Bond is shaken and stirred!

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2012)

I'm unashamed to admit that I have never seen a Bond film in my life. They've just never appealed to me due to the sexism, clichés and tired old conventions. However, what caused me to go and see Skyfall 50 years too late I hear you ask? Well, the reviews were shining and I heard that it's almost a rebirth of the tired old Bond and my favourite critic Chris Tookey also approved the film with a perfect 10/10 so I just had to see it. Whilst it's still no masterpiece, it's sheer entertainment of the highest quality.
Now, just because I've never seen a Bond movie before doesn't mean that I'm ignorant to all the conventions. There's always a Bond girl for example who gets unfairly oogled over, he always asks for a Martini shaken and not stirred and a bad guy often ends up surviving at the end. What Skyfall does beautifully, right from the start is play with these conventions. Maybe not as inventively or as intelligently as say The Cabin in the Woods, but it's great to know that it realises these conventions are tired and people are getting fed up. The opening would be a real shocker, if it wasn't for the marketing campaign's which spoil it, nevertheless James Bond getting shot and failing is certainly something that should take you off-guard.
Skyfall sends you straight into the action. There's an exhilarating opening, shot beautifully by Sam Mendes who did that incredible film called American Beauty. It's a drawn out chase sequence in Turkey and is marvellous fun to watch and also quite tense at times, especially at the finale of the scene where M famously says, "Take the bloody shot!" It's also great to see M have a major role. Judi Dench is a wonderful actress and plays the hard-nosed and often humorous M perfectly. It was also refreshing to see M being the target of the villain's vendetta rather than Bond or M16 itself.
The film then takes Bond on a tour around several exotic locations where some cliché's are played out. My Mum dismissed the film by calling the action 'corny' (hate that word) and just having a hatred towards the Bond genre itself (Bondaphobia) but what she failed to see is that the action is no 'cornier' than any other action film, it's just entertainment and fun! There's a string of exciting and tense action sequences when Bond travels the world, and it was also surprisingly beautifully shot. However, I would argue that it did get a tad drawn out, especially in the Casino place where Bond has a long conversation with a Bond girl which adds very little to the film.
It's when the villain that's introduced that things become very interesting. Javier Bardem stole the show in my eyes. He played the role with a creepiness almost matching the Joker. His presence was carried throughout and he was also a very well written character, who's always one step ahead of Bond. It's just a shame that Silva wasn't introduced earlier on because I would've loved a Dark Knight-esque battle of wits between them throughout the film! I'd also like to add that Silva's entrance was absolutely brilliant with one long drawn out shot of him walking and telling a compelling tale. It really conveys his power and dominance over Bond. I loved him (not in a gay way).
Things only get better when the action returns to London and it does become a battle of wits between Bond and Silva. There's an incredibly chilling scene with Silva talking to M in his isolated cell and when he inevitably gets out there's a thrilling and action-packed chase to match any spectacular chase scene! The action and writing excels right up until the explosive finale in Scotland, where things become even more fun and joyous, all adding to a climatic and emotional ending, leaving any audience member fully satisfied! Another thing I loved about Skyfall was its use of humour. I laughed quite a bit, especially at the banter between Bond and M as it's obvious they secretly love each other! I've heard comparisons being made between Skyfall and The Dark Knight and whilst there are echoes, I'm afraid that this is definitely not as good as The Dark Knight! The Dark Knight has a much deeper and emotional story, with greater and more intense action sequences and characters. But if we compared every film to The Dark Knight we wouldn't be very happy! As Skyfall stands it's an incredibly entertaining and intelligent action film which left me fully satisfied. I had a lot of fun and think (if you're open minded) you might too!