Is anyone but me REALLY looking forward to "Skyfall"?

[James Steven Beverly]

I'm a huge Bond films fan and though I like Danial Craig as Bond, I've always felt that the scripts have not really been Bond scripts. Good scripts but missing a lot of the best fun parts of the Bond series. "Skyfall" looks REALLY good in the trailers and it seems like it might be one of the best bond films ever. What's your opinion? B)

[John Holland]

I will let you know after i have seen it on 29th October in Imax .

[Phil Soheili]

REALLY looking forward to "Skyfall"??

Are you kidding?

I'm sending you this message from my tent in front of our biggest cinema in town...

 

;)

[KH Martin]

Based on the snippets of footage and a Deakins interview, I'd say this is an interesting step away from what has gone before in terms of imagery, since so much of this Alexa shoot is relying on actual source light at low-levels, a la DRIVE. That's at a considerable remove from the way pretty much any of the previous Bonds, all shot on film, seem to have been handled.

 

As for the film itself, I've gone from being cautiously optimistic to bracing for an angry/negative response to the movie. That's based in large part on my love for not only most of the Connery films and both Dalton films, but also the Fleming stories, which I've read countless times. Since this whole startover with Craig, I think they've really messed the character over (and that's not just the 'becoming Bond' part -- CASINO ROYALE's Bond would only be credible if he were played by a 20something he comes off so immature and impulsive) and SKYFALL seems to have gone a lot further into creating this whole new 'wrong' Bond with an emotional backstory that is at odds with nearly everything I know about the character. I'm actually offended by some bits that seem like they were inserted just to subvert expectation, at the expense of who Bond has been, just to make it seem trendy. And I'm not talking about the way Bond always takes a bit from its times, like Blaxploitation in LIVE & LET DIE or the post-STAR WARS cash-in of MOONRAKER, I mean letting a writer whose solo credits include BATS and STAR TREK NEMESIS mix his usual pastiche of older movies approach with stuff that is more about the early life of Ian Fleming than about his wish-fulfillment character. Totally wrongheaded.

 

Then again, I've never understood the love for the 2006 CASINO ROYALE, where the spying basically consists of killing baddies to get their cellphone info ... baddies who are supposed to be brilliant, but apparently can't memorize phone numbers or throw their cells away in a timely manner. The fact Craig is physically so utterly wrong for Bond in terms of appearance doesn't seem to matter to most, but that's another glaring goof IMO ... he looks more like Felix Leiter AFTER he was fed to the sharks, or like 2nd villain's henchman, than Bond. All you have to do is look at the scene where he picks up a baddie's girlfriend in CASINO to see a guy who looks desperate, not Bond-like in the slightest.

 

To keep from ending on even more of a downer lone-nut mode, I'll say that I found parts of QUANTUM -- the parts that didn't suffer from ADD editing -- to be good, and I'm very excited that miniatures are back in the Bond universe. The VFX supe thinks that with the instant review of hispeed available on Alexa, that modelwork might actually stage something of a comeback, and that there are third-scale miniatures for big moments in the film's climax.

Edited October 19, 2012 by KH Martin

[James Steven Beverly]

I liked Dalton as Bond too. I absolutely HATED Rodger Moore as Bond which is weird 'cause I LOVED him as "The Saint" and I love Val Kilmer even in his bad movies but I HATED him as "The Saint", go figure. George Lazenby could have been a GREAT Bond not as good as Connery but damn good. Too bad he f@*ked up his career.

 

I have to disagree with your assessment of Craig. He has a quality. I agree he's not as handsome as other Bonds but he is manly, the MOST important Bond characteristic. Brosnan was OK but he seemed physically small and too pretty to play Bond. Bond needs to be rugged, big and charming. I guess that's why Connery is considered the quintessential Bond. I would actually put Craig 3rd after Connery, Lazenby, and a very close 4th Dalton then Brosnan and Moore but lest we forget David Niven, Barry Nelson (The very FIRST Bond) and Sterling Archer.(OK Bizzaro Bond but Bond like, never the less and funny as hell) or the original Bond Dušan Popov (although there were MANY other inspirations for various elements of the Bond world.

