Resurrection of James Bond? Not really.

Rating: 6/10 (4 November 2012)

I watched Skyfall on the third day it got released. I had read many reviews prior to watching it, many of it calling it the best Bond movie ever, a fitting tribute to coincide with its 50 year history. Also many compared the Daniel Craig-James Bond trilogy to the Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. Personally, the movie failed to impress me. The starting action sequence was good (but not as good as that of Casino Royale).The story as a whole was average without any high point or twists. Daniel Craig's performance as James Bond is again awesome. To me, he is the best Bond till date. Judy Dench as M and Ben Whishaw as the young Q are excellent. Javier Bardem as the cold and calculating villain is also good. At many instances, I couldn't stop comparing him to Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. This does not imply that Bardem was extraordinarily great as Silva, but I occasionally felt Bardem's character and some of the scenes he was in having a close resemblance to that of Joker's from The Dark Knight. The first encounter scene between Bond and the young Q is worth watching again. I think the movie tries to highlight the human aspects of the characters (read loyalty, trust, patriotism, belief, sentimentality etc).Midway through the movie, Silva asks Bond what his hobby is, to which he replies resurrection. May be the makers wanted to reinvent the Bond franchise by doing something different like the emotional aspects of James Bond, the absence of super duper gadgets and use of raw action and scenes of bleeding or crying Bond. Casino Royale has covered it all and that too even better.
Verdict 1 Skyfall is just an average Bond flick. It feels different may be because deviates a lot from the usual Bond formula. I personally feel that Casino Royale is the best Bond film till date. Skyfall comes no way near to Casino Royale. 2 Comparing Craig-James Bond trilogy to the Batman-Christopher Nolan one is a huge joke. 3 Is it the resurrection of the James Bond franchise? Not really.
PS 1 It seems Istanbul is the flavor of Hollywood. The last 3 movies I have seen in the past 3 weeks all feature Istanbul. Taken 2 was shot almost entirely in Istanbul, Argo has some shots of Istanbul and Skyfall's opening action is in Istanbul. Way to go. 2 Bonds standing posture in many scenes has a striking similarity to the trademark posture of Cristiano Ronaldo before he takes his free kicks. 3 James Bond will return!!!