Skyfall. Judge Dredd. A two for one quick and dirty review (",)

[danny_galaga]

I haven't posted about movies I've seen for a while. Partly because I haven't seen as many, partly because I'm lazy. SO here's two, I find my thinking of them compliments each other.

We have two British franchises. One tried (or is that tired?) and true, the other not touched on much. I saw Judge Dredd a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't read what others think of it, but it is a 5/5 for me! I was almost shocked that I was so entertained! The first I knew of the movie was seeing a poster in the cinema a couple of weeks before and groaning- I thought they'd gone all 'Titanic' and redone the Stallone flick in 3D!

Last night I saw Skyfall. Quite disappointed. It really didn't have the oomph. I consider Craigs 'Casino Royale' one of the best Bond movies (I'm not a purist, so I couldn't give a tinkers cuss about 'yeah, but Casino Royale isn't a Bond story, blah blah blah). I just seek to be entertained. While Dredd never had a dull moment, there were many in Skyfall, straight after the obligatory chase scene at the beginning. 3.5/5 for me. Not bad, but I expected more. I concede that it could have been the hype, but then Casino Royale was hyped up and I still enjoyed that.

JD- 5/5
SF-3.5/5

my score for recent movies you may have seen:

  5/5 - The Way Back, The Kings Speech, Michael Clayton, In Bruges, Gran Torino, Mary and Max, Moonrise Kingdom

4.5/5 - Taken, Iron Man, Reign Over Me, Watchmen, The girl with the dragon tattoo

  4/5 - True Grit, Traitor, Bedtime Stories, Sunshine, pineapple express

3.5/5 - 300, Max Payne, You dont mess with the Zohan, Yes Man

  3/5 - That new Indiana Jones flick, Disturbia, That new TMNT flick,

2.5/5 - Angels and Demons

  2/5 - The Love Guru. Note: My 2 is probably someone elses 1. Just leaving room for worse!

[Hoopz]

I saw Skyfall last week and was thoroughly entertained.  I too enjoyed Casino Royale and it's easily a top 5 (top 3?) Bond film.  Daniel Craig could be the best Bond ever.

[wp34]

I agree that Skyfall doesn't quite live up to the hype but I really, really enjoyed it.  The hype is a little over the top IMHO.  It drags just a smidgen in the middle but how it picks up at the end more than makes up for it.  I saw it a second time and it held up.  Not quite as good as Casino Royale but much better than Quantum.   

[Vigo]

I really did like Skyfall. It was a real good homage to the Sean Connery Bond films.

I will need to watch Casino Royale again now, I think it is gonna be better to rewatch. To me, Casino Royale was excellent, but in essence it never felt very much like a Bond film because they were busy rebooting the backstory, and trying to dramatically repair Bond's character. Now in Skyfall, Bond finally grows into the Bond role, and I think it puts Casino Royale into much better perspective.

Daniel Craig is excellent, but he is veering to the Rodger Moore side as being the new geriatric Bond. I found it a bit weird since these films were suppose to be the Sean Connery Bond, but at an earlier point than Dr. No. I guess this isn't the first time I've been expected to suspend disbelief about James Bond's age.

[wp34]

I did find it a bit funny that Craig is only 44 and certainly in the best shape of any of the Bond actors yet part of the story-line was that he was over the hill. 

I've read a few of the books and Craig has Bond dead-to-rights.  The Bond from the books looks more like Brosnan but acts like Craig.

I agree that the timeline makes absolutely no sense.  That is part of the fun of Bond though.  I believe the only Bond movie that is considered a true sequel is Quantum. 

I really did like Skyfall. It was a real good homage to the Sean Connery Bond films.

I will need to watch Casino Royale again now, I think it is gonna be better to rewatch. To me, Casino Royale was excellent, but in essence it never felt very much like a Bond film because they were busy rebooting the backstory, and trying to dramatically repair Bond's character. Now in Skyfall, Bond finally grows into the Bond role, and I think it puts Casino Royale into much better perspective.

Daniel Craig is excellent, but he is veering to the Rodger Moore side as being the new geriatric Bond. I found it a bit weird since these films were suppose to be the Sean Connery Bond, but at an earlier point than Dr. No. I guess this isn't the first time I've been expected to suspend disbelief about James Bond's age.

[Eldritch1969]

+1 for Judge Dredd. Stallone looks and acts like a wimp compared to this one. Recommended !

[kahlid74]

Skyfall was a very good "Bond" movie and was the closest to those of the past.  I thought it was a good movie and I like it the best of DC's bond movies so far.

Judge Dread wasn't really a good movie per say IMO, entertaining sure but just blah movie related.

[Grasshopper]

I saw Skyfall earlier today, and have mixed feelings about it.

It was good overall, but didn't live up to the hype.

I thought the first half was excellent. It was very intense in a good way, and I didn't mind the relatively slow pace. Frankly I'm tired of the Michael Bay non-stop CGI school of film making. A good director knows you need time to build up a back story, develop the characters etc. if you want the audience to give a crap about what's going on.

However, the film lost its way a little in the middle, and the ending just didn't work for me. Unfortunately, when you leave the cinema, it's the ending that tends to stick in your mind.

[Grasshopper]

I did find it a bit funny that Craig is only 44 and certainly in the best shape of any of the Bond actors yet part of the story-line was that he was over the hill. 

Heh, yes I thought that was slightly ironic as well. Craig is the only Bond actor who looks like he might be genuinely useful in a fight. That being said, he does look old for a 44 year old, despite being in good shape.

[emphatic]

Dredd get a solid 5/5 from me. I was in high of sorts afterwards. 

Skyfall I can agree on the 3.5/5, Bardem was great though, really liked his "transformation" when apprehended.

[Hoopz]

I generally don't look at any commercials or trailers before films come out so I avoid any hype about a movie.  For me, I think it works because I go in with a blank slate and avoid any expectations.  That being said, I honestly think Craig is outstanding as Bond.  He's better than Brosnan.  Or, perhaps it's easier to say that his films are better than Brosnan's.  Besides The World is Not Enough, he was saddled with terrible movies.  Dalton's were the worst but Brosnan's were right there too.

IMO, Craig looked old as Bond because that's what he was supposed to look.  With his "time off" (to avoid spoilers), he came back and looked bad on the film on purpose.  Maybe I'm misreading it, but I think the premise was that he was on the edge, couldn't qualify and just looked like a wrung out turd.

This movie seemed to have more "Jason Bourne" moments whether in action or cinematography.  There were definitely a few times that I thought it felt a lot like one of Damon's Bourne movies.  It didn't last long though.  I think Barbara Broccoli needs to get the writers creating the next films written sooner.  In the older movies, one thing I always watched for was the line in the credits that said "James Bond will return in ____".  When they switched to "James Bond will return", I think it shows a lack of planning/writing when they are developing the series.  Granted, some of the much older films had that tag line too. 

All that aside, and that's ALOT for me to type here, I can say that I do want to see Skyfall again and it makes me want to see Craig again in Casino Royale.  I liked him in Quantum but that thing was just bad writing. 

[Xiaou2]

I almost went to see the new Bond in theaters... only because the former films were ok.  However, Im glad I didnt waste my
money.   The hype is ridiculous today.

 Im sorry, but it was plain boring.   Maybe realistic... but boring.  And honestly, I could care less about realism, if realism is going to put you to sleep.

 If you put Roger Moore in the same room with Daniel Craig  (both at the same age),  nobody would even notice DC.  Moore was over the top fun, funny, charming, whitty, smug, smart, and more.  He was a real character... A great actor, and was very expressive.

 Now, you look at Matt Damon in Borne... and hes not all that expressive.  However, he has an Excellent martial arts representation, with amazingly realistic and precise combat portrayal, of a high level Op.  Something that DC just does not seem to pull off well.  DC seems very quirky, slow, clumsy, basic, and even awkward, in combat.   


 From a peter-pan point of view.. I think what most people are really looking for in a bond film:   Armed sportscars, special secret weaponry & gadgetry,  to be put into action... and often.   Great chase scenes.  Excellent hand to hand combat. Weapons play. Gunnery. Knives flying about.  Several deaths averted by amazing seat of your pants ingenuity.  Charming the crowd. Seducing the hot woman... as well as later possibly fighting or killing them off.. scamming and bluffing his way around obstacles.   And villans with huge presence.


 My fav bond flick is probably  "A view to a kill"... which Is far more entertaining than SkySnore.
THough, each Bond flick has its own charm and good qualities about it.

[Vigo]

I almost went to see the new Bond in theaters... only because the former films were ok.  However, Im glad I didnt waste my
money.   The hype is ridiculous today.

 Im sorry, but it was plain boring.   Maybe realistic... but boring.  And honestly, I could care less about realism, if realism is going to put you to sleep.

I have a hard time figuring out from your post if you have seen the movie or not. If you didn't go to see it in the theater, did you watch a bootleg at home, or are you just reviewing a film you never saw?

