Geekscape Movie Reviews: ‘Skyfall’
The 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, is finally here and it is fantastic. It’s been four very long years since fans last saw 007 in Quantum of Solace and his return is ever so sweet. Daniel Craig once again returns as Bond and this time the film opens as he’s on the hunt for a hard drive that contains the identities of NATO agents undercover in terrorist organizations across the globe. His hunt leads to an awesome chase sequence that culminates with a fight atop a speeding train. The hard drive falls into the possession of the mysterious Silva, played terrifically by Javier Bardem, whose past links to that of M, once again played by the great Dame Judi Dench. Saying more about the plot would only ruin the fun of watching it unfold on-screen, so you’ll just have to go and see it for yourself.
Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of American Beauty, directs Skyfall and does a great job. He manages to balance the film’s great action set-pieces with some great character moments. The film continues the approach that was first started in the franchise reboot, Casino Royale, and continued in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, which was to make the character more based in reality, a la the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy. With the previous films setting the new direction for the franchise, Skyfall drives it further home. Mendes takes obvious influence from The Dark Knight, infusing darker elements of that superhero movie into the spy genre. I’ve been saying for years that Bond is my favorite superhero and now I’m sure others will agree with that statement. Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli made a terrific choice with hiring Mendes, just as they made the equally terrific choice when they cast Daniel Craig as Bond.
I can’t say enough about how great Craig is as Bond. He long ago made all the naysayers eat their words and quickly established himself as one of the best Bonds ever. With his third outing in the role, he might just have proven himself to be the best Bond of all time. He brings great depth to the role and makes the character a real person as well as a dashing, globe-trotting, panty dropping secret agent. Dame Judi Dench, back again for her (00)7th time as M plays a very large role in the film’s plot and her scenes with Craig are true high-points in the film.
Fans will also be glad to see the return of Q, Bond’s quartermaster, who’s played here by Ben Whishaw. This new Q is younger than Bond, a first for the series, and that sets a new dynamic between the two. Prior to this, Bond has always been the younger between the two, acting as a sort of thorn in Q’s side. Now Q is made to be the younger slightly snobby tech wizard as opposed to the old cranky gadget man. Whishaw is a welcome addition to the franchise and will clearly be around for the foreseeable future. The cast is rounded out with Ralph Fiennes as a government liaison named Mallory, Naomie Harris as MI6 field agent Eve, and Albert Finney as Kincade, a man with a link to Bond’s past. To tell you any more about their characters would spoil the plot, so I shall remain mum on their roles.
The cast really gets a chance to sink their teeth into a terrific script from John Logan and long-time Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Skyfall will easily go down in history as one of the absolute best in the EON Productions series. It is not only, in my humble opinion, THE best action film of the year, but dare I say, maybe even the best film of the year? Yeah, I’m not the only one saying this. It’s really that good.
Do yourselves a favor and see this one, whether you’re a Bond fan or not. Skyfall is worth it and gets a 4.5/5
