Full disclosure… I really have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never been to film school, haven’t taken a single journalism class, and my blog history is sketchy at best. One thing I am an expert about however, are James Bond films and books. I’ve read most of Ian Fleming’s novels, and seen every single Bond franchise film at least twice (even Moonraker), so believe me when I say that Skyfall is really something special.
First of all I’d like to bring up an opinion that is going to make a lot of you hate me, but I believe Daniel Craig is honestly the best Bond of all time. Yes, Sean Connery was amazing as Bond and he created the on screen version of the man and he is freaking awesome and I love him and he’s my hero and if the laws of nature allowed it I’d bare his children and… um… I don’t know where I was going with this, but the point is that while Mr. Connery was legendary in the role, he wasn’t the Bond that Ian Fleming pictured. Bond in the books was a smaller, nondescript man, the sort of guy who could fit in anywhere under any circumstances. He also happened to be borderline amoral as well, the sort of man who would do or sacrifice anything to complete the mission. Sean Connery was charming and could undoubtedly kick tremendous amounts of villainous ass, but he was almost too nice of a guy to really be Bond.
Daniel Craig carries an air of intimidation much better than any of the previous five incarnations ever could, and he also looks like the only one who bothered to go to a few god damn self-defense classes to prepare for the role. In short he just plain looks like he really understands who James Bond is better than anyone else who has ever assumed the role. It’s a good thing Bond knows what he’s doing as well, because in this film Bond has to match wits with the equally brilliant Javier Bardem as Mr. Silva, a deranged, sociopathic former 00 agent himself.
The film opens up with an amazing opening chase scene that is arguably my favorite opening of all time, right up there with The Living Daylights and Goldeneye. After a botched operation leaves Bond injured, missing, and presumed dead, he is miraculously resurrected by what is arguably the best Bond song ever made. Sung by the aptly talented Adele, it manages to sound modern while sounding a lot like the classic Bond title songs like Goldfinger and Thunderball, and my wife personally believes that no one else should be allowed to do a Bond song as long as Adele is alive.
Following the failed operation Bond is happy to disappear and take an early retirement on a tropical island while nursing his injuries. When MI6 comes under attack from an unknown source however, Bond decides to return and offer his help investigating this new threat. He doesn’t come back alone though, as his return is accompanied by a mean case of disillusionment in his former boss and mentor M and a minor addiction to pain pills. After being forced to go through a series of tests to evaluate if he is ready to go back to field work James is forced to come face to face with his most dangerous opponent to date, losing his edge.
A recurring theme in this film is the idea that Bond’s abilities have dulled due to his addiction and absence from field work, and some of my favorite scenes of the film revolve around James' disbelief at the idea that he isn’t the man he used to be. One scene is particular of Bond on the firing range as he utterly botches his marksmanship qualifications resounds with me personally, and the disbelief and frustration in Daniel Craig’s eyes say more than all the dialogue in the world could convey. At one point his new supervisor (played by the fantastic Ralph Fiennes) flat out asks him why he didn’t stay a ghost, and tells him there’s nothing wrong with admitting he just isn’t up to snuff anymore.
When the real meat and potatoes of the film picks up, it never sloughs off. The second act of this film holds the tensest scenes of any Bond movie to date. The action scenes are exciting and frantic, and best of all, any trace of the shaky cam they overused in the last Bond film is now gone. Quantum of Solace had a lot of problems with it, but the most irking for me was the director’s inability to film an action scene without it looking like they gave Muhammad Ali the camera.
Pictured: The clearest shot I could find of Quantum of Salace
For those of you unfamiliar with the reason for the overuse of this gimmick it all started with Saving Private Ryan. When making the movie Steven Spielberg disabled all steady cams and desaturated the film to make the opening D-Day scene look more authentic. It was brilliantly done and had a purpose behind it, but typical “Hey, me too!” Hollywood thinking led to it being used in everything from The Bourne Supremacy to Transformers 2 even though it doesn’t add anything at all to the scene.
Still a clearer image than anything in Quantum of Solace
The point is, Skyfall shows that you can create a realistically frantic and intense looking scene without shaking the camera about, one scene in particular really stands out in my head, a frantic fist fight in front of a neon skyline where the audience can’t even identify with certainty which character is which.
Another thing I love about this film is the exploration of the dynamic between Bond and M, as the film makes the audience realize that whether he meant to or not, James views her as a mother figure since his own parents died when he was a child. Judi Dench turns in what I honestly believe to be the best performance of her lifetime as well, which is impressive considering her history of film. Both of these strong points are intensified in the final act of the film, which is so unlike anything ever done in a Bond movie before that it deserves a special place in its annals as well. In fact, one of the strangest but greatest points of this film is the fact that each act is completely different than the others.
