I thought it would be fitting to be talking about not necessarily a movie franchise I praise with the highest esteems, but more of a cool, edgy and action series that I happened to have grew up with. So what keeps us coming back to James Bond, the British spy agent with the code number 007? Is it the locations? Is it the cars? Is it the women perhaps?
I think it's the overall structure of each film that has changed slightly over the decades. And maybe it's also because we secretly want to be an undercover agent ourselves. Infiltrate suspicious companies and groups, having a license to kill and along the way making out with random gorgeous women.
Personally, the infiltration scenes of any movie and the memorable henchmen and villains are my reasons for liking James Bond. Of course, gadgets, locations, supportive characters and plots can add up towards that.
Still, it's odd to say this again, but although I can enjoy them no matter how many incarnations there are of the same general plot, they have never been truly remarkable films for me. Well, maybe only 1 time, with On Her Majesty's Secret Service(1969) starring George Lazenby.
It happens to be my favorite James Bond title for a number of reasons. First off, the choreography was the most impressive after the previous 60's Bond films and it even rivals others afterwards. Second, I enjoyed the cold setting of Switzerland and the unfolding plot.
The best thing about the movie are surprisingly the romance and the drama inside of it, two genres that really don't dominate the franchise. Bond falls in love and marries the Bond Girl featured in here, but after he thinks that the danger is over, he loses her, presented in such a way in what can only be deemed as a classic scene.
GoldenEye(1995) is another memorable one for not only introducing Pierce Brosnan as Bond and perhaps the most crowded group of villains yet, it also was adapted into the most popular first person shooter for the Nintendo 64.
Rare, the developer of the game who was once Nintendo's strongest 2nd party, successfully brought the genre towards consoles, giving us not only an identical journey through the singleplayer mode, it's multiplayer mode was immensely popular during the late 90's as well.
It would only take a few years before superior titles would show up, including Perfect Dark, also developed by Rare. But despite that, GoldenEye remains a favorite period of a trip traveling back to the past.
Now I will give you my Skyfall review. If you thought Casino Royale(2006) felt rebootish, wait until you see this one. It’s plot is simple, yet effectively makes a good relation between James Bond and M, his superior. Furthermore, traditional characters such as Q and Moneypenny finally return with some dignity towards the series.
The mission is essentially to reclaim a secret list of NAVO infiltrators from a terrorist, but personal relations soon take over the theme of Skyfall. The action scenes were pretty good and varied, but not so memorable. The humor touch of Bond actually is improved from previous films, which is also good.
Raoul Silva is a traditional and impressive villain that reminded me most of all of 006 in GoldenEye, also carrying vengeance and isn’t as megalomaniacal as many others. The movie felt familiar, but also re-introduces to us objects and characters from the past.
There are also a few cameo references, such as the “For Your Eyes Only” line, or the classic Aston Martin car with gadgets such as the ejection button. The theme sung by Adele felt as an effective tool for hyping up the film, and it succeeded of course.
I don’t know, despite that the runtime is roughly 2 and a half hours, it could had been more interesting with perhaps a background plot happening, or more detailed mission briefings and/or character development.
Other than that, consider Skyfall as one of the best Bond films from any time, certainly Craig’s best yet even though Casino Royale had a lot of style as well.
Rating: 7.0
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