Skyfall: My First James Bond on the Big Screen

Yup, you read right. Until last weekend I had never watched a James Bond movie at a movie theater. You might say that I have been missing out all of these years. You know, you'd probably be right...

Now don't get me wrong... It's not that I haven't wanted to... It's not that I haven't been able to... It's not that I don't care for Bond (having seen every Bond film ever made makes typing that seems so heretical)... It's just that I haven't done so.

When both Sean Connery and George Lazenby were playing Bond I was way too young to go catch them at a movie theater; and Roger Moore was just finishing up being Bond when I was old enough to go by myself. To me, Timothy Dalton never really was James Bond and he nearly brought the entire franchise to a crashing halt. Then came Pierce Brosnan: the Bond that I had wanted to see from the time Roger Moore retired. Pierce was the perfect Bond in my mind ever since I watched him as a child on Remington Steele. He just seemed to ooze Bond-ness. Why, oh why, didn't I go see Pierce when he was bond? To quote a young Hobbit in a cave, "Time. Time." - I just plain didn't have the time.

And now we come to Daniel Craig. I have to admit that Daniel Craig is a pretty good Bond. I've now seen all three of his Bond films. Skyfall is by far his best offering yet (though Casino Royale is a close second). It has all the standard things you expect from Bond - chase scenes, gun play, Bond girls, terrorists, plot twists, etc. - and yet it was a breath of fresh air.  (They even snuck in a classic Bond car from the Sean Connery days).  With all that going on, how can you go wrong?

*** WARNING: SPOILER ALERT ***

For all you out there interested in details of the plot and action scenes from the movie, here they are…  Oh, wait a second...  I really don’t like to throw out spoilers for any movie.  Sorry for the false alarm there.

*** WARNING: END OF SPOILERS ***

So…  How would I rate the movie?  Here are six questions to consider:

1. Would I consider watching Skyfall 2+ hours of my life that I want back?  No.  I was definitely entertained.
2. Would I go see it again?  Not for full theater price.
3. How about at the dollar theater?  Yes.
4. Is this a movie that I’m going to buy?  Probably not.
5. What about the rating?  Some PG-13 movies I have no problem taking my younger children to, but definitely not this one.
6. How does this movie rate compared to similar movies?  I’d rate it in my top five James Bond flicks of all time.

With all that being said, hopefully my insights were a little bit helpful when it comes to Skyfall.  Have fun at the movies!