Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

My wife and I had the chance to leave the kids behind with her parents during the Thanksgiving holidays. For the first time since summer we were able to have a “date night.” Skyfall was the obvious choice for both of us. I’ve always enjoyed the Bond movies. As a kid, I used to watch them pretty regularly on TV with my dad when TNT, TBS, or some other station was doing one of their marathons. Leah, isn’t quite as familiar with the older movies as I am. However, we’ve really enjoyed the Daniel Craig additions to the series.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that this may be the greatest Bond movie ever. I’ll disagree. I actually wouldn’t even say it is the best Daniel Craig Bond movie. I think Casino Royale still holds that spot. However, Skyfall does deserve a spot somewhere in the Top 5.

Pros:
- Great action/fight scenes. Craig is the best Bond in the series when it comes to these scenes, IMO.
- Strong acting and overall great characterization.
- Good plot/story idea.
- Great back-story into the Bond character and mythos.
- Due to the anniversary, there were several nice nods to the series sprinkled throughout the movie.
- Interesting villain.
- Just like Connery, Craig was made for this role.
- Adele’s song really fit the movie. Also, good use of the prior franchises’ songs.

Cons:
- Though I thought the villain was interesting, I found it a bit jarring that he was introduced so late in the movie. Also, why would a top British agent not be from England? Seems kind of dumb when you think about it.
- Really dumb shower scene that felt completely out of character for Bond. It is hard to get into details without spoilers, however it left a bad taste in my mouth.
- A couple of the nods from the past felt a bit silly.
- One more thing about the villain…a little too over the top at times.
- A couple of character decisions felt unrealistic or forced in order to move the plot along.

Side note: The previews showed a couple of movies I’m really interested in seeing (Gangster Squad, A Good Day to Die Hard).

However, one looked absolutely comical…Jack Reacher. Sorry Tom Cruise, you are not a tough guy. You don’t have the stature, presence, look, size, voice, personality, etc. I predict that movie is going to fail horribly. However, if they would have gotten Jason Statham or someone along those lines, I’d add it to my “must see” list.