This could probably be the most distinctly gratifying Bond film yet. It sets this franchise up nicely. In that vein, I saw a review that compared this to The Dark Knight, and I can certainly see that. It has the same type of serious back story that serves as a new beginning. Really cool stuff.
The opening chase scene was mind-boggling. It started as a motorcycle chase on the rooftops of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and ended up on the top of a train. However, it wasn’t your standard cliche-ridden train top chase because it included Caterpillar construction equipment and a slick little cufflink fix in the middle. Then, some classic Bond opening credits started rolling with Adele vocals. You can’t help but being hooked at this point. You are powerless.
** PLOT KILLERS FOLLOW **
I talked about the “assault on the castle” scene in Jack Reacher recently. Well, we get the opposite here, a “castle defense,” and it’s bigger, longer and more exciting. It’s also more important for a couple of reasons; it’s executed by one of the best villains ever and lays out the history of Bond’s family by staging it at his boyhood home, Skyfall.
Javier Bardem rocked the villain with an uncomfortably warped performance. You have to see it to understand it. He pulled off a fusion of the killer from No Country For Old Men combined with Hannibal Lecter. It was disturbing. The ending is kind of tragic, but it does reward the Bond-loving public with a cast of characters that should keep this franchise front and center for years to come.
It’s always been a decent franchise but I seem to recall the Broccoli family falling on financial hard times and the franchise being in jeopardy. I did some quick research and it appears that this is the case, but they’re still using some “financial engineering” to keep things in the Broccoli family and the movies going strong. I heard this one has already grossed $1 billion, so they may be set.
I’m expecting the next installment to have Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q. Seems like a solid group, let’s get on with it.