This is not his first time!!!. Review on Skyfall Movie

My connection with bond goes way back since I was in 9th standard when I saw “Goldfinger” for the first time which incidentally was the movie which introduced Bond to me. For a 14 year old at the dawn of puberty, the scene of a half naked lady covered in gold paint had gone viral inside my head and Bond had replaced batman as the sign of masculinity, virility and sense of morality. He was the man every man wanted to be, every woman wanted to be with and some wanted to be and to be with (can’t classify those).  In the month that marks the 50th anniversary of this suave spy’s journey which started with Dr. No this movie is a fitting anniversary celebration. After the blip in the form of “The Quantum of Solace” he has found his footing back.

The movie starts in Istanbul where Bond destroys almost half of the city in a bid to recover a sensitive information from an enemy operative. No sooner that this happens Bond is shot by one of his own accomplices (Eve played by Naomie Harris)and plunges into a river full of skulls and other artifacts (that was creepy) . Bond was as good as over or so others felt . M (played by Judi dench)  is also seen writing an obituary in remembrance of her veteran  agent ). But Bond as always survives and comes back, but lacks the intensity he had before his death.

This is better immortalised by the dialogue given below.

*James Bond: 007 reporting for duty.

M: Where the hell have you been?

James Bond: Enjoying death.*

A much younger Q who looks like a spotty teenager and a techno-nerd barely half his age (played by Ben Whishaw) is introduced to make Bond smarter and sharper with a much more advanced version of the legendary Walter PPK and a host of other gadgets.   Emotionally, this is the most mature of any of the Bond films, and draws upon some of the greatest Bond moments. There are elements of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Licence To Kill and The World Is Not Enough in Skyfall  and the central relationship between Bond and at this point a mother figure of an M (who he will mercilessly kill to protect) is beautifully realized. Suffice to say the final act in which Bond and M face their fears and demons is shattering in every sense of the word and lifts the film into the highest echelons of the series.But it's not just Bond who gets some added depth, this is the closest that a Bond film's ever come to being an ensemble piece. Judi Dench is virtually a co-lead, while Bond's support team of Harris, Rory Kinnear(returning as M's number two), Ralph Fiennes (as the ambivalently priggish civil servant Mallory) andBen Whishaw (a particular stand-out as the new Q) all get significant screen time. They're not Kenneth Lonergan characters or anything, but all are engaging and enjoyable presences in their part and help to make the film seem a little more substantial. Even femme-fatalish Bond girl Bérénice Marlohe gets some fleshing out (pun intended).

Best of all is the bad guy. Javier Bardem was always a tantalizing choice to play a Bond villain (remember No country for all men), and his Silva is a terrific creation, and certainly the most memorable villain in the series in decades. There are too many fun surprises to the character to give away here, but rest assured that Silva -- who again, owes more than a little to a Nolan character, namely Heath Ledger's Joker -- hits the center of the funny/strange/scary Venn Diagram beautifully, with the actor making some bold choices .

Like Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, to which Mendes's film is already being compared in some quarters, Skyfal loffers one of those tear-the-hero-down-that-he-may-rise arcs. Here, though, it's not a man (Bat- or otherwise), but the series itself that's pulled to pieces. Bond brings abour a new age in the genre of spy thrillers which will make you question Bourne’s fanfare. To say this is the best movie of this year is far fetched (My loyalties still remain with TDKR ). But it does clome a close second. This is one Oscar bet for bond who has just a meagre 2 in his kitty in the last 50 years for skyfall takes bond to a new pinnacle of quality as if the entire bond franchise has resurrected with him.

The following dialogue sums it up

*Bond : Everyone should have a hobby..

Silva : So whats yours?

Bond: Resurrection.*

Comments and criticism are welcome,

Regards,

SlightlyDrunk