From a peter-pan point of view.. I think what most people are really looking for in a bond film:   Armed sportscars, special secret weaponry & gadgetry,  to be put into action... and often.   Great chase scenes.  Excellent hand to hand combat. Weapons play. Gunnery. Knives flying about.  Several deaths averted by amazing seat of your pants ingenuity.  Charming the crowd. Seducing the hot woman... as well as later possibly fighting or killing them off.. scamming and bluffing his way around obstacles.   And villans with huge presence.

Funny enough, Skyfall did have all that. I can name multiple instances of pretty much every thing you mention. [MASSIVE BLOCK O' SPOILERS:] The movie opens on an excellent chase scene. Bond even drove an excavator on top of a moving train car to chase down the bad guy. The London Chase scene was excellent as well. Bond Girls? Well, only 1 of the 3 bond girls in this film died (partially at Bond's hand) after Bond seduced her and she betrayed him. They brought back Moneypenny, that is simply awesome in my opinion, she has been missing from the series for way too long. Armed sportscars? Bond pulled out the actual Aston Martin used in Goldfinger, and used it's gadgets multiple times. There are plenty of unique weapons, and James also had his Walther PPK, (James even threw knives, what do you know?) Gadgets? Well they were much more macgyver-esque in this film, although the villians had a few cool tools, but near the end of the film, M was even building her own makeshift frac bombs rigged into house lighting. I think that is more entertaining gadgetry than Q's robot dog from A view to a Kill. And hey, they reintroduced a new Q in Skyfall as well. As far as bluffing, the whole movie itself was about James' Bluff....doing his job, and to do so, he had to bluff his way the whole time to hide his massive injuries. He had to bluff to both sides in order to even be assigned to the mission. 

I dunno, seems like everything on your checklist of a good bond film is well covered in Skyfall.

[CheffoJeffo]

My fav bond flick is probably  "A view to a kill"... which Is far more entertaining than SkySnore.

Although I have already seen Skyfall, this statement alone would most definitely convince me to go see it.

IMOP (did you see what I did there?) AVtoK was, other than perhaps Moonraker, the least worthy of Moore's 007 appearances.

[Hoopz]

Moonraker was a good Moore film.  We can agree to disagree about that.   

A View to a Kill was the first Bond film that I saw in the theater so it holds sentimental value because of that.  Excluding sentiment, it doesn't hold up like some of the others do.

[Vigo]

I just hope there is never again a bond chick with a flat top. May Day still kinda frightens me...and not a cool villain kinda frightened. More in a "This chick looks just like Wesley Snipes in Blade, only more masculine" kinda way.

[CheffoJeffo]

Moonraker was a good Moore film.  We can agree to disagree about that.   

I liked Moonraker, and even liked View To A Kill (yeah, Grace Jones still scares the hell out of me... pull up to the bumper!), but I don't think either holds a candle to Live And Let Die or The Man With The Golden Gun.

FWIW, my favourite Bond flick is also the first one I ever saw -- The Spy Who Loved Me.

I really enjoyed Skyfall -- DC's Casino Royale was a good introduction for a new Bond, but Skyfall felt more like a reboot that takes things back to the roots.

[Hoopz]

I think people that love Bond, regardless of who is playing Bond, have a tendency to pick their first Bond as one of their favorites.  Mine was Goldfinger on video disc (not laser) in the early 80s.  Followed that up with From Russia with Love.  You Only Live Twice was either next or the 4th one that I saw.  Classics all.

Live and Let Die is great but Jane Seymour is in it so I'm biased.   

[yotsuya]

For Your Eyes Only is my favorite Bond movie, but it's also my first one.

[Vigo]

Thunderball.  First and Fav, even if that jetpack is a little cheesy by today's standards.

[danny_galaga]

Dredd get a solid 5/5 from me. I was in high of sorts afterwards. 

Skyfall I can agree on the 3.5/5, Bardem was great though, really liked his "transformation" when apprehended.

 

There was pretty much NEVER a dull moment in JD, was there?

Bardems character sort of hit the nail on the head in Skyfall when he said something along the lines of 'You are so physical, all you need is a computer nowadays'. Maybe what niggles me is that Bond doesn't make sense in this day and age. Purists also hate all the Daniel Craig ones because they either aren't written by Ian Fleming ( Quantum and Skyfall) or aren't about James Bond (Casino Royale). That isn't a big point for me, since I loved Casino Royale but they may have a point in that maybe it should be let go. Of course if you have a big franchise like that, you probably won't...