Skyfall (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead)
	Actors: Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Cowboys & Aliens, The Aventures of Tintin), Judi Dench (Quantum of Solace), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Ralph Fiennes (The Avengers, Harry Potter 1-7, The Hurt Locker), Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Ninja Assassin)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 26.11.2012, CINEMA theater, digital projection
Synopsis: The british secret services MI6 have lost a list of undercover secret agents. They need their best agent 007 (Craig) more than ever, but have to fight their own bureaucracy at the same time.
Review: This movie privileges characters to action, and takes care of developing the character of James Bond in particular, a bit like it was attempted in Casino Royale. It is my favorite of the three Daniel Craig Bonds, and sometimes feels like a homecoming, back to the roots of the Bond franchise (references to old episodes are multiple). I had a bad feeling at the beginning when it starts with excessive car/motorbike chases and stunts, Bond gets shots but doesn't flinch, he starts to massively destroy cars and trains... But this excess (a transition from Quantum of Solace?) is only to underline the contrast with the rest of the movie. During its 2h30 duration, there is a lot of talking and sparse action, but Bond is still impressive when need be, and I didn't find him tired like some people say. I don't know if the screenplay was influenced a lot by the director Sam Mendes (American Beauty), but for sure the way of filming was: there are many shots that last several tens of seconds, not only monologues but also fight scenes, and I like this better that when the camera is shaky and the fights unreadable. I found that some of the special affects were poorly done (the scorpion on his hand, or the compositing of the background behind him when he rides the motorbike), but otherwise the image quality is impressive, especially during the aerial night shots of Shanghai. My reference on the topic is The Dark Knight, in which the aerial views of Hong-Kong are breathtaking, but the night ones are dissapointing. In Skyfall, none of this: the sharpness of the images is impressive day and night.
Rating: 7 /10