Cast: I really like Daniel Craig as Bond. I don't have any preconceived notions about what Bond should be, so as long as he's British, spy, and equipped for action scenes, then I think he fits the bill. Judi Dench is good but it hardly seems like she's trying in this (aka, she can play this role in her sleep). Javier Bardem is excellent. It's like he read a book on everything a good Bond villain has to be and then took some cues from the Joker. Bérénice Marlohe plays an attractive woman...not much more depth. Naomi Harris plays an attractive woman who is also an agent. Ralph Fiennes...is in it. Not much to say about him.
Plot: You've seen a Bond movie before, right? There's a formula to this but you can see some other influences in this. They obviously pulled the villain from Dark Knight and there's even some Home Alone in it. I liked that they delve into Bond's backstory some, although they do have to be careful how much they give up. Bond is an enigma and this franchise has lasted 50 years because they've kept each one pretty self-contained, immune from growth.
Elephant in the Room: What makes it a "Bond movie"? Guns, action, spy stuff. One attractive woman who is a bad-guy or a victim. One who is on Bond's side. A main villain with a secret base. That distinctive soundtrack. The need to shoot the most ridiculously cool establishing shot in every location before it moves to Bond. A lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. I know I'm missing a lot of the other keys, but whatever they are, they're all here.
To Sum Things Up:
I liked it well enough. After the huge successes of critical-darling action movies like The Avengers, The Dark Knight, and the Bourne Movies, the bar has been raised. While this has been getting some pretty great reviews, I think it needs to be remembered that this is still a Bond movie when all is said and done. That's not any sort of indictment, but the stability of knowing what you are getting limits also means there's less room to be anything new, dynamic, or special. Skyfall is certainly fireing on all cylinders though and is much more Casino Royale than Quantum of Solace.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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