Rent Skyfall (2012)

The baddie has the megalomaniac power of a turnip and the girls the seducing power of limp lettuce - Skyfall review by RP

When I saw this at the cinema I thoroughly enjoyed it. But watching it now at home I felt slightly disappointed...

Where is the glamour? Where is the excitement? Where are the under-dressed Bond-girls, the over-the-top baddies, the gadgets, the not-so-subtle one-liners, the exotic locations?

This latest Bond is missing just about all of these: it's more down-to-earth, in fact somewhat more down-at-heel, and despite its large budget looks as if it was made on a shoestring. There are some awful props and effects with the MI6 HQ explosion being the worst and baddie Silva's roomful of compute-power running it a close second. The characters are a bit wishy-washy with Javier Bardem exuding the megalomaniac power of a turnip, and the two love interests (the Eve Moneypenny and Severine characters) the seducing power of limp lettuce.

And the story is hardly original either. A list of agents is stolen, putting them in danger. Err - haven't we seen that many times before?

I also disliked the obvious product placement (VW-Audi, Heineken, Omega etc). The 'real' Bond doesn't drink lager from the bottle, let alone in bed - Bolly or better for that, surely.

This is Daniel Craig's third Bond film and while his characterisation revitalised the franchise in 'Casino Royale' the two later films have been less good. It must be tricky keeping the stories fresh after so many films (what is it, 25?) so I understand the problems, but Mr Craig is already starting to look a little past his prime :(

If I'd rated it after seeing it in the cinema I'd have given it 4/5 but having seen it again it's down to 3/5 stars. Not bad, but regrettably not excellent.

Is this really James Bond? - Skyfall review by WP

If you are used to classic Bond movies you may find this film hard to swallow. Is it Daniel Craig's fault - no he's doing the best he can with a script that gives him no cool one liners or that comic wit so apparent in other Bond films. The girls aren't there either, nor those amazing gadgets, and worse still Bond loses his cool and gets angry - he never loses his cool, not Ian Flemings Bond anyway.

I wonder what Fleming would think of it? Maybe it's time to drop the Bond tag.

A masterful, spectacular & extraordinarily moving masterpiece - Skyfall review by Timmy B

I love this film. It is a wonderful, moving & action-packed movie, but more than anything, for me it is quintessentially a James Bond film. Bond is show to be fiercely patriotic & loyal, plus also vulnerable. Not since Die Another Day have we seen him beaten up, exhausted & jaded. But as he starts to get back to who he was, the screen just lights up & the joy you feel is the reason why, for so many people, there is no substitute.

Amusingly, one reason why Skyfall also works is because it is the only film of the series which in no way tries to tie itself in to the shadowy organisation which is first introduced in Casino Royale & then attempted to be fleshed out in Quantum of Solace. This is a truly standalone Bond film & is all the better for it.

And it starts as it means to go on: a shadow appears in the distance, then there is the almost deafening blast of the iconic Bond chords. Sat in the IMAX watching this, immediately it grabbed me & the message straight away, loud & clear was "Bond is back." In the space of 10 minutes, we see Bond desperately chase, with a car & motorbike, then on top of a moving train, a mercenary who has stolen highly classified files. The mission goes awry & Bond then vanishes, spending months in an island paradise drinking the bars dry & bedding beautiful women. However, a terrorist attack in London then draws him back to his home country & tracking down the mastermind behind it all.

This film has everything: a fantastic script, beautiful cinematography from Roger Deakins, a perfect score from Thomas Newman & theme song by Adele, incredible stunts & note-perfect performances. I mean, the list just goes on. And it is so welcome & brilliant to be able to sit in your seat & be totally swept up in everything that is going on, especially as the story & themes become much more personal. As much there is the real-world element to this & every Bond film (in Skyfall, it is mainly hacking/destroying high-value or important targets,) it becomes much more about James Bond himself & particularly his relationship with M.

Central to all of this is Daniel Craig. This is, even though Casino Royale is my favourite film overall, his best performance as Bond. Having 2 films under his belt (one spectacularly successful, the other average at best,) here you feel that he is much more comfortable & confident in the role. He really has grown into the skin of Bond & never for a second did I doubt any part of his performance. Judi Dench is also, as you would expect, incredible. Having been M since 1995 with Pierce's 1st film, here she is in many ways given her meatiest role in the 007 series. As you would expect, she delivers everything you could want & more. Alongside her, we get the return of Q, Ben Whishaw perfectly filling the shoes of Desmond Llewellyn after a long hiatus.

And then there is Javier Bardem as Silva. With a shock of blond hair & an extremely eccentric/camp persona, you almost dismiss him at first, even as he tells a fairly repugnant story in his opening monologue. But you underestimate him at your peril. He is totally ruthless, vain & evil, valuing only himself & prepared to destroy everything to get what he wants. He matches Craig toe-to-toe in dramatic tension & stakes.

Then we come to the ending. Again, no other Bond film makes you actually FEEL so strongly & emphatically the raw emotion which is shown on screen. As the final credits rolled, I felt every type of joy imaginable. I loved this film & it still saddens me to this day that despite trying, Bond has never again reached the heights it scaled here. This is James Bond, one of the greatest action heroes ever created, in one of the best films in the series.

Nobody will ever do it better.