"Take the Bloody Shot!" - Skyfall Review

After the overall disappointment of Quantum of Solace and the near-bankruptcy of MGM, the fate of James Bond seemed hopeless, and it was up in the air as to when and if we'd ever see him again. But luck turned around, and Skyfall has already earned itself 90 million dollars at the box office, which makes it the biggest Bond opening ever and a sweeping victory for MGM.  Sam Mendes, the Academy Award-winning director behind American Beauty, and Roger Deakins, the legendary cinematographer for many of the Coen Brothers' films, joined forces to create not only one of the best looking Bond films, but one of the best looking action films EVER.  Every shot of this film is stunning; it would not surprise me in the least if scenes from this film will be dissected by future film school students.

Unlike the dizzying, more action-oriented execution of Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is a mature, smart, adult film that felt more like something from David Fincher than Michael Bay.  The characters were great, and we get to see a side of the James Bond character that hasn't really been seen before (kudos to Daniel Craig).  And god damn Judi Dench is the best bloody actress you'd ever want to run the MI-6.  As always every word she says is epic, and it's her relationship with 007 that is at the heart of this film.  Javier Bardem also shows us yet again how great of a bad guy he can be, displaying a Hannibal Lector-esque sense of himself as he delivers some of the best villainous lines of the recent Bond films.

I could but I won't go into much more detail about the film, but I gotta say I was amazed at how good this was.  The opening action scene is perhaps the best all year, and all the others were not only heart-pumpingly good, but also furthered the plot and meant more than just a surface-level chase scene (unlike the beginning of Casino Royale where Bond chases after some random bad guy, in this he has a clear motive, and M giving him direction over an earpiece makes it all the more tense).  I loved this movie - although I did have some minor quibbles here and there, this is a must-see for any fan of Bond or any fan of film.

Rating: A-