Skyfall in IMAX

[fuzz092888]

Saw Skyfall today in IMAX.

The Movie:

Spoiler

I thought the movie was really well done. It wasn't the flashiest, it wasn't packed with the most gadgets, there was no iconic car, and there really was no Bond girl. I know that might sound like a huge letdown, but I think to any big Bond fans out there you will appreciate the direction they took with this one. I Quantum of Solace was a very mediocore, especially for a Bond movie, so in this newest of installments they went back to basics, stripped away everything that wasn't absolutely necessary, brought all the important characters back into play and made one heck of a Bond film. It dug a little deeper into who James is and where he came from and also showed just how close his relationship with M was (kind of). It began to develop some of the classic personal relationships he has with the classic characters and comes off oozing of classic Bond (at least IMHO). A suave, well dressed killing machine....but with a much more human side than we have seen in the past. Overall I thought it was excellent.

Granted these are just my subjective opinions from a single viewing and I was riding the high of a film franchise I love. I'll have to see it a few more times before I can really start taking it all in.

The Sound:

The IMAX nearest me isn't the greatest, but it's a bit closer and less populated than the other one near me so it's the one I usually frequent when I've decided to spend $30+ on movie tickets. That being said, this was by far the most audibly disappointing IMAX movie I've seen. Not because of the movie soundtrack, but because of the movie theater. The bass was bloated and boomy and there was an unfortunate crackle dead center of the screen. I can honestly say it sounded no better than my home setup except for the surround effects. It absolutely killed me to hear the classic Bond theme music butchered like that. Not to mention the Asians behind me chattering away like squirrels, or the middle aged woman in my row constantly exclaiming at everything and anything. The more I go to the movies the more I realize how it'd rather spend the ticket money on a blu-ray and be able to watch it at home anytime I would like without the sometimes sketchy SQ and, most imporantly, irritating nimrods who think that talking not only to each other, but to the movie is somehow acceptable. STHU or at least speak English!!!

 

[skizzerflake]

I didn't see it on Imax but, I really liked it. Somewhat less techie than recent Bond flix, it was more like the old ones, a lot of chasing and shooting, with an over-the-top bad guy. Craig continues to be an excellent Bond and Javier Bardem was suitably pathetic and sociopathic as the villain, Silva. I don't expect much depth from a Bond flick, but I usually enjoy them if the mayhem works, and, in this case, it did. Fortunately, the audience was well behaved except for a few first row teens that needed to come and go every 30 seconds, but they were below my sightline in the stadium seating.

Sound was about average for a cineplex, nothing great, but considering the mainly run and shoot action, it was as good as it needed to be. Bond is 50 years old now and with a couple dozen movies, it certainly is the longest running franchise and, counting for inflation, by far the most profitable.

 

[DS-21]

007 the Dark Knight works better than I thought it would.

Would've worked even better with Eva Green, though.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

There is IMAX and there is a fakeMax
Aziz is Bored - REBLOG THE truck OUT OF THIS. WARNING: AMC theaters are running FAKE IMAX’s and charging $5 extra for a slightly bigger screen. Boycott IMAX, AMC, and Regal. Don’t let them fool you.
Is IMAX the Next New Coke?

LieMAX maps:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113621990356540393221.000469b6c5915161c3667

 

[96cobra10101]

There is IMAX and there is a fakeMax
Aziz is Bored - REBLOG THE **** OUT OF THIS. WARNING: AMC theaters are running FAKE IMAX’s and charging $5 extra for a slightly bigger screen. Boycott IMAX, AMC, and Regal. Don’t let them fool you.
Is IMAX the Next New Coke?

LieMAX maps:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113621990356540393221.000469b6c5915161c3667

That dude is hilarious, love his standup.

 

[brianedm]

Saw it tonight, Thought it was absolutely awesome. I've just recently finished rewatching all 22 Bonds on Blu and I can say that I thought this was the best one yet. Taking the previous crown from a Goldfinger/Casino Royale tie. I loved the new Q, loved seeing backstory from his pre spy days, loved the call back to Goldfinger (don't wanna ruin that one, it got me legitimately excited, even though I'd read about the 3d printing used beforehand). If you even remotely like Bond movies, this is a must see.

 

[its phillip]

I watched it yesterday, in a normal theater. I really enjoyed it

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I didn't like it at all.

I wanted to see more of that new Bond girl (Berenice Marlohe), and not M (Judi Dench ).

Bond girls!

Like Tobey McGuire says in the first Spiderman, every story is about a girl. 007 should be about the Bond girls. That's all I'm saying.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

007 the Dark Knight works better than I thought it would.

Would've worked even better with Eva Green, though.

I like this new Bond girl a lot. But how many screen minutes did she get? Like 5 minutes? Not enough!

 

[brianedm]

I didn't like it at all.

