James Bond In Skyfall - - Part 11

[obin_gam]

Now when more people have seen it, how did you like the opening shot with the [blackout]"DUN-DUN"[/blackout] and the gunbarrel?

 

[Dark Raven]

For all TDK's influences, Q still says that they don't go for exploding pens anymore, and Bond barely gets any gadgets this time round - just a Walther PPK and a tiny radio transmitter. Even Batman, in the Nolan series which is more grounded in realism, gets more gadgets.

I know gadgets aren't Bond's main things and I don't like that he has so vast an array of them that he just pushes a button conveniently at just the right moment, but the odd few would be nice. Here it's as if Q is suggesting there won't be any from now on.

 

[Roose Bolton]

There were films before TDK??

********. There was no Hollywood before Nolan.

 

[AnneFan]

In Doctor No, the first screen debut of the armorer, Bond is given a Walther PPK and that's it. Skyfall, the debut of the Craigverse Q, is in line with that same approach, while commenting on the current climate. I find it to be a funny remark, ala Bond's "Does it look like I give a damn?" in CR. Referencing classic material but doing a twist on it. I'm sure there will be 'gadgets' in the future, just not "that sort of thing".

 

[CConn]

1. Dr. No
2. Casino Royale
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. Goldeneye
5. From Russia with Love
6. Goldfinger
7. Thunderball
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Skyfall

 

[Roose Bolton]

You'd rank YOLT higher than Skyfall ?


That's...interesting.

 

[CConn]

No, it isn't. Skyfall isn't that impressive at all.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Hey I'm not judging, but you've certainly given me something to think about when I see the film in two weeks.

 

[Matt]

No, it isn't. Skyfall isn't that impressive at all.

I'm with you. It doesn't even crack my top ten. My top ten is....

1) Goldeneye
2) The Spy Who Loved Me
3) Casino Royale
4) From Russia With Love
5) For Your Eyes Only
6) Goldfinger
7) The Living Daylights
8) Tomorrow Never Dies
9) Dr. No
10) On Her Majesty's Secret Service

I found this one to be too disjointed, it basically stops having a plot after the first half and don't even get me started on hipster Q.

 

[CConn]

I need to rewatch The Spy Who Loved Me.

I'm very anti-Roger Moore, but that seems to be held in such high regard, I might like it.

 

[CConn]

Hey I'm not judging, but you've certainly given me something to think about when I see the film in two weeks.

I found this one to be too disjointed, it basically stops having a plot after the first half and don't even get me started on hipster Q.

Here's what I thought about it. It's pretty non-spoiler...

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=24609331&postcount=758

 

[Matt]

I need to rewatch The Spy Who Loved Me.

I'm very anti-Roger Moore, but that seems to be held in such high regard, I might like it.

I like Moore, myself. I think he is funny and charming. He is basically the antithesis of Connery, which is what worked for the time. Obviously by today's standards it is a bit hammy and over the top and I can see why some would not like it. But I have always been able to look at it in the context of the time and for that reason I often find his movies to be among the funnest of the Bond movies.

That being said, Brosnan is my favorite Bond. He has the grit and toughness of Connery mixed with the charm and wit of Moore. He is the perfect middle ground. Craig and Dalton go too far to the Connery side of the scale, IMO. Brosnan is the perfect balance.

 

[Marvolo]

Good film. Thrilling ending. Dont understand the complaints at all. Liked the new Q. Loved the Aston. Lol [blackout]bonds reaction to silva blowing it up was hillarious[/blackout]. Really really liked the way it examined Bonds childhood. It made Bond seem so much more real to me. His scenes with Kincaid are some of my favorite scenes in the franchise.

How can anypne say this doesnt have a plot after the first half? Its got the Silva/M plot, Bond confronting his childhood, and the plot of MI6/Bond/M proving that old fashioned man on the ground intelligence is still relevant. It had lots of plot.

 

[CConn]

I don't think the problem is that it doesn't have a plot, it's that the motivations change drastically midway through the film - they did something somewhat similar in QOS, and I wasn't a fan of it then, either.

 

[Matt]

Here's what I thought about it. It's pretty non-spoiler...

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=24609331&postcount=758

I agree with just about everything that you said. Particularly this point:

- All of the references to the Connery Bond films were absolutely terrible. Not a single one of them felt natural or organic to the film itself. They all played off as if the writers and director were simply going "Hey guys, look what we're doing! We're tying everything to together, isn't that awesome?!" It wasn't. As most of it was unneeded, and, again, disengaged me while watching it.

Though I'll take it a step further. It almost felt like they were making fun of the older Bond movies. Like "What do you expect, an exploding pen?" It's almost as if the writers were looking into the camera, winking and saying, "See how silly it sounds!!!! Hahaha! we're so dark, grounded, gritty and edgy!"

 

[The Joker]

I need to rewatch The Spy Who Loved Me.

I'm very anti-Roger Moore, but that seems to be held in such high regard, I might like it.

It's your best shot at liking a Moore movie. If it doesn't sway you then the likes of Moonraker, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, and The Man with the Golden Gun sure won't.

 

[Matt]

Good film. Thrilling ending. Dont understand the complaints at all. Liked the new Q. Loved the Aston. Lol [blackout]bonds reaction to silva blowing it up was hillarious[/blackout]

How can anypne say this doesnt have a plot after the first half? Its got the Silva/M plot, Bond confronting his childhood, and the plot of MI6/Bond/M proving that old fashioned man on the ground intelligence is still relevant. It had lots of plot.

