With Skyfall, the Craig-era reinvention of the infamous British spy James Bond has come to a full. The grittier, more grounded and eventually wounded Bond that was introduced in the electric Casino Royale and remained committed to his search for international terrorists in Quantum of Solace has matured into Skyfall, an intelligent Bond film that points to the character’s past as much as it establishes what lies ahead for Bond in future iterations. At the crux of the events in the film stands M (Judi Dench), Bond’s aide across the years. After a rousing opening scene which sets off the events to come, M is held accountable for a major lapse in international security when a list of undercover NATO agents ends up in the hands of a terrorist.
This terrorist goes by the name of Silva and is played by a blonde-haired and terrifying (for a Bond villain) Javier Bardem. Bardem is well known for his turn as the agent of order, Anton Chigurgh, in No Country for Old Men, and here he creates another memorable antagonist. There seems to be a personal vendetta at play here, as if Bond is caught in the middle between a dangerous Silva and vulnerable M. Complicating matters is government representative Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) and another intelligence agent (Naomie Harris) who has a hand in steering Bond’s life in a particular direction. As the new Q, Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) doesn’t have much screen time but he makes the most of it; his banter with 007 in an art gallery is highly amusing.
Skyfall sometimes looks like an art film, as if the acclaimed director Sam Mendes is committed to aesthetically reinvigorating Bond. Casino Royale was tropical, colourful; Quantum was filled with browns, greys and blacks. Skyfall has a more balanced colour template until the second half heralds an increase in darker, muted colours. Mendes, who garnered critical acclaim for his films American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road, gives us Bond at his most introspective yet. It’s as far removed from Roger Moore’s Bond as can be imagined as Craig plays Bond with a weight equal to Timothy Dalton. As filmed by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, some scenes from Skyfall take on a life of their own: Silva against an illuminated background in the dead of night; M’s sense of isolation at a crucial moment; an ocean of lanterns.
But my favourite scene of all is a fight scene that is symptomatic of the film’s overall aesthetic success: a compact hand-to-hand fight scene with Bond and his opponent etched in silhouette against a changing wall of colour in Shanghai, their movements framed and flanked by sheets of glass. In a scene like that – in many ways the opposite of the spectacular opening scene - the fighting becomes more than that just two men grappling. This scene is shot in a single take for most part; there are no quick cutaways to elbows and knees to frustrate the viewer. Everything happens in front of our eyes in a fluid, clear and bracing manner. This stands in contrast to the norm for action cinema today, for instance, in the hyperkinetic and self-conscious editing found in the Bourne movies.
As I pointed out above, Skyfall differs in some way from most contemporary action cinema, and it’s also different from most Bonds. For one thing, there is the notable absence of a proper Bond girl, though Naomie Harris comes close. For another, the film feels contained. While the film features exotic locations (Shanghai, Macau) the brunt of the film is located in the UK. It’s as if the entire franchise, not just Bond, sought to reconsider and re-establish its relationship with queen and country. It makes sense that its climax would concern only a specific group of characters and be located in a very specific, significant place. As for the film’s preoccupation with age and aging (the redundancy of old technology and the shelf life of active field agents are addressed), Skyfall acknowledges the past by bringing it into perfect alignment with Bond’s future; the film’s closing scenes should have Bond fans applauding.
Skyfall is a superb Bond entry. I'm not yet certain that it is the best of the series, as many have hyperbolically claimed, but it is certainly in the ranks of Casino Royale and Goldfinger.
This terrorist goes by the name of Silva and is played by a blonde-haired and terrifying (for a Bond villain) Javier Bardem. Bardem is well known for his turn as the agent of order, Anton Chigurgh, in No Country for Old Men, and here he creates another memorable antagonist. There seems to be a personal vendetta at play here, as if Bond is caught in the middle between a dangerous Silva and vulnerable M. Complicating matters is government representative Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) and another intelligence agent (Naomie Harris) who has a hand in steering Bond’s life in a particular direction. As the new Q, Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) doesn’t have much screen time but he makes the most of it; his banter with 007 in an art gallery is highly amusing.
Skyfall sometimes looks like an art film, as if the acclaimed director Sam Mendes is committed to aesthetically reinvigorating Bond. Casino Royale was tropical, colourful; Quantum was filled with browns, greys and blacks. Skyfall has a more balanced colour template until the second half heralds an increase in darker, muted colours. Mendes, who garnered critical acclaim for his films American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road, gives us Bond at his most introspective yet. It’s as far removed from Roger Moore’s Bond as can be imagined as Craig plays Bond with a weight equal to Timothy Dalton. As filmed by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, some scenes from Skyfall take on a life of their own: Silva against an illuminated background in the dead of night; M’s sense of isolation at a crucial moment; an ocean of lanterns.
But my favourite scene of all is a fight scene that is symptomatic of the film’s overall aesthetic success: a compact hand-to-hand fight scene with Bond and his opponent etched in silhouette against a changing wall of colour in Shanghai, their movements framed and flanked by sheets of glass. In a scene like that – in many ways the opposite of the spectacular opening scene - the fighting becomes more than that just two men grappling. This scene is shot in a single take for most part; there are no quick cutaways to elbows and knees to frustrate the viewer. Everything happens in front of our eyes in a fluid, clear and bracing manner. This stands in contrast to the norm for action cinema today, for instance, in the hyperkinetic and self-conscious editing found in the Bourne movies.
As I pointed out above, Skyfall differs in some way from most contemporary action cinema, and it’s also different from most Bonds. For one thing, there is the notable absence of a proper Bond girl, though Naomie Harris comes close. For another, the film feels contained. While the film features exotic locations (Shanghai, Macau) the brunt of the film is located in the UK. It’s as if the entire franchise, not just Bond, sought to reconsider and re-establish its relationship with queen and country. It makes sense that its climax would concern only a specific group of characters and be located in a very specific, significant place. As for the film’s preoccupation with age and aging (the redundancy of old technology and the shelf life of active field agents are addressed), Skyfall acknowledges the past by bringing it into perfect alignment with Bond’s future; the film’s closing scenes should have Bond fans applauding.
Skyfall is a superb Bond entry. I'm not yet certain that it is the best of the series, as many have hyperbolically claimed, but it is certainly in the ranks of Casino Royale and Goldfinger.
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