Review: Skyfall (dir. Sam Mendes)

Story: A mission in Istanbul ends in failure, with Bond (Daniel Craig) pressumed dead and a harddisk with vital data missing. At home, ‘M’ (Judi Dench) is under attacks from government officials and an old foe from her past. But when Bond reappears to save the day, he may no longer be the lethal weapon he once was.

The 23^rd official James Bond film came with high expectations, and some dread. After all, it was the film that would celebrate fifty years of James Bond (Dr. No, the first film, was released 1962). It starred an actor who many consider the best James Bond since Sean Connery, and was directed by award winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road). The dread was that the Bond series would not be able to return to the level of Casino Royale (2006) after the unfortunate Quantum of Solace (2008). And was a high profile ‘serious’ director the right person to direct an action adventure? Would the weight of history drag Bond down or would it give him wings?

Fair is fair, it is quite a relief that Skyfall is a really good James Bond film. It is more than that. It is a really good film. However, it is not as good as some English reviewers would have us believe. In their common, patriottically inspired enthusiasm – in which each new Bond is greeted as wither the best or the worst ever – they hailed Skyfall as the highlight of the franchise’s history. I sincerely doubt this. Skyfall is good, but I doubt whether it is up there with Goldfinger and Casino Royale.

Let su start with the really good things then. First there is an impressive cast, filling a series of iconic roles. Craig is excellent as Bond. I am amongst those who rate him higher than Connery, especially considering the demands of the role in the serious reboot that the series got with Casino Royale. Equally brilliant, and finally in a substantial role, is Judi Dench as M. Javier Bardem’s Silva is one of the scariest but also one of the most believable villains Bond has ever faced. And as if that were not enough, supporting roles are filled with enthusiasm and energy by the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Albert Finney. Bérénice Marlohe and Noamie Harris are interesting Bond girls.

As important as a good cast is a good script. And Skyfall’s plot is serious and grown-up, but also straightforward and founded in a ‘real’ modern world. As GoldenEye (1995) once tried to be, it is a thoughtful meditation on the role of Bond in a digital, post-Cold War world. The film also looks gorgeous, courtesy of cinematographer Roger Deakins. Perhaps a little too gorgeous, as some of the more aesthetic shots hint at the artificiality of Bond’s universe.

Which brings me to my main point of critique. Skyfall’s weakest part is exactly its history. It tries, too much to my taste, to honor the past. Thereby it does not only highlight its artificiality, but it also makes the film predictable, especially in the second half. A number of, what appear to be, red herrings are set up in the plot. And then you don’t expect everything to work out exactly as you’d expect things to work out. It is one thing to bring back the Aston Martin, it is quite another thing to use it the way the film does (see how I try not to give too much away here?). The same is true for a number of ‘unexpected’ character developments.

But hey, what does it say about Skyfall that those are my main points of concern? Only that the rest of the film is really, really good.

Final verdict: Not just a return to form, for Bond, but a return to format as well. An excellent episode that finishes the job Casino Royale started: to set up a new Bond in a new universe. If only it had the balls to let go a little more of the past.

Review: Skyfall trailer

Last week the full trailer for Skyfall came online. What do we think?

First of all, it is not by a long shot as intriguing as that very first teaser, which was a work of art in my book. But that does not mean that this is bad, or that it makes me expect less from the film.

As you may recall, Skyfall is being directed by Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road). This is a clear new direction taken by producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilso. In the past, the director was ‘just for hire’ on Bond films, and if there were ‘authors’  to the series at all than the producers filled that role. Skyfall seems a typical Mendes film, with strong visual images (also courtesy of cinematographer Roger Deakins) and troubled protagonists. Furthermore, Mendes brought his own composer Thomas Newman with him, replacing Bond regular David Arnold.

The action looks stunning. The plot substantial and the threat real. The big question is how especially British audiences will react to what seems to be a terrorist attack on the London Underground.

Javier Bardem is an old-fashioned Bond viollain with an accent and a bad hair day. However, remembering his Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men) he is also properly scary. Ben Whishaw looks good as a new, young ‘Q’. The girls are beautiful, but not much more than that it seems. There is no place for a Vesper Lynd in Skyfall.

If there is a big female role at all, it must be Judi Dench’s M, whose former mistakes cost MI6 dearly now. The question on everyone’s minds is whether Dench will survive the film, with Ralph Fiennes lined up as government official Gareth Mallory.

We will have to wait for November 1st to find out. Until then,w e’ll have to make do with the new trailer and this stunning teaser:

The name is Fall, Skyfall

The movie formerly known as Bond 23 has a title. And that title is Skyfall. This has been announced at a press conference inLondon yesterday by director Sam Mendes.

What a minute. Sam Mendes? He of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road directing a traditional action flick? Yes. Sam Mendes. When this was announced it sparked rumors that Bond 23 would be low on action and heavy on dialogue and character. But Mendes denied these rumors at the press conference by saying that Skyfall will have “all the elements of a classic Bond movie including, to quell any rumors, a lot of action”. Good.

So whadawethink, titlewise? Skyfall? Well, it does not have the mysterious quality of The Man With the Golden Gun or From Russia With Love, but it does beat such garbly nonsense as Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day. And one-word-titles have turned out to be good films in the past: Goldfinger, Goldeneye. Although there are also, oops, Moonraker and Octopussy. Skyfall is not a title with any connection to the Ian Fleming universe. The name is otherwise known as that of a Transformer (though not one from the Bay-films) and as the title of several fantasy novels. What is a Skyfall then? Perhaps a plan, or a machine, or a weapon… You can place your bets now.

The script is written by regular Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade and guest writer John Logan (Gladiator, Rango, the upcoming Scorsese film Hugo). Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli would not reveal much about the plot except for this little blurp:

“Bond’s loyalty to M is tested to the full as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.”

Okay. That sounds exciting enough. But what about Quantum; the mysterious organization from the last two movies? Mendes says that Skyfall is its own story and does not feature Quantum. I find that disappointing. Surely, Quantum of Solace was massively flawed, but I had invested interest in the SPECTRE like secret conspiracy and its mysterious leader Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). I want to see Mr. White getting sucked into a jet engine or ripped to pieces by a giant underwater drill. As I said, a bit of a disappointing move.

Talking casting: Daniel Craig will return as Bond, thank God, he is definitely good enough to do a considerable number of films as 007. Judi Dench will be ‘M’ again, which is also reassuring. New names are (take a deep breath): Ralph Fiennes AND Javier Bardem as bad guys (Bond teaming up against Voldemort and Anton Chigurh, wow!), Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe as Bond girls, Albert Finney (The Bourne Ultimatum) as a government official and Ben Whishaw (Perfume, The Tempest) as an unnamed character.

Filming will take place in London, Istanbul, Shanghai and Scotland. Skyfall is planned to premiere on October 26 2012 in the UK, and one week later in the US and The Netherlands. That is all so far. Apart from this nice piece of traditional Bond artwork: