"SKYFALL"
Based upon characters and situations created by Ian Fleming
Screenplay Written by Neal Purvis & Robert wade and John Logan
Directed by Sam Mendes
**** (four stars)
If James Bond needs four years away from the silver screen in order to return this masterfully, then take all the time you need before the next installment!
My overall history with the cinematic adventures of Her Majesty's Secret Service's best agent 007, otherwise known as Bond, James Bond, has been relatively lukewarm at best. Now don't get me wrong, dear readers, it is not that I have ever had a dislike for the man. I have seen nearly all of the films (surprisingly, the original Sean Connery installments are the ones I have barely seen) and have willingly found myself standing in the theater queues ready to see each new chapter time and again. but, that said, I was feeling a bit of weariness with the whole production. It just seemed to me that for all of the sound and fury, James Bond, as a character never really interested me that much as he seemed to not have much else going on other than the superficial aspects of him that have made him more archetype than human. I don't know about you, but for me, I just never really cared that much abut what would happen because there rarely seemed to be any real risk involved for the character. Yes, there were many death defying thrills and spills but since you always knew that he would escape unharmed and with his traditional shaken not stirred alcoholic beverage on the nightstand and comely female waiting for him under the sheets, the element of danger and risk was therefore eliminated. There are several films in the series that I have enjoyed very, very much including "Live And Let Die" (1973), "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), and "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997) as personal favorites but that said, after all of the gadgets, stunts, explosions, sexy girls and double entendres, is that all there is? It just seemed that there was no real impetus to even make a new James Bond film other than it was just time to make one and for me, that is just not good enough to make a film about anything let alone someone as formidable as 007.
And then, in 2006, "Casino Royale" was released.
Director Martin Campbell's "Casino Royale" was the first James Bond adventure to truly take me by surprise. Yes, the arrival of Daniel Craig as Bond was a terrific move but what really captured my attention was how the filmmakers made the conscious decision to take James Bond back to his basics, not simply in terms of his origins as the 007 we all know and love, but to rebuild him as a human being. By showing James Bond as a man who could make reckless mistakes, have dark flaws and even fall in love didn't lessen the action one bit but it did give the series something it had sorely lacked for far too long: a soul. While the follow up, Director Marc Forster's "Quantum Of Solace" (2008) has been uniformly disregarded, I actually enjoyed that one very much as well. Yes, it was incoherent (like a lot of Bond films) and yes, it did serve as more of a footnote than as a complete statement. But what I appreciated most was how Forster decided to make his James Bond film one that was more visually stylistic and therefore more cinematic than many of its predecessors. The relentless action contained throughout, for me, served only to continue to inform Bond's grim interior life as the fury of the action illustrated the soul of a man desperately trying to outrun his demons as well as the deep emotional wounds he suffered by the conclusion of "Casino Royale."
Four years later, Bond returns with "Skyfall," and for my money, this James Bond adventure is the very best I have seen to date. While it confirms Daniel Craig's status as a towering 007, "Skyfall" fulfills the promise of "Casino Royale" in spades by making this the most intensely felt Bond film as it is filled with a humanistic urgency and personal quality that sets it miles apart from bond saving the world once again. Perhaps, having an Oscar winning filmmaker at the helm, and one not known for action at that, is one of the keys to this film's grand success. Who would have imagined that Sam Mendes, who gave us the devastating suburban drams "American Beauty" (1999) and "Revolutionary Road" (2008) would be a perfect fit for Bond? Whomever floated that idea, we owe that individual our eternal thanks and this James Bond has re-set the bar for what these films can actually achieve to be.
"Skyfall" opens, as all Bond films, with James Bond (Daniel Craig) deep in the throes of his latest international adventure as he and secret MI6 agent Eve (Naomie Harris) are in feverish pursuit of a computer hard drive that contains the identities of almost all undercover agents hiding in terrorist organizations. The chase lands Bond and his adversary on top of a speeding train and during the battle, Eve, under orders from MI6 head commander M (Judi Dench), fires a shot that accidentally hits Bond, forcing him from the train top into the waters below where he is ultimately presumed dead.
What brings James Bond back to life (now, you knew he wasn't really dead) is the assassination attempt upon M's life, an act that murdered several MI6 agents and forces the agency to locate to a new underground London hideout. Bond's search for the terrorist leads him to a Shanghai casino, the gorgeous Severine (Berenice Lim Marlohe) and finally, an island owned and operated by her employer and cyberterrorist Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem).
