Review: "Skyfall"

This review was originally published in my column at Towleroad

Skyfall arrived on US screens Friday with such multiplex flattening hype that you'd be forgiven for thinking the title literal. The Cubby Broccoli estate, which controls the adventures of the super spy, was pulling no stops for the 50th anniversary installment of the granddaddy of film franchises. We've been inundated with Bond Mania for months now. So you'd think at this point that the actual film would be an afterthought. Not so.

The 23rd official Bond film delivers… and not just the five mandatory goodies no Bond film is complete without: Action (Particularly the Opening Setpiece), Theme Song, International Villain, 007 Himself and the Bond Girl. Unlike most modern franchises, the Bond series favors stand-alone storylines with only the five-pronged Bond template uniting them. Even Bond himself changes though Skyfall happily sticks with Daniel Craig's impossible zombie handsomeness and dangerously erotic icy blues.

Five mandatory goodies and Daniel Craig's sexual pull AFTER THE JUMP...

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Double Os aren't enough any more for Bond, James Bond. You need seven 0s at this point, 8 if you count the already astounding international grosses ($4288 million to date outside of the US). My review will be posted tomorrow night and there's a few more Bond pieces coming before we say goodbye until 2014 or whenever.

3 Bond Girls. 2 ½ Sex Scenes. 2 Villains. 500 million dollars

Box Office Top Ten
01 SKYFALL  $87.8 *NEW* 
02 WRECK-IT RALPH  $33 (cum. $93.6)
03 FLIGHT  $15.1 (cum. $47.7)
04 ARGO  $6.7 (cum. $85.7)
05 TAKEN 2 $4 *NEW* (cum $131.2)
06 HERE COMES THE BOOM  $2.5  (cum. $39)
07 CLOUD ATLAS $2.5 (cum. $22.7)
08 PITCH PERFECT $2.5 (cum $59)
09 THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS $2.4  (cum $12.7)
10 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA $2.3 (cum $140.9)

Pitch Perfect just keeps humming, huh? Flight and Argo are benefiting from Oscar buzz and word of mouth and both are going to enjoy long runs. Which movies did you see this weekend? I went to Holy Motors and Lincoln (which opens wide next week but earned almost a million from very limited screens this weekend). More on both soon.

Skyfall (The Ultimate James Bond Fan Review)

[Deborah Lipp, author of "The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book", has been counting down to Skyfall right here with 007 lists (best films, songs, femme fatales, secret codes) and after last night's midnight screening, fresh off the presses, her review! - Editor] 

This is one of many reviews of Skyfall I will ultimately write. At some point, there will be a spoiler-laden analysis. At some point soon, I'll see the movie again and have further thoughts. At some point, I'll sleep. But for now, what you're getting is the 10 a.m. review of the movie I left at 3 a.m. So, before I get too punchy or too detailed, here's the part you want to know: You're going to love this movie.

There's a lot to love about Skyfall, but what's going to make you sing its praises is the overwhelming feeling of Bond is Back. MORE...

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To Link or Not to Link...

Gawker on Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, just issued in a deluxe Criterion version
BBC Skyfall wins the best Bond opening ever overseas. Remember when we didn't even know if we would get any more James Bonds due to legal issues and rights and studio problems?
The Guardian on Daniel Day-Lewis' infamous ghostly father sighting all those years ago when he played Hamlet on stage (he has not returned to the stage since) 

In Contention George Clooney lines up a very starry cast for his next Oscar attack, the World War II drama Monuments Men: Craig, Blanchett, Goodman
AV Club Mike D'Angelo on the directors cut of one of my favorite films Little Shop of Horrors (1986) 
The Film Doctor 8 notes on Cloud Atlas
Cinema Blend Cloud Atlas karmic interconnectivity infographic
Towleroad Madonna visits Ellen Degeneres! 
Coming Soon Tom Cruise isn't done with the Mission: Impossible franchise yet. And here I thought they brought in Jeremy Renner to replace him. 

CHUD has a 1688 word review of the new Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning movie with 80s action icons Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren returning and refuses to say whether they walk around with asses out as they so famously did the first time. 1688 words and no time for ass? That's just mean.
Movie|Line Ugh. I was totally going to do this Grease-centric Hurricane Sandy thing but a ton of sites beat me to it. I type so fast but I don't have all the time in the world or a huge paid staff to jump on everything. BOO.
Tom & Lorenzo Mad Men filming in Hawaii, eh? Jessica Pare and Jon Hamm in cute bathing suits. Oh I have to share the photo... I can't just link!

Lovely! I've never been to Hawaii, have you? It's nice to dream of Hawaii in the aftermath of dismal, windy, grey, wet destructive Hurricane Sandy.

007 Things That Excite / Concern Me About "Skyfall"

Hi, all. I'm Deborah Lipp, half of the Lipp Sisters team at the Mad Men site  Basket of Kisses and author of six books, including The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book.*

Between today, which happens to be International James Bond Day, and the U.S. release of the 23rd official James Bond movie, Skyfall (opening November 9th!), Nathaniel has asked me to deliver a series on the subject of James Bond. We'll focus on lists of seven things — any seven things, provided they relate to James Bond, agent 007 of Her Majesty's Secret Service. And, because I'm generous to a fault, I'm going to start you off, this first time out, with a bonus list. So, without further adieu, here are 007 Things That Excite Me About Skyfall as well as 007 Things That Concern Me About Skyfall.

*Note: If you want a copy of the book, please, please contact me directly. 

007 Things That Excite Me About Skyfall

001 It's a James Bond movie. Let's get serious: If the buzz for the movie was terrible, if Ebert used both his thumbs to pan it, if it got the lowest rating in history on Rotten Tomatoes, I'd still be there on opening night, and probably the next night as well. And maybe the following week. And there would be vodka martinis chilling at home, and I know how to make them right.

It's a James Bond movie. Bond has been with me through my entire life, a guarantee of adventure, excitement, sex, and escape. I am, frankly, addicted to these movies, they are like a drug to me.

002 The return of Q. Bond movies have a tradition, and repeating certain formulaic aspects is a delight. Sure, some people want Thanksgiving without turkey, but some of us love the repetition of form, and for us, the return of a beloved character who has been there from the beginning matters a lot.

Q Trivia, Judi Dench, and terrible blonde villains after the jump

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