#004 SKYFALL

A fair amount has been said on the subject of this film already, especially when referring to it's context within the canon of Bond, so I will mainly look at this from the point of view of looking at it as a Movie.

Directed by Sam Mendes of AMERICAN BEAUTY fame (my favorite film of all time), SKYFALL is an exceedingly superb action film. Opening of a wonderful and constantly escalating action sequence that flows from setpiece to setpiece in what feels like utter ease and landing us smack bang in the middle of the world James Bond inhabits. Cut to a brilliant title sequence with a great Adele number underneath.

The visuals on this film are amazing, and with Roger Deakins behind the camera, what did you expect?  Interestingly enough, the Arri Alexa was used on this picture and while images aren't always as flawless as those from ANONYMOUS, also shot on the Alexa (though not the studio model) the camera is fast proving itself to be the greatest digital camera to date.

The story, even for non-Bond fans, is exciting and enthralling from the get go covering a plot by a mastermind hacker to take down MI6 and it's leader. All actors here handle their characters perfectly.  Judy Dench is especially given a great plot in which she shines and damn near steals the film from Craig... nearly.

This film is exactly what you want in an action picture, explosions, chases, jokes and a damn good story. I can't really say much more other than it's worth the hype and deserves the some $871 million dollars at the box office as of this writing.

Brilliant, fun and a damn great action film - 10/10