SKYFALL

Action and adventure

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Daniel Craig: James Bond, agent 007

Judi Dench: his boss, M, head of M.I.6

Naomie Harris: field agent Eve Moneypenny

Ralph Fiennes: Gareth Mallory, Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee

Ben Whisaw: Q, the M.I.6 quartermaster

Bérénice Marlohe: Sévérine

Javier Bardem: Raoul Silva, former MI6 agent

Helen McCrory: Claire Dowar, chairwoman of the public inquiry

REVIEW

The action sequences are nothing short of spectacular with some of the “traditional” elements clearly in evidence (think fruit stands) which pretty well sums up this latest version of the series: a mix of the old and the new.

Beautiful locations which are a trademark of the series include Istanbul, London, Shanghai, Macau and the Scottish Highlands. The beautiful girls (another Bond staple) are there as well. The acting is uniformly good with less tongue-in-cheek than in some earlier editions. To me, this is the best Bond yet in part because of the strong cast along with the work of Sam Mendes as Director and Roger Deakins in charge of cinematography.

Although a tad long at 2 hours and 23 minutes, there are very few slow spots that could be left on the editing floor.

CLASSIFICATION

for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• Bond gets hit on the right shoulder but later when he attempts to extract the bullet it’s now in his left shoulder.
• During the assessment of his shooting skills, Bond fires off 8 or 9 rounds but when he checks the target there are twice as many bullet holes in it.
• The night security man in Macau was shot approaching the ground floor door not at the top of the escalator where Bond walks around him.
• Bone describes the dress worn by Bérénice as backless but it is not: the back of the dress is a sheer fabric encrusted with sparkles.
• Silva says he survived the cyanide capsule which is patently impossible given the deadly nature of the substance.
• When the tube train plunges off the tracks the interior lights remain lit; once the train leaves the rails that carry the electricity the train would have been in darkness.
• When M is being questioned by the panel her watch shows it to be 3:37 but it is 3:00 according to the clock on the wall and moments later on Bond’s watch we see it to be 3:50.
• Big Ben shows it to be 5:30 when Eve gets to the rooftop but seen over Bond’s shoulder it is almost 6:00 o’clock.
• When Bond falls through the ice we can see it is only 2” thick. Thin ice like that cannot support the weight of a grown man. Ice of at least 4” thick is safe to walk on; 3” or less … keep off!

 P.S.

Although there are a number of songs and books that have remained popular for years, this is the 50th year of the franchise which is a remarkable achievement in cinema.