Action, Adventure, Crime, 143 minutes
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes
The first thing I noticed about Skyfall was the vast amount of talent involved. With apologies to Sean Connery, Daniel Craig gives the best acting performances of any Bond. It's not that he's a better actor than Connery, but he's asked to play the role with a lot more realism, and that works well for me.
Other actors of note are even better than Craig: Judi Dench is wonderful as M, Javier Bardem is over the top and hilarious as Silva, and Ralph Fiennes appears as Gareth Mallory. It's rare that Oscar winners and nominees have so many key roles in an action movie.
In addition to the acting talent, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) directs, Thomas Newman (10 Oscar nominations) is responsible for the score, and Roger Deakins (9 Oscar nominations) does his usual excellent job with the cinematography.
While I enjoyed Quantum of Solace, it was definitely flawed. It was too short, so everything felt rushed. It was also rather unbalanced, with five major chase scenes in the first 30 minutes, and an abundance of quick cuts and shaky-cam. Skyfall has a couple of major chase scenes, but the action never eclipses the overall story.
The plot is pretty simple. A computer hard drive has been stolen, and it contains the identities and missions of MI6 agents. M's computer is hacked and she is informed that the identities of five agents will be released each week. It becomes clear that the knowledge originated from MI6, or from someone with intimate knowledge of the organization.
Bond is injured and believed to be dead after an accident early in the movie, but he turns up alive when he feels that his services are needed. However, he's clearly not completely healthy. Is he fit for duty? Is age catching up with him? Would it be dangerous to allow him to resume duty while he is recovering? I like that Bond is portrayed as vulnerable. He can be hurt, and he can make mistakes.
Craig's Bond is a different beast from any that have come before. He's colder and tougher, and the campy humor is gone. That's not to say that the humor is completely absent, it's just smarter and funnier. Many of the best lines are possible because of the relationship between Bond and M. Check out the word association scene for an example.
Most of the expected elements are present. The movie visits China, Turkey, England and Scotland. There's obviously a new Bond girl, but she's in fewer scenes than you might expect. The music, action sequences and humor all add to the familiar feel. There's even a few references to previous Bond movies, and fans will love the inspired inclusion of an old piece of machinery.
The movie also continues to establish characters that we have come to know and love from previous entries in the franchise, but I'll let you make those discoveries for yourself.
After 23 movies and 50 years, the Bond franchise is alive and well. Many critics are suggesting that Skyfall is the best Bond movie to date. They may be right, but I can't decide between Skyfall and Casino Royale. Skyfall wouldn't work as well without the relationships and story arc established in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The three Craig movies don't quite have the depth of the Bourne movies, but the gap is miniscule.
Skyfall will appeal to fans of Bond, spy movies, and action movies. I only hope that Craig's next two appearances as Bond are up to this standard.
Overall score 4.5/5
Return to index of every review on the site.
I really enjoyed this movie, as did you. I heard that Craig didn't even want to do Bond anymore, so that he could make time for other, supposedly bigger and better projects. Hope the popular demand brings him back for at least two more.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that they only made one of the His Dark Materials trilogy. The books are great, but they really messed up The Golden Compass. I still like it though.
DeleteGood review Steve. I liked Casino Royale more though but this almost lived up to the hype. A decent flick and one of the better Bond movies, but not my favorite of all-time I have to say.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. I'm certainly not a Bond fan, but I like the direction Craig's Bond has taken things.
DeleteGreat review, Steve. Really enjoyed Skyfall and want to check it out again, The acting was great, and the writing, but I think the cinematography was the best thing about the movie. Just stunning.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fernando. The technical side of things was very good. I loved the look of Skyfall itself in the last part of the movie. I guess you can do a lot with $150 million and a talented crew.
DeleteNice review, Steve. I really did respect how they made Bond vulnerable and quite human. I'm not familiar with the character, but based on what I've seen of him, I want to see more. The cast and cinematography are some of its most memorable aspects. I just loved Bardem in this.
ReplyDeleteBond has changed a lot over the years. Many people won't hear of any actor being better in the role than Connery. Others think GoldenEye is the best. I like the last three, but was not a huge fan before that. I've enjoyed Bardem's work in such things as No Country for Old Men and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Delete