“Skyfall” Features An Old But Spry James Bond
On my way to the theater for Skyfall I passed through the DePaul University campus and past gobs of students all carrying their books and backpacks to and from class and I had No Doubt piped through my headphones and for a brief second I thought I was 20 years old again. But then I realized my left knee was aching for no valid reason and remembered this was 2012 and I was old.
We all get old. Yes, even that death-defying rapscallion James Bond. The 23rd entry into the ongoing Agent 007 franchise, courtesy of noted art house director Sam Mendes, goes to show that you can keep replacing the world’s most famous cinematic secret agent with different actors but eventually he too will hit the brick wall of age.
Don’t get me wrong, Daniel Craig’s hard-eyed, pocket-squared protagonist still jumps from high places, ducks to avoid bullets, rams into fruit carts, employs a caterpillar tractor to dramatic effect, and, most magnificently, in the midst of battle still takes time to adjust his cufflinks. Nevertheless, the screenplay makes sure to portray him and his indefatigable superior M (Judi Dench, grace under fire) as having their places in this action-packed universe slowly eradicated.
In fact, at first glance Skyfall appears seriously lacking in the Bond girl department. Naomie Harris’s Eve turns up for the exhilarating start and then gets saddled with a desk job and Berenice Marlohe’s Severine is gone almost as soon as she arrives. And this is because in unity with the film’s theme of seniority, the real Bond Girl here, believe it or not, is M. She’s put in peril, handles a gun and is even cradled in the arms of her favorite agent.
At the start, M’s superior, Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), mentions the word “retirement planning” to her and after a brief time when Bond appears dead and buried (ha!) wonders right to 007′s face why he didn’t stay dead and buried. This is the modern world. They have no place. “What did you expect, an exploding pen?” asks the new, boyish Q (Ben Whishaw) when equipping Bond with his brand new pistol and not much else. No, exploding pens have gone the way of traditional espionage, which is to say – what good are field agents in the face of online terror?
This would be the mode of evildoing by the film’s chief and equal opportunity villain Silva, played deftly by Javier Bardem in such a way that he goes over the top without going off the rails, theatricality contrasted against Craig’s stoicism. There is always something about him that puts you on frightened edge and yet that frightened edge always has just a touch of the jocular if not also of the cabaret. His motives can be found in the past he shares with MI6, M and Bond.
But Silva’s past is not the only one addressed in Skyfall. With more than a whiff of an ode to the backstory of Bruce Wayne, though also based in part on Ian Fleming’s novel You Only Live Twice, Mendes traces 007′s roots back to his home in Scotland which leads to a fiery showdown. In a film packed with movie references this final shootout evokes bits and pieces of both L.A. Confidential’s last stand and William Munny’s reckoning in Unforgiven.
The setting (I doubt it gets wi-fi) and weaponry used throughout this third act is purposely old school. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, of course, but then can’t the old dog simply serve some of the tricks he already knows?
In the end we are left with the reassurance that James Bond will return as Skyfall neatly deflects the question of its main character’s advancing age. How do you stop the march of time? Go back to the beginning.
21 Comments
I feel like the entire purpose of this movie– apart from the through-line that documents the consequences of “making the mission no matter the cost”– is to get to the core of what makes Bond Bond so that the series can get back to the things that make the character so iconic. As much as there’s smirking fun made of his gadgets and his other foibles, there’s a lot of love for them here as well, and I think the film ends in a place where we’re back with Bond’s essence after a good, thorough peeling of the layers.
For me, this is a home-run. And it’s the first time I’ve really found myself aching for another Bond film immediately upon seeing the “James Bond will return” line at the credits.
“…so that the series can get back to the things that make the character so iconic.” So, like a true, honest to goodness reboot. An interesting idea. Is Mendes going to back on board for the next one, though? Do they do that with Bond movies? Or just take this movie and then build on it with whoever?
I actually have no idea. But if he isn’t, he should be. Mendes did wonderful work here, along with Deakins, so I wouldn’t be sad at all to see them reteam with Craig for the next film.
Not that I think the next movie will be all silliness as with the older Bond films (that I’ve seen at least), but I get the impression that we’ll see a much stronger blend of the absurd alongside the serious, which is, I think, the essence of Skyfall.
I think you’re right. I think that would really be a unique direction for the franchise to go, to tap the same director for the follow-up and then follow through with what he was doing.
Great review! I thought this film was magnificent. Mendes does a beautiful job of bringing the world of Bond to life. I also felt especially attached to Dench’s M and Bardem’s Silva. They were both very enthralling, and helped to bring some extra emotion to a normally stoic side of Bond. This is a very nice installment to a very epic franchise.
Thank you. Yeah, that’s got to be a record as far as screen time for M. She’s in there a lot. Like I said, she’s the Bond girl.
Given the context of the film, it makes sense to have her as the Bond girl. The film deals deeply with her relationship with Bond, and the high risk/high reward factor that she must always take a chance on with Bond. I loved that very much.
I wasn’t blown away but Skyfall is definitely up there as my favorite Bond movie. Mendes is probably the most pedigreed and talented director to helm a James Bond movie and I appreciate the emotional depth that he infused into the franchise.
That said, Roger Deakins did an amazing job with the photography and he definitely has to be in the discussion as far as Oscars go.
So how many Bond movies have you seen Cas?
Totally agree about the emotional depth and the gorgeous cinematography. Old school and personal, which surprisingly makes for a quite modern James Bond film!
6 or 7 only
Was there really THAT much emotional depth, though? Although, then again, I suppose for a Bond movie it is quite a bit of emotional depth.
Bond movies are just so difficult to compare, especially modern ones to the older ones because they are just so different tonally. I stand by the statement that the best Bond movie I watched in November 2012 was “The Spy Who Loved Me.” But it’s really just because that sort of Bond movie is my personal preference.
That said, “Skyfall” was WAAAAAAAAAY better than “The Man With The Golden Gun.”
No there wasn’t that much. But a little bit of emotional backbone goes a long way when you look at the entire franchise.
So have you seen any of the Dalton’s Bonds Nick? I’m curious as they’re definitely a shift from the Roger Moore’s style. ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ is great though, definitely not as silly as ‘Moonraker’ which is more of a guilty pleasure for me
I have. Both of them. In fact, “The Living Daylights” was the first Bond movie I ever saw, which is why I will always and forever associate Bond with exploding milk bottles. And why I probably prefer “Living Daylights” of the two.
this sounds good, though your review is more of a mixed bag. you definitely can’t have Bond without the Bon girls, but it sounds like the chemistry between craig and bardem was spot-on
Yeah, are some, uh, shall we say, intriguing developments between Craig and Bardem. They don’t really go beyond being suggestive but if Mendes had wanted to follow them through……
Well, it would not have been a Red State Bond movie, I’ll just leave it at that.
Even though this has been out here for ages I still have not got around to seeing it. I will wait for Home Entertainemnt release…. Yes I am a sour puss.
One of my writers gave it a 5 star review on FRC so maybe I should get over myself!!
If you’re not a huge Bond fan you can probably wait for home video.
“And this is because in unity with the film’s theme of seniority, the real Bond Girl here, believe it or not, is M.” I love that and it’s so true!
Ha! Thank you. One of the craftiest parts of the movie I thought.
I didn’t touch on this in my above response, but it’s absolutely true. And fantastic.
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