‘Skyfall’ Review Round Up! The best Bond film ever?
James Bond is back, and apparently better than ever before. The ‘Skyfall’ reviews are finally here. Is it possible that we’re in for the best Bond film of all time? Everything seems to suggest so. CommanderBond.Net can officially give you the low down on everything so far…
Total Film – 5/5
“It all adds up to the 007 adventure we’ve been waiting for: a flawlessly assembled thrill ride with a cast to die for and a nakedly emotional undertow. Happy birthday, Mr Bond.”
The Daily Mail – 5/5
“Nothing can beat a landmark, classic James Bond picture. They don’t come around all that often.”
The Mirror – 5/5
“While Skyfall looks and feels like a Bond film – the exotic locales, the memorable villain and an appearance from that iconic silver Aston Martin – director Sam Mendes hasn’t been afraid to play with the formula.”
FlickeringMyth – 5/5
“Mendes’ take on Bond is full of loving reminders to what makes the series so adored and adorned. After getting used to Craig as James Bond, Skyfall confidently explores the character’s back-story (if only partially), brings back his beloved Aston Martin DB5 and celebrates him for the British icon that he justifiably has become. Perhaps not as special as Casino Royale, but like Craig’s first outing as Bond, you will want to revisit it time and time again. Skyfall is superbly directed, written and acted and gracefully opens the door for more; to quote the start of the end credits, “James Bond will return”…and hooray for that.”
YahooMovies – 5/5
“The tone is so different to ‘Quantum of Solace’ that it almost feels like a reboot of the franchise, one that ironically has the confidence to celebrate all that is best about the British icon.
It’s also tightly plotted, action-packed and relentless, without an ounce of narrative flab on it.
We think ‘Skyfall’ is a future classic.”
The Times – 5/5
“Skyfall is a great British bulldog of a movie. From the moment the orchestral sound of Adele belts out, sending a nostalgic shiver down the audience’s collective spine, we know this will be a triumphant return to classic Bond. Sam Mendes, the director, deftly balances fanboy worship of 007 tradition with sophisticated film-making, and (apart from early Connery), nobody does it better than Daniel Craig.”
Filmoria – 4.5/5
“Considering there was plenty at stake in Skyfall, we can safely say it definitely exceeds expectations – and then some! Welcome back, Mr. Bond. Here’s to the next 50 years!”
UnleashTheFanboy – 4.5/5
“For fans of the literary Bond, Daniel Craig is once again the pure embodiment of the character, and I for one hope he continues in the role for as long as humanly possible. The third act in particular really showcases the intelligent, strategic Bond found in Fleming’s novelisations which have all too often been shelved in favour of the catch phrase spitting action hero in the past. That isn’t to say there aren’t any comedic moments as Craig manages to deliver any potentially cheesy one liners brilliantly with his characteristic dry wit.”
The Express – 4/5
“CHART-TOPPING title song? Check. Thrilling opening sequence with implausible feats of derringdo? Check. Scenery chewing psychopathic villain? Check.”
Empire – 4/5
“Skyfall is pretty much all you could want from a 21st Century Bond: cool but not camp, respectful of tradition but up to the moment, serious in its thrills and relatively complex in its characters but with the sense of fun that hasn’t always been evident lately. One thing’s certain: James Bond will return…”
The Telegraph – 4/5
“When is a Bond film not a Bond film? It’s a question likely to prey on the minds of the very many cinema goers who will see this 23rd official 007 adventure. Skyfall shakes together familiar elements of the Ian Fleming canon – the cars, the guns, the exotic locales with the dames to match – into a blistering comic book escapade that the old Bond, and one suspects Fleming too, would find altogether alien.”
Den Of Geek – 4/5
“We’re going back in time,” Bond says in one scene, providing what is possibly the film’s key line.Skyfall takes stock of 007’s heritage, while also pointing the way forward. And if Skyfall’s the future of Bond, then the franchise is undoubtedly secure for another half a century.”
The Independent – 4/5
“Craig again impresses as Bond. He switches without fuss from Roger Moore-style self-deprecating comedy (adjusting his cuff links in action sequences) to the darker, more intense scenes which focus on Bond’s childhood traumas.”
London Evening Standard – 4/5
“But it’s the succession of references to earlier Bond that make audiences laugh out loud: that’s the beauty of Sam Mendes in charge. There’s a drinking scene with a scorpion, Chinese dragons and, for good measure, Komodo dragons, train-top fights, spiralling scenes through water, jokes about exploding pens, a gag about getting into deep water and, I promise you, the piece de resistance, a return to the Aston Martin DB5. With a red ejector button.”
