Director: Sam Mendes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Film Pulse Score: 8/10
Historically, Bond films have been following a relatively straightforward formula since its humble beginnings on screen 50 years ago. Every few years we’ll get another Bond film, which usually ranges in quality from decent to forgettable. Now we have Skyfall, the third 007 film featuring Daniel Craig as everyone’s most beloved super spy. Possibly one of the most interesting aspects of this production however, is the choice of having Sam Mendes (American Beauty) direct. But does Skyfall manage to breath new life into a story that feels slightly tired half a century later? Thankfully for Bond fans, yes it does.
The plot of Skyfall is as complicated as most Bond films get. 007 accidentally gets shot by a fellow agent and must endure a hellish recovery period, which consists of drinking Heineken’s on the beach and making love to beautiful women. Upon discovering that there was a terrorist attack made on MI6, Bond returns home in order to help M, and the rest of the agents find and neutralize this mysterious new enemy.
On a whole, this film does everything right. The strong script is complimented by great performances from the entire cast, with the standout being Javier Bardem as the uber-creepy Silva. Sam Mendes somehow puts together a classic feeling Bond film, without overtly rubbing the clichéd elements in our face. It’s funny, full of great action set pieces, and quite possibly the best Bond film I’ve ever seen.
The action is big, but it all still feels almost grounded in reality. Something that really helps push the look of the action is the use of practical effects rather than just making everything CG. This may seem like a small detail, but it really added to the credibility of the film, and it always looks better to blow up real stuff rather than just use digital effects.
When comparing this to Craig’s first outing as Bond in Casino Royale, there’s a very different and more somber tone. Where Casino Royale strived to reinvent 007 for the 21st century by making it faster and more visceral, Skyfall pulls the series back, and pays homage to what made the films great in the first place. Bond is older in this film, and his body isn’t cooperating with him as much as it used to.
The theme of aging pops up several times throughout the movie, in an almost self-referential way. It’s been 50 years since the first James Bond film, and nearly 60 since Ian Fleming first wrote about the adventures of 007. While Bond makes it clear it’s not time to be put out to pasture, it does seem like it may be time to tone things down a bit, and that’s exactly what the movie does. This doesn’t mean it’s slow or boring in any way, it’s just not Transporter 3.
From the trippy and awesome looking intro, featuring music by Adele, to the subtle inclusion of classic bond bits like “Shaken not stirred,” and “Bond. James Bond,” the execution of everything was as classy as Bond himself.
Even if you aren’t the biggest Bond fan, you’ll find a lot to like with Skyfall. I’ve personally never been blown away with anything Bond, except Goldeneye for N64, but this is clearly one of the most well-made and entertaining action films of the year.
I couldn’t agree more with my esteemed editor-in-chief about the latest Bond film. Over the course of 50 years, most of them have been largely forgettable except among die-hard Bond fans. Like many, I was introduced to Bond when Sean Connery was playing the role (though I was seeing him on television releases of the films given my age), and I didn’t see what the fuss was about other than seeing Connery be “cool” for two hours. The Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnon films were rather lame as either Bond films or straight-up action/spy thrillers. But when Daniel Craig (who most people hadn’t heard of until word-of-mouth about the brilliant indie LAYER CAKE) resurrected Bond in CASINO ROYALE, I was excited about what that film accomplished. We can overlook QUANTAM OF SOLACE because with SKYFALL, everything falls into place in terrific fashion. Craig adds layers to Bond here that we haven’t seen before, but there’s still extraordinary action (the motorcycle chase on rooftops is worth the price of admission) coupled with great performances from Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, and a delectable Javier Bardem (indeed, Bardem’s character’s initial meeting with Bond is phenomenal and not-to-be-missed).