Leaderboard

It used to be so simple in the old days, every 2 years you had a Bond film, every film made according to a specific formula. The film could be good or bad, but that didn't have anything to do with the formula, but just how they executed it. You always knew going in what to expect. Those days are gone. After some careful experimenting in the Brosnan era, the series cut of most of the fat when Daniel Craig took over as Bond. The formula still exists, and is acknowledged and honoured, but parts of it are only used when it benefits the film. After the luke-warm reception of Quantum of Solace I expected the producers to play it safe and do something a little bit more traditional. Instead they deviated more then ever! What they did do was fix what was wrong with QoS. The cinematography and editing hampered the film, which contained many action scenes, but none of them as memorable as the ones in Casino Royale. The cinematographer this time is Roger Deakins, who knows that shaking a camera about is a bad way to get your audience to know what's going on. The editor is once again Stuart Baird, who knows how many shots per second the human brain can absorb. The director is Sam Mendes, an unusual choice for an action film, but such choices have worked out in the past. (Michael Apted did TWINE, an underrated Bond film IMO) The film starts of with a stupendous chase, first through Istanbul, then on top and though a train. This elaborate sequence is impressively mounted. At the end of it....Bond dies. Shot....in a way by M Since Casino Royale the writers have been building an actual relationship between the characters of 007 and M, and it pays of here. This is Judi Dench last hurray in the role, and she's fantastic. After the initial action scene we see Bond, not actually dead but recovering, shell shocked, embittered, and enjoying empty sex and too much booze. He returns to MI6 because he must, but is resentful. For the first time ever 007 has a 3 days beard for a considerable part of the movie. Daniel Craig looks worn out here, wounded. Finally he shaves, or gets shaved, but on a black tuxedo and once again becomes Bond. Since Sean Connery no actor has emparted so much machismo into the role as Craig. He simply IS James Bond, through and through. He also finally made it an actors role. (an Aussie model or man with a twitchy left eye could have played this) The villain appears very late in this film. And is introduced in an impressive long shot were Javier Bardem moves ever closer to the camera while talking. The initial encounter is...shall we say unusual. 007 has been tortured by the male villains, but never never has an attempt of seduction been made. (both Craig and Bardem play this beautifully) Bardem's villian is a vile monster, once again not bent on world domination, but on revenge. Aspects reminded me of Ricardo Montalban's immortal role of Khan. Up to this point the film has followed a fairly standard Bond outline. stunts and action scenes, exotic locations (Turkey, China, Macau). The film then returns to England, and stays there. And to a large extent abandons much of the Bond formula. Silva (Bardem escapes custody and goes after the person he blames for the wrongs in his life. M. In am impressive display of suspense it actually feel;s like M is going to be killed. Dench's delivery of the Tenyson poem seemed like the perfect way to go out on. She and Bond escape and 007 decides to go back to basics, this involves taking an ancient Aston Martin DB5 (with ejector seat and machine guns....it's the actual Goldfinger car!!!!) and go to Skyfall. Bonds ancestral home. Devoid of technology they await Bardem, while booby trapping the place and sawing of some shotguns. (Albert Finney is there as Bonds gamekeeper for some reason. It's weird seeing Finney shoot people) The final action scene takes place in the moist and dreary highlands, but it's very impressive. Bond's house is shot at, blown up, blown up really good and then a helicopter flies into it. The final showdown takes place in an old chapel...... Mendes directs this with competence and gusto. The film looks GREAT. It's one of the best looking Bond films ever. Full of depth and texture. The cast is good all the way through. From Craig and Dench to Fiennes, who after being killed as Voldemort last year needed a new iconic British franchise to latch on too. Bardem is weird and terrifying. There are two Bond girls. Naomi Harris is feisty and seductive as Eve. And Bérénice Marlohe is both sexy and disturbing as Séveriné. Ben Whishaw as Q is nothing like Desmond LLewelyn and that a good thing. He creates his own energy. Thomas Newman had never really done an action based score in his life, but he doesn well with Skyfall. His approuch is very similar in style to David Arnolds. SAn infusion of orchestral and synthetic. With a strong percussive drive in the action scenes. He has some fun with the Bond theme. But for the two extended renditions of it he reuses the "My Name Is Bond...James Bond" arragement that Arnold did for Casino Royale. This is a strong Bond film, AND a strong film in it's own right. The producers seem no longer willing to let Bond be a one dimensional character, but one that thinks and feels and works through stuff. Actions now have consequences in the Bond Universe. It's a completly unique Bond film in many ways. **** out of ****

Who cares about the films? Give me the complete six scores! Karol

it's a similar case to RotS where the full score is much better and the OST was disappointing

No!

First of all: Episode VII probably won't be directed or written by Lucas, so there is a good chance of getting the first decent SW film since Empire Strikes Back. Secondly, Williams' once-in-a-century talent is too precious to waste on another one of these films. And thirdly, it will be completely animated, and Hans Zimmer will end up scoring it.

http://www.intrada.n....php?f=2&t=5176 Looks like the LP Re-Recordings of In Like Flint and Our Man Flint will be re-issued by Intrada soon too http://www.intrada.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=61159#p61159