James Bond is easily one of the top 5 most recognizable movie characters in the history of the medium, people who have never seen a James Bond movie know who James Bond is. 23 Bond films have been in theaters since the 1960's it's considered the most monetarily successful film franchise in history. After Pierce Brosnan ran his course as Bond through the 90's and early 2000's, as well as the new success of the Jason Bourne franchise James Bond was deemed too out of touch and was in need of a reboot.
Insert Daniel Craig, a mostly unknown character actor Craig beat out frontrunners such as Hugh Jackman and Clive Owen for the role that would forever define whoever puts the tuxedo on. Craig's first film as Bond would be "Casino Royale" one of the only original Ian Fleming novels that had not been properly adapted (Woody Allen and Peter Sellers did make a spoof of Royale at one point). This plan worked as "Casino Royale" quickly became the most successful Bond film in recent history and many placed Craig right up there with Sean Connery as the best Bond ever-after one film. Next up was "Quantum of Solace" which was set up as a direct sequel to "Royale" something again that really hadn't been done before in the franchise. "Quantum" was not as well received critically or commercially as "Royale" but still made a ton of money and in my opinion is a very underrated film. Four years have passed since the release of "Quantum" which brings us to "Skyfall".
Some new blood was added for this go around, most notably, Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) was called upon to helm the film and Academy Award winning actor Javier Bardem was cast as the mysterious villain Silva. Its unfortunate that with all the talent and production value surrounding itself that "Skyfall" is a mediocre Bond film at best.
"Skyfall" opens with the traditional big action scene that is customary with all Bond films, and it really is a good one. This set piece ends with Bond being shot from atop of a train and seemingly left for dead, cue a tremendous opening credits montage with the theme song performed by Adele. At this point all hopes are high for not just a great Bond film but possibly one of the best films of the year. Unfortunately after a somewhat confusing plot set up (not rare for the franchise) "Skyfall" depends on too much of a backstory that is overlong and to be honest boring. Having Mendes who with films such as "American Beauty" and "Revolutionary Road" is a disappointing mistake as some of the action scenes and Bond mainstays get away from him here
A few things are required in Bond films: exotic locations, cool gadgets, beautiful women and a great over the top Bond villain, working as a reboot "Skyfall" throws almost all of these out the window. Bardem is perfectly game as the villain Silva, an ex MI6 agent who only has revenge on the mind. Silva can best be described as an A-sexual albino with a deep mommy complex, the scene in which we are introduced to him (which comes far too late in the picture) is creepy and effective but almost as soon as he appears he disappears and doesn't return until towards the end of the movie. Bardem is like a Spanish version of Christopher Walken, he plays creepy very well, almost to camp levels. We are made to think that Silva is the Hannibal Lecter of the Bond universe, another scene actually has him in a glass prison cell almost identical to the one seen in "Silence of the Lambs" but again Silva is creepy and not terrifying like he is set up to be.
We also find out that Bond is an orphan, the climactic scene actually takes place at his families estate which is left in the care of Kincade played by a grizzly Albert Finney. The thought of finding out about Bond's upbringing and what happened to his parents is interesting in theory but again the execution is not pulled off and Bond basically comes off as Batman without the cool costume.
"Skyfall" is like the prologue to the next movie, new characters are set up and old ones are killed off. The last half of the movie I kept thinking why is this necessary when they just rebooted the franchise two films ago and Craig is signed on for at least 2 more adventures. My take on the mediocrity of this film is in the minority as "Skyfall" in just 3 weeks has already become the highest grossing film in the storied franchise. Even with all the flaws (I'm not even bringing up the scene with the Komodo dragon) "Skyfall" is effective in that it does make me curious to see where this leads the franchise. But maybe I'm just a Bond guy living in a Bourne world...
I disagree with most of your critique. The movie did veer from the previous established format, but i think this was innovative and necessary. Casino Royale was hands down the best. It will be hard to beat. It introduced Craig as the new bond and had the advantage of character introduction, a phase in a movie where many attributes of a character are undefined or malleable. Bond was new and inexperienced, and the intro showed a green Bond earning his stripes, his 00 status, in a brutal and rather sloppy way compared to the finesse and coolheadedness we associate with him.
ReplyDeleteQuantum of Solace was a good film, but my least favorite. Bond was overtaken by emotion, revenge, and I wasn't completely sold on the entire story. But this comment is about Skyfall. Moving on.
I thought Skyfall was great. It captured the evolution of Bond as he transformed from emotionally damaged into what we expect of him. He is forced to confront himself and his past in a way that most of us do, allowing us to feel a connection with the character, and in circumstances only Bond could be in, allowing us to enjoy the thrill of all things Bond. We get to see what makes him tick and watch him become forged and hardened. I think, without giving anything away, this film completes Bond's character and we will see him in full force in the next films. It was a bit more cerebral, and in my view, necessary, for the longevity of the franchise. It gives Bond depth, strength, and humanity.
Also, I think the colors and locations in the film are astounding. There is an amazing amount of contrast and vivid color schemes to blow the senses. In addition, there are some background "references" to Bond's character in the film (e.g. when he talks to Q and one of the final scenes).
I agree that Javier Bardem was not in the film enough. I love that guy. He's amazing. But i would call him a psychotic, possibly bisexual, evil mastermind - a character Bond must recognize he could become if he does not gain control of himself, although there's no twist with Silva being his father. I found him to be amazing and underutilized. He should have had a larger presence. :/
The Bond girl was ok. I was not impressed. So as far as the requirements: locations - good, cool gadgets - where were they?, beatiful women - meh, over the top villian - hell yeah, just underutilized.
I think the next film will be very over the top based on the set up and character development. I thoroughly enjoyed Skyfall. The only thing that could ruin the next one is if Tom Cruise became a producer (thus guaranteeing him running around shirtless inside 5 minutes) or John Woo directing (Bond with ridiculously unrealistic action and physics, and voes...lots of doves.
Although I disagree with your opinion, I respect that you gave the movie a fair shake and put some thought into it. We all have different expectations and likes. but I'm sure we are both looking forward to the next Bond! :)