And that is where I shall leave the plot description as I want for you to enter "Skyfall" as cleanly as possible and exit as much in awe as I was. Stylistically, and with the enormous aid of veteran Cinematographer Roger Deakins, Sam Mendes gives us a Bond film that is a veritable feast for the eyes, beginning with a tremendous pre-credit action sequence, continuing with the BEST opening credits sequence (kudos to Adele for delivering a great Bond song) I have seen in any film this year, and onwards throughout as scene after scene shows a remarkable usage of colors, lighting and shadows to always inform the motivations of all of the film's characters. Every performance is top flight throughout the film and I greatly appreciated the work performed by Ralph Finnes, Ben Whishaw and how happy I was to see the great Albert Finney, the veritable "lion in Winter" once again. But what Mendes accomplished most of all was presenting this latest entry in the long running series with oodles of everything we already know and love about James Bond, but he has infused an unprecedented sense of humanity therefore making "Skyfall" a film that just pulsates with energy and honest emotion as we are given a James Bond, who can get physically hurt, who deals with the aging process and is ultimately a flesh and blood man with riveting foibles and failings.
The relationship between Bond and M has been a welcome new arena to explore in the revamped Bond series and with "Skyfall," their "Mother/Son" dynamics positively crackle with newfound energy and urgency as both characters are consumed with their individual secrets and demons that are contained in the lives they have chosen to lead in honor of and of service to their country. Craig and Dench make for a perfect pairing as their jibes and overt prickliness belies the deep affection and devotion they obviously hold for each other...and would never for an instant utter a word.
Beyond Bond and M's relationship to each other, "Skyfall," thoughtfully expands its canvas to have these two characters marching valiantly or foolishly against irrelevancy in light of the technological advances of the world. And what we are ultimately given is not two people attempting to outrun their inner turmoil but also mortality itself, which is, of course, inevitable. While we get even more glimpses into Bond's earlier life, much is made of Bond's advancing age, his weakening abilities and even his and M's own sense of relevancy in the world throughout "Skyfall." Mendes, and his screenwriters, also very cleverly and gently mock the Bond films of the past by scoffing at the very gadgets that audiences have salivated over for many years. Even further, Mendes propels the momentum of "Skyfall" forwards by visually moving backwards. The film's climax nearly eschews 21st century technology and espionage all together by creating a scenario that owes so much to Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon" (1952) and even a dash of Orson Welles' "The Lady From Shanghai" (1947). The state of the art superspy's blistering climax essentially becomes a Western. With all of these elements, Mendes has created a work that looks squarely at the specter of death as finality looms over the entirety of "Skyfall" like a grim shroud, which again gives the world of James Bond a greater purpose than just having stop a new villain hellbent on taking over the world.
But, that said, every hero is only as good as his villain and while I refuse to say much about the character, once Javier Bardem arrives on screen, the already excellent "Skyfall" skyrockets to a whole new level! With his effete manner of speech, platinum blonde hair, and a disposition that seems to be dismissive to the point of near disinterest, Bardem's Silva would already be a formidable foe. But, then Bardem's performance, much like his chilling work in The Coen brothers' "No Country For Old Men" (2007) or even the late Heath Ledger's iconic work in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" (2008), makes Silva a horrifying embodiment of evil itself. Silva is eerily patient yet always relentless, ever present and all encompassing, qualities which force an actor as skilled as Craig to find new notes to play as Bond, and man does he find them. With Bardem's ferocious fortitude as a catalyst, Sam Mendes is able to take one of the greatest action film cliches, "This time, it's personal!" and make it, for once, actually mean something! Javier Bardem is absolutely mesmerizing yet disturbingly queasy. I have rarely felt such unease at the sheer sight of a villain and however Bardem is able to channel this dark energy, which borders on the demonic, it is to our benefit as filmgoers as he makes Silva one to remember and to forever fear.
I just cannot say enough great things about Sam Mendes' "Skyfall," a film that excites and surprises over and again in ways most major studio releases have forgotten to do. James Bond has been supremely rejuvenated is high, glorious style certainly. But it is through the emotional underpinnings that makes "Skyfall" the Bond film I wish to see again and again and again.
Maybe, I should head back out to the theater right now!!!!
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