Skyfall (2012) is a great movie; it’s just not as great as it could have been.
There is no question that Skyfall is the best made Bond movie in the last 50 years. It is artfully and creatively filmed, and shows us Bond doing his thing as a dark silhouette in the shadows, among bright and multi-colored neon lights, and even under an iced-over lake in the Scottish moors. A lot of credit must go to both director Sam Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins for delivering the most beautiful Bond film in decades.
And while the story is in many ways fresh and exciting, it never reaches the same heights as franchise-best Casino Royale (2006). Never is the narrative quite as intense or engrossing, and never do we quite care about Bond’s journey as much we did in 2006. It’s unfortunate that all future Bond movies (at least Daniel Craig-staring Bond movies) must be compared to Casino Royale, but that is the blessing and curse we are left with. It’s unfortunate because Skyfall is unquestionably one of the better Bond movies. But it is not the best.
First, the good things. Aside from the aforementioned cinematography and direction, Skyfall features some incredible performances from Craig as Bond, Dame Judi Dench reprising her role as M for the last time, Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, and Ben Whishaw, the first actor to play Q since John Cleese in 2002’s Die Another Day (2002). French actress Bérénice Lim Marlohe does an impressive job playing Sévérine, although she does not have much screen time. Finally, everything that has been said about Javier Bardem’s performance is true. He plays Raoul Silva with a sociopathic flamboyance that makes all of his scenes uncomfortable to watch, but totally engrossing.
Yet, Silva’s motivations do not always mirror his actions, and I was left more than a little confused about what Silva truly hoped to accomplish. At times, Silva’s plan was so precise and meticulous that he knew exactly when a subway train was going to pass over a piece of track right where he had placed a bomb at the precise time Bond stood underneath said section of track. At other times, Silva was unable to shoot M at near point blank range. Why would Silva orchestrate such a precise and elaborate plan only to have the ultimate goal of such plan (i.e. killing M) left to a chance bullet?
Bardem himself said in an interview that his character was the most undeveloped of all the main characters in the film, and that he only agreed to accept the role on the condition that he could work with Mendes and the screenwriters to make his character more interesting. For the most part, it seems his efforts were successful.
However, Skyfall’s biggest problem is that Bond’s character arc is not as satisfying as the setup leads us to believe. The film opens with M ordering MI6 Agent Eve (Naomi Harris) to shoot a target who is at that moment battling Bond on the top of a moving train. Bond is hit, and falls from a bridge to the waters below. We spend a lot of time establishing that Bond has been both physically and psychologically damaged from this incident. He avoids returning to MI6 for as long as possible, resorting to alcohol and self-medication to numb his pain. When he does finally return, he fails both his physical and mental evaluations. He is out-of-breath after only a few laps in the pool. He cannot shoot straight. And it is unclear how much he really trusts M after she almost had him killed. We spend almost the entire first hour of the film establishing Bond’s hurt, and yet none of it really matters in the rest of the film. Aside from a failed shooting contest, Bond’s physical and emotional scars are all but forgotten as the film moves into its second and third acts. Bond is capable and competent when he needs to be. And the film ends without ever dealing with the dark issues raised in its first half, such as Bond’s alcoholism and depression. Thus, while it is interesting to see Bond so vulnerable and fragile, the film never does anything truly compelling with its broken lead character. I was left unsatisfied.
Finally, I found there were a few too many nods to the past. While I enjoy an homage or subtle reference as much as the next Bond fan, too many such references feel out-of-place in this more modern and realistic world. The Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964) has more than a cameo in the film’s final act. And I don’t just mean any Aston Martin DB5, I mean THE Aston Martin DB5, complete with all of the original gadgets. The look of pain and anger on Daniel Craig’s face when Silva blows up the car (a shot that lasts an uncomfortable five seconds), is laughable, and really took me out of what was otherwise a really thrilling and emotional sequence. Craig didn’t even look that angry when Vesper Lynd died in Casino Royale.
I love Craig’s take on Bond. And I would take Skyfall any day over the wretched Quantum of Solace (2008), or most of the other Bond movies. I am merely disappointed that it was not as good as it could have been. The setup was so strong, and the filmmaking was as good as it has ever been. Let us all try again in two years.
Professor P
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