Saturday, November 03, 2012

Skyfall (2012)




Ian Fleming's secret agent 007 comes to screen once more for the 23rd movie dedicated to the franchise. 

Shortly after being announced that Sam Mendes would take the helms of this project, the hype began to grow, something that is quite understandable. In all these years that I've been following James Bond's "career", not once do I remember having an Academy award winner direct one of his films.

Skyfall (2012) looked promising and if expectations were high, they gained epic proportions has time went by. The advertising campaign was amazing, with a special moment clinging on most people's mind. I'm talking about Daniel Craig's cameo as James Bond during the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics. Quite an original stunt I would say...

By this point we were close to its début... and when the time came for Skyfall to be revealed to a selected audience and critics, the results came in: It was said to be one of the finest Bond movies ever made.

I wasn't surprised. Since they've decided to reboot the series and give it a much darker and serious tone, 007 increased its quality much to credit of screenwriters and directors, but also Daniel Craig's performance, arguably the best MI6 agent since Sean Connery (I can't really decide which of them I like best).

Casino Royale (2006) based on Fleming's first Bond, took the character to early stages and from there we've seen the English spy grow and mature into the James Bond we all know. Quantum of Solace (2008) delivered a different pace and face to the agent, much to dislike of fans worldwide, however, it is my belief that people didn't take into account their new approach but also what happened in the previous film. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace (2008) are connected and same was expected - at least by me - for Skyfall. Rather than treating each film as a separate adventure (like they did with the old ones), there is a sense of continuity with the contemporary versions. Here in fact, the new and improved Bond films work as a prequel of sorts, taking the whole series to level one, but always maintaining part of the essence that made this "spy saga". We still get the gadgets and the action sequences - although with a more realistic touch - and the intro generic remains pretty vintage, including the theme songs, which seem to be - regardless of the time and age we are in - all in the same tone. Even in the narrative style adopted, they find ways to fit in tributes to the "oldies", example of such is the Austin Martin used in Skyfall... a clear reference to 1964's Goldfinger. More is to be said, but my point is not to hand out any spoilers. All I can say is that you will be very satisfied with what Mendes has done with the newest Bond, which by the way marks the 50th anniversary of the character.

Be sure to see it!

1 comment:

Maria Stürken said...

Loved it! Far better than Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace. For me, Daniel Craig finally comprehended the Bond essence.