This one bothered me a lot. It just felt kinda tacked on. Why exactly did Bond need to confront his childhood? It just came out of nowhere. There was no build up to it (aside from a psychiatrist mentioning Skyfall once). They just threw it out there in the third act. And that is my problem with the plotting. So many inconsistent themes. Was it about Bond's past? Was it about M? Was it about the changing times and Bond adapting/being accepted? Damned if I know. It is like Mendes just threw a bunch of themes at the wall and hoped something stuck.

 

[CConn]

I like Moore, myself. I think he is funny and charming. He is basically the antithesis of Connery, which is what worked for the time. Obviously by today's standards it is a bit hammy and over the top and I can see why some would not like it. But I have always been able to look at it in the context of the time and for that reason I often find his movies to be among the funnest of the Bond movies.

That being said, Brosnan is my favorite Bond. He has the grit and toughness of Connery mixed with the charm and wit of Moore. He is the perfect middle ground. Craig and Dalton go too far to the Connery side of the scale, IMO. Brosnan is the perfect balance.

Moore intentionally played the character in a tongue-in-cheek manner, that's what I'm not into. Which I think started having him act more as a characture of Bond than anything.

Connery's my favorite. He was charismatic, but had this subtle undertone of a dark anger, and uncaring aloofness. I really think that's the perfect approach for Bond.

I like Craig's alternate take. His rough approach is intrigue - as I said before, it really raises questions about his past and his psychological condition.

I didn't like Dalton at all. He had none of the charisma, and none of the intrigue to give his harsh demeanor a meaning.

Brosnan was good, but I dunno, he did seem to have that Moore edge of satire in his performances at times.

 

[CConn]

It's your best shot at liking a Moore movie. If it doesn't sway you then the likes of Moonraker, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, and The Man with the Golden Gun sure won't.

I actually really like Live and Let Die as like a satirical/spoof version of Bond.

 

[Marvolo]

This one bothered me a lot. It just felt kinda tacked on. Why exactly did Bond need to confront his childhood? It just came out of nowhere. There was no build up to it (aside from a psychiatrist mentioning Skyfall once). They just threw it out there in the third act. And that is my problem with the plotting. So many inconsistent themes. Was it about Bond's past? Was it about M? Was it about the changing times and Bond adapting/being accepted? Damned if I know. It is like Mendes just threw a bunch of themes at the wall and hoped something stuck.

The films main theme was about confronting your past. MI6/Bond/M all had to confront their past, and that was Silva's plan.

 

[Matt]

Moore intentionally played the character in a tongue-in-cheek manner, that's what I'm not into. Which I think started having him act more as a characture of Bond than anything.

Connery's my favorite. He was charismatic, but had this subtle undertone of a dark anger, and uncaring aloofness. I really think that's the perfect approach for Bond.

I like Craig's alternate take. His rough approach is intrigue - as I said before, it really raises questions about his past and his psychological condition.

I didn't like Dalton at all. He had none of the charisma, and none of the intrigue to give his harsh demeanor a meaning.

Brosnan was good, but I dunno, he did seem to have that Moore edge of satire in his performances at times.

I feel like the biggest problem with Brosnan was the writing. Goldeneye is the definitive Bond experience, IMO. Perfect parts action, plot, sex and humor. Imagine if he had 2 more of his movies with scripts and direction as good as Goldeneye. TND isn't terribly written but TWINE and DAD....ugh. I feel like Brosnan more than any other Bond just suffers from bad writing.

 

[Matt]

The films main theme was about confronting your past. MI6/Bond/M all had to confront their past, and that was Silva's plan.

But none of it ever really comes to fruition except M. Why exactly did Bond need to confront his past? Because there was no better place to lay a trap for Silva? That is what it all comes down to? Bond has to confront his past for the sake of convenience?

 

[Spider-Fan]

Saw this movie last night. 100% loved it. I think this is Craig's best Bond film (based on first impression).

But none of it ever really comes to fruition except M. Why exactly did Bond need to confront his past? Because there was no better place to lay a trap for Silva? That is what it all comes down to? Bond has to confront his past for the sake of convenience?

Spoiler

Because Bond at the beginning of the film was struggling with whether or not he wants to keep doing this, nor is he sure he was ready for it. Notice he couldn't shoot like he can at targets at such until toward the end. The trap was part of it, but thematically he needed it.

 

[Matt]

Saw this movie last night. 100% loved it. I think this is Craig's best Bond film (based on first impression).

Spoiler

Because Bond at the beginning of the film was struggling with whether or not he wants to keep doing this, nor is he sure he was ready for it. Notice he couldn't shoot like he can at targets at such until toward the end. The trap was part of it, but thematically he needed it.

Spoiler

But that had to do more with M's betrayal than anything, not some deep childhood scarring that needed confronted. And if it did, I feel like the filmmakers failed to communicate it to the audience properly.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Spoiler

But that had to do more with M's betrayal than anything, not some deep childhood scarring that needed confronted. And if it did, I feel like the filmmakers failed to communicate it to the audience properly.

Spoiler

I think it is more Bond had to find what made him a good spy again, and this place, Skyfall, was where the Bond that MI6 hired was truly born. He seemed to be questioning his motivations and skill partly due to M as well as just not seeming like himself, and I think that is what was bothering him. Couple that with Bardem's Silva, who represented M's betrayel and what he used to be for MI6.