Andrew's Cinematic Adventures: My First James Bond Movie Experience

I have always been aware that James Bond was a thing, but I had never actually watched a James Bond movie. So for my next reviews, I have decided to watch all of the Bond movies (yes, ALL of the Bond movies) and review them in the eyes of a newcomer to the Bond movie franchise. The closest I've ever come to a Bond movie is the Goldeneye game for Nintendo 64. While a fascinating and, at times, frustrating game, I don't believe that game could properly prepare me for this movie experience. So here we go.

My first Bond movie was the most recent one that game out: Skyfall. I know, technically I should've started in the 60s with Dr. No or something, but I didn't have that movie readily available. So I started with Skyfall...mainly because it is available on Netflix and is a nice, quick watch. I would say it gave me a good start and feel of what to expect in the coming days of all things James Bond.

This was a Daniel Craig movie and before I even get started, let me just say that I am not a big fan of Daniel Craig. I find him him to be fairly unlikeable, not convincing as a ladies man, and overall just an unpleasant human being. So, clearly, watching him as James Bond wasn't a good start to my James Bond movie-going experience. I basically wanted to punch him in his smug face throughout the entirety of this movie (which is ridiculous because he has the capability of killing me one slap to the face). . The first time I ever saw him in a movie was in Road to Perdition (in which he played quite the creeper) and then of course the Internet has provided me with a 90s version of Mr. Craig. Try getting the following picture out of your brain:

I know what you're thinking. And yes, that is his real hair. Kinda makes him a little less masculine doesn't it? Glad I could help.

Back to the movie. I DID enjoy the movie. But NOT because of Mr. Craig. The main premise was that a list of the top MI6 agents had gotten into the wrong hands threatening to expose their identities and something about Bond pretending to die and coming back later all pissed off and mad at M (Judi Dench) for accidentally shooting him. Just watch the movie. It makes sense if you watch it, plus I don't want to give anything away.

Here are the things I liked about the movie:
1. Judi Dench- Not much to say here. She is gorgeous for being upwards of 70 years old, her voice is angelic, and she's just adorable. Look at her.


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Honestly, I would have been much more interested watching her fight on top of trains and perform epic action sequences than watching Daniel Craig be all masculine. Maybe that's just me. Let's make it happen. A Judi Dench action movie. I'd watch the hell out of that movie.

2. Javier Bardem- If there was a list of actors who were born to play villians, Javier Bardem should be at the top of that list along with guys like Kevin Spacey, Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Hopkins, Christoph Waltz, and Jack Nicholson. The guy just makes my skin crawl. I first saw him play the lead villain in No Country for Old Men, where he was just pure evil. He was even better in this film as the pissed off former agent. When he's on screen, you can't help but cringe. Let's get him in more movies ASAP.














3. The Bond/Q dynamic- It reminded me a lot of Sherlock and Watson. They had a great banter going back and forth between the two of them. It was a tough guy vs. the smart guy sorta banter. Let's keep that up in future Bond movies. And whoever played Q...loved him.

What didn't I like? Honestly, just Daniel Craig. Everything else seemed to work well in the movie. I especially loved the Bond theme subtly playing in the background every now and then. My biggest disappointment was that I never once heard Bond say, "I'm Bond. James Bond." Really? Not, even once?