Skyfall is the 18th episode in Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Ian Weinreich, Andy Signore, Brett Weiner, Gina Ippolito and Russell Eida. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 2012 James Bond spy thriller film Skyfall. It was published on February 5, 2013, to coincide with the film's release on home video and Blu-ray. It is 4 minutes and 24 seconds long. It has been viewed over 11 million times. It is significant for being Dan Murrell's first contribution to the Honest Trailers series.
Watch Honest Trailers - Skyfall on YouTube
"The overrated movie that thrilled audiences worldwide." ~ Honest Trailers - Skyfall
Script[]
Prepare for the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise with a new film by the director (Sam Mendes) whose most famous action scene to date was this (shows a video of a plastic bag blowing in the wind from American Beauty): Skyfall, the overrated movie that thrilled audiences worldwide only because it was way better than Quantum of Solace.
Suit up with 007, the super-secret MI6 agent who everyone knows by his real name (shows characters calling James Bond by his name), in an opening so action-packed, you'll forget to ask yourself "Why didn't the conductor stop this train when its entire back carriage was ripped off (shows a steam shovel ripping off the back of a train)? And why aren't these people scared (shows train passengers calmly watching Bond walk past them down the aisle)?" When Bond is abruptly killed, it'll only take the length of one Adele song before he anti-climactically pops up in the most secluded corner of the globe, that conveniently has CNN in English.
But when Bond returns to the high-stakes world of espionage, he's faced with word association (Dr. Hall: Bird./James Bond: Sky.), office politics (Gareth Mallory: The prime minister's ordered an inquiry; you'll have to appear.), art theory (shows Bond and Q looking at a painting), Judi Dench frowning (shows clips of M frowning)...a lot (shows more clips of M frowning), and absurdly long landscape shots.
Meet Raoul Silva, the Bond villain we've been waiting for -- because he doesn't show up until halfway through the movie -- an antagonist with a plan so complex, he wants to get caught, but makes it nearly impossible to find him; knows months ahead of time the exact place to plant explosives (shows an explosion behind Bond)...during a chase he didn't even know was going to happen; and makes Bond gay.
(shows Silva caressing Bond as sexy music plays)
Raoul Silva: Oh, Mr. Bond.
Discover the latest in super-secret gadgetry, like a gun, a knife, a shotgun, an old-timey gun, dynamite, and a tracking device larger than the one Bond used in the '60s. Bond will use these tools to hunt down a terrorist who stole a list of secret agents, which the writers stole from the plot of Mission: Impossible.
A film with action so artsy, you'll strain to watch fight scenes shot in total darkness; an ending so goofy, they just ripped it off from Home Alone (shows M setting various traps that are later tripped, interspersed with clips from Home Alone); and a hero so sexually aggressive, you'll wonder "Isn't he sort of raping that former child prostitute?" (shows Bond seducing Séverine in the shower, then Silva shooting and killing her) Jesus.
Starring Jason Bourne (Daniel Craig as James Bond), Fred from Scooby-Doo (Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva), Lindsay Lohan (Judi Dench as M), Random Bond Girl #732 (Berénice Marlohe as Séverine), Miss Moneypenny's Black? (Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny), Gollum (disfigured Silva), Santa Claus (Albert Finney as Kincade), and Sexy Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory).
Skyfall.
Wait, whatever happened to that hard drive they were looking for? Wasn't that the whole point of the movie? No? Okay.
Trivia[]
- Screen Junkies have also produced Honest Trailers for several other action thrillers including Spectre, Die Hard, Mission: Impossible, The Bourne Trilogy and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
- Dan Murrell made his first contribution to the Honest Trailers series as editor of this video. He edited Honest Trailers for several years and is also a writer and producer for the series.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Skyfall has an 97.3% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Media sites were divided in their reviews of this Honest Trailer. Flickering Myth said the Honest Trailer was "blasphemy" and "it’s a tough watch, because they point out a lot of flaws that were glossed over by Bond’s awesomeness... But overall it’s definitely worth it." The Mary Sue wrote that they Honest Trailer "makes a bunch of fair points about Skyfall‘s overwhelming reliance on convenient plot developments." Slate wrote that the Honest Trailer was "very funny" and said it "does highlight a few weaknesses in the film." In stark contrast, MTV wrote an extensive article rebutting every point made in this Honest Trailer. MTV called the series a "declaration of war against fun." They wrote that the Honest Trailers series was "originally intended to live up to its title and present previews in a way that more accurately represented the actual films. Somewhere along the way, "Honest Trailers" has devolved into a series of nit-picky video essays that seemingly hates every aspect of the movies." MTV said the Honest Trailer's comment that Silva "makes Bond gay" was "homophobic" and that Screen Junkies missed the point of the scene which was, in fact, a rape-threat scene.
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Skyfall
Series Created & Directed by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Executive Producer Mitch Rotter
Written by Ian Weinreich, Andy Signore, Brett Weiner, Gina Ippolito & Russell Eida
Edited by Dan Murrell
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
External links[]
- 'SKYFALL' VERSUS 'HONEST TRAILERS': A POINT-BY-POINT REBUTTAL - MTV article
- Honest Trailer for Skyfall Makes a Ton of Good Points - The Mary Sue article
- This 'Skyfall' Trailer Proves Even Bond Can Go Wrong - Mashable article
- Honest Movie Trailer For ‘Skyfall’ Says Bond Film Is Overrated (VIDEO) - Huffington Post article
- Did You See This? The Honest Trailer for Skyfall - Slate article
- An Honest Trailer for Skyfall - Flickering Myth article