I have to give this chapter of Bond’s further adventures a grudging worth seeing rating because M’s past coming after her and 007 being dead have both been done before; see The World is Not Enough and You Only Live Twice respectively. Die Another Day is forgettable. However, even a mediocre Bond flick is better than a “good” Abrams or Lucas hypefest. With 2012 being the franchise’s 50th anniversary, I did have higher expectations for the villain’s plans. Nothing as goofy like a poisoning the earth with nerve gas from exotic flowers or irradiating the world’s gold supply, but something world-shaking. I’ve said it many times, I’ll keep on plugging it…bring back Blofeld! Fleming’s original villain would be a perfect nowadays. The producers/writers could transform him into a modern-day Osama bin Laden hiding out in various lairs, backing and financing various terrorist organizations.
The commercials and trailers have bludgeoned the premise so I will break it down with what I loved and hated. I’ll start with the negative:
- Bond is off his game after being “dead.” Sort of been done with Die Another Day.
- Someone wants to hurt M. Already done, see The World is not Enough.
- Blatant product plugs. See the last three Brosnan movies.
- Both sides do rather incredibly dumb things to move the plot forward. The UK is doomed if MI6 is that stupid when using computers.
- Adele’s song is mediocre and forgettable.
Now for the positive aspects which push Skyfall into the rating it earned.
- The Bond mythos comes full circle with the return of Q and some others you’ll discover at the end. Plus another old gadget I’ve missed. We’ll see in Daniel Craig’s possible fourth movie.
- The opening-title sequence is very impressive despite it being a semi-spoiler.
- The action sequences continue to be tense and stomach-churning but I have a fear of heights.
- Javier Bardem is a great nemesis. Finally someone outside the usual nationalities Bond fights.
- One location Bond visits, I already knew was real since I learned about on the History Channel.
- Bond’s current handlers continue keep Craig’s version gritty, inelegant (he isn’t too comfortable in a tuxedo) and unlike Moore, Brosnan and some Connery; dopey wisecracks and scores too easily.
- The franchise isn’t painted into a corner requiring yet another reboot.
The average movie goer will enjoy Skyfall, its length might challenge his/her bladder and patience. Action fans will be the same. Bond fans like myself are probably divided. Casino and Quantum raised some rather high expectations.
Here’s an added bonus, someone did an article covering the feasibility of past villains’ crazy schemes.
Alamo’s extras were mostly the same ones they did for Quantum: the Duran Duran video, trailers for past Bond movies and the Weird Al video for Spy Hard. Maybe I should beg the programming people to put together the next setup. I can think of a half dozen comedy pieces to warm up the crowd!