for the
release are both
flawless- as you’d
expect. The extras
on the release
feature audio
commentary and some
great
documentary/behind
the scenes features
on making the movie.
That’s all you can
hope for.
Skyfall is the third
Craig Bond movie,
but let’s hope it’s
not the last. These
three movies make
the old incarnations
of the character
feel old and
outdated. This
movie’s twists and
turns go hand in
hand with fresh
approaches on
different elements
in the Bond
universe. Skyfall is
a great Bond movie,
and it’s got me
extremely excited to
see where they go
next. |