 

Interesting side notes, the name James Bond was SUPPOSED to be the most bland, unexciting name Fleming could find inspired by the leading American ornithologist of the time, James Bond. The first Bond book Casino Royale was written at Ian Fleming's estate in Oracabessa, Jamaica which was named Goldeneye and the double O seven designation came from 16th/17th century English spy John Dee who used a notation which consisted of a double O with a seven that had its top elongated over the Os on messages to Queen Elisabeth the first which indicated to her "For Your Eyes Only" which is another inspiration for another Fleming title. B)

[Darrell Ayer]

Every frame from the trailers so far have been beautifully shot and lit. I think there is a standard on this show that is slightly above the rest of the Bonds I've seen. Casino Royale and just the car chase from Quantum of Solace (just the car chase) come close.

 

I am overly excited to see the rest of this movie and Deakins work on it.

[Kieran Scannell]

I've just wrapped a commercial for Philips which will be shown in cinemas before Skyfall! It's a Bond spoof that promotes there new line of Televisions. So I'll be able to see if Deakins cinematography lives up to mine:-) I'm not holding my breath.

[KH Martin]

My SKYFALL cinematography/vfx article is up online at http://www.hdvideopro.com/display/features/secret-agent-man.html

 

There is a bit of grammar that needs fixing, plus the last two pages have images and mentions of things that might be slightly spoilerific.

[Freya Black]

designation came from 16th/17th century English spy John Dee who used a notation which consisted of a double O with a seven that had its top elongated over the Os on messages to Queen Elisabeth the first which indicated to her "For Your Eyes Only" which is another inspiration for another Fleming title. B)

 

 

"English Spy!!!???" Gotta say I've never thought of him in that way!! He got up to quite a lot and is associated with many things tho! What's his connection with spying? (other than James Bond!)

 

love

 

Freya

[Freya Black]

I've just wrapped a commercial for Philips which will be shown in cinemas before Skyfall! It's a Bond spoof that promotes there new line of Televisions. So I'll be able to see if Deakins cinematography lives up to mine:-) I'm not holding my breath.

 

Will be keeping an eye out for your ad! :)

 

love

 

Freya

[James Steven Beverly]

"English Spy!!!???" Gotta say I've never thought of him in that way!! He got up to quite a lot and is associated with many things tho! What's his connection with spying? (other than James Bond!)

 

love

 

Freya

In addition to his many accomplishments, John Dee was heavily involved in politics. He advocated English expansionism and knew many of the powerful and influential movers and shakers of his time. He was in a position to gather crucial information important to the crown which he did, so though he was never known as a spy he did in fact spy for England and in particular, Elisabeth the First. Spies who keep a low profile and simply steal the enemies secrets are the most effective and devastating weapons in war and politics. B)

[Leo Anthony Vale]

In addition to his many accomplishments, John Dee was heavily involved in politics. He advocated English expansionism and knew many of the powerful and influential movers and shakers of his time. He was in a position to gather crucial information important to the crown which he did, so though he was never known as a spy he did in fact spy for England and in particular, Elisabeth the First. Spies who keep a low profile and simply steal the enemies secrets are the most effective and devastating weapons in war and politics. B)

 

Elizabeth turned England into a police state with secret police spying on everyone to ferret out Papists.

Goddamn Protestants.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/spying_01.shtml

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Watchers-Secret-History-Elizabeth/dp/1608190099

[Daniel Smukalla]

I saw "Skyfall" yesterday over here in Korea (It was released October 26th here). That was one of the best movie experiences for me this year! I loved the film and have been thinking of it since.

 

Everything people have been saying about the cinematography is spot on. The film looks gorgeous. In typical Bond fashion, there are a wide variety of diverse locations, and Roger Deakins does a brilliant job capturing them for all of their beauty. Moments in Shanghai especially stuck out for me.

 

Even for the action scenes, there are times when the camera steps back and lets it unfold on screen. One of the fight scenes reminded me of Kill Bill Volume 1 where they are silhouetted and going at it. So it is not constant close ups with quick cuts.

 

Along with the cinematography, Thomas Newman's score stuck out for me as well. I've already listened to that score several times since walking out of the theatre.

 

As a Bond fan, I loved this film (Mind you I am one of the people that like Quantum - favorite bond film being "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). There are throwbacks to the originals with some tongue in cheek moments, but I didn't feel like they were overboard.

 

Definitely a great addition to the Bond films!

[Nicolas Courdouan]

I really liked it too, and the cinematography played a large part in this.

 

I am disappointed though that the movie felt like a Bondinized remake of The Dark Knight. Too much in its story, characterization and even music was inspired by Nolan's flick.

