No spoilers.
Went to see it opening night. First things first - Loved it! As someone who loved Casino Royale (it became my favorite 007 film), yet hated Quantum Of Solace (one viewing only, don't own) - a new 007 film has been a long time coming indeed. Skyfall did not disappoint. Great performances all around, great story - again, very grounded.
Javier Bardem was fantastic as the villain, Daniel Craig was at his best yet at fully realizing the character of 007, and Judi Dench had her strongest performance, going well beyond supporting character.
All that said; Naomie Harris (Eve) made the film for me for several reasons, some I can’t discuss (spoilers). Her physical beauty is distracting, in an incredible way, and her performance is perfect. Perfect. Truthfully, I look at her and I can't make sense of how beautiful she is. Add in the amazing voice and her intelligence and she's the Bond Girl of all Bond Girls. *swoon*
I also like the nods to the history of the franchise. They were limited, not at all distracting, and fit within the story. If you caught them, fine – if you didn’t, not an issue at all. In fact, after two viewings there was still one I missed that a friend pointed out to me. It was so subtle that I didn’t see it, but it was a really nice touch.
It was particularly wonderful to get away from shaky-cam, image-a-second editing of Quantum. In Skyfall there were long shots and the scenes are allowed to breathe. Particularly the more cerebral passages. Hats off to Mr. Mendes and Mr. Newman for recapturing the atmosphere of Bond. It’s nice that they finally embraced their past instead of trying to reinvent it or ignore it.
Well done on every level, and that's coming from 40 years of uber nerddom. Where Casino Royale succeeded in refocusing the franchise - Skyfall went one step further and fully returned it. I went for a second viewing Sunday morning - no, not just to see Eve again. ;-)
At this point, after a second viewing and four days of reflection, I'm ready to declare Skyfall my favorite 007 film. It edges out Casino Royale because of its full return-to-form. The ending is a large part of that because the last five minutes of Skyfall are the first five minutes of every classic Bond film (post-title sequence).
For me, my Bond house is back in order. One more viewing at least and then it’s the long wait for the DVD. Until then, the soundtrack will have to hold me. Speaking of which; Along with Thomas Newman’s expert handling of the score, Adele’s theme song is genius. It’s the first theme song in 17 years that I haven’t discarded. In fact, I’m listening to it as I type this.
I give Skyfall an EASY 5 out of 5 cut-throat razors.
“She sent you after me, knowing you're not ready, knowing you would likely die. Mommy was very bad”