SkyFall Movie Review

At long last, a good fall movie that ISN'T rated R!

So, Skyfall is the new James Bond movie, which was my main motivation for wanting to see it. If you remember my fall movie preview,  I said "James Bond, gotta see it." That being said, and this is to my everlasting movie, Skyfall is the first Bond movie I've ever watched all the way through. I've seen parts of The World Is Not Enough (I remember thinking "Brosnan's awesome, but this movie sucks) and like ten minutes of Quantum of Solace, but this is the first time I've ever sat down and seen the whole thing. And how was my first legit Bond experience? Pretty freaking sweet.

So, first off, you've got Daniel Craig as James Bond. 'Nough said. Or at least it should be, but I'll elaborate a bit. He perfectly embodies everything Bond, or at least this version of Bond, is supposed to be. He's badass yet classy (he jumped into a train and then fixed his cuffling. That IS Bond.), and he's damaged. He really is. Could have something to do with, you know, being shot by your partner and almost dying, but in this movie he's really messed up. Take into account that and the fact that he might be passed his prime, and you've got a really compelling take on the character.

And then you've got Javier Bardem as the villain, the other surviving rat, if you will; let me tell you, this guy is channeling Heath Ledger's Joker. He is totally out of his mind, but at the same time, you get why he's doing what he's doing, if that makes sense. Let me explain: he has legit motivation behind his vendetta, but that motivation has driven him nuts. That's a potent combination. Even his hair screamed crazy.

As for the rest of the characters, awesome. Judie Dench was great as M, can't say I'm surprised, and, like with Bond, I liked the direction they took her character in. And then you have Naomi Harris as the newest Bond girl, and she's great because she's relevant. She matters to the plot beyond her and Bond having tension. Among other things, she's the one who gunned Bond down by mistake, she's got good chemistry with Daniel Craig, and she's just cool. I like it when the female characters are relevant is what I'm saying. And then you've got Q. Q is the man. He's a super genius, he's hilarious, and his character is just great. He and Bond have this friction at first, but then they start respecting each other, and that was just great to see.

And how's the plot and dialogue? Fantastic. The movie starts off with this amazing action sequence that leads up to Bond falling from the sky, and it's thrilling and what not, and after that things start building up and building up and it's all great, with awesome dialogue and bits of action here and there, I mean I was engrossed the entire time, and it climaxes in one of the greatest finale battles ever. It's so intense and epic and thrilling that I was on the edge of my seat. I can't give anything away, obviously, but it's great.

The movie was a lot funnier then I expected, too. I figured there'd be a one-liner here and there, but I actually laughed a lot. Most of it is the aforementioned great dialogue, but there's also a lot of throwbacks to the Bond movies of yore (pop-culture icons that you can ID even if you've been living under a rock) that made me LOL.

My only beef with the movie: the CGI. There's more then one scene where I just looked at something and instantly thought: yeah, that's animated. It doesn't drag the movie down too much, but it put me off for a second or two.

In the end, I saw Skyfall, and there was much rejoicing!

So, what's your favorite Bond movie? Comment below, let me know!