Saturday, December 7, 2019

#26- You Know My Name

Skyfall (2012) 




During the opening 15 minutes of Skyfall a question will start to tickle your mind, "Is this going to be  the best Bond film ever made?" The remaining 128 minutes makes that question so evident that you'll wonder how you could have ever asked it at all. This has the best of all things. The best Bond, the best villain, best cast, the best director, and of course the best damn Bond Theme ever produced. (It still hits so hard all these years later.) 




The film, as Bond films usually do, begins by dropping us right in the middle of James Bond's current mission, Daniel Craig looks as dapper as he ever has playing Bond, his quick British humor and supreme self-confidence fit him as well as one of his suits. By this point Daniel Craig is so comfortable in Bond's shoes that you find yourself dreading the day he steps out of them. I mean this goes without saying, so fuck it, I'll shout it instead, "HE IS JUST SO FUCKING COOL!" The opening sequence really does set the tone of this movie from the start. The stakes are incredibly high, the action is intense, and when bond takes one in the sternum you realize that nothing is off the table. It also has one of the most sensational Bond stunts I've ever seen.




Craig never stops operating with that much swagger throughout the entirety of the film. It just drips off him in every scene. Whether he is firing off quick retorts and one liners, or subtle acts like kicking up automatic weapons off the ground, he's always doing things in the absolute flashiest way possible. Craig never once ventures into the tacky.      (Pierce Brosnan)👀


Clown Shoes

Dude, The Dame Judi Dench is batting .1000 in this movie too. With like 3 homers and a double in a game seven of the world series. Every word that comes out of her mouth is dipped in acid. She treats conversations as her battlefield and her words often cut like a blow from a deftly wielded  saber. Everyone in the film calls her "Mom" and it's not just a code-name, she is the motherly figure in this movie and its very much on purpose. She's seen as almost a direct mother to both Bond, who we find out is an orphan, and Bardem's character (We're getting there) and she plays it with a calculated coldness as if to say "You want my love?" "Then earn it." She is not tender, not compassionate and her only love is to her country. She is so sharp and it speaks to her incredible gift that she would bring it this hard to the 23rd Bond movie. 

Is it time?
I think its time...

Fuck yeah its time to talk about the greatest Bond villain performance of all time! Let's just start with his introduction in the film, and well, since there is nothing I can say that will sound better than Raoul Silva’s opening monologue. I’m going to let him speak for himself...




The rat story is so perfect that the first time I heard it I went into cardiac arrest and the homo-eroticism that peppers the scene between Silva and Bond immediately after is sizzling. The brotherly dynamic makes it even weirder. I need more Bond flirting with super-villains like I need blood. Javier Bardem’s portrayal of techno super villain Raoul Silva is breathtaking. His bleach blonde hair, jokeresque toothy grin, and rejected child resentfulness is as terrifying as any monster I can think of. When he takes his teeth out and shows M his “real” face. That shit gave me legit night terrors. He's overacting but in the best possible way, a lot of his roles in the past have been more quiet and reserved, but Mendes takes him off the leash and lets him go wild. He is a man that has been betrayed by the woman he loved, he is going to have his revenge and it's going to be slow and drawn out. He delights in seeing his prey fall into his expertly woven traps. He's brilliant, I love him and it's the closest I've ever come to rooting for a villain in a Bond movie. 


Bardem, Marry Me.

The last 25 minutes, when they get to the titular Skyfall Manor plays out like a dark, rated R version of Home Alone. It's the trap from the Bardem's rat story, only one can survive. It's just so perfect the way Mendes weaves all the metaphors and subtext from the film into the third act. The homecoming of the orphaned Bond, the sibling rivalry, the aforementioned trap, and even the destruction of the beloved Aston Martin DB5. It all means something and not a single shot is wasted. There is no fat to be trimmed. 

The time for Craig to hang up the Bond moniker is approaching, the new Bond 25 is supposedly his last. While that is a shame I understand the need to move on. So for now, let's thank the great cinema faeries in the sky that they (along with the most remarkable cast and crew) were able to provide us with this, In my opinion the greatest Bond film ever made. ` 



Special Shout out to Bond Trailers man. They always do such an amazing job of getting me properly pumped for the upcoming film. 



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