Saturday 3 November 2012

Angry Lurker Honest Movie Review 89: Skyfall 2012 (3 STARS).



M is in trouble both from within her government and from her past and revenge has reared it's ugly head, Bond is dead and loyalties are tested.

I deliberated on whether this movie warranted 4 STARS or the 3 I gave it, Craig is still great as Bond playing damaged and dangerous with gusto, Mrs Dench is still ruthless, there's new bond girls, a new Q but my main problem was the bad guy (Javier Bardem, great actor especially in No Country for Old Men)) was miscast, not that the last two bond movie bad guys were any better but they belonged or were associated with an organisation that gave them some credence, although the movie does say that the new threat to countries comes from the shadows are are no longer countries(very true).

The plot which is revenge driven (as you know a favourite plot line of mine in any movie) doesn't work for me, overly elaborate and badly executed by the bad guy (unforgivable), M is the main focus of the story and Bond's struggle to protect her and also we get a glimpse into his past and the title of the movie (which is seemingly not based on any of Fleming's work).

It's well worth the watch and maybe I need to see it again, other factors may not have helped like 3rd row from the front of the screen (my retinas were a little blurred by the time the ads and trailers were over), the action was okay but disjointed at times but my main problem was Bardem and the blond hair.
Don't want to give the any more of the plot or ending away but Bond/Craig is as good as ever!  

44 comments:

  1. Hyped as thebest ever, so no surprise it's just hype then?

    Ian

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  2. Never been a Bond fan and never will be.....' I mean to kill you Mr Bond, but instead of just shooting you I'm going to give you every chance of making some ingenious escape attempt'....What a lot of bollocks. Is it me or does the theme tune sound like it's been done in a Vic Reeves pub stylee?

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    1. She needed to give it a bit more Shirley Bassey in my opinion!

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  3. What I love about your reviews, Fran, is that you do give an honest opinion. It's cheering to see you weren't blinded by the hype surrounding this film. I'll still go and see it but I suspect that my opinion of it will be the same as yours - good but not great.

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  4. Now I'm going to be brave and disagree! As a 50th anniversary tribute, it certainly does rank as one of the best, beautifully helmed by the talented Sam Mendes. I hear what you are saying about the Bad Guy, but he did commend a strong screen presence when face to face with Bond. Hugely entertaining throughout and a welcome return to the one liner - at least 4stars for me and if if pushed I might go higher. I get my coat!

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    1. You won't need the coat were you're going mate!

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  5. Yeah Lurker, I might wait this one out for Blu-Ray.
    I'm lazy like that.

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  6. I enjoyed it as a great action movie but the plot is totally nonsensical when you sit down and think about it (best not really...) The McGuffin is really silly.

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  7. I have a friend who disagrees on how good Craig is as Bond, I don't think she'd like it too much. Doesn't sound too bad though. I've still only seen one Bond movie.

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  8. Personnaly no interest in this one, I really don't get the James Bond thing...

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  9. Seen all Bond movies, all. The saga is loosing steam clearly; Bourne is a more (..a-hum!..) "credible" character. I nontheless think that Craig is giving the character an interesting twist. Thanks for the review, you're deflating my expectations (which is alwyas good) but I will definetively go to watch it todya or next weekend for sure

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  10. Interesting review there Fran (and Michael)

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  11. I think Craig is a great Bond so I'll for sure check this one out and keep your review in mind!

    Christopher

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  12. And I thought I was the only one who has a problem with the motivation of the bad guy...

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  13. Hmm, I'm torn. But since we have little ones I'll probably wait for the DVD. I too really like Craig as Bond, I particularly liked the Bournesque fight scenes. Gotta love Hong Kong fight choreography.

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  14. The bond films aren't supposed to make sense. There supposed to be imaginative. I love the classic bond movies. OHMSS is my absolute favourite. I will give Skyfall a watch though I quite like Craig as bond.

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  15. definitely watching this. :D

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  16. Yes sorry not to jump on the bashing wagon. Great film and in my opinion the best Bond film. Yes there are plot holes but this isn't reality. It's boys own stuff. A modern take on a tested formula with a definite nostalgic nod to the past.

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  17. I won't go into it with soaring expectations then. Good to hear Craig continues to make a great Bond. We get the movie next Friday and I'll still go see it that night.

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  18. As Ian Fleming only wrote 21 novels and short stories involving Bond, they departed from the 'canon' a while ago, especially as they changed many of the stories anyway. The Soviets having the bad grace to not carry on with their empire killed a few story lines dead too.

    I'm a 'No Connery, No Bond' guy, so they went downhill from 'Diamonds are forever' imo (probably before if I'm honest). I watch the 'imitators' on TV, or borrow my 'Bond crazy' son in laws dvds, so that's when I'll probably see it.