 

Not too big a disappointment I must say, since the movie was enjoyable, had great action scenes and performances, and was good on the whole. I just would have liked less similarities with TDK. The villain Silva shares at least a dozen common traits with either the Joker or Two-Face, in terms of appearance (dyed hair, half-disfigured), demeanour (flamboyant and over-the-top), motivations (he is the hero's perfect arch nemesis, he wants revenge against the person he blames for his disfigurement), modus operandi (always planning his enemies' every moves, no matter how unrealitic and over-the-top they are, dressing up as a cop to carry out an attack, getting arrested on purpose...).

 

The score as M descends into the Bond's mansion "cave" sounded like something straight out of Nolan's Batman trilogy. And you could dig even deeper and find other, less straightforward similarities, like the hero being an orphan and accessing the family's manor which has a secret underground passage, the action sequence in an Asian megapole skyscraper, etc. It also basically is the movie where the thuggish but skilled assassin ("blunt instrument") from Casino Royale becomes the refined spy we've always known, just like TDK had Bruce Wayne disappearing completely behind the Batman character to become a heroic, selfless figure instead of the mere masked vigilante he was in Batman Begins.

 

After watching it, I looked up "Skyfall inspired by The Dark Knight" on Google and found several quotes by Sam Mendes saying that the Dark Knight was a direct inspiration for Skyfall in terms of being an over-the-top blockbuster that also tells something very real and serious about the world we live in. He forgot to say that the screenwriter had probably watched the Dark Knight a hundred times before penning the Skyfall storyline and characters. I am confident that they had a meeting and said "let's make this the Dark Knight of this new James Bond".

 

But yeah, I want to stress I liked it anyway. I just wish it would have been more original.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Nicolas Courdouan

[John Holland]

Loved it ! Looked fantastic on the biggest screen in UK Imax at BFI Waterloo . Alexa really showed what it can do in the right hands.

[Henry Weidemann]

I went to see "Syfall" on friday and really liked it. I don't have much knowledge of technical details regarding the cinematography, but I've always admired Deakins' style and think he has done a great job. Especially the scenes in Shanghai and Macau look just beautiful!

[RAJENDRA BISWAS]

I think Skyfall cinematrography was ugly for a Big budget bond movie..if movies are going the arri alexa way I don't want to watch them any more..javier bardem was good villan acting but the movie was a total flop to me...

[Francisco Martins]

The cinematography on this film really doesn't look very impressive (although its story ideas are). It feels too... film school. Too simple and clean and uninteresting and dull because of the digital-natural lighting crap. I wish Deakins hadnt dumped 35mm film.

[KH Martin]

That is one schizophrenic mess of a movie! And as a Bond movie, it just plain ain't one. Really nice miniature pyro work, though, and the Shanghai highrise fight was shot beautifully.

 

I own pretty much all the Bonds, but they ain't EVER getting more money out of me on this one. Even my wife said it felt like her second trip to the dentist this week.

[Neal Norton]

I saw "Skyfall" last night and thought the camera work was an example of very fine craftsmanship. Wonderful story telling with the camera and the lighting. I thought some of the day exteriors were timed a little 'hot' but that I'm sure was a matter of taste and not a failing by any means. I saw the film projected on a Sony 4K digital projector and the film was very sharp - including wide shots.

[John Holland]

This is reply to KH Martins post . This is a great piece of film making , it has dragged the Bond series into this century at last . I just my know my opinion .

[Alex Birrell]

Fantastic movie! Saw it here in London and it was only spoiled by the cinema I saw it in having a scope screen that was recessed into the 1.85 screen!!! I have to say it wasn't quite as good as Casino Royale but not much beneath it. As for the photography, my only comment is why does London (or England in general) always have to be washed out and overexposed with the sky left to bow out and the colour balance heavily shifted towards blue. I was surprised at how much this cliche was followed considering how the film beautified the capital. It'd just be nice to see it one time with a blue sky and some saturated colours!

[KH Martin]

This is reply to KH Martins post . This is a great piece of film making , it has dragged the Bond series into this century at last . I just my know my opinion .

 

The letters 'drag' I can agree with. But outside of Children Of Men, the only thing I find terrific about the new millennium and filmmaking so far is that Kubrick's 2001 is set in this century.

 

As for SKYFALL, I think I'll invoke the lead sentence of a Cinefantastique magazine review of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN to sum up my feelings:

JAMES BOND IS DEAD (but by watching the Dalton films after suffering through SKYFALL, he can live again, at least in memory.)

[Tom Jensen]

I loved it. Looked great. Action packed. Yes, it had flaws but not horrific. I did miss the gadgets but it didn't ruin it for me. You can't take it too seriously.

[RAJENDRA BISWAS]

bond jumping on komodo dragons?! what a Big Flop!