Review: Skyfall

Review: Skyfall

"You know the rules of the game now. You've been playing it long enough."

M's careful statement to Daniel Craig's ever-improving Bond at the start of the movie sums up the James Bond series so far as Skyfall marks the 50th Anniversary of the character and the 23rd Bond movie in total. Such an occasion for such an iconic character should be marked with a movie that struts majestically forward in style whilst also glancing over its shoulder to the past, and Skyfall delivers in waves.

Yet what makes Skyfall such an excellent definition of a Bond movie is not the quirky gadgets, the larger-than-life villain or the relentless action scenes. It is the connection between old Jimmy and Judi Dench's M, one that has been a staple of the series for many years. The humanising of 007 himself is a feature that the franchise has long been missing, as Bond finally transforms from a savvy, generic super-slick spy to a man with a deep connection to his country and the people around him.

The film opens with an astounding chase sequence through the streets of Istanbul, as Bond chases down an enemy who holds data on every agent in the secret service. However, the mission fails and Bond ends up missing presumed dead. While he is "enjoying death" in a remote part of the world, the identities of several secret agents are revealed to an unknown villain who appears to have a connection to M's past. When the MI6 building is hit by a terrorist attack and M's life is put in danger, Bond returns to London and, equipped with trademark gadgets and fast cars, gets hot on the heels of the mysterious baddie. Yet, as he becomes more desperate and more lives are lost, he finds that his loyalty to M may not be as indestructible as he thought.

It's a premise that one can't imagine acting as a synopsis for one of Pierce Brosnan's over the top 90s Bond outings, and especially not Roger Moore's stereotypically wacky adventures as the spy, yet Skyfall's story is the most absorbing James Bond tale yet. From the opening scenes in which he and his "Bond-girl" Eve unintentionally destroy half of Istanbul in an exhilirating chase sequence, Daniel Craig's interpretation of the agent clicks into place almost immediately and we finally get a good look at the human behind the gun. Craig is on fine form, delivering his lines with a grim sense of brutality when required. His refusal to accept that there may be no place for a man like Bond in this modern world where computers are capable of bringing down entire companies is a refreshing twist for the character, and behind Craig's confident, suave eyes lie a deep emptiness within 007; one that possibly explains his need to flirt with death so compulsively. 

Yet Judi Dench threatens to steal the show as M. Skyfall marks her 7th appearance as Bond's superior, and her performance is superb as a woman coming to terms with the fact that the agents she sends on perilous missions are real men with real lives - lives that are in her hands. Ralph Fiennes and Ben Wishaw are excellent additions to the cast as Mallory, M's superior, and Q respectively. There is an excellent nod to previous Bond flicks as Q offers the spy a new gun which only he can fire, as well as a tiny radio which can send out a distress signal. "Not exactly Christmas is it?" scoffs Bond. "What were you expecting, an exploding pen?" smirks Q. "We don't really go for that anymore."

Of course, 007 isn't 007 without a memorable villain, and Javier Bardem provides an astounding performance as Raoul Silva. I can pay him no greater compliment than to compare his performance to that of Heath Ledger as The Joker; there is a madness behind his methods. He seems to block 007 at every turn and whenever we are sure our hero has the upper hand, Bond is knocked back down again. This pushes the theme of Skyfall further as we know that Bond isn't invincible and neither are the people around him.

The geographical scale of the film is excellent also, as for the first half we are transported around the globe from the remote corner of the world where Bond hides away, back to London, then off to Shanghai for some glorious fieldwork. Yet for the latter half of the film, we stay put in Britain, from the centre of London all the way to the Scottish highlands; a glorious sentiment to the British history of the Bond movies, and it's fantastic to see such a momentous display of action packed espionage take place right here at home.

Unfortunately however, Skyfall loses its edge when it comes to the girls. It seems to be a 'token' element of every movie that there be a Bond-girl, yet this particular entry doesn't need one. Eve is a witty character, yet it seems as though her back story is not fleshed out, she does not interact with anyone except Bond himself and she simply pops up whenever required with no real explanation.

The pacing is also an issue too, as at 142 minutes Skyfall certainly feels like a long movie. Still, this is the 50th anniversary of a majorly iconic character so we can forgive the team for enjoying a little self indulgence. This is one for the fans, and true followers of the Bond franchise will surely be very grateful for the lengthy running time.

The modern James Bond movies have always contained a feature to be admired; where the vast majority of films these days prefer to show off their flashy title card over a few seconds, Skyfall continues the tradition of playing the always-excellent Bond songs (in this case Adele's sultry Skyfall number) over brilliantly produced title sequences. As always, this review is spoiler-free but it's enough to say you will be blown away by the artistically superb scenes.

Summary

Director Sam Mendes had a momentous task on his hands when he took the reins of Bond's 23rd cinematic outing, but that hasn't stopped him delivering an outstanding feat of cinematic greatness coupled with a few nods of nostalgia. Thanks to some superb action sequences, a story which finally delves deeper into the characters and some Oscar-worthy performances from Daniel Craig and the rest of the cast, Skyfall isn't simply one of the best movies of 2012 - it's the best James Bond yet.

9/10 - Brilliant

See it if you liked: Casino Royale (2006), Taken (2008), Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)