    To be fair, Craig is perhaps the most believable Bond to date and as an actor I rate him anyway.

    Thanks for the review!

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  19. I'll prob wait for it to come out on dvd, never been a huge Bond fan since Connery left, at least now I know alot of it is just hype too.

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  20. Bardem's blond hair scared me too when I saw it on posters :)

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  21. Thanks for the review, and not spoiling! Huge bond fan...we get it next week, and I'll probably take off work to see it

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  22. I have really high hopes for this one, glad to hear it wasn't a total bust! I'll probably see it this weekend or the next

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  23. I've been on the fence about seeing this one. You leaned me more towards going to see it now. Thanks for the review.

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  24. I've loved the series since the reboot with Craig. Strangely enough, my wife loves the series even more, especially when Bond is shirtless. Imagine that. Glad to hear we'll still be in for this one. THANKS!

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  25. I went to see this yesterday, and I have to say I thought it was great, personally Javier's over the top, excessive bond villain plot was (for me anyway) excellent and made me think back to the older bond films and the insane, but lovable plots. This gets 5 stars from me and I hated Quantum of Solace.

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  26. This is one that when trailers for it came out I decided I didn't want to see it. I'm picky about my Bond, very picky. That said, I'll probably break down and watch it on DVD. For Judy if for nothing else.

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  27. Thanks for the review, may yet get a chance to see this

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  28. I'll start by saying I was a fan of the classic bonds. They were silly and fun, and I consider them to be something of a guilty pleasure to watch... kinda like the carry on films. Yes, the bad guy shouldn't reveal the plot, and no he shouldn't leave bond to suffer an excruciatingly elaborate death, he should just shoot him in the head. But that's all part of the fun!

    Of course this all changed with Jason Bourne. When he arrived, audience attitudes changed, and you couldn't really make Bonds in the same way as the classic sense any more. Thus the Craig Bonds have been to me, an entirely new creature, having barely any connection to the originals. It's weird as it feels like a reboot, but it isn't quite. Despite the obvious differences, I have enjoyed these too. I don't even get into arguments about which is better as I consider them to be practically different genres of movie!

    As for Skyfall, I enjoyed it immensely. I'd had no expectations going in, as had assumed I'd catch it on dvd (money is tight at the moment, and I wouldn't have gone to the cinema to see it if a friend hadn't presented me with a freebie extra ticket) so had tried to avoid reading about it to avoid spoilers. Going in without the hype, I enjoyed it, and I have to say of the Bonds that Daniel Craig has done, this is certainly the best. Given I don't compare the old and new bonds, that would thus make it the best bond film of the current series. I particularly enjoyed the little nods to the originals that crop up here and there throughout the film.

    The only downside I can think of, (and on the night it didn't occur to me as I was enjoying the show, but it occurred to me later) was that the new Bonds don't seem to know whether they want to keep the old Bonds as canon or not. They made references to his earlier exploits during the movie, which i enjoyed, but with the introduction of a new Q and a couple of other characters it feels like a reboot, like the start of the Bond story. I'm not sure how they can reconcile introducing characters that have, in effect, been before... whilst at the same time using references to previous exploits that those same characters were once a part of. I think we'll have to wait for the next Bond to see how this plays out, but overall I enjoyed the film. 4/5 stars.

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  29. i didn't read this... i want to see it

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  30. Yep, I won't be watching this one any time soon.

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  31. but it is it worth going to the theatres for or should i just wait till they play it on sunday afternoons?

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  32. Thanks for the review. Bart asks an important question. Is it a movie that should be seen on the big screen or is the small one just as good?

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  33. I read the Fleming books before I saw my first Bond film so I always thought most of the films were a bit silly (I never like the stupid gadgets). Although it's not, this one has more the feel of a literary adaption. It's a very good film by a very good director (not always the case for Bond films)and is more character driven than any previous one. Ginge makes some excellent points about it but I thought it carried off the balance between re-boot and historical refernces rather well. Although it's a 12A I don't think it is suitable for children however not least because iyt is quite wordy for a Bond.

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  34. I like a lot your opinion, Fran, and agree with it. I saw the movie last friday and I dídn´t like it. A very bad movie that I would have prefer to see in the TV...

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  35. Haven't seen it yet, but am hoping to this week if possible. Saw Cloud Atlas instead of this over the past weekend.. I fear letting the wife choose was a bad choice though..

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  36. I'm seeing this film by the weekend.

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  37. Thanks for the review, still need to see this. Pretty much everyone I know (including Mom)has seen it and loved it.

    Jason

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