Walked away from this movie with an overall feeling of "meh."
For those who are extolling this entry as one the best...I can't help but scratch my head. Yes, the hype was great, but when it came to the actual movie...high expectations didn't do this movie any favors.
Javier Bardem, as we all know, can create a great villain. But the fact that Silva was so underused sort of detracts from any legacy that Bardem could have had within this franchise. The only scene I found myself really enjoying was his speech about the rats and him [BLACKOUT]shooting Severine[/BLACKOUT]. He was maniacal, yes, but it seemed uneven. His tics and mannerisms were too scattered for him to ever hold on to a a threatening presence. One scene I'd be generally intrigued and then we'd have moments were I find myself laughing him off.
Severine, as many have mentioned, was also severely underused, so I won't hammer away at that yet again. I'm still a little confused as to how exactly she fit in Silva's organization/plan/whatever. She was [BLACKOUT]in Shanghai where Patrice assassinated the person. But, why couldn't she have simply done it if she was right there with, supposedly, Silva's other men? And who was that that bit the bullet? [/BLACKOUT]When she continuously said she was inspired by Famke Janssen's Xena, I was expecting a bit more and, as many others were, left wanting much more.
Eve was bland. She wasn't a good driver, wasn't a good shooter, even M had to remind her to follow the train. I understand why the script portrayed her as a poor field agent to set up [BLACKOUT]Moneypenny[/BLACKOUT], but it seemed like a wasted character just to have that moment at the film's end. Call me a traditionalist, but I like my Bond Girls to have a little more clout in the movies and Severine and Eve didn't do that for me...
Film was beautiful, can't harp on that. Great shots of Istanbul, Shanghai, and Macao. I know people have been waiting for a more 'domestic' Bond adventure...I wasn't one of them. I think the film really fell flat when it transgressed into a "protect M" plot and Bond took her to [BLACKOUT]Skyfall Lodge...which seemed shoehorned in so Bond could come to terms with his past[/BLACKOUT]. Would have loved a more exotic locale for the finale. I don't know how that would have meshed with the film as it was written, but, then again, I wasn't happy where the script went.
I was hoping Silva had more of a master plot involving the leaking of the Mi6 operatives. It would have been more interesting seeing Bond have to deal with the protection of outed agents, perhaps having it somehow tie into the revenge/M/Silva ordeal.
Q was cool. Didn't mind him being younger. Gadgets could have been cooler. It would have made more sense in the story if Q offered Bond a slew of gadgets and Bond only took the gun and the radio (the old ways, and all that). Seemed odd for Q, the youthful innovator, to be lumped with teh dinosaurs at Mi6.
Things I didn't like, overall:
Older Bond (wasn't he a rookie 2 movies ago?)
No gun barrel opening (it's silly, yes, but it's a tradition. And it need not be omitted, I don't care what the first shot is)
Simple revenge plot...pretty straightforward, and tedious especially since [BLACKOUT]M dies anyway[/BLACKOUT]
And, going with that, I don't like Bond's readiness t[BLACKOUT]o accept Mallory as the new M a minute after he cried his eyes out for the old M[/BLACKOUT]...yes, Bond is cold. But wasn't that the point of all this? That it's personal and his walls are down.
Lack of good Bond Girl (M doesn't count)
Not of a fan of the credits sequence. Adele's song is flawless...haunting. But the visuals looked video game-ish and, dare I say, cheap.
Things I really liked:
Pre Title Sequence. Good, fun action. Bond in the field, always good.
Loooooovveeeddd the komodo dragon fight. Classic Bond stuff going on there (even if the lizards were pretty shoddy CGI)
Cinematography. Everything was pretty (except for the finale)
Idk, I'm not feeling Craig's Bond like everyone else is. These newer films are too barebones for me. I like my Bond a little over the top. I like a villain with a unique henchman or elaborate earth-shattering scheme. Bond can have a personal struggle, no problem, but this movie (just like QoS), felt like an in-betweener. More of a fan-fic that explored Bond's roots in a haphazard and simple way. Mendes kinda threw a bunch of things in there (Bond/M, Silva/M, Bond/childhood, Spies/Modern World, Bond/Silva duality, etc.); it was tough at times to figure out where the heck this ship was sailing to.
5/10.
.
