The James Bond franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary in spectacular style with Skyfall, the 23rd film in the series and Daniel Craig’s third outing as 007. Skyfall takes every hallmark of the series and pushes them farther than ever. It’s all there—exotic locations, incredible action sequences, a fascinating arch villain, gorgeous women, the best new Bond song (by Adele) since Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds Are Forever,” some interesting personnel surprises (my advice: don’t read the spoiler reviews!), and of course, the car.
The locations (Turkey, Shanghai, Macau) are especially stunning, thanks to director Sam Mendes’ (and the Coen Brothers’) go-to man, Roger Deakins, whose painterly, watchful cinematography continually captures moments of beauty and stillness in the midst of danger and frenetic action. As for the villain, you can easily learn the actor who plays him, but as I think in this case it’s much better to be surprised, I will only say that he is as terrifying and charismatic and sad as Hannibal Lecter.
Naomie Harris gives almost as good as she gets as Bond’s field associate. And Bérénice Lim Marlohe’s Sévérine is as gorgeous and tragic as a Bond woman has been, with a sadly all-too-relevant real-world backstory.
It was a strong weekend for Wreck-It Ralph as the Disney animated feature brought in half a million during its opening frame. However, before we get to that some house cleaning from last week.
We missed out on an opportunity to celebrate Argo‘s rise to the number one spot last weekend. Ben Affleck’s film had a solid debut, but it was on the low-end of expectations. In the weeks following, Argo has been holding incredibly well for a movie that is playing on so many screens. Culminating in finally taking the top spot last weekend in an otherwise weak weekend.
How did it do this weekend? Well since it wasn’t number one again you will have to wait to find out. The winner this weekend was Wreck-It Ralph, another Disney animated feature that proves there is still some magic left in the mouse house proper. Coming out with nearly $50 Million, Ralph managed one of Disney’s biggest animated openings. Of course even those lofty numbers pale in comparison to the PIXAR average, but from the studios that brought us Home on the Range, this is great business.
It’s been some time since we got to see “Q” in a James Bond movie. He’s basically been absent since Desmond Llewelyn passed away in 1999, even though John Cleese took up the official “Q” moniker in Die Another Day. Still, Llewelyn will always be “Q” to us.
That hasn’t stopped the makers of Skyfall from giving it a try, however. They’ve introduced a new ‘Q” for the upcoming movie, played by Ben Whishaw, and we’ve got a clip of him, with Daniel Craig’s James Bond, for you today.
Even though he’s a new “Q”, we sorta like the kid. He could end up being okay after all.
After waiting for a bit of extra time for the next James Bond movie to arrive, it’s almost here. Skyfall is the name and from the looks of this latest trailer, it’s going to be pretty great.
But really, we’re big Bond fans around here so we would see it no matter what. The fact that it appears to be awesome is just a bonus.
Check out the new trailer below. Look for Skyfall to arrive on November 9.
Last week, to celebrate the actual 50th Birthday of the cinematic James Bond, Adele’s new theme song for Skyfall was officially released. The song was incredibly well received, mostly because the song is damn near perfect, but unless you watched some hastily edited fan edits you had to imagine what this theme would sound like over top of some real Bond action.
Thankfully there is someone really smart behind the marketing of Skyfall, as a new trailer just hit featuring the soon to be iconic new tune prominently. Somehow the already phenomenal song feels even better when you see Bond do his various Bond-y things, particularly that last beat of the trailer.
The anticipation for the third Daniel Craig Bond film is reaching it’s boiling point. At this point everyone seems to have let the bitter memory of Quantum of Solace wash away from their memories and are allowing all of the goodwill this movie is putting out drive their excitement.
This has been a banner anniversary year for Bond, and after some shaky years with a writer’s strike hindered Quantum and the bankruptcy scare of MGM, it is a welcome revival of the spy who loves us all. Except probably cold war era Russians, but everyone else for sure.
Check out the new trailer after the jump and stay tuned to The Flickcast for any last-minute news as Skyfall approaches.
