Hold Your Breath and Count to Ten

"Skyfall."
"Done."

That's exactly what I want to say right after I walked out of the cinemas. After a full month of waiting, I finally got to see the latest Bond film in the cinemas, which required me to skip church on Sunday (sorry, God). I know I may be the last blogger that claims himself a movie blogger that blogged about the latest Bond film, but then to be the last isn't always a bad thing. I have an alibi for this, so to speak. I am now in Japan and watching Skyfall on December 2nd isn't considered a month late here; it's only a day late. The 23rd Bond film has already had my curiosity since it was announced, but now it has my full attention (credits to Quentin Tarantino for the pinked sentence). The story is not a continuation of the events in Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace, but the things referenced in this film requires a knowledge in the Bond universe as this film partly served as a homage to the 50-year-old spy.

The story started from the stolen harddrive containing the names of MI6 undercover agents. James Bond (Daniel Craig) was supposed to retrieve it but then due to a mission mishap, Bond was 'killed'. But then actually, the hard drive was only a small detail in the big picture. Enter Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) a cyber terrorist who's kinda peculiar in every way. Silva is presumably a homosexual yet also sort of a psychopath. Bond's bond (Bond pun!) with M is tested as more secrets and Silva's plan were unraveled.

So far, Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond. I was born in the Brosnan era, so there was a time that recognize Pierce Brosnan in some magazine or his non-Bond films and called him James Bond. But as I get older and I have more knowledge about this matter, Daniel Craig steps in as 007 and I have to say he's my Bond. I loved Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace is like wine, it gets better with time (and multiple viewings). As I have mentioned, Skyfall is partly a homage to the franchise and it was shown all over the film: the vintage Goldfinger Aston Martin, Walther PPK, an eccentric villain, the big and brassy theme song, the new Q, the new Moneypenny (perhaps that's a spoiler but then again, the film is already a month old) even James Bond himself said, "the old ways are the best". Also the setting is mainly in London, again, serving as a homage to country and franchise. The action sets are amazing, I couldn't complain about anything. The score by Thomas Newman, a newcomer to the franchise but a pro in the business, is above satisfactory; it's a different color to the usual David Arnold score and it's a great thing. The theme song opening scene is amazing, courtesy of Daniel Kleinman. It's kinda incomparable with the one in Casino or Quantum as the three of them are equally awesome. Daniel Craig is getting better with Bond and he could put his happy face more here than in QoS. Judi Dench's M played a bigger role here and Judi Dench is so good in her role. Javier Bardem is crazily amazing as always. Although Silva here isn't as menacing as Anton Chigurh, Bardem's Silva has mostly great moments in the film. The third act of the film doesn't really feel Bond-y but we get something in return: Bond's backstory, which was already briefly mentioned by Vesper Lynd in their first meeting in the train. Sam Mendes handles the film skillfully without forgetting the story in favor of the actions scenes and the action scenes did not disappoint too. However, I feel that Casino Royale is more superior in its action scenes. One of the few things that bugged me was the love scene with Severine that is quite morally inappropriate and Silva's death scene that seems too...easy. But then again, no masterpiece is without flaws. Skyfall is a satisfactory film in all levels and I look forward to the next Bond films which will going to feature a lot of great actors that are already hinted to return. Skyfall: rated 4/4.

Still related to Skyfall, I recommend you to watch Graham Norton's show on Bond special with guest stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem. It's available on YouTube and it's interesting (for me, when I'm still in Bond fever mode)

This bonus material is included since I haven't posted a lot in November:
1. the newest Man of Steel poster is superb. see it here!
2. Star Trek Into Darkness poster is also superb. Cumberbitches! see this one here!
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has become The Social Network of superhero films. With Dane Dehaan joining as Harry Osborn, it has the best young cast you could assemble. But then, the new Spidey sucks.
4. And when you checked out the new trailer for Django Unchained, this is the best comment you can see on YouTube.

See you for in the next two weeks for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!
(An unimportant trivia: Line sticker for The Hobbit is out for free!)
I'll let you guys know that I made a promise to myself to watch The Hobbit in HFR3D, so wish me luck or I'm going to do something equally exciting as watching in HFR3D.
And if any of you wonder why I am not reviewing Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, it's not that I hated the film because how can I hate the film when it's not even released yet in Japan :| It's going to be open on December 28.

See you on December 16 for another post!