First I must make clear that I have not liked the Bond films since Golden Eye. I refer to Golden Eye as that was the first Bond film that I saw at a reasonable age and that I fully enjoyed at the cinema. I had watched most of the previous films either on the telly or at the cinema, but Golden Eye was the first one that I fully appreciated and I was able to go in according to the Rating.
Before Golden Eye, most of them were all mashed up in my brain and scenes from one were mixed with another. I enjoyed Golden Eye and I still think that Pierce Brosnan was a good Bond, just unfortunate to have had to work with the worst scripts ever imaginable.
I went to see Casino Royal and though I enjoyed moments of it, there had been plenty more things that I hated about it. The final insult was when they made (via product placement) Bond drive a Ford. I don't care what excuses they make for it, Bond should never drive a Ford. Other things that annoyed me were mainly to do with the fact that Bond was imitating Bond imitations (Bourne).
The product placement took away any credibility and the extra (and unnecessary) lines to explain jokes/innuendo made it all rather tedious and a bit dirty and creepy in my opinion.
So when Skyfall was announced, I wasn't that excited or that interested, to be honest. Then I was rather confused when they announced that Sam Mendes was to direct it. Don't get me wrong, but despite being an amazing director, his forte is drama and I wasn't sure how he would adapt to action. Then I got seriously worried when there were rumors that there would be more drama in this film. That confirmed my fears that they no longer knew their product or their actual target audience.
So I got the call from a, very dear friend, friend asking if I wanted to go to the screening. Curiousity and the thrill to see something weeks ahead of the rest of the world, got the best of me. I went along thinking only two possible outcomes
1.- I'll hate it
2.- I'll like it
Nothing beyond that. The head of Sony Films UK introduced it saying that it was 'a fitting tribute to the 50th anniversary' and perhaps even 'one of the better, if not the best, film they had made'. Me and my friend agreed that he was bound to say that... and the lights went out.
The opening sequence is very exciting, to put it in a frank an simple way. A chase, punches, gun shots, over the top action, but it never descended into a caricature of itself. The credits were a mix of the old and the new and seemed to make the title song work much better than on the radio.
From then on, there were nods to previous films and previous Bonds. I am sure a few references passed me by, but it doesn't really matter as two weeks later I am still smiling at the thought of it and I am booking tickets to go and see it one more time.
Daniel Craig was superb and Javier Bardem was epic without eclipsing Bond. The action was present at every turn and not only fantastically choreographed, but it was all beautifully shot. The cheesy lines were there and there was innuendo, but again, it did it like Bond used to be and not crass as it had become lately.
There were a couple of things that I wasn't sure about, but there was nothing that I truly disliked in that film. I walked out giddy with excitement and gutted that I am unable to talk about it. But you deserve unspoiled enjoyment and the film deserves to be thoroughly enjoyed.
I will say that it is the Bond film that I have enjoyed the most and that I have been the most excited about. You can decide for yourself if it is your favourite Bond film or if it is even the best.
I've made up my mined and I very much look forward to seeing it again and finally to be able to talk about it with friends.
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