Review: 'Skyfall'

Columbia Pictures/MGM

In Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig’s first two outings as James Bond, the issue was whether or not M could trust Bond (Judi Dench) but in Skyfall the tables are turned as the trustworthiness of M is questioned.  With this put into focus, Skyfall becomes the darkest Bond film and character that we have seen in the Daniel Craig era. When the reliability and determination of Bond finally becomes more important than his age and M starts to show some compassion, Skyfall becomes more than just a good action film, it becomes a compelling drama. 

Taking place on top of a moving train, Skyfall’s opening scene offers up a well-choreographed, high energy showdown between James Bond and the killer of a MI6 agent, Patrice (Ola Rapace). Bond and fellow MI6 agent, Eve (Naomie Harris) are after Patrice to recover a disk that includes the names of the MI6 agents that are under cover in terrorist organizations. As the opportunity to kill Patrice and recover the disk begins to slip away, M orders Eve, who is not on the train, to take the shot regardless of Bonds positioning. This causes the motives of M to be questioned and the threat to MI6 to intensify.      

After its intense opening scene, Skyfall slows down and hits a rough patch as the focus is put on Bond’s age. Continuous questions and attempted humor concerning whether or not Bond is still capable of fulfilling the duties that come with being 007 agent fill the first half of the film. As the film goes on, reasoning for questioning Bonds abilities is given but it doesn’t make up for beating the audience over the head with it as it seems that the only thing anyone is concerned with is how old Bond is getting.

Fortunately, Skyfall moves away from questioning age and finally shows why it doesn’t matter how old and out of touch Bond has become. The film does this by putting an emphasis on how reliable, determined and loyal Bond really is and how this ultimately upstages physical ability. The audience is first witness to this in a scene that features M as she is being questioned by the prime minster, reciting a few lines from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Ulysses that not only describes MI6 but also what Bond stands for. While these lines are being recited, flashes of Bond in the line of duty are seen, accompanied by the music of Thomas Newman which altogether makes for a fantastic scene. It is also here that M becomes more of a likeable character as she starts to realize what is going on around her, forcing her to abandon the overwhelming cold persona that she possessed up to this point.   

With his performance as the terrifying Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, Javier Bardem proved that he can successfully take on the role of a villain but in Skyfall, Bardem’s Raoul Silva is a much different villain. Bardem gives Silva an eerie, haunting dialect like he did with Chigurh but this is one of the few characteristics they share. Silva has a much more taunting, confident way about him and is highly intelligent giving him a high level of control. Bardem has always had a huge screen presence and here it goes well with this persona of Silvia’s. As far as motives and characteristics go, Silva can easily be compared to Heath Leger’s Joker from the Dark Knight but I also saw a little bit of Anthony Hopkins’s Hannibal Lector from The Silence of the Lambs in the way he carries himself and always seems to be in control. The dialogue given to Silva when he first approaches Bond is very entertaining but as the film goes on his dialogue seems to only be on the subject matter of M which doesn’t add much depth to the character.   

When Craig took on James Bond, we saw a different character emerge. Both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace featured a more spontaneous, darker and less in control character than past films. Skyfall not only sticks to these same characteristics but enforces them to an even higher degree. This is the most in-depth Bond we have seen in recent films as he is unsure of who he is and what he does. Bond’s past being put into focus also adds to this level of depth. In his non-verbal performance, Craig is able to convey the emotions experienced by Bond without coming off as over the top which works to the films advantage. Director Sam Mendes, along with cinematographer Roger Deakins do an exceptional job of matching the shades and mood of the film with this darker character as very few scenes feature any kind of physical or emotional light.

With well-choreographed and fast pace sequences throughout, Skyfall is a solid action film but it really takes off when it begins to focus on the trust and reliability that is associated with MI6, M and Bond. It was nice to see the film go in this more compelling direction instead of presenting Bond as a smooth talking, indestructible man. While doing this, Skyfall also manages to build a bridge to the next installment as it wraps everything up in way that makes way for the future.

Grade: B