Review of "Skyfall" - James Bond gets old, but ages like good scotch

Before I begin this post, I want to confess something that will make most of you out there in internet world cringe. I have not seen any James Bond movie made before 2002's Die Another Day. I know, I am disgusted with myself as well. I have an absolute appreciation for the character and the understandable legacy that 007 has left. The issue is that there are 19 movies and none of them are on Netflix and the blockbuster near me has closed down. It is an issue that I intend to remedy soon, but for now, we'll have to accept this fact.

Now that I've gotten that off of my chest, let's move on to talking about the 23rd film in the Eon produced franchise, Skyfall and 50 years of Bond.

The film opens on Bond being Bond, the one, two punch feel that we got from the intros to Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace continues in  Skyfall. And then, after an intense action sequence, the moment we see in the trailer occurs and James Bond dies. Except not, thank god, because that would be a really short movie. But Bond can't stay dead, because an attack on MI6 brings him back into the fold. This of course, after an absolutely beautiful title sequence featuring an amazing theme song by Adele.

Side bar: The music and title sequences for the three Daniel Craig James Bond films have been wonderful, especially after the god awefulness that was Die Another Day. Alright, back to the matter at hand.

The theme of this movie seems to play on the 50th anniversary of Bond and we see many connecting concepts, the main one being that Bond is getting old. He is having trouble being as physical as he once was, a fact that Javier Bardem's villain, Raoul Silva, brings up to Bond. Will Bond be able to do what he does best? Yeah, probably.

Basically, Skyfall was an absolutely fantastic film, definitely worth the price of the ticket. Sam Mendes took this film and did not disappoint with the product. We get to see some characters return to the franchise that have been absent from the last couple films and of course, there are some fun nods to the fact that Bond has turned 50 (50 year old Macallan anyone?).

Second side bar: Anyone who's seen this movie and a fan of Doctor Who, would you agree that Ben Whishaw could possibly be a contender for the 13th Doctor? I could see it. (Incidentally, Whishaw was also in the film Cloud Atlas, also currently in theaters). Ok, return to everything.

Another thing I enjoyed from this movie was Albert Finney's character as Kincade, the game keeper to Bond's childhood home of Skyfall estate. As great as he was, I can't watch that role without thinking of Sean Connery (imagine Connery blowing away some bad guys with a sawed off shotgun and then saying "Welcome to Scotland", GOLD). The idea of Connery's cameo was thrown around, but Mendes thought it would take audiences out of the story to have the original Bond back as an entirely different character (which I totally understand, but I mean, it would have been great).

The Verdict: Go drop down your two bits as soon as you can. This is a great movie for fans of Bond. It's great to bring non-Bond fans into the fold. Check it out.