Skyfall (2012)

nTitle: Skyfall (2012)

nDirector: Sam Mendez

nCast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, RalphnFiennes, Naomie Harris

nReview:

nThrough the decades, various directors have taken a stab atndirecting a Bond film. Usually directors chosen to direct a Bond film are not what you’dncall “popular” or well known directors. Usually they are directors who havenmade a successful action film at some point and so they are given thenopportunity to take Bond for a spin, but it’s not like we’ve seen a Bond filmndirected by Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson. Most Bond directors can almost be labeled asnanonymous in the industry; they’ve done a successful film or two, but they aren’tnhouse hold names. It seems that with this new cycle of Bond films, producersnare attempting to change that; Skyfall was directed by Sam Mendes, the directornbehind such amazing films as American Beauty (1999), and Revolutionary Road (2008),ntwo films that have nothing to do with action or espionage, yet are extremelynwell written, acted and directed. He was also the director behind Road tonPerdition (2002), a gangster film that was also heavy on the drama. So I thinknit’s great that for Skyfall we get a director with a solid background on drama,ntaking that into consideration, what did Mr. Mendes bring to the world of Bond?n

nOn this Bond film, Bond has to protect ‘M’ from an old foenwho wants to exact revenge on her and all of MI-6. Problem is that Bond hasntaken something of a sabbatical and is simply enjoying the life, hanging out atnthe beach, getting drunk, partying. He is taking advantage of the fact that thenfolks at MI-6 think he is dead. But when M’s life is suddenly in peril, Bondndecides to step out of the shadow life he’s been living to protect M; consideringnhow out of shape he is in, can Bond still be Bond? Is Bond as indestructible asnhe’s always been?

nOne of the elements that I’ve enjoyed the most about the newnBond films is that Bond isn’t the indestructible super spy he’s been innprevious films. Unbelievable as it may seem, Bond’s only gotten shot in two ofnhis films and Skyfall is one of them; so we can deduce that Skyfall aims tonmake Bond a more vulnerable character. On these last three bond films CasinonRoyale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008) and now Skyfall, Bond has beennportrayed as a hero with an element of mortality to him, he makes mistakes, hengets beaten to a pulp by villains, in fact, on Skyfall he is practicallynfalling apart, no longer able to pass the physical test that MI-6 gives to itsnoperatives. But I like that about this new Bond, it makes him a bit more realnand therefore, more interesting. On this one we get a partied out Bond who’snhaving a hard time readjusting to the secret agent lifestyle. Daniel Craig does a great rendition of Bond;ndare I say that he has proven himself to be one of the best and most crediblenBonds ever? Well, yes, I do dare say it, because that’s exactly what he’snbecome. When I compare Craig’s Bond with the old ones, the old ones feel likencartoon versions of Bond, while this new one feels so much more credible andnserious. He doesn’t have that smirk on his face so much, he’s not about thenclassic one liners. He comes off as a Bond with lots of inner turmoil.

nActually, you will notice that this film makes fun of thenway the old movies were, for example, when ‘Q’ ngives Bond his new weapons, Bond asks “is that it? A gun and a radio?”nand Q answers “What did you expect; pens with lasers shooting out of them? Wendon’t do that sort of thing anymore” making an obvious statement at how muchnmore realistic these next batch of Bond films will be. To be honest I welcome thisnmore realistic rendition of Bond…for now. Chances are that at some point Bondnwill revert to that jokey version of himself at some point? Who knows, all Inknow is that right now, I like this super serious version. Daniel Craig does anfantastic job on this one. The filmmakers behind Skyfall have not onlynhumanized Bond more, they’ve also made this film decidedly less technological.nBy that I mean, Bond doesn’t have all these unbelievable gadgets like explodingntoothpaste or cars that turn invisible. On this there’s less unbelievablengadgets; things are made more difficult for Bond this time around. In fact, thencar Bond gets on this one is a Silver 1965 Aston Martin DB5, no doubt it looks stylishnand slick, but it’s very retro, not cutting edge. It does shoot missiles out ofnit though, so we still get that. But in many ways, this stylish yet old car representsnDaniel Craig’s Bond, he’s growing old, yet he’s still got it, he can still kicknass.

nAnd what is Bond without a good villain and a good cast ofncharacters to populate his world? For years now we’ve had the same actress playn‘M’ the motherly brains behind MI-6, I speak of course of the awesome JudinDench. But it’s time for her to move on, and I found it interesting how they’venstructured a whole Bond film around M’s retirement. It gives the filmmakers anchance to show the mother/son relationship that M and Bond have always had. Bond’snan orphan, so he sees M as his mother and she sees him as her son. The dynamicsnthat stem from that relationship offer us some of the most heartfelt moments onnthis Bond film, this is something rare in a Bond film; heartfelt moments. Butnwe do get those, because thanks to the involvement of director Sam Mendes, thisnfilm has an emphasis on drama and characterization. This Bond film isn’t about savingnthe world, this is a more personal film, with a villain who has a more personalnagenda in mind. It’s a different type of Bond film in that sense. We get a madnman, but his vendetta is personal. Javier Bardem eats up the screen whenever he’snon proving once again that he is one of the best actors of his generation. I mean, I loved how this film has such annamazing cast, we even get Ralph Fiennes playing the new ‘M’. So expect a Bondnfilm whose emphasis isn’t so much in action, but more in characterization, goodnperformances and a well developed story. It might not be the most action packednof the Bond films, but it’s brilliantly acted, you might find yourself moreninvested in the characters with this film. But fear not action lovers, the filmndoes have some spectacular action scenes, the opening of the film for examplenis a good twenty minutes of nonstop action.

nIt’s no surprise that Skyfall has turned out to be one of the most successfulnof all Bond films. It’s a well made film, with an amazing cast. Sam Mendes hasnmade a Bond film that pays its respects to everything that came before it,nwhile shaking things up and establishing a whole slew of new characters fornfuture films. Sam Mendes also infusednthis film with a great visual flare, there are lots of colors, beautifulnlocations and vistas, the images conjured up are simply beautiful.nAesthetically speaking, this is one good looking Bond film. The opening creditnsequence with Adele singing her bond song, awesome visuals! That openingnmontage was one of my favorite things about the film. It’s like we get thenelements that make a traditional Bond film (gadgets, bond girls, sex, martinis,ncars and bullets) but with enough new stuff to keep us on our toes. Skyfall redefinesnBond movies for years to come; it shakes the status quo of things, nothing isnthe same after this one, for this and many other reasons, it’s a special Bondnfilm, highly recommend checking it out in theaters.

nRating: 5 out of 5