The name's Bond, James Bond...
I was ridiculously productive this morning. I was up and out of the house by half seven - I'd been to the post office sorting office, two supermarkets, Boots and Dunelm Mill by half nine, and since I was in town I decided I might as well go to the first showing of Skyfall.
The opening scene, with the chase through the Turkish bazaar and over the rooftops and on the train was brilliant. Classic Bond. I loved the bit from the trailer where Bond rips the train carriage open with the digger and just leaps in, straightening his cuffs as he lands. I didn't notice the bloodstain on his shirt in the trailer - I wonder whether they SFX'ed that out so as to not give anything away?
Poor Bond, though, shot by a fellow agent, on M's orders. Not that M was ordering her to shoot Bond, which is what the trailer implies, but she was prepared to sacrifice his life. Which, come on, is not exactly a shot. That's almost the point of the job.
I loved how much this Bond movie felt like the perfect melding of new and old Bond. It had the grittiness and the reality of the new Bond movies - you really feel Bond's hurt and weariness and physical pain in these movies in a way you never did in any of the others. I mean, hell, when was the last time you saw out-of-unshape, unshaven Bond with shaking hands? Definitely Bond for the Jason Bourne/Jack Bauer generation. And damn, I only just noticed all three have the same initials. Coincidence, I think not. And yes, I am slow on the uptake.
But it had some of the humour and the sense of fun as well. I loved all the little nods to past Bond films. And the Aston Martin in the garage! Oh, I almost clapped when Bond revealed that, with the little ejector button in the gearstick and the guns in the headlights. And Silva particularly felt like an old-school Bond villain.
And speaking of, Bond's 'what makes you think this is my first time?' response to Silva feeling him up! Canon bisexual Bond, yes please!
And oh, we finally have Q and Moneypenny back too! And I love Moneypenny - I love that we didn't know it was her all the way through, and that's she a damn good agent in her own right, not just a secretary anymore.
I didn't see M's death coming. I rather suspected they were lining up Ralph Fiennes as M's replacement, so I don't know why it didn't occur to me that they'd kill her, rather than just pensioning her off. It's the most obvious thing to do, but I really wasn't expecting it. That was such a touching scene, her dying in Bond's arms. And I love that she left him that awful bulldog! I'm going to miss Judi Dench as M.
I am seriously tempted to go see it again tonight. So so good.
The opening scene, with the chase through the Turkish bazaar and over the rooftops and on the train was brilliant. Classic Bond. I loved the bit from the trailer where Bond rips the train carriage open with the digger and just leaps in, straightening his cuffs as he lands. I didn't notice the bloodstain on his shirt in the trailer - I wonder whether they SFX'ed that out so as to not give anything away?
Poor Bond, though, shot by a fellow agent, on M's orders. Not that M was ordering her to shoot Bond, which is what the trailer implies, but she was prepared to sacrifice his life. Which, come on, is not exactly a shot. That's almost the point of the job.
I loved how much this Bond movie felt like the perfect melding of new and old Bond. It had the grittiness and the reality of the new Bond movies - you really feel Bond's hurt and weariness and physical pain in these movies in a way you never did in any of the others. I mean, hell, when was the last time you saw out-of-unshape, unshaven Bond with shaking hands? Definitely Bond for the Jason Bourne/Jack Bauer generation. And damn, I only just noticed all three have the same initials. Coincidence, I think not. And yes, I am slow on the uptake.
But it had some of the humour and the sense of fun as well. I loved all the little nods to past Bond films. And the Aston Martin in the garage! Oh, I almost clapped when Bond revealed that, with the little ejector button in the gearstick and the guns in the headlights. And Silva particularly felt like an old-school Bond villain.
And speaking of, Bond's 'what makes you think this is my first time?' response to Silva feeling him up! Canon bisexual Bond, yes please!
And oh, we finally have Q and Moneypenny back too! And I love Moneypenny - I love that we didn't know it was her all the way through, and that's she a damn good agent in her own right, not just a secretary anymore.
I didn't see M's death coming. I rather suspected they were lining up Ralph Fiennes as M's replacement, so I don't know why it didn't occur to me that they'd kill her, rather than just pensioning her off. It's the most obvious thing to do, but I really wasn't expecting it. That was such a touching scene, her dying in Bond's arms. And I love that she left him that awful bulldog! I'm going to miss Judi Dench as M.
I am seriously tempted to go see it again tonight. So so good.