Another thing I love about this film is the exploration of the dynamic between Bond and M, as the film makes the audience realize that whether he meant to or not, James views her as a mother figure since his own parents died when he was a child. Judi Dench turns in what I honestly believe to be the best performance of her lifetime as well, which is impressive considering her history of film. Both of these strong points are intensified in the final act of the film, which is so unlike anything ever done in a Bond movie before that it deserves a special place in its annals as well. In fact, one of the strangest but greatest points of this film is the fact that each act is completely different than the others.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about a Bond film without bringing up the villain, as Bond villains have a reputation of being the best in show business. I’m happy to report that even with villains as famously devious as Oddjob, Ernst Blofeld, Max Zorin, Alec Trevelyan and, of course, Jaws, Javier Bardem’s “Mr. Silva” stands out as an instant classic. He may not be my favorite villain of all time (THAT honor goes to Sean Bean’s Trevelyan), but he definitely stands out from the crowd and easily slips in to my top three favorites. This is greatly needed, since all of the villains that Daniel Craig has fought so far have turned out to be lackluster at best.
Useless, but still more intimidating than…
Clearly this douche is an even match for James freakin Bond.
What really makes Bardem stand out though is that his development is sort of the opposite of typical Bond villain standards. For example, a typical Bond film (Goldfinger for example) will start out with Bond investigating some new villain due to an assassination or seemingly insignificant event (a smuggling ring). Bond will then typically meet the main antagonist (Auric Goldfinger) and on closer inspection finds out that there are many deeper layers to the man (secret base). As the movie progresses we discover that not only is this man actually the villain behind earlier events (the death of Jill Masterson), but said event is typically a precursor to a much larger bid for global domination or influence (irradiating the world’s gold reserves) using a super deadly weapon (nuclear bombs). Skyfall however follows a different path. When we meet Silva he has already established himself as a one man global force and been manipulating world politics for years, but as the film goes on and we reveal more and more layers of Silva, his aim and his goals become much more simple and focused, culminating in a goal that almost seems… unimpressive.
Quality cinematography, exceptional direction, and a great score lead to this film hitting all the right notes in all the right places. Great acting from the whole cast make the characters both likeable and believable. I have already brought up the fantastic acting of Judi Dench, but Craig once again nails Bond on the head with his intimidating and intense portrayal as the legendary 007. Ralph Fiennes makes the most out of a somewhat limited screen time, and a late in the film appearance by Christpher Plummer gives the man a great role I never expected to see in a Bond film. Naomi Harris is also outstanding as a fellow field agent who is nearly crucified by MI6 after her accidental shooting of Bond.
In a sea of great performances however, there are two standouts that deserve mention. The first is Bardem as the excellent Mr. Silva, who brings a sense of dread and impending insanity to what could have been a cookie cutter of a Bond villain. Bardem channels all of his Anton Chigurh evil genius while bringing a sense of class and dignity to create one of the best Bond villains of all time, and the first exchange between the two agents is chock full of tense dialogue and laugh out loud humor.
The second special mention is Ben Whishaw as the new and completely out of left field interpretation of Q, which Bond aficionados know is short for the head of the Quartermaster Branch. Typically a doddering old man who supplies Bond with his cool gadgets, this new incarnation is now more of a young, arrogant computer prodigy who has both a respect and indifference towards field agents. He believes them to be a last resort when computer espionage fails, but understands their importance none the less. Just like with Silva, his first meeting with Bond is nothing short of brilliant, and it’s really good to see Q really contribute to the story instead of handing Bond some new toys and quipping his usual “Do try to return this equipment in one piece Agent Bond”.
I do have a few problems with the film however, most notably that it more or less derails the popular fan theory that Bond is actually a code name and not a person. If you are not interested in this theory skip to the “End Theory” section of the review, but believe me when I say it is a great read if interested.
In a nutshell the theory states that each actor is actually a completely new agent, and that they are given the handle “James Bond” when they receive their 00 status the same way Q and M are given their titles. While this may seem strange and improbable there is a lot of evidence supporting this theory. For example, how can one mane fight terrorist threats for the last forty years and not age a day? It would also explain why the behavior of each agent is so different than the others. Daniel Craig shoots unarmed bad guys in the face without remorse, while Roger Moore puts on clown makeup and swings from vines while uttering Tarzan screams.
I did not make those instances up.
Furthermore, the best evidence can be found when looking at the arrival and departure of each actor.
