Daniel Craig experiences trauma and Judi Dench's past comes back to haunt her in the first trailer for the new James Bond film. By Josh Wigler
Daniel Craig in "Skyfall"
Photo: MGM/Columbia Pictures
"Skyfall" might be "done" for James Bond, but it's only just beginning for Agent 007's most devoted fans. The world got its first look at the 23rd Bond flick Monday (May 21) with the release of the first official "Skyfall" teaser trailer, putting Daniel Craig back into the British spy's iconic tuxedo for the first time since 2008's "Quantum of Solace."
Even with this early sneak peek (the film doesn't land in theaters until November 9), the exact who's, what's and why's surrounding "Skyfall" remain shrouded in mystery. The little we do know is hardly elaborated upon in the trailer: Dame Judi Dench's M has dark secrets in her past, secrets that are coming back to haunt her and her fellow agents, and it's up to Bond to put a stop to the madness. Somehow, Javier Bardem is involved to terrorize our hero, reliably silly bad-guy haircut firmly along for the ride, but we don't see Bardem and his bleach-blonde 'do in the teaser, at least not up close and personal.
Still, even a teaser as secretive as this one isn't without its share of decodable mysteries. Keep reading for five key scenes from the "Skyfall" teaser.
"Done"
Bond's interrogation at the outset of the trailer does more than inform the viewer that our favorite super-spy has Agent Provocateur lingerie on the mind. When the game of free-word association arrives at the term "skyfall," Bond tenses up, thinking back on a dark memory that involves him entering a room, gun drawn, with a dead body already slumped in a chair. (It's a split-second scene, viewable around the 29-second mark.) Though the "skyfall" referred to in the title and the interrogation remains a mystery, it's clearly linked to a painful memory that Bond would rather forget ... and given the horrors he's seen in his kill-happy career, the events of the Skyfall mission must be truly traumatic.
Killer Guilt
Agent 007 isn't the only one looking back in anger. As has been known for some time, the normally secretive M's history plays a pivotal role in the story of "Skyfall," and we get our first hints of that in two key shots in the new trailer. The most obvious one comes later; M and Bond wordlessly stare off at a bleak, hilly landscape, marking a rare occasion where the two agents are out on the field together. But there's another, easier-to-miss moment involving M at the teaser's 45-second mark. It's M, not Bond, who stands silently in a room filled with caskets, the U.K. flag draped over each and every one. Rumors abound that "Skyfall" will see a tragic end for Dench's M — perhaps her somber appearance in this scene is a taste of the tragedy to come.
A Tale of Two Bond Girls
It wouldn't be a Bond movie without a Bond girl, and "Skyfall" has two, both of whom can be briefly glimpsed in the teaser. At the 42-second mark is French actress Bérénice Marlohe, rumored to be a lethal femme fatale with designs on Bond's downfall. She stands ominously in a Chinese hotel room, windows open, curtains flowing in the breeze; it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that she's just finished kicking some ass, is it? Moments later, at the 48-second mark, is our first glimpse of "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Naomie Harris as the second "Skyfall" female lead, whose sexuality is much more overt than her co-star's in the teaser. Harris' character, Eve, is a field agent like Bond, and rumors suggest that she'll adopt the famous codename Moneypenny before the film's conclusion.
Dark Shadows
Though the teaser does not reveal him in the full light of day, Javier Bardem's big bad is definitely a presence all the same. A menacing silhouette walks toward the camera just past the minute mark, and his long, flowing hair indicates that this isn't Bond we're looking at; smarter money says this is Bardem's Silva, the vengeful operative hell-bent on destroying M, Bond and all others who stand in his way. Having previously played a vicious villain to Oscar-winning heights, Bardem doesn't need to show us too much to leave us fearful for his coming "Skyfall" appearance.
Shoot Everything That Moves
"Some men are coming to kill us. We're going to kill them first." And that's about all we know — and, really, all we need to know — about "Skyfall," as eloquently articulated by Bond at the teaser's conclusion. Those words, juxtaposed against shots of 007 arming himself with a fantastically badass automatic weapon against a neon-blue backdrop, are more than enough to guarantee our butts in seats for "Skyfall" come November 9.
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