Skyfall

Why do we return time after time to James Bond and the 007 series? It is a phenomenon that has been around for 50 years, and by the end of the latest film in the saga, it promises to come back yet again. Back to the question. I think it has something to do with the fact that James Bond is the ultimate male hero. He is  well dressed, good looking, physically fit, gets the girl, has the perfect  car, and even orders his drink precisely the way he wants it: shaken NOT stirred. James Bond is in command of every single aspect of his life. He is the guy every guy wants to be. Skyfall, I believe, is what happens when you take that character we all know so well and turn him inside out.

 This James Bond has a multitude of weaknesses which can be exploited. There is a scene in which Bond sneaks into M's apartment. It is dark when she comes in and finds him; all we can see is the perfect silhouette of a man in a suit. M turns on the light and Bond is revealed. Had he been bleeding, or with a gun to his head, or anything really would be more predictable than what we see: James Bond unshaven. Some closeups focus specifically on the detail that is Bond's white beard. 

The film starts off conventionally for a Bond picture, with a bang. A man has just stolen a list containing the names of all British secret agents. Bond's objective is to track him down and retrieve the list. On his way, he encounters a wounded British agent, who was shot trying to protect the list. Bond tries to take a minute to heal him, a rather humane act. The second he does this, M, who is listening in on the chase, cold-bloodedly tells Bond to abandon the agent and continue with his mission. Reluctantly, he agrees, but does not fail to remind M that the man will die. A shot of M shows that she is strangely unmoved. The chase continues and elaborately builds up into a car, then motorcycle, and finally a train chase (the best I have seen since Unstoppable.)From afar, another agent has been trailing Bond. She gets into a position where she can shoot down both the man with the list and Bond, but not just the target. M encourages her to "take the bloody shot." Miraculously, she hits only Bond. He falls into a river and is presumed dead. 

What an opening! High praise must be given to director Sam Mendes for the sequence but especially to the editor, Stuart Baird, for holding on to shots worth seeing, and for not chopping  up the scene into little pieces, something which made the action of Quantum of Solace unbearable. I was reminded of the chase in Casino Royale (which he also edited) and how I never felt lost or confused.  In his review of Casino Royale, Roger Ebert wrote:

the chases in Casino Royale take place in something vaguely approximating real space and time. Of course I know they used deceptive camera angles and edits to cover impossibilities, but the point is: They try to make it look real. Recently, with the advent of portable cameras and computerized editing action movies have substituted visual chaos for visual elegance." 

Visual chaos took over Quantum of Solace. Visual elegance returns triumphantly in Skyfall. 

 After spending some time off-radar, 007 comes back, with a beard. The fall affected him deeply. He runs out of breath during his physical evaluation, and falls down to the floor the second he is left alone. He also carries psychological wounds. During his shooting evaluation, he is unable to get a single shot on target. James Bond is always supposed to be cool. However, the instant he misses that target, he is enraged. Daniel Craig beautifully shows the pain it causes 007 to lose control, to be unable to protect his country. There is another similar moment in which Bond has to run across London to rescue M. He runs and runs, straight at the camera. It costs him dearly. Craig presents a Bond literally on the verge of collapse. What is so wonderful about him is his vulnerability. That perfect man that all men wish they could be is just a mortal man. I make the film sound morbid, when indeed it is a lot of fun. The movie has plenty of dark comedy, and Craig shows us plenty of Bond's dry wit. The funniest, most disturbing situation he's placed in prominently features a Chinese thug and a Komodo dragon. 

Still, the idea that James Bond could break frightens. A mirror image of a broken Bond is the villain Skyfall gives us. Raoul Silva was, or so he tells us, an agent just like 007. One day, he was betrayed by the MI6 and taken prisoner. He somehow survived and escaped, but not unchanged or unharmed. Javier Bardem (with a haircut almost as memorable as that of Anton Chigur in No Country for Old Men) is almost unrecognizable especially when he takes off his… never mind, I won't spoil it, it makes for a terrifying sight. What I can say is that Bardem makes Silva into the most dangerous villain our hero has ever encountered. Because he was like Bond, Silva knows how he works, what makes him tick. He threatens Bond in ways unimaginable. Thankfully, his main objective is not Bond, but M. 

Judi Dench deserves to be called the star of Skyfall. This is now her seventh time in the role, but it is the first time she is used properly. An actress of her caliber is not to be wasted. Dench fills M with dignity and humanity right when she is at her lowest point as a character, ready to be discarded by the nation she has worked so hard to protect. There is a public hearing in which M gets one last chance to prove that she is worth keeping. She quotes Alfred Tennyson's "Ulysses" 

Though much is taken, much abides; and though 

 We are not now that strength which in old days 

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are-- 

One equal temper of heroic hearts, 

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.  

Such immortal lines, spoken so eloquently by one of the greatest actresses of our times. Judi Dench gave a performance that I will not soon forget. 

Finally, I must say that this is the best looking of all Bond films. It was shot by Roger Deakins, who is, in this reviewer's humble opinion, the greatest cinematographer that ever lived. There is a magnificent sequence in the film that takes place inside a dark Shanghai skyscraper. The way the light from giant screens outside bounce around the glass walls of the building is absolutely breathtaking. Also worth mentioning is the gorgeous, peaceful Scottish countryside that serves as background to the film's extended climax. 

Verdict- 4/4

Skyfall (2012) PG-13 2h 24min. 

Random Thoughts

- The return of Q is amazing, as well as that of Miss Moneypenny.

- Every time I see Ralph Fiennes I expect him to play a bad guy. Skyfall seemed to anticipate it. It uses his image to its advantage. 

- I don't recall the name of the bond girl, which is a shame. They're usually more memorable

- All hail the return of the Aston Martin DB5!!!

- For more Roger Deakins see No Country for Old Men, Fargo, or The Shawshank Redemtion. 

- Link to the whole poem "Ulysses" which, not unlike Skyfall, is all about a legendary character's encounter with mortality http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/Ulysses.html