Bond-Connery was the first in the line, the standard of what an MI6 agent should be. He was promoted to the job for one purpose, to investigate a new terrorist organization that has been entrenching its roots in deeper and deeper into world politics. Bond-Connery does an exemplary job uncovering the covert organization SPECTRE and tracking down their head member Ernst Blofeld. In Connery’s final consecutive film You Only Live Twice, Bond Connery blows up SPECTRE’s main base, and Blofeld presumably dies in the explosion. With his mission complete, Bond-Connery retires and collects a government pension, which leads to…
Bond-Lazenby only made one Bond film, arguably the best in the series, but this one film is all it takes for the conspiracy theory to gain a lot of momentum. Bond-Lazenby is promoted to Bond status and takes on the assignment to track down Blofeld, who didn’t die in the explosion. Bond tracks down Blofeld to a chateau in the mountains and comes face to face with him, and even though this is Blofeld’s arch nemesis it appears that he doesn’t recognize Bond at all! Bond didn’t have reconstructive surgery or anything, so how could he not recognize this man? Eventually Bond-Lazenby thwarts Blofeld and actually gets married, only to have her die by a bullet shot by none other than Blofeld. The film ends with Bond-Lazenby falling to pieces as he holds his dead wife, and cut to the next film which is…
Bond-Connery trying to track down Blofeld once again. It can be assumed that Bond-Lazenby retired out of grief and MI6 reinstated Bond-Connery to finish the job he started, because now Blofeld recognized Bond without a moment of hesitation. Diamonds are Forever is the only film in Connery’s second run as Bond, which is fitting because it ends with Blofeld dying for good. Now with Blofeld REALLY out of the way, Bond-Connery retires for good, and the powers that be change things up by bringing in…
Bond-Moore takes the reins, and turns in seven Bond films centering around MI6’s conflict with the KGB at the height of the Iron Curtain scare, almost as if they instated this man for that sole purpose. This also marks the most ridiculous and uncharacteristic Bond behavior of all time, with Roger Moore acting more like a slapstick comedian than an action hero and setting him leagues apart from the previous (and future) incarnations of Bond. Bond-Moore fights the soviets for over a decade until his final outing in 1985 with View to a Kill. Any history buffs know what happened a year later in 1986 around that time? That’s right, the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union. With his job accomplished and old age setting in, this seems like a good time for Bond-Moore to hang up his tux and retire, handing the title to…
Bond-Dalton. Timothy Dalton got a bum rap as the legendary agent, mainly because he decided to play the amoral secret agent as… and brace yourself for this… an amoral secret agent. It’s a shame too, because of all the actors to take the mantle of Bond, Timothy Dalton is arguably the best actor out of the group, and his portrayal of the role is almost identical to Craig’s interpretation, which I’m sure you know by now, a lot of people are praising. Dalton turned in only two films, but in his second film something happens that has never happened in a Bond film before, Bond is kicked out of MI6 and goes rogue. He does this to track down the people who attacked his friend Felix Leiter, and when the film ends Dalton is never re-instated back into MI6, so we have a gap from 1987-1996, remember this for later on!
Bond-Brosnan is brought in as the new Bond in 1996, and while not really much for the action star persona it’s hard to deny that Pierce Brosnan had charm in spades during his tenure. Brosnan is brought in around a time of multiple political conflicts, and he addresses them in a timely basis, but his final outing (the horrible Die Another Day) contains a scene where he is captured by North Korea and MI6 disavows him. When he meets back up with M she informs him that his 00 status has been suspended, and MI6 can only help him piece together the events from an unofficial standpoint. When the film ends it can be assumed that the help from MI6 was only temporary, and Bond has a comfortable retirement. Flash forward to Casino Royale, which opens with a much younger Bond-Craig earning his 00 stripes with his first two kills.
Believe it or not, there are only two hang-ups that could disprove this theory, and both of them deal with Bond’s deceased wife. In For Your Eyes Only Bond (who is played by Moore) visits the gravesite of his former wife Tracy (who was married to Lazenby), but earlier in the film Moore kills the last trace of SPECTRE by dropping him down a smokestack, so it can be assumed that he was simply visiting the site out of respect for his predecessor. Furthermore, he doesn’t call his wife a term of endearment, but simply calls her Tracy, which shows that this gesture is more a sign of respect than of love.
The second hang-up comes from License to Kill, when Felix Lieter’s new wife asks why James seems depressed when he leaves their wedding. Felix replies “He was married once… long ago”, which we assume was once again… Tracy. However, it could just be coincidence. Lots of people get married, and in a line of work as dangerous as Bond is in, one can assume that maybe she was killed to get to him before he became a 00, hence the depression.
Hints could even be found in the new film of this theory, and I swear at one point I thought they were going to confirm the theory. Throughout the movie it is alluded to several times that Javier Bardem may have once been given the Bond designation. We find out that Mr. Silva was once not only an MI6 agent, but the best agent in the ministry. He also refers to himself and bond as the collective “we”, implying that they shared the same position or designation (or name?). When he asks M to call him by his “real name” she refuses, and most damning of all, Silva mentions that he was an active agent from 1987-1996. If those years sound familiar, it’s because they were the same Bond movie-less years between Dalton’s last outing and Brosnan’s first.
Unfortunately, the film also explodes this awesome theory by establishing Daniel Craig’s early childhood and showing his family name as “Bond”, but I’m still holding out hope that this is just coincidence.
END FAN THEORY
A few small things didn’t jive with me in the film, for example, why would a Quartermaster need super computer hacking skills? Typically quartermasters are either ultimate supply clerks or navigators in the navy, someone really good with computers would typically be given a position in another shop or branch and quartermasters. A few small exchanges were somewhat unbelievable, and the main squeeze for Bond is sort of a flat character, despite how good looking she is. It should also be noted that this is the third Bond film in a row where Bond doesn’t end up with the girl, which adds realism to the film, but it’s a little depressing.
Overall, this film is not just a great Bond film, but one of the best action films I have ever seen. It may not be my favorite Bond film of all time (that award goes to From Russia With Love), but it’s a close second, and getting second place in a universe of films that include movies such as Goldfinger, Thunderball, Casino Royale, and Goldeneye is still one hell of achievement.
9.75 out of 10
