How is it then that Skyfall, the 23rd big-screen adaption of James Bond, still manages to be a near perfect film?
Skyfall opens with James Bond (Daniel Craig) on a mission to retrieve a hard-drive from professional hitman, Patrice (Ola Rapace) that contains a list of undercover MI6 agents across the globe. However, the mission goes wrong when M (Judi Dench) gives MI6 operative Eve (Naomie Harris) the order to shoot the target without a clean shot, which results in Bond being shot and falling to his death. With pressure from Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) and the British Government (who see MI6 and the 00 agents as redundant), M is forced to seek early retirement. But, the return of Bond (who has been hiding out in a tropical paradise and drinking everything he can find), the revealing of the undercover MI6 agents on the hard drive to the public and an attack on MI6 means that M isn't going to retire without sorting out MI6 first. The attack soon turns personal as M and Bond realise that villain, Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) knows M and will stop at nothing to get his revenge. Both Bond and M must delve into their own pasts and test their loyalties to one another in order to defeat Silva.
Skyfall is a massive change of pace for James Bond. After the breakneck speed of Quantum of Solace, which was a direct sequel to Casino Royale and shown us Bond's unstable state of mind when an attack is made personal, Skyfall opts for a much more character-driven piece. While this isn't a bad thing, it means that Skyfall is a film that is much more of a thriller revolving around the characters themselves, rather than a film full of espionage. In fact, the only mission that Bond goes on is at the beginning of the film to retrieve the hard drive. Once Silva is introduced about half way through the film, all the attention turns to Silva's determination to take revenge on M, and the high thrills of the 007 espionage that we are used to from previous Bond films are all but forgotten. Again, I have to say that this isn't really a bad thing at all, but it certainly is a bold move from Director, Sam Mendes and Writers, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan.
In fact, Skyfall seems to have Director, Sam Mendes' stamp all over it. With previous dramas, American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road filling up his repertoire, it doesn't take a genius to work out that this Bond film was going to focus much more on the character dramas, arcs and relationships rather than being filled with fast-paced blistering action. Since Judi Dench had been introduced as the new M all the way back in 1995 with the release of Goldeneye, some 17 years later it's up to Mendes who finally allows the Oscar winning actress to finally shine and truly share the limelight with James Bond. While Dench had somewhat of trouble in The World is Not Enough, it is Skyfall that really shows the inner struggles that she faces when leading agents into missions that could lead to their death. It is these decisions that she has made which finally catch up with her in Skyfall.
As well as a deep storyline, Skyfall is also a film that is beautifully shot. Cinematography by Roger Deakins really helps contrast between the neon glare of Shanghai, where Bond first encounters Bond girl, Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe), the warm glows of the casino in Macau, the rain drenched streets of London to the barren landscapes of Scotland. Like I said, Skyfall is definitely more of a thriller, and Deakin's cinematography definitely helps each location take on it's own character to further put us on edge as an audience. In fact, Deakin's work really takes a shine when the film's third act takes place in the desolate Scotland. The dark and dreary broken down mansion where M and Bond try to hide out is perfectly balanced against the stark whites and grey of the mist covered moor land. The brilliant sound design of squeaking floorboards and the far distant cries of wildlife cranks up the tension even further. It's almost like a masterclass in creating a thriller without having to rely on a booming soundtrack like most other horror/thriller films use.
As well as the amazing locations, Skyfall features some brilliant characters backed up by some solid acting. Craig is fast becoming one of my favourite Bonds as he continues to deliver a Bond who is always facing his demons, rather than a Bond who simply shoots and spits out cheesy one-liners. Dench is sometimes bogged down with on-the-nose dialogue, but she is finally given a role that she can sink her teeth into (an example being when she says, "I'm going to catch whoever did this" after looking at the coffins of MI6 agents who were killed in the bomb attack on MI6 - a simple stern look could have got that message across.) While the roles of Q (Ben Whishaw), Eve and Sévérine are somewhat relegated to supporting roles, they all did brilliantly well in establishing their characters with the small amount of screen time they were given. In particular, I would have liked to have seen a bit more from Marlohe (Sévérine) - her struggles with Silva are briefly mentioned, but a scene between the two of them would have been great to see. However, it's Bardem as Silva who definitely steals the spotlight in every single scene that he is in. His careful balance between teasing menace and bumbling crazy man is pretty much spot-on. I've said it before, but a captivating villain is what makes a film even more intriguing to an audience - we don't want to root for the villain to win, but if we understand their troubles as much as the hero does, then the villain becomes more than someone who is purely evil.
One of the only criticisms that I can think of for Skyfall falls to Director, Sam Mendes. While the film is definitely a character piece that delves into the troubles between M, Bond and Silva, the few action chase scenes that Mendes does throw in seem to be quite badly done. The only stand-out really being the crane scene on the moving train, but the rest of the chase scenes feel rather pedestrian and don't really properly contrast against the slower scenes in the film. I don't know if it was the editing or the shot choices, but I didn't really feel myself going towards the edge of my seat during the action scenes, which would have made them welcome releases between heavy character scenes. In particular, the scene where Silva causes a Tube train to crash through the ceiling reminded me of the awkward tram crash in Coronation Street! If the Tube had been full of passengers and shot in a way that didn't make it look like a carefully choreographed crash scene, it could have been a really gritty scene. I guess the lack of action only becomes a problem because Skyfall comes directly after Quantum of Solace, the Bond film that was largely criticised for being heavy on the action but light on the story.
So, overall Skyfall is an incredibly shot Bond thriller that allows us to care for the characters that we have come to know and love over the past 50 years. While I have mentioned that the film does fall flat with some of the action scenes, it is the character struggles that really take centre stage. After Craig's Bond that was simply out for revenge in Quantum of Solace, you should know by now that this Bond (and M!) is someone who has a lot of demons to face.
****½ / *****
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