Whenever a new James Bond movie is being made and prepped for release, there’s no better way to describe it than a cinematic strip tease. But a classy one, done in pure Bond style. And the upcoming 23rd film in the franchise – Skyfall – has been slowly revealing just a little at a time. This week, a select number of guests at the IMAX Remix event during Comic-Con got to see a lot more from a sneak peek of the next Bond trailer that won’t be released to the public for some weeks.
Now, we’ve seen a lot of images and footage relating to the release of Skyfall, from the movie’s title announcement press conference in Istanbul, followed by a press conference in London and footage of action sequences around the streets of the city, video blogs from director Sam Mendes on set, and actor profiles featuring the new Bond girls Bérénice Marlohe and Naomie Harris. But what we haven’t seen is the meat of the story and more glimpses of what kind of Bond we’ll actually be seeing…until now.
The next trailer reveals that a computer hard drive filled with the identities of secret agents has been stolen and is putting the lives of those names at risk. Not to mention, putting M (Judi Dench) in a very vulnerable position. We should be finding out more about her past in this film, and watching the loyalty between she and Bond (Daniel Craig) tested.
Bond, who seems to be the rogue agent we’ve come to enjoy, may or may not be getting hunted down by Naomie Harris, seemingly following orders from M. In one sequence we get shots of Bond in hand-to-hand combat on top of a speeding train, Harris speeding along side in a jeep. With the train about to be out of her reach, Harris takes aim at the two men on the train and fires – leaving us to wonder just whom the bullet is intended for and what’s behind her working relationship with M.
It should be no secret that action is front and center, and it seems Mendes has kept the bar as high as it was set. From train-top fights, car chases, crashes, and explosions of all kinds, we can all rest easily knowing that part of the Bond movie is in tact. And so are the intertwining relationships Bond creates that generally keep us guessing. With just a few shots of Bérénice Marlohe to be seen, the one fans will take notice of is her hot, steamy shower scene with Craig. It wouldn’t be Bond without mixing business with pleasure.
On the heels of the announcement that the character Q would be involved in Skyfall, the sneak peek also gave us a teaser of actor Ben Whishaw in the role. It was brief, but obvious that he and Craig may supply a lighter touch to the film with some humor and witty banter.
We can also happily report that a Bond tradition has made its way back into this latest movie, something that was missing from Quantum of Solace … that’s right, Bond’s classic introduction is back!
What the new trailer won’t show you is Javier Bardem as the villain Silva. Described as a ‘super villain’ of sorts, let’s hope the next layer that’s peeled away in the coming months will show some of Bardem in action. Until then, the countdown is on for Skyfall’s release in November. By then, the cinematic strip tease will have generated quite the frenzy and fans are sure to line up in full force.
