James Bond In Skyfall - - - Part 12

[Dark Raven]

What did Bond need the money for when he cashed in those chips? I thought he was going to do some gambling. He just had a briefcase to carry around and to fight with.

 

[spider-neil]

That doesn't mean the alternative isn't good or great. It's a habit. Habits can be broken. And you yourself said that thematically the gunbarrel at the end made sense. Would you rather they didn't fulfill the theme's potential in order to adhere to a tradition that's nothing more than that? It's not like they omitted the gunbarrel.

I don't know if themes or presentation is more important to me, all I know is when the movie opened and I didn't get the gunbarrel scene I was annoyed. Admittedly the movie won me back instantly with the opening and at the end of the movie I was like 'okay, that makes sense' but I still would have preferred it at the beginning. Put it this way, would it have harmed the movie to put it where it traditionally is placed?

 

[The Englishman]

He didn't need the money he was just given it, I don't understand your question?

 

[Gianakin_]

I don't know if themes or presentation is more important to me, all I know is when the movie opened and I didn't get the gunbarrel scene I was annoyed. Admittedly the movie won me back instantly with the opening and at the end of the movie I was like 'okay, that makes sense' but I still would have preferred it at the beginning. Put it this way, would it have harmed the movie to put it where it traditionally is placed?

With that opening shot? Yes. It would've been odd as hell.

 

[spider-neil]

With that opening shot? Yes. It would've been odd as hell.

Really?

Gunbarrel - opening chase - opening credit sequence

How is that odd?

 

[nightwing06]

All was thought lost when the James Bond franchise became entangled in legal trouble 2 year ago due to
MGM studios filing for bankruptcy,but fortunately these troubles faded and Bond is back just in time
for the franchises 50th anniversary on the big screen.

Unlike the so-so last Bond outing Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is tighter ,more interesting and better paced.
Pulling viewers in with an exhilarating opening sequence and singer Adele's stirring voice belting out
the films title song.
Daniel Craig continues to strike the right chords as Bond,as he faces mortality,his past,and loyalty to Queen
and country or a life of pleasureable leisure.
Javier Bardem as cyber-terrorist Raoul Silva in no way wanted Silva to resemble Anton Chigurh the villain
he portrayed in No Country For Old Men ,and he doesnt .He's excellent as the fey,insane,and scolding
Silva,who toys with Bond in a way he has never been toyed with before.

The Bond ladies not to be forgotten: Naomie Harris as Eve is capable,,tough,slinky and beautiful,
and Bérénice Lim Marlohe as Sévérine is mysterious and gorgeous(the less make up the better)
Judi Dench as M is great as usual the film displays the loyalty she has for Bond and he for her.

Also nice touches from Ben Whishaw as Q, the MI6 quartermaster, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney

There is this great balance of classic and new in the film,some of the balance is used for humorous moments
and nods to the 50 year series,and how advances in technology can be helpful and hurtful.
The misses in the film are few.

Even at the films 2 hour and 25 minute running time i wanted more but i guess i will have to wait along with
legions of other Bond fans for his next big screen mission.

Scale of 1-10 a 9

 

[Gianakin_]

Really?

Gunbarrel - opening chase - opening credit sequence

How is that odd?

No:

Gunbarrel - Opening shot with 007 stepping in frame - Chase - Etc.

Would've looked awkward. And I'd never change that gorgeous shot for something as trivial (to me) as the placement of the gunbarrel.

 

[Brain Damage]

That opening shot was perfect.
I also loved the one when he first steps outside.

One of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen.

 

[Dark Raven]

Why couldn't they change the gunbarrel so that, instead of shooting, he walks towards the camera, getting nearer and nearer so that it segues into that opening shot where he is veiled in white and holding his gun?

 

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

being as how Skyfall is the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise, I was wondering if Sean Connery was ever offered a cameo role in the movie... and if he WAS, WOULD he have accepted?...

I was thinking that it would have been so cool to have Craig's 007 come into the storage facility where the Aston Martin was stored and the caretaker of the facility would come up to James with the keys and it turns out to be Sean Connery as he looks today, all bald and bearded...

I kind of imagined James asking Sean how "she" is, with Sean replying that he's taken good care of "our" girl... then he slides the door open and there's the Aston Martin...

the scene would have continued with Sean inquiring something like "taking her out for a ride?" and James replying with something clever and suggestive that only James would say...

then a goodbye handshake between Daniel and Sean with a "good luck, Mr. Bond" from Sean... acknowledging a passing of the torch from the original 007 to the current successor... it would have made for a nice little anniversary scene...

kinda corny, I know, but I've always been a sucker for cameos from former stars in remade tv series or movies... a kind of a "well done" tip of the hat from the old to the new...

and besides, who WOULDN'T love seeing Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, the two greatest James Bonds together in that context?... as I said earlier, I think it would have been so cool...

 

[Gianakin_]

If Sean would've featured in any way in SF, it should've been as Kincaid. That screamed "intended for Sean".

Then again, I think that if they were to include Sean, they should've fought to onclude the others as well. Wouldn't have been classy otherwise.

 

[Dark Raven]

It would be corny, and as Mendes rightly judged, it would've been far too distracting. People wouldn't look at it as a passing of the torch, because a lot of people still see Connery as the true Bond. It's not the same as other cameo roles by actors who originally played the same part as a new actor. Connery is so ingrained in the public's eye as Bond, and it's not like the early movies are obsure or forgotten and they're now being remade after many years of not being seen on screen.

 

[spider-neil]

All was thought lost when the James Bond franchise became entangled in legal trouble 2 year ago due to
MGM studios filing for bankruptcy,but fortunately these troubles faded and Bond is back just in time
for the franchises 50th anniversary on the big screen.

