Throwback Thursday Review: 'Skyfall'

This week concludes my Daniel Craig 007 series of reviews as the is the last one before Spectre. I will be seeing Spectre tonight so expect a review up on that film soon. Next week I will begin my Hunger Games Throwback Thursday Reviews leading up to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. Maybe one day I will go back and review the classic Bond flicks when my review schedule opens up.

'Skyfall' Review

Nominated For: Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song "Skyfall" (written by Adele and Paul Epworth).
Won: Best Sound Editing and Best Original Song "Skyfall" (written by Adele and Paul Epworth).

Prior to beginning the 007 series of reviews this was the only James Bond movie I had ever seen, and I loved it and still do. This film jumps straight into the action with an intense chase scene with high stakes followed by Adele's beautiful song "Skyfall" with some stunning opening credit visuals. The film manages to balance dialogue and action well with very intense action scenes as well as phenomenal acting performances. Daniel Craig once again is phenomenal as James Bond perfectly captivating the essence of the suave gentleman agent. He is incredible in the role and this time around is probably his best take at the role in comparison to the two previous films. Judi Dench also goes her best performance as M in this film as she struggles to lead in these difficult times when the agency is in question. Ralph Fiennes was great in his supporting role but unfortunately wasn't given too much to do this time around although I'm sure that will change with Spectre. Naomi Harris was great as Eve Moneypenny in her action scenes as well as the character interactions, especially with Bond which contained some great humor. This film also had the best villain of the three Daniel Craig led Bond flicks with Javier Bardem playing a very twisted compelling villain who was a great equal in opposition to Bond. I loved that his character was always a step ahead and was a mental and physical force to be reckoned with who had well thought out complicated schemes that were executed well. Skyfall also allowed for a little bit of a dive into the 007 mythos as we are teased about Bond's childhood and yet learn quite a bit about the character. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the film which was quite captivating and the best of the three in my opinion. The film also had gorgeous cinematography and incredible visual effects. This film was not only a good spy flick but a terrific film as well. Overall, this is currently my favorite among the Daniel Craig Bond flicks and I'm curious to see if Spectre will be able to compete for that spot.

Film Assessment: A+