Weekly rewind: November 15
BY MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2012
11/15/12 at 4:48 AM
For expanded review, visit tulsaworld.com/movies.
"Skyfall"
Rating: 
(on a scale of zero to four stars)
I want James Bond back. I've seen "The Bourne Legacy," and I don't need to see it again.
With the release of "Casino Royale" in 2006, I hailed it as one of the best films of that year and the best Bond movie to date, with Daniel Craig's debut matching Sean Connery as the definitive British superspy.
That movie gave Bond a much-needed update as world-protector, making him a tough-minded yet vulnerable spy-with-a-heart for a new age.
If the inspiration for a more no-nonsense Bond came from the successful Jason Bourne films, fine, but "Casino Royale" took this step forward while retaining all of the qualities that make Bond films great.
Great action and great fun. Beautiful women and locales. Cool gadgets and a memorable villain. "Casino Royale" left me both shaken and stirred.
"Skyfall," Craig's third outing as 007, leaves me somewhat cold. This is Bond as a sourpuss, battling a stylish but poorly conceived villain with computers as the weapons.
Bond rarely looks challenged so much as he looks ticked off. As for a softer side, 007 shows about as much vulnerability as Craig's abs.
What's missing here is the fun factor. Director Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") is a fine filmmaker, but his collaboration with screenwriter John Logan is that of a stone-cold revenge tale.
Who's out for revenge? Seemingly everyone. MI6 is under attack by a computer genius named Silva (Javier Bardem), who proves to be a ghost from the past for M (Judi Dench as Bond's immediate superior), as well as 007. In addition, M and Bond are in conflict with each other, and Bond has personal issues from his past to sort out.
That's the less-than-scintillating prospect of "Skyfall": personal grudges and internal strife to settle: 3; threat to the world that must be stopped: 0.
Now showing
| Movie | Rating (on 4 scale) |
| Argo | |
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | |
| Looper | |
| End of Watch | |
| Arbitrage | |
| Wreck-it Ralph | |
| Flight | |
| Frankenweenie | |
| Hope Springs | |
| Skyfall | |
| Alex Cross | |
| Here Comes the Boom | |
| Pitch Perfect | |
| Trouble With the Curve | |
| Cloud Atlas | |
| Fun Size | |
| Seven Psychopaths | |
| Hotel Transylvania | |
Associated Images:
Daniel Craig stars as James Bond in "Skyfall." Courtesy
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