Perhaps more than the Aston Martin, the Walther PPK or the martini’s, the signature Bond title tune is among the most important aspects of any 007 film. There have been some classic songs, some alright diddys and some downright duds over the years, so does Adele have what it take to deliver on Skyfall‘s titular ballad?
Well thankfully that is a question we do not have to wait for the release of Skyfall next month to answer. The song has been officially unleashed to the internet and it is with great relief we can report that it is actually pretty damn good. The last film, Quantum of Solace, had a title song that most people were not a big fan of, so the bounce back in quality for Skyfall is especially noticeable.
Unlike previous major pop star attempts at Bond themes, Adele manages to find the classic groove of the series roots without making the song all about her. As opposed to Madonna’s Die Another Day or the aforementioned Another Way To Die, which just seemed like advertisements for the artists and not a viable addition to the tapestry that was those particular films.
With the next James Bond actioneer, Skyfall, set for release in November, you can bet your hard-earned dollars we’re going to start seeing a crapload of promotional material for the movie. One of those promotional materials just happens to be a new commercial for Heineken featuring Ian Fleming’s master spy.
Heineken you say? Why, isn’t that a beer? I thought James Bond drank a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred? Sure, everybody knows that. . . Everybody except, it seems, the makers of Skyfall.
In the new Bond film, 007 is a beer drinker. His brand of choice? Heineken, of course. Yeah, we don’t really like the idea either.
Even so, the commercial is pretty cool and from what we’ve seen so far, the movie looks pretty cool too.
“No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.” Aside from how James likes his martini, this may be the most famous line in 007 history and now thanks to 007 Legends, we will be seeing it in all its gaming glory from Bond’s perspective. Activision has finally announced that the final movie tied in to 007 Legends story will be Goldfinger.
Not only will Goldfinger make his way to the game and give the player a chance to live through the infamous “laser slowing moving up towards Bond’s crotch” scene, but Odd Job will find his way to the game too. And from the looks of the trailer below, both will have a pretty hefty roles in the game’s mission.
For those who have not been following the progress of 007 Legends, the story of the game will crossover six 007 titles starting with Moonraker and make its way through Her Majesty’s Secret Service, License to Kill, Die Another Day and Goldfinger before concluding with the upcoming film Skyfall. Interestingly enough, the Skyfall mission will reportedly not be on the game disc itself but instead be a free piece of DLC so people without XBox Live or a PlayStation Network account watch out. The reason for this is that the game will be released on October 16th, which is weeks before the film’s November 9th release date. Keeping the mission on disc would risk massive spoilers for the feature film.
With 007 Legendsgetting closer to its October 16th release, we get a look at two new levels for the game. Alongside the already announced Moonraker, Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the upcoming Skyfall which will be the final section of the game, we now get a look at Die Another Day and License to Kill. This still leaves one 007 film still shrouded in secrecy as to what will be the final movie tied into this sweeping storyline that ties the six films together.
This 007 title promises a different experience than previous games, not just with its multi-film story concept but with a new focus on the gameplay. Instead of following the Goldeneye Reloaded formula which was primarily just a shooter with a few QTE’s or Bloodstone which took Bond to a third person view, 007 Legends will place an added focus back on two of the things that make Bond so special, the cars and the gadgets. As you will see in the trailer, screens and concept art below, players will get the opportunity to drive Bond’s signature Aston Martin across ice slicked highways, use his watch as a laser and trigger mines on unsuspecting minions.
Even though some people found the last James Bond movie, Quantum of Solice, less than spectacular, we’re still glad Bond is back and coming to a theater near us in the new film Skyfall. We’ve alreadybroughtyouinfo about the new movie and now there’s a new trailer.
For those of you unfamiliar with Skyfall, here the synopsis:
Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Not only does the film look stunning and full of exciting action and drama, but Skyfall also boasts one of the best casts ever for a Bond film. Aside from series regulars Craig and Dame Judi Dench as M, the film also features Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finny and Javier Bardem.
Check out the new trailer after the break. Look for Skyfall to arrive on November 9.
