Skyfall: 10 Reasons It's A Best Picture Oscar Contender

It was announced early this morning that the latest James Bond flick, Skyfall, was nominated alongside the likes of Les Miserables, Lincoln, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Moonrise Kingdom for the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards. Not only is this a significant milestone for the series - being the first of the 23 Bond films to be nominated for a PGA award - but it's also a telling sign of the film's regard in the industry, and given how prescient the PGA nominations can be with predicting Best Picture Oscar nominees, it's sure to say that Skyfall just might pick up a nomination next Thursday. And of course, it's totally deserving; Skyfall is one of the best films and the year, and so it's now fingers crossed to see if it makes the cut of the 5-10 films that will be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award next week. But here's 10 reasons why its nomination isn't just a murmur; here's 10 reasons why Skyfall is a legitimate Best Picture Oscar contender.

10. Sam Mendes

When Sam Mendes was first announced to be directing Skyfall, it was a move that, above all else, was intriguing, given that he has largely spent his career directing dramas (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road), even when they're set in contentious, war-torn areas (Jarhead). Nevertheless, after Marc Forster's underwhelming Quantum of Solace, the announcement was mainly a source of excitement, especially given the director's track record for crafting intelligent, visually sumptuous films. And it's clear from the first shot of Skyfall that Mendes knows what he's doing; teaming with an astounding crew of screenwriters, cinematographers and actors, Mendes crafts what just might be the best-directed Bond film to date, matching up well against Martin Campbell's sublime work on 2006's Casino Royale reboot. Never does Mendes' direction waver; he is utterly assured both when it comes to the stoic dialogues, and more surprisingly, the frantic action sequences, delivering at the film's finale what is easily one of the best climaxes to any Bond film ever. Though many will note that he appears to have adopted Christopher Nolan's gritty aesthetic, Mendes manages to make Bond very much his own here.
 
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.