Hey You Guys – 4/5
“Daniel Craig’s Bond is now his own and in forcing Bond to confront his past and defend his beliefs what emerges is a far more human character than we’ve seen before. This is the film’s strength, where is succeeds like no other. The fight, in the end, is personal and what Skyfall does is to break Bond down, rebuild him, send him spinning through his very own hell only to emerge anew, returned and resurrected. And above all triumphant.”
TimeOut – 4/5
“Mendes knows there’s a risk of appearing po-faced by omitting the traditional pleasures of a Bond movie, and his approach seems calculated to stick to the formula while moving things forward.”
The Shiznit – 4/5
“At two hours and 20 minutes, Skyfall feels a touch too long, and there are precious few surprises come the close, but Mendes does well to keep the energy high throughout – it’s always building towards something, keeping that all-important momentum going. It’s not quite the classic Bond you might have hoped it would be – it’s too reverential to be truly original – but Skyfall is nevertheless a thrilling and vital new addition to the franchise. It really is a great year to be British, isn’t it?”
Digital Spy – 4/5
“Skyfall’s clean, direct narrative, blistering action sequences (a neon-lit Shanghai showdown deserves to be singled out) and strong performances across the board elevate it to the upper end of the Bond movie spectrum. There may be an awful lot of Heineken and a few minutes too many, but you won’t walk out of this disappointed. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks.”
The Guardian – 3/5
“The makers of Skyfall have taken the bold decision to open Bond up – to probe at the character’s back-story and raise a toast to his relationship with M. Yet this touchy-feely indulgence proves to be a mistake, in that it paves the path to soft-headedness, nostalgia and (worst of all) jokey banter with Bond’s bearded old retainer. Don’t they realise that 007 has always been at his most convincing when he’s at his crudest and least adorned; when he’s serving as a blank canvas for macho fantasy; the dark angel of our disreputable natures?”
IGN – 9/10
“The 50th anniversary of Bond is being celebrated in many ways this year, but Sam Mendes may have found the perfect way to pay tribute to this enduring icon of popular culture: He’s made the best Bond film yet.”
IndieWire – B+
“But Mendes gets a lot more right than he gets wrong, and in the process has found a confident new identity for the franchise — not afraid of its past, but not chasing its competitors or being scared of the future either. It might take another viewing of each to see if it exceeds “Casino Royale” as the best since the Sean Connery days, but at the very least, it makes clear that after the disappointment of “Quantum of Solace” that Bond is back, and he’s not going anywhere.”
“As a blockbuster film, Skyfall is a skilfully executed film that rightfully takes its place amongst the Avengers and Dark Knights of 2012 – and is arguably even better than those two cinematic behemoths. But as a Bond film, Skyfall is a glorious ode to Britishness and a character who has remained popular for 50 years for a good reason.”
“Skyfall is the smartest Bond film for many years, and though aficionados will enjoy the many nods to past films, this is a film that sets out a future path for Bond that left audiences at the UK preview desperate to find out what happens next. Happy 50th birthday, Mr Bond. Here’s to 50 more.”
“And, oh yes, there’s Daniel Craig. He owns Bond now, and the role is undoubtedly his for as long as he might want it. Perhaps a tad less buff than in Casino Royale and certainly more beat up, he entertains the ladies less here than perhaps any Bond ever has. But two other women, his boss and the Queen, have first call on his favors, and he repays them for their confidence many times over – as he does the audience.”
“There is so much more to say about Skyfall but you really need to have its secrets revealed for yourself.”
“In perhaps its most welcome deviation from tradition, “Skyfall” visits the villain’s lair early, leaving the finale to unspool at a surprise location — one that reveals intriguing new depths of Bond’s personal history, while also offering a hearty role for Albert Finney that surely must have been written with Sean Connery in mind. When asked about her evidently outmoded intelligence tactics, M argues that her methods work because the world’s enemies have moved into the shadows. The same could be said of the Bond film series since “Casino Royale,” with its new willingness to explore what lurks in Bond’s own shadows.”
“Longstanding fans of the series will enjoy the way certain elements are brought back from much earlier films, especially a rather well-known car. But the reason Skyfall excels is that it builds on our familiarity with the Bond canon and takes it in a new, intelligent direction, much more relevant to world politics in the twenty-first century.”