Skyfall

Mr. Y and I watched Skyfall over the holidays, and definitely one of my favorite Bond movies. 

SPOILER ALERT

Skyfall was a big improvement over Quantum of Solace, and definitely deserves to be the first Bond movie to reach $1 billion.  The story was straightforward and as personal as a Bond film can get.  Javier Barden is a great villain as a former MI6 Agent who has a personal vendetta against M for abandoning him when he was an agent.  The scene when he removed his teeth and his face sank in was so creepy.  The chase and fight scenes were appropriately explosive, but I also enjoy the quieter moments, especially between M (Judi Dench) and Bond (Daniel Craig).  The ending was staged at Skyfall, the home estate of Bond's parents in Scotland, and Albert Finney showed up as the cantakerous groundskeeper for the estate. 

I do wish they gave the Bond girls more to do.  Berenice Lim Marlohe was sultry and beautiful, but I was not clear what her purpose was.  Naomi Harris turned out to be the modern Moneypenny and we'll be seeing her in future Bond movies, although I quite enjoyed her as a field agent.  I did enjoy the shout-outs to previous Bond movies, like the exploding pen and the Aston Martin.  Ben Whishaw as a young Q is also appropriate, and a nice contrast to the cranky, older Bond. 

I am sad that Judi Dench's M died at the end, but excited about Ralph Fiennes being the new M.  Every time Fiennes and Craig are in the scene together it's like the battle of the intense blue eyes.