Skyfall (2012)

3/30/14 I didn't realize that it had been almost two years since I saw this last. Of course I bought it. I think I was a bit afraid to rewatch it because I wasn't sure it would hold up to a second viewing. Sometimes you have such a good experience in the theater and then you take it home and it's just not the same. Fortunately, this stands as one of the best Bond films in the past twenty years, if not all time, and is well worth the buy. This time around I tried to pay more attention to the cinematography, since it was Roger Deakins' work and it is stunning. Still no word on when the next one comes out.
Original post:  11/11/12  Nominated for:  Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing   Ok, so I wasn't necessarily trying to watch all of the old Bond films before seeing this latest but I'm really glad I at least watch the first three.  There were so many loving little references that I would never have noticed otherwise.

The action begins with Bond (Daniel Craig) on assignment with Agent Eve (Naomi Harris) in Istanbul, tracking down a list of undercover agents that had been stolen from MI6.  Bond gets on top of a train with the guy while Eve gets into sniper position.  M (Judi Dench) tells her to make the shot anyway and Bond goes off the side of the train, presumably dead.  However, he decides to treat it as early retirement, moving to some tropical beach and just letting himself go.  His pity party gets cut short when he sees a CNN piece about a bombing at MI6.  Meanwhile, M is called on the carpet by her new boss, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), who seems to think she should be put out to pasture like an old war horse.  M immediately clears her favorite agent for duty and sends him to Shanghai to track down the guy who originally stole the list.  There he becomes fascinated with the beautiful Severine (Berenice Marlohe) and hitches a ride with her to Japan, where he finally gets introduced to the big bad guy, Silva (Javier Bardem), a former agent and computer genius driven batshit crazy by a failed assignment who now has it out for M and her whole organization. In order to combat this villain with all modern technology at his disposal, Bond has to dive deep into his past, returning to the place where it all started:  Skyfall.

Holy shit, you guys, I have a new favorite villain.  I walked out of that theater and wished I could have a slumber party with Silva and Silver Lion where we could have pillow fights and s'mores and tease out each other's hair.  Javier Bardem plays him with such delightful dementedness, it's really outstanding to watch.  He is pretty much the sole source of humor in the film (him and Q who is just adorable) and his interactions with Bond are great. 

The end of the movie packs more of a sad punch that I was expecting.  It seemed almost like the perfect end to the Bond franchise, except I know it's not.  Daniel Craig has signed on for at least two more films and Idris Elba (Thor, Prometheus) has expressed interest in having it next.  Bond will go on for probably another fifty years, and I'm okay with that. 

If you don't have time to watch all 22 previous films before you head to the theater, you can Cliff's Notes it with this video on YouTube.  It's a supercut of all the films in five minute increments and kind of outstanding.