Released: November 9th,
2012
Rated: PG-13
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes,
Naomie Harris, Albert Finney, Judi Dench
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Personal Bias Alert: not a Bond fan, likes the upgraded team
8 of 10
Let’s
face it, most of what I know about James Bond comes from playing Goldeneye on Nintendo
64. If you were around during that time,
then you know that it was the game,
especially multiplayer, and my time commitment and domination of it knew no
bounds. That didn’t give me much
knowledge about Bond, mostly that the Golden Gun is cool for some unknown reason
and, in the least-spoilery spoiler of all time, Sean Bean dies at the end. None of this prepped me at all for Skyfall, which vaguely delves into Bond’s
backstory when it’s not too busy with chase sequences, beautiful women, and explosions.
This
is a Bond film, so you have to excuse its aforementioned tropes and
fan-foddering as part of the charm. But Skyfall is a notable turn towards
respectability for the series, picking up Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, Gladiator, The Aviator, and Hugo writer John Logan, and cinematographer
god Roger Deakins. The hope was that a
top-notch team could turn the series around after the disappointment of Quantum of Solace, and boy did they pull
off a hard turn in the right direction. Skyfall is long, yes, but it’s expertly
scripted, with layers of plot peeling off in one long, continuous reveal. Even as someone who’s not a big fan of spy
movies, this one had me happily rolling along with it, and the few times that
something did go wrong, well, it moved on before I got too bothered.
This
is Daniel Craig’s third outing as Bond, James Bond, and he delivers the sturdy
sternness that he’s known for. His Bond
isn’t much fun nor does his sex appeal work for me, but he’s far from a failure
in the role. The cast of characters
around him are made up of other dependable performers like Judy Dench, Ben
Wishaw, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, and Naomie Harris. All waltz into their scenes and play off the
uptight Craig well, with Harris and Wishaw bringing a bit of bounce to their
scenes. Bardem as a flamboyant and
distinctive villain (as expected in a Bond film) clearly had a grand old time
with his part, and that energy is a bit infectious. The problem is, he’s oddly not all that
menacing. He’s supposedly a cyber-wiz and
physical threat, but he comes off a bit too cartoony in comparison to the rest
of the dour proceedings to be taken very seriously.
If
anyone’s work is unblemished here, it’s Roger Deakins. It’s nothing new to sing this guy’s praises,
but that’s because his films are so damn beautiful. The scale of his shots, from the flickering
light of a burning building illuminating Bardem’s determined walk to a line of
caskets so straight that the flags pulled taught over them seem to form a red line
down the middle of the room, makes his immaculate work a constant joy to
behold. There’s even a clarity and
energy to his action shots that is superior to what others are doing in this
genre. I’m not sure Bond did anything to
deserve Deakins, but as Shad said, you never question when you get the blessings.
The
top-notch team who put Skyfall together
delivered a beautiful, well-paced film, but it’s still Bond at its core. The action sequences are the punctuation
marks and the casual womanizing and alcoholism are the conjunctions stringing
it all together. Even if, like me, you
don’t go for this Bond charm, Skyfall is
still worth checking out. In between these
ludicirous staples is a well-worn but timeless story that’s fitting for a
character who refuses to leave the pop culture stage long after his contemporaries
have bowed out.
Other
Notes:
Ø While
never boring, there was an awful lot of setup for a fairly basic story.
Ø I
like that they didn’t even bother to explain how Bond survived the opening fight.
Ø That
title sequence was awesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment