It’s the 50-year anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise, and with it comes the 23rd installment, titled Skyfall, a new adventure with the Daniel Craig incarnation of 007. Joining the actor this time around are numerous Oscar-winners and nominees, a younger version of Q, and two new snazzy Bond girls – all of whom are players in a mysterious plot that involves M’s (Judi Dench) dangerous past threatening the future of MI6.
Many Bond fans were confused (though several were definitely pleased) by a previously-released pic from Skyfall that features a half-naked Bond brooding poolside. Today, we have the first officially sanctioned image from the film, which captures Craig as 007 in more of an intimidating pose.
First, here’s what Skyfall producer Michael Wilson had to say to USA Today, with regards to why he feels 007 is still relevant today, even in a sea of similar action-packed franchises featuring deadly secret agents – be they Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) or Jason Bourne (Matt Damon).
“There are plenty of imitators, but Bond really is the first one that was an anti-hero… There’s still a touch of sophistication people see in the films besides just action. Though that’s always been an element… I’m happy for the ‘Bourne’ success. The worst thing for anyone is a bad movie. You see a good action movie, you’re in the mood to see another.”
More so, Wilson feels that Craig’s interpretation of 007 takes the character back full circle to Sean Connery’s original take on the super-spy – by playing him as more “a tough guy,” as opposed to fellow 007 actors’ Roger Moore’s “lighthearted” take, Timothy Dalton’s “down to earth” variation, or Pierce Brosnan’s “touch of charm and touchiness.”
That’s all fair enough, though Wilson neglects to mention that Craig’s 007 is also definitely the most physically-intimidating and deadly of the lot. In an age where virtually every spy character who shows up onscreen (passing over the more realistic ones in a film like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, it would arguably be more difficult for Craig’s Bond to stand out if he couldn’t kick ass and take names like nobody’s business.
Now, check out the first official Skyfall image (with an unshaven 007 on a mission in Shanghai) below:
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Outside of his role in last summer’s Cowboys & Aliens, Craig spent most of 2011 portraying more vulnerable characters onscreen, in films such as Dream House and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (passing over his mo-cap role in The Adventures of Tintin, that is). That has allowed the actor to not only avoid being typecast, but also means his “tough guy” act should feel fresher, by the time Skyfall actually makes its way into theaters.
As far as the unofficial contest for Badass Secret Government Agent of the Year goes – Craig’s 007 certainly has some stiff competition, in the form of Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in this summer’s The Bourne Legacy. Still, Mr. Bond seems to have won the first round, if only because he doesn’t have Cross’ eyesore of a haircut. Moving on…
Skyfall hits theaters in the U.S. on November 9th, 2012.
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I think you mean “M’s dangerous past”…first paragraph.
Thanks for catching that – slip of the (writing) tongue, on my part.
It’s been fixed.
Walter PPK
It’s a “Walther”.
Perhaps it was due to the negative reaction to Bond sitting by a pool, that caused them to release a second ‘first’ imagine from Skyfall. So he’s got a gun, looking oddly like his old Walther of choice rather than the newer models toted by Brosnan and Craig previously.
He has stubble, bordering on a beard. Some of the scenes in London, including the ones I saw being shot, he had the beard too, so I’m wondering if its a new thing for Bond. He’ll need that new Q branch to whip him up a razor.
I like some of the Bond movies.
Skyfall could be the best one in the series.
Sam Medes is a great director, I liked Road To Perdition.
I hope there will be pratical effects instead of CGI just like the direction that Jon M Chu (director of Step 2 and Step 3) is taking with G.I Joe: Reliation.
I was amazed by the trailer, it was better than I expected.
“Bond really is the first one that was an anti-hero… There’s still a touch of sophistication people see in the films besides just action”
Is Wilson on something? In what possible way is Bond an anti hero? He used to be the quintessential HERO! He has only become something of an anti hero in the two most recent films because he never does he is told!
And do explain where the sophitication is exactly? Craig’s Bond is a lot of things, but sophisticated is not one of them.
“Craig’s Bond is a lot of things, but sophisticated is not one of them.”
Amen to THAT. I keep waiting for that transition in the Craig Bond. I miss it.
Vic
James Bond from the books is definately an anti-hero. He was as much of a killer as the people he usually killed, only that he worked for the government and was payed by the law to do so. It’s Roger Moore’s hilarious version of Bond that made him cliché.
Yeah. He was a Royal Navy commander who worked as a spy for the British SIS. For King and Country. Hardly an anti hero. That’s entirely the wrong term.
An anti hero is some who usually does bad things but you like them anyway. Dexter Morgan is an anti hero. James Bond, book or screen, has always been a hero.
No comment on your anti-hero back and forth, but Craig’s Bond is definately sophisticated whereas the others were not, his has depth also. George Lazenby was the only other bond to bring any Depth to the role, with an emotional crisis. Casino Royale is the best bond movie ever made, as it shows his pain and anguish, as well as drive to go on, and what pushes him. Don’t tell me that Moore’s or Connery’s had depth because they didn’t. He is sophisticated, original and different from all other Bond’s before him.
Having said all that, I do hope he becomes more suave soon, and I think the 5 o’ clock shadow is a bad idea. Maybe its only temporary.
how is he sophisticated? He’s a thug in a suit. Vesper says as much.
Is that why she fell in love with him? She saw a real man in Bond.
And for the reactions to the photo of Bond by the pool,what’s wrong with that?
Only shows a Bond in really good shape
Agreed on all points. And the shot by the pool? That’s so much as beefcake as it’s more like admiring a tiger at the zoo and at the same time being thankful for the bars between you and it.
How is a thug in a suit not an anti-hero? From my point of view, Bond is an alcoholic assassin who takes whatever he wants, rarely thinking about the consequences. However, I agree that he’s not really that sophisticated, which I enjoy. It’s part of the charm.
Where do you get alcoholic?
I used to find his charm part of the charm.
If he’s not sophisticated and charming yet it’s because it’s a reboot and he’s evolving as a character, which is the best thing to happen to Bond in his 50 year history on film. Have patience, he’ll get there.
And James Bond is the ORIGINAL anti-hero, where have you been…?
Where have I been?
Uh, reading the books since I was 7 years old, rereading them, Flemming, Gardener, Benson, and watching all the films to the point where I know each and every one word for word. I’ve got dozens of books on Bond and Flemming, history and conception of the character.
Stuff like that.
Heh. You haven’t read the books. And Fleming is spelled with only one ‘m’.
Oh, i’m so sorry my phone autocorrected it. I’ve read every single Bond book.
And of course, if I hadn’t read them, how did I know the names of the other main Bond authors?
Wikipedia?
Bond with a 5 o’clock shadow going on? What did I miss? Was I asleep for 50 years or did someone forget to forward me the memo?
The beard makes a certain amount of sense when you think about it, if he’s out hunting someone down or adventuring he’s not going to have time to be clean shaven all the time, probably means he’s knee deep doing what he does best. And there’s been plenty of pictures leaked with him clean shaven, so it’s not like he’s sporting a beard the whole film.
I hope.
He does have the beard in a few of the set photos, and when I saw him in London he had it.
And…?
Putin, Vladmir Putin
I prefer THE BOURNE LEGACY than this but I might watch this since it’s an improvement.
To me it’s obvious,Bond is made more of a human man,who will do everything to protect the people he cares about.
He’s got more depth than he’s had in years,especially the Mooreyears,then he was made into a joke
At least now,when i see Bond,i see a MAN! ,and i like it!
I don’t want to be a man or a human being. He should be cooler than a gangsta penguin. This Craig version is an insult to a character that has endured for more than half a century.
There are maybe two or three scenes in QOS that feel like a Bond film. The entire opera sequence and the gunfight that follows, that was as close to being Bond as Craig has ever got. WHile the rest of that film was poorly written and shockingly directed, Craig himself has admitted as much, it isn’t Bond as most people recognise it. Where is the cool? The charm? The wit? The gadgets? And more importantly, where is the sense of fun?
Craig’s films are Jason Bourne films with the Bond name hastily tagged on.
Craig’s Bond is not a thug…..he is a highly trained, highly intelligent agent who, once on the hunt, stays focused and never quits until his mission is accomplished..he even left the girl with “champange for one”! Casino Royal had plenty of cool, charm and wit! Craig’s Bond is much cooler than a “gangster penguin”
Agreed, and well said.
the real questions is:
which bond slept with the most women?
obviously roger moore had the longest run, but does that necessarily mean he got the most booty?
i prefer connery’s bond to moore
and craig’s bond to connery’s
but seriously, austin powers probably slept with the most women out of all british secret spies.
i have a feeling this movie will be a tad.. vertical. base jumping, mid air collisions, the aston martin in the air, high-rise action, luxury aircraft, aeroplane hijacks, the mile high club, gunfights in freefall, burj khalifa, the batwing.. haha.. but still excited!
p.s bring back oddball or jaws! i hope there’s a similarly formidable and memorable henchman this time round
Im very cool hope get back in toutch
I like it nice wat up
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like it