SKYFALL is the most fun this OO7 fan has had watching a Bond film in theatres since 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me. There are so many BESTS in this great Bond flick! Opening with the BEST pre-title sequence ever, Bond pursues a bad guy on foot, in cars, on motorcycles and on trains. At least twice in this sequence alone, I found myself offering a WOW out loud, and that rarely happens folks. This is followed by the BEST Bond title sequence in memory, a stirring & smart tribute to the classic Maurice Binder titles accompanied by the BEST Bond theme since “Nobody Does It Better”, this one written and sung in great style by Adele.
After getting beat up (and beyond) in the first 20 minutes, James Bond must prove himself ready to return to duty, just in time to fight major terrorist attacks in London. A major cyber attack reveals every undercover agent in the field around the world. This sets up a brilliant scenario that questions not just MI6, but everything that Bond, M and the entire agency represents.
Like Roger Moore in his third Bond film, Craig truly BECOMES Bond in Skyfall. On the trail of the smallest clues, Bond eventually follows the path to our villain, Silva, in a twisted and exciting performance by Javier Bardem. Yes, I think he is one of the BEST Bond villains ever, ranking right up with Goldfinger and Blofeld, but with an evil, Hannibal Lecter psychotic side lurking just beneath the surface.
Silva has major issues with M, played here in great style by Dame Judi Dench in her BEST performance in the Bond series.
The BEST Bond cast of the entire 50 year series supports Craig, including newcomers Ralph Fiennes as M’s new boss Gareth Mallory, Ben Whishaw (so great in Cloud Atlas) as the new, younger Q and Albert Finney in a key role best left undescribed.
Skyfall’s Bond Girls are superb this time around, with Naomie Harris as Eve, a field agent that nearly kills Bond but ends up….well that’s another great secret best left unsaid. Berenice Marlohe is the beautiful and exotic Severine, tied to Silva but falling for 007.
Composer Thomas Newman rocks the BEST Bond score since John Barry’s music for Oh Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It’s almost non-stop and it’s a knockout.
I’ve mentioned a lot of bests already, but one thing I know for a fact is this is by FAR, the BEST-written Bond film. It’s smart, it’s challenging, it’s exciting and it takes you to places you don’t expect, but are thrilled to arrive at when you find yourself there.
Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) should be a bad fit for the Bond series, but you can tell he loves the old films, as he pays genius tribute to them again and again. The very first shot of the movie is a clever new twist on the classic openings of the sixties. By the time Bond started up the Silver Aston Martin DB-5 and the James Bond theme kicked in, I was as happy in a theatre as I’ve been in years. Add all the surprises, clever twists and beautiful set ups for the next film found in the last ten minutes of the film and I was in heaven.
Skyfall is so much more than I expected. Until this film, Connery was my favorite Bond. Move over Sean, Daniel Craig is the best. And SKYFALL is The BEST. BOND. EVER. A+
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