Skyfall - Good. Really Good.

As a part-time student/full - time employee/all the time husband, it’s nice to catch a movie to relax sometimes.  Going to the movies has been one of my favorite pastimes, but with rising costs and quick DVD/On-Demand turnaround, it takes a pretty big movie for me to go nowadays.  Skyfall fit that bill perfectly, so me and my wife went to the IMAX theater at the Franklin institute to check it out.  I was excited for this one because the marketing campaign just made this movie look so...intriguing.

I know, the James Bond series is all about intrigue.  But in my generation of Bond movie-viewing (which has been Pierce Bronsan and Danielle Craig) I can’t recall the marketing of a Bond movie making it seem like there was as much at stake as was done for Skyfall.  The James Bond character is renowned for being cool, calm and collected and finding a way out of no way.  But the marketing for this movie made it look like his cool, his calm, and his collected would be severely tested.  That made for a more intriguing hook than usual, which I think was a major factor into the massive amount of money this film has made so far worldwide (and will continue to make).  The good news for everyone pouring their money into this film is that Skyfall is a well-rounded, solid, and very worthy chapter in the Bond legacy.  

Bond is as vulnerable as I’ve ever seen him.  Daniel Craig plays an obviously weary Bond (whether this is because he’s weary of the role in real life doesn’t matter, it works!) who must deal with the usual pitfalls of being a spy - you could be lied to, betrayed, etc. - along with his own physical and mental setbacks.  One of the recurring questions this movie wants the viewers to ask themselves: “Is Bond too old?  Has he lost it?”  It’s a turn on the character that might be considered too serious and self-aware for some Bond fanatics, but I found it very interesting.  So interesting, that I wish they would have explored it a little more in the movie.

Judi Dench does a great job as M and has significant screen time and importance to the story arc.  Unfortunately, her character is so stoic that the emotional arc they take with her and the relationship she has with other characters in the movie (including the mother-like relationship with Bond) doesn’t quite hit home as much as it could have.  Nonetheless, watching her character struggle through the threats of being fired, losing her top agents, and being targeted for death is an adventure from the start.

The reason for most of these threats to M come from the movie’s villain, Silva, played by Javier Bardem.   Bardem puts a unique spin on the “psychopath who wasn’t that bad before he was made this way” villain, and he does it progressively.  When he first appeared on screen, I thought to myself “Bond is going to wipe this guy out immediately! He’s a wimp!” But by the end of the movie, I was concerned for everyone in his path because he was truly a loose cannon.  His character seemed to be inspired by Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight.  This is not a bad thing.  I’ve read a few reviews that say that he should get an Oscar nomination... I wouldn’t be mad about that at all.

The other characters are okay in this, but it’s really all about Bond, M, and Silva.  The computer whiz Q (played by Ben Whishaw)  is entertaining in his small role as he makes his mark a little later in the movie.  I wish that the movie would have given Naomi Harris (as Eve) more to do.

What really makes this film stand out is how it is put together.  From the very first shot in the movie (with the familiar Bond music note), this movie draws you in with its composition.  The cinematography and the set pieces are great (I especially like the last set piece, which is drab, gritty, and enhances the story).  The lighting is excellent.  The sound is great and so is the music.  The movie is very well paced and by the end, it doesn’t feel like it was nearly 3 hours at all.  This is a SOLID movie.  The director Sam Mendes took this Bond movie and made it a true tale worth diving into.  

This one could stand out in a lot of ways as a template for the future Bond movies.  The marketing campaign made it look and sound like a lot of heavy things were truly at stake, the direction and cinematography of the movie is inspired, and right now, Daniel Craig IS James Bond (took him a couple movies to get there, it would be a shame if he stopped now).

A solid movie all around, I recommend you see it and in IMAX if you can.

Skyfall Report Card:

Story - B+

Characters - B

Cinematography - A

Sound - A

Music - A

Extra Credit: Great, Great opening sequence.  The first 20 minutes of the film plus the intro will have you hooked.

Final Grade: A