The name's Bond...James Bond
09-27-2013
, 07:42 PM
09-27-2013
, 09:09 PM
09-27-2013
, 11:51 PM
09-27-2013
, 11:53 PM
09-28-2013
, 01:28 AM
09-28-2013
, 06:24 AM
09-28-2013
, 11:14 PM
Goldfinger not even in the top 5? Man With the Golden Gun not in the top 15? 
09-28-2013
, 11:39 PM
09-29-2013
, 05:16 AM
09-29-2013
, 06:21 AM
09-29-2013
, 03:08 PM
09-30-2013
, 02:47 PM
09-30-2013
, 10:27 PM
09-30-2013
, 11:28 PM
10-02-2013
, 12:16 AM
10-02-2013
, 12:17 AM
11-11-2013
, 02:15 AM
Quote:
Skyfall
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Well, having watched all the Bond movies in a long run (and not the first time I've seen them), and expecting mostly that what I thought before would remain true by the end, I was surprised by the end result...Skyfall is now my favourite Bond. None of the others, save perhaps OHMSS and Casino Royale, approach the emotional impact of this, and none of them except maybe From Russia With Love and Goldfinger approach the level of cinematography and imagery of Skyfall.
It is flawed, of course, with logic, plot holes and with character dissonances, but these are minor. It's a grand work, with a great villain, and some great scenes (the fight in silhouette is masterful), and has subtle echoes of other stories and themes (some of Bond's own in fact). The main themes, it seems to me, are death and resurrection, themes of parenthood gone awry but shaping the child into something he would not have been if he'd stayed under a parent's protective wing, of battling against very tough odds to win (and this is the first time I can really recall in a Bond film a clear sense Bond is in survival rather than winning mode), and also light and shadow. There's elements of old British myths here, like Arthurian legend, a touch of St George fighting the Dragon (the villain is a man burned through on the inside), and Jesus. It starts, after a brilliant action sequence in Istanbul, with Bond dead to the world (echoes of the end of the book You Only Live Twice), amplified by a terrific title sequence overlaid by Adele's plaintive song.
But he does come back when he needs to, and we see him trying to get back some of his former skills and fitness. We have new versions of old Bond elements and characters that work well. But mostly there's this theme of resurrection and old sins coming back to haunt you.
Twice we see Bond fall into water and sink, only to emerge somewhere else. We even see him get to walk on water (well, ice...), and face dragons (of the Komodo kind). We see him unshaven and looking tired and raddled, but when he needs to, a shave and a decent tuxedo brings the Bond we know back.
Sam Mendes, the director, is a man versed in classic British literature and stories, and he invokes these subtly throughout. There's a theme here of Britain in decline, paralleled by Bond's decline, and both struggling...it reminds me of the Saxon belief that a king is tied to his land, and a king in decline means the land is in decline, and vice versa. Mendes is perhaps invoking that old idea here. And while we see Bond struggling to get back to his old levels of strength, we also see the chaos and doubters around M, until finally Bond takes M away, so he can try to protect her from the relentless and resourceful villain, even while he's not quite back to strength himself.
But about Bond and maybe about Britain, M says as she quotes Tennyson...'Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'
The words mirror the end.
And what a great ending. A great middle and start too, with Bardem proving a terrific villain, who is clearly the good guy in his own story, but the bad guy in ours. He's bitter, complex, funny, and haunted by betrayal he cannot forgive. He shows he loves M by the end, but cannot live without finishing her and himself. But that end...The final goodbye to the old M, and Bond back to his former self, going into M's office with that gloriously plush leather-padded door (like the one in the old days), to see the new M, and when asked if he's ready to get back to work...as Bond puts it, "With pleasure, M. With pleasure."
Glorious.
90/100
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Well, having watched all the Bond movies in a long run (and not the first time I've seen them), and expecting mostly that what I thought before would remain true by the end, I was surprised by the end result...Skyfall is now my favourite Bond. None of the others, save perhaps OHMSS and Casino Royale, approach the emotional impact of this, and none of them except maybe From Russia With Love and Goldfinger approach the level of cinematography and imagery of Skyfall.
It is flawed, of course, with logic, plot holes and with character dissonances, but these are minor. It's a grand work, with a great villain, and some great scenes (the fight in silhouette is masterful), and has subtle echoes of other stories and themes (some of Bond's own in fact). The main themes, it seems to me, are death and resurrection, themes of parenthood gone awry but shaping the child into something he would not have been if he'd stayed under a parent's protective wing, of battling against very tough odds to win (and this is the first time I can really recall in a Bond film a clear sense Bond is in survival rather than winning mode), and also light and shadow. There's elements of old British myths here, like Arthurian legend, a touch of St George fighting the Dragon (the villain is a man burned through on the inside), and Jesus. It starts, after a brilliant action sequence in Istanbul, with Bond dead to the world (echoes of the end of the book You Only Live Twice), amplified by a terrific title sequence overlaid by Adele's plaintive song.
But he does come back when he needs to, and we see him trying to get back some of his former skills and fitness. We have new versions of old Bond elements and characters that work well. But mostly there's this theme of resurrection and old sins coming back to haunt you.
Twice we see Bond fall into water and sink, only to emerge somewhere else. We even see him get to walk on water (well, ice...), and face dragons (of the Komodo kind). We see him unshaven and looking tired and raddled, but when he needs to, a shave and a decent tuxedo brings the Bond we know back.
Sam Mendes, the director, is a man versed in classic British literature and stories, and he invokes these subtly throughout. There's a theme here of Britain in decline, paralleled by Bond's decline, and both struggling...it reminds me of the Saxon belief that a king is tied to his land, and a king in decline means the land is in decline, and vice versa. Mendes is perhaps invoking that old idea here. And while we see Bond struggling to get back to his old levels of strength, we also see the chaos and doubters around M, until finally Bond takes M away, so he can try to protect her from the relentless and resourceful villain, even while he's not quite back to strength himself.
But about Bond and maybe about Britain, M says as she quotes Tennyson...'Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'
The words mirror the end.
And what a great ending. A great middle and start too, with Bardem proving a terrific villain, who is clearly the good guy in his own story, but the bad guy in ours. He's bitter, complex, funny, and haunted by betrayal he cannot forgive. He shows he loves M by the end, but cannot live without finishing her and himself. But that end...The final goodbye to the old M, and Bond back to his former self, going into M's office with that gloriously plush leather-padded door (like the one in the old days), to see the new M, and when asked if he's ready to get back to work...as Bond puts it, "With pleasure, M. With pleasure."
Glorious.
90/100
Let the skyfall...