After a botched mission leaves Bond (Daniel Craig) pronounced dead in the eyes of MI6, his boss, M (Judi Dench), is targeted by cyber-terrorist Silva (Javier Bardem), whose intentions stem from a personal vendetta he has with her. Bond brings himself "back from the dead" in order to protect M and stop Silva from destroying the British Secret Service. It's a classic Bond story with it's own twists that are perfect for the time we live in now.
People have been saying that Skyfall is the movie Casino Royale should have been, but I have to disagree. Casino Royale was a necessary reboot of the character in order to bring him into the new world of the 21st century. It stripped away most of the elements that make up a classic Bond movie, and by doing that, it reinvented the character for a post-9/11 world. To me, Skyfall ends a sort of trilogy for the character. Casino Royale brought Bond down to a gritty, realistic level we hadn't seen in decades. Quantum of Solace saw Bond coping with the effects of Royale's ending, while also slowly becoming a Bond we recognize. Skyfall completes the origin by honoring past Bond movies, while also moving the franchise in new, exciting, and bold, directions.
One of the great examples of this is the incorporation of a younger, more hipster looking Q (Ben Whishaw). This is the character's first appearance since Die Another Day ten years ago, and it's likely the most amount of time he's had on screen. In past movies, Q was simply the man who gave Bond the gadgets he'd use throughout the movie. He'd have one, maybe two, scenes in each movie. He was more scientist rather than geek. In Skyfall, Q plays an important role in helping Bond on his mission, playing the part more as a technology guru rather than a scientist. After giving Bond just a gun and distress radio for his mission, Q tells him, "What did you expect, an exploding pen? We don't really go for that anymore." Their dialogue together is some of the highlights of the movie, and hopefully Whishaw stays on to play Q in further movies, because he is a great fit for the role. It will be real exciting to see him and Craig play off of one another in future movies.
I feel like the movie is a little too long, and tends to drag in between the action sequences. The movie clocks in at 2 hours and 23 minutes, and honestly, I felt it could have been trimmed down to around 2 hours and been just as good of a movie. Some of the sub plots are too distracting to the overall story arch, and many of the scenes in between the action sequences take us out of the story a little too much. There needs to be a good balance between action scenes and down sequences, so that when the action sequences do come, they don't feel as jarring or forced. The action scenes, though, are some of the best of the year, and when the movie does get to them, they're all the more satisfying.
In many respects, Skyfall isn't James Bond's story, but more M's. Her past literally comes back to haunt her in the movie, and I would be willing to go so far and say that M is the Bond Girl of Skyfall. That''s really weird to say, given the history of what the title Bond Girl entails, but considering the strong relationship between the two characters, on more than just a professional level (getting even weirder...they're like mother and son, okay?!) is really the backbone of Skyfall's story. Although the third act does a nice job of humanizing both Bond and M, I really couldn't help but keep comparing the action to Home Alone. Yes, THAT Home Alone. It's not really terrible in a sense, but it took me out of the movie for a few minutes, and on a second viewing, I still couldn't shake the thought from my head.
One thing to note: Javier Bardem gives what is arguably his finest performance. Which is really saying something, considering his track record. Even though his character isn't introduced until about an hour in, he's still very much a terrifying presence in the movie. His entrance scene not only does a great job of introducing the character, but is probably my favorite scene in any movie so far this year, which is all thanks to the way it's handled an executed with the camera.
Roger Deakins did the cinematography for the movie, and while I'm not the kind of person to view a movie like a snob (well, not anymore at least) and say, "Oh, that was a fantastic shot", I have to say, Skyfall just looks gorgeous. The color really pops from the screen and looks amazing even in a standard theater, and even better on an XD or IMAX screen. The scene I mentioned earlier with Silva's entrance, is just the highest point in a long line of great shots and scenes that are really all thanks to Deakins' vision. The title sequence, which is standard for every Bond movie, is one of the better ones in the series, I think. The sequence does a terrific job of hinting at events to come in the movie, and even touches on some of the themes. The "war in the shadows", for instance, plays a major role. It even hints at what Skyfall actually is, and various other elements of the movie. The sequence is even more satisfying on a second viewing, when you see the clues after knowing their significance. It's the type of sequence I would love to look at a little more in detail once the movie is released on DVD/Blu-Ray, and one that I hope the movies to come look to for inspiration.
Even though Skyfall sometimes feels like it could have been trimmed around the edges, it still makes for one of the better Bond movies we've seen since the end of Sean Connery's time with the character. I wouldn't put it in the same category as Casino Royale or Goldfinger, however. I will say this, though: I have never been more excited for the next Bond movie as I was at the end of Skyfall. There's several elements of the final scene that I really can't go into; but they make you realize that what you've been watching, not just in Skyfall, but in the past three movies, is the creation of a character we've known and loved for 50 years. I can't wait for Bond to get back to work.
A-/B+
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