Skyfall - Guest Review

http://www.skyfall-movie.com/site/

Another guest review. But this time from my brother, Mike, instead of my usual guest reviewer:

Bond is in Istanbul, seemingly, popping in to see some fellow spies. While he is there he discovers that a hard drive containing the names and alias’ of MI6 agents around the world has been taken from a computer. Going after the people responsible Bond is shot while attempting to catch the perpetrators and falls to his certain death ...DUN-DUN DER! ...And so begins SKYFALL the 23rd film in the series, released in the 50th Year since DR NO first graced cinema screens.

For the rest of the film Bond contends with his own inner demons, a body and psyche that’s showing the rigours of the abuse laid upon it, but that’s not all! Bond’s recovery is not made any easier by the fact that he has to deal with a madman who seems to have a personal issue with M (In the great hands of Dame Judi) who herself is equally under pressure from a political system that seems to want to rundown the department because it costs money (the privatised version of MI6 sponsored by Toshiba becoming nearer a reality every day now!)

If this sounds quite dry and not your typical Bond film then you’re right it’s not. In fact apart from the stunt sequences and action set pieces at times it doesn’t feel like a Bond film at all. Bond’s meeting with Q takes place at the National Gallery ...Why? No idea, the name of the film which seems during trailers and what-not to relate to the scheme of the film relates to nothing of the sort. And the middle section seems to lag at times when it should be pulsing. This film like many other event films has been given universal five star reviews and usually that means one of two things, EITHER, it is as good as critics say OR everyone who goes to the press junket showing just gets caught up in the moment. Sadly, for Bond, it appears to be the latter.

That’s not to say there aren’t good bits in the film, the pre-credit sequence is all right, Bond’s disintegration and breakdown are both handled with aplomb and it’s here that Daniel Craig is at his best along with all his scenes with M, Javier Bardem is a fantastic villain and the end, which so many critics say is where the film lags was for me one of the most interesting bits of the film.

BUT, there are two major bad things and I will get to that now.

SPOILER ALERT

So far in Daniel Craig’s tenure in Bond films he has failed to save five women in three films and has only managed to save one. Only one ...In three films. Without being rude it is making Bond a bit crap, and Bond shouldn’t be a bit crap. Also ...Where are the henchmen? I for one miss the Jaws’, The Odd-Jobs and the Xenia Onatopp’s! Bond should test his metal against a decent henchman.

And it also fails the last test. Would I want to buy it on DVD? No.

6/10.

If you enjoyed my brother's review you might also want to check out his blog as he has opinions on a LOT of topics, not just films: http://mike-lambert.blogspot.co.uk/

Cast Overview:

Daniel Craig ~ James Bond

Judi Dench ~ M

Javier Bardem ~ Silva

Ralph Fiennes ~ Gareth Mallory

Naomie Harris ~ Eve

Berenice Marlohe ~Severine

Albert Finney ~ Kincade

Ben Whishaw ~ Q

Director ~ Sam Mendes

Writer ~ Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan

Based on characters by Ian Fleming

My Week With Marilyn

http://myweekwithmarilynmovie.com/

I'm sure what I'm about to say will be a shock to a lot of my regular readers and to a lot of my friends too. I have never seen a Marilyn Monroe film. I don't consider myself a fan of hers and in truth I've never been that intrigued or beguiled by her as most people are. I am however, intrigued by the way she died. As a lot of people are. I think there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

I also think she was beautiful, a shining star of her era, and I think her death was a tragedy because she never got to reach her full potential. That's why, despite my lack of enthusiasm towards Marilyn herself, I wanted to see this adaptation of a supposedly true story. A window into the life of one of the most iconic women in the world.

The film is set during the time that Ms Monroe (Michelle Williams) spent in England filming 'The Prince and the Showgirl' with Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). The third assistant director on 'The Prince and the Showgirl' was Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), who had been hired as a favour to a relative who worked for the studio making the film. During his time on set Colin gets to know Marilyn and becomes one of the few people she trusts and she relies on him as a confidante. They become ever closer when Marilyn's husband, playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), leaves the UK to go back to his children in the US, leaving Marilyn in a strange country and feeling alienated from the cast and crew who she's convinced all hate her.

