Skyfall is James Bonds 23rd appearance in theatres since his premiere in Dr. No in 1962. Thats 50 years of Bond & Skyfall carries on the legacy, not just as a good Bond film, but a good film in general.
Skyfall feels like a high fantasy tale of the British MI6 with James Bond (Daniel Craig) being like a raw force of nature that effects the world around him. The cyber terrorist Rauol Silva (Javier Bardem) is the other side of the same coin, the unstoppable force meets the immovable object as one fights for the sake of their country, these arent ordinary people, they feel like the archtypes of espionage, the golden age of pulp with its steel cold hero and the nefarious villain.
Director Sam Mendes takes a great vision on the world Bond operates within. Having a big part of the story revolve around the history of MI6 and its agents, M (Judi Dench) has a pivotal role in the story; Her relations with Agent 007 a& the sheer power of Judi Denchs acting gives a powerful emotional connection within, she is Britains Guardian Angel.
The new Q (Ben Whishaw) also gets to show off his young egoistic innovation to the Old Dog 007 as the new Q is a mere young adult, but you get these interesting dynamics and even other minor side characters such as Ms assistant and Chairman of the Intelligence & Security Committee.
Whats important about Spy thrillers is the sense of cool smooth style & with Cinematographer Roger Deakins, the visual coolness is spot on. London is majestic, royal and beautiful, the tunnel mazes of London are ancient, Scotland is a beautiful piece of natures beauty, but what steals the show are the scenes in the Western Content: Shanghai & Macau. Shanghai in night is a city of beautiful neon lights with its advertisements & Macau is a mixture of golden lights melding with the night, its just very beautiful scenery and takes you right into this world.
Thomas Newmans soundtrack is stylish, but its sadly quite nothing spectacularly new, to me it felt like it had either cues to the older James Bond franchise, such as the everlasting epic that is the Bond theme, or inspirations taken from other modern blockbuster movies composed by someone like Hans Zimmer.
Whats appealing and at the same time funnily entertaining for me, is the sexual factor this movie has. Yes all Bond movies have very beautiful & sexy women (especially Sévérine played by Bérénice Marlohe), this movie is no different, but I want to factor in the sexual factor that Daniel Craig provides in this film & how director Sam Mendes utilizes the body language of James Bond in this film.
When was the last time Bond was this raw pure beast? It goes back to comparing any Bond actor with the legend Sean Connery, but this isnt a blog post about that, but simply pointing out how Daniel Craig is bringing aspects of the Ian Fleming character that I personally felt we havent seen this strong since the 1960s. Daniel Craigs body gets a lot of visual show, so does the Agents pure strength & kinetic energy, this man doesnt give up at all.
Daniel Craigs Bond franchise has handled action choreography very well. The move begins with a stunning heist. It has some obvious green screen involved, but it doesnt take away from the scene. The scale gets bigger as Silva nears his end game. Sit tight for the massive action sequence in the finale; it delivers everything you would expect!
Skyfall is a very good film showcasing why the James Bond franchise is so loved, giving us that fantasy feeling weve had since the early days of pulp espionage, powerful acting with so much charisma, you cant help but to love Daniel Craigs latest mission as the 007.
I concur.