I wanted to see more of that new Bond girl (Berenice Marlohe), and not M (Judi Dench ).

Bond girls!

Like Tobey McGuire says in the first Spiderman, every story is about a girl. 007 should be about the Bond girls. That's all I'm saying.

I dunno. This was a bond film with an actual emotional basis. There's 22 other Bond movies you can watch if that's what you're after. Or, you know, pornography I like to see a series grow up. this was a bond story, not a bond flick, and that's what I loved about it (and Javier Bardem).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I dunno. This was a bond film with an actual emotional basis. There's 22 other Bond movies you can watch if that's what you're after. Or, you know, pornography I like to see a series grow up. this was a bond story, not a bond flick, and that's what I loved about it (and Javier Bardem).

Emotion?

M didn't even trusted Bond to finish the job. She's not exactly a mother figure.

Casino Royale was about emotional basis - the love story between Bond and Eva Green's character. And we still got kick a$$ action, story, characters, and all that.

I'm not talking about nudity or sex. I'm talking about character development between Bond and Bond girls.

 

[brianedm]

Emotion?

M didn't even trusted Bond to finish the job. She's not exactly a mother figure.

Casino Royale was about emotional basis - the love story between Bond and Eva Green's character. And we still got kick a$$ action, story, characters, and all that.

I'm not talking about nudity or sex. I'm talking about character development between Bond and Bond girls.

maybe it's just because Judy Dench's M has been in 6 or so Bonds now and your regular Bond girl you get to know for an hour and a half. I just felt more emotionally invested in the story. Just my take.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

maybe it's just because Judy Dench's M has been in 6 or so Bonds now and your regular Bond girl you get to know for an hour and a half. I just felt more emotionally invested in the story. Just my take.

Yeah, different strokes for different folks.

The characters are so important. If we care about the characters, we'll probably like the movie. If we don't care for them, we'll probably hate the movie. The later is my case.

If I were Bond, I would despise M and not consider her a friend at all. I hated her character. So I was pissed because the plot centered around M, instead of the new Bond Girl + Bond.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Saw it tonight, Thought it was absolutely awesome. I've just recently finished rewatching all 22 Bonds on Blu and I can say that I thought this was the best one yet. Taking the previous crown from a Goldfinger/Casino Royale tie. I loved the new Q, loved seeing backstory from his pre spy days, loved the call back to Goldfinger (don't wanna ruin that one, it got me legitimately excited, even though I'd read about the 3d printing used beforehand). If you even remotely like Bond movies, this is a must see.

Saw it today. Impressive but a question. Did I miss how his parents died?

 

[markw]

I loved it, a great Bond movie but the tone was different: I found this movie somewhat schizophrenic.

It had all the stuff we expect in a Bond movie; Hot women, lots of action, at least one tremendous chase scene, glorious scenery and cinematography(particularly in the mini-Imax we saw it in) and a relentless villain.

But, while it did pay homage to the traditional Bond we all know and love by going back to te basic Connery "brute force" style of action and creative ingenuity instead of depending on glitzy gadgets. It also brought back one iconic props, and totally obliterating it as if to signify (and celebrate) the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. That theme resonates particularly throughout the last 45 minutes of this movie.

It also seemed to be acknowledging the age of the franchise by replacing old names with new faces so it seems the franchise will continue with much more flavor of the first few movies, with old "relationships" renewed and before the gadgets took over. Who can ever forget the flying AMC Eagle?

But, how long Daniel Craig will remain does seem to be in question. But, over the past 50years, James Bond seems to be able to regenerate into a new body, not unlike Dr. Who, so I don't think that will hinder the franchise, if they choose the replacement carefully. I never really forgave them for Roger Moore.

I purposely tried to avoid any spoilers here so if this seems a bit disjointed well you're just gonna have to see it, aren't ya? Don't worry. You won't regret it.

 

[fuzz092888]

Saw it today. Impressive but a question. Did I miss how his parents died?

I feel pretty confident that they did not address exactly how the parents died, but I could be mistaken.

 

[jonnythan]

I saw it in a crappy old-style theater in the middle of Vermont.

Great movie. Terrible sound, terrible picture, screen with a big line down the middle and stains all over it. Still thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely could have used a bit more of Miss Marlohe but it was great to see Bond in another excellent film. QoS was extremely disappointing after Casino Royale. This film really picked up where Casino Royale left off in the maturation of Bond as an agent and a human being.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I feel pretty confident that they did not address exactly how the parents died, but I could be mistaken.

Thanks. If that is the case, I feel better at least not losing my mind

 

[fuzz092888]

Thanks. If that is the case, I feel better at least not losing my mind

When you asked I had to really stop and think about it, do some googling, and still came up with nothing so I decided that nothing was said. Maybe we're both losing our minds, in which case it begs the question: What were we talking about?

 

[3db]

Awesome flick.. This will be sitting in my collection for sure.