I saw this movie with my best friend who is a lifelong Marilyn fan. And what a difference this made, it gave me an insight into the 'true story' this film is based on that I wouldn't have otherwise had. I was reliably informed that a lot of 'borrowing' went on in this film, something which has been backed up by articles I've read since seeing it. Things we know happened have been interwoven into the screenplay to make everything else all the more convincing.

Colin Clark's memoirs after all can't really be contested, as the one person who could confirm or deny their contents wasn't here when the books were published. And although the film doesn't quite confirm an affair between the two it is certainly implied that they were very close. And no matter how lonely Marilyn felt, I find it hard to believe she would have been so open and 'friendly' with a guy like Colin.

I digress however as this is a review of the film and not my opinion on a book I've never read. Though it's hard to review one without mentioning the other. One of the main reasons I wanted to see this (as I'm not a Marilyn fan) was Michelle Williams. As mentioned in my Blue Valentine review, I have been a fan of Miss Williams for a number of years now. And while she is good in the title role, she's not at her best. I would definitely say "don't believe the hype" in this case, that way you might be pleasantly surprised rather than mildly disappointed with her performance. You can tell that she's put a lot of research into her character, and it pays off to some extent, but she just doesn't quite pull off Marilyn. 

But then I defy you to find someone who could. This is the problem with making films about film stars of old. They had old school Hollywood glamour on their side, they were icons of the silver screen. How does one imitate that? Clearly the answer is that they don't as Michelle, try as she might, just can't capture that star quality that Marilyn seemed to ooze from every inch of her. I mentioned above that I've never seen a Marilyn Monroe film. This is true. I have however seen bits of Marilyn Monroe films. And seen enough images and interviews etc to believe I know what I'm talking about when I say she oozed star quality. There's a reason she's the icon she is, no-one has come close to matching her je ne sais quoi. Whatever it was that she had that made her so appealing, no other movie star has ever captured it. And I don't think they ever will. 

That said, Michelle Williams does a good job of an impossible task and you don't come away annoyed or angered by her performance. And I think that's the most you can hope for. Branagh and Dench on the other hand are both fabulous in their respective roles of Sir Olivier and Dame Thorndike. Dench doesn't have an awful lot to do but you relish every time she's on screen and she fills her character with such likability that I can only hope Sybil was as nice in real life. And from the little I've seen of Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl I think Branagh's portrayal of him is spot on. Unfortunately for Branagh I imagine he'll be largely overlooked as all the talk will be about Williams. Finally, Redmayne, although still a little too weird looking for my tastes, is fittingly bland in his role of Colin. That's not to say he's not good, it's just that his is the least showy of all the lead roles and he plays this to perfection. Support is ably supplied by Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson and Zoe Wanamaker amongst others.

Overall, an interesting, if a little indulgent film but one which I imagine is more fiction than fact. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 28th November 2011

UK Release Date - 25th November 2011

Cast Overview:

Michelle Williams ~ Marilyn Monroe

Eddie Redmayne ~ Colin Clark

Kenneth Branagh ~ Sir Laurence Olivier

Judi Dench ~ Dame Sybil Thorndike

Emma Watson ~ Lucy

Julia Ormond ~ Vivien Leigh

Dominic Cooper ~ Milton Greene

Dougray Scott ~ Arthur Miller

Zoe Wanamaker ~ Paula Strasberg

Derek Jacobi ~ Sir Owen Morshead

Geraldine Somerville ~ Lady Jane Clark

Michael Kitchen ~ Hugh Perceval

Toby Jones ~ Arthur Jacobs

Jim Carter ~ Barry

Director ~ Simon Curtis

Writer(s) ~ Adrian Hodges (Screenplay) and Colin Clark (based on his books 'My Week With Marilyn' and 'The Prince, the Showgirl and Me')