SkyFall [IMAX]

Bravo Sam Mendes! Bravo!! Bloody good Bond outing with an extremely strong performance by the 3 leads! Yes, even Daniel Craig who had re-defined Bond to make it his role! He oozed charisma and sex appeal, and made Intelligence sexy (again). Craig is definitely giving Connery a run for his money as the best Bond ever. Javier Bardem was brilliant to watch as the flamboyant Bond villain. He got the best lines and really nailed them all; not evil, per se, but oh so deliciously insane! And he had a bloody good entrance! That entrance and opening monologue was simply brilliant and memorable! Well done Bardem and Mendes! Judi Dench gets her meatiest Bond role and sold it with such gravitas and luminosity, the way only a Dame like her could. She is easily the best Bond girl of the show. Sam Mendes directing was superb and he infused his own style throughout, and as expected the dramatic scenes stood out. Riveting, tense and nuanced. His action scenes were brilliant in their simplicity and served their purposes without being overly complicated or confusing. There were many outstanding set pieces and so many visually stunning images! Kudos to the cinematographer, Roger Deakins! Sumptuous looking images on the IMAX! In the end, this was a good old fashion spy-on-spy flick, with a simple, straightforward yarn and not the silly, nonsensical, action pumping ones churned out from Hollywood. It was well-paced and gripping throughout, but not exactly adrenaline-pumping palpitations inducing. Thankfully exotic locales were kept to a minimum and basing much of it in London kept the show grounded. Great job by scribes Purvis, Wade and Logan, although Bardem's character's motivation lacked the necessary backstory to give it more credibility, and there were some (forgiveable) plot holes. The opening scene was wonderfully shot and choreographed, and makes the similar scene in "Taken 2" seemed amateurish at best! Even Adele's theme and the opening song montage was ace! The montage had so much foreshadowing on hindsight. The leads were supported by a competent supporting cast of Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Wishaw and Rory Kinnear. Bond girl Bérénice Lim Marlohe was sexy and served her purpose of being just that! Unfortunately, girls, no Craig in trunks this outing. One noticeable thing in this Bond entry was that Mendes seemed to have deliberately kept the sex a notch down compared to the usual Bond flicks. Instead, the sex appeal here was essentially just of Craig exuding it from his suave portrayal of Bond. Of course, those fine suits made a whole lot of different! Sartorially, it is hard not to give a shout out and love to the drool worthy Tom Ford O'Connor suit. The suits sure does maketh the Bond. And lastly, although Thomas Newman's score was sparingly light on the iconic Bond theme, but as it was sprinkled throughout and only in key scenes, they greatly enhance the effect of urgency and underscored the scene! Once again, bravo Sam Mendes! Can't wait for the next Bond! This should really be seen in IMAX!