Unlike the so-so last Bond outing Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is tighter ,more interesting and better paced.

If you ask me the legal battle helped MGM rather than hindered them as QoS was such a huge disappointment and time allowed the memory of that movie to fade and leave people hungry for Bond after not seeing him for years.

 

[spider-neil]

I'm a little disappointed that they flat out give Bond a history as that pisses on the chips of the suggestion that 'James Bond' is a code name rather than a person therefore ANYONE could be James Bond. That can't happen now.

Really interesting read;
http://commanderbond.net/2349/the-codename-theory.html

 

[Dark Raven]

I'm a little disappointed that they flat out give Bond a history as that pisses on the chips of the suggestion that 'James Bond' is a code name rather than a person therefore ANYONE could be James Bond. That can't happen now.

Good. I'm glad. The code name theory is the worst idea of all and I'm glad they've never gone with that and that it can't happen now.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I'm a little disappointed that they flat out give Bond a history as that pisses on the chips of the suggestion that 'James Bond' is a code name rather than a person therefore ANYONE could be James Bond. That can't happen now.

Complete opposite for me, James Bond is a man not a code name and I always hated when that idea was brought up.

 

[ThePhantasm]

It would be corny, and as Mendes rightly judged, it would've been far too distracting. People wouldn't look at it as a passing of the torch, because a lot of people still see Connery as the true Bond. It's not the same as other cameo roles by actors who originally played the same part as a new actor. Connery is so ingrained in the public's eye as Bond, and it's not like the early movies are obsure or forgotten and they're now being remade after many years of not being seen on screen.

Plus, given that Connery is such a strong advocate of Scottish independence these days, I have some doubts that he'd want to appear in a film that ties Scotland so patriotically to England.

 

[spider-neil]

Complete opposite for me, James Bond is a man not a code name and I always hated when that idea was brought up.

It's an excellent work around for why the guy has been kicking around since the 60's and hasn't aged.

 

[Hunter Rider]

It's an excellent work around for why the guy has been kicking around since the 60's and hasn't aged.

It doesn't require a work around for the same reason Batman doesn't.

 

[Grommers]

I know I'm in the minority but I didnt' like this movie at all, I can see what people die like about it. I'm not the biggest bond fan either, I quite liked Casino Royale and QoS, I had high expectations for this one, given the reviews.

Bond - From what I've seen, has always been about putting Britain first, kind of deal, and yes he usually saves everything else far and in between, Britain in some sort of way is present.

Spoiler

I'm not sure where we are at in terms of allowing spoilers to be posted or not so rather be safe than sorry and post the rest of my post in spoiler tags.

This felt more like "I must protect "M", more so than worry about having a mission. As if she's the only real reason he does any of this. I quite disliked that premise, because to me bond is a CIA and does what he can to protect his people of britain etc, or in some circumstances other countries. So with this movie, it's all about saving "M" and what ends up happening? [BLACKOUT]She DIES[/BLACKOUT]. It didn't feel like it really accomplished anything, and felt more like a prequel to a bigger movie.


On top of that, there was so many things that I felt were so similar to the C.Nolan Batman series! Everything from Bond having to rebuild himself, trains crashing, the type of villain, the sort of story that was portrayed, interrogation, the plan to be "caught", and I'm not saying that C.Nolan created all those individual, because yes I'm sure he got the inspiration from somewhere else. I feel it's pretty extensive what is similar to the batman movies, I'd be okay with like 1 or maybe 2 things similar, but I found so many little things similar that it led me to a disappointing experience.


Those are my thoughts, like I said I know I'm in the minority on not liking this movie. So I expect some disagreements, and maybe hell I just haven't read enough of the Bond books, or seen enough of the originals to really appreciate this movie. Any recommendations on which ones I should watch that would help me appreciate it more.

 

[Gold Samurai]

It's an excellent work around for why the guy has been kicking around since the 60's and hasn't aged.

It's not a workaround. The movies have been rebooting since 1969 for each generation


You have your 60's era Bond/Bonds

your 70's era Bond

your 80's era bond

Your 90s Bond

Same character in different time periods.

 

[Destructus86]

For me...Skyfall is easily the best Bond film in 007 history.

 

[spider-neil]

It's not a workaround. The movies have been rebooting since 1969 for each generation


You have your 60's era Bond/Bonds

your 70's era Bond

your 80's era bond

Your 90s Bond

Same character in different time periods.

Bonds from the different eras have referenced each other.
For example, Peter Parker in ASM never references anything that happens in the Raimi Spider-Man movies.

 

[Dark Raven]

It's an excellent work around for why the guy has been kicking around since the 60's and hasn't aged.

We already saw how that worked out in the 60s version of Casino Royale with David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen all as Bond.

And Lee Tamahori was a big advocate of your suggestion, but he also directed one of the worst Bond films (Die Another Day).

 

[Dark Raven]

It's not a workaround. The movies have been rebooting since 1969 for each generation


You have your 60's era Bond/Bonds

your 70's era Bond

your 80's era bond

Your 90s Bond

Same character in different time periods.

There's only really been one reboot in Bond history, and that's with Casino Royale when Daniel Craig came onboard. Apart from wanting to start again fresh, they also wanted to have CR as it was in the novel - set at the beginning of Bond's 00 career. So it makes sense for a reboot.

The others weren't really reboots but more like comics where there's a shifting timescale, and so for Bond, Tracy probably didn't die all that long ago back in the 60s. That is how they've always "worked around" Bond being present through all these decades, and that's probably the method they'll use again for however long they choose until they decide they might want to reboot again in say, 30 years time.