Bond Review: "Skyfall"

Released: 2012

Actor: Daniel Craig

Villain: Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem)

Henchman: none of significance

Allies: Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Gareth Mallory aka M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw), M (Judi Dench), Kincaid (Albert Finney)

Bond Girl: Moneypenny (yes!!), Sévérine (Bérénice Lim Marlohe)

First Appearance: new Q, new M, new Moneypenny

Notable Departures: Dench's M

Cool Cameos: the classic DB5, Walther PPK

Precredits sequence: Bond hunts a man who stole a hard drive with the name of NATO agents infiltrated in terrorist organizations, with help from Eve. However, at a crucial point in the chase, M orders Eve to shoot the man, with Bond in close proximity, risking Bond's life. She shoots, but hits Bond, and the man escapes.

Plot: Mallory meets with M, regarding the missing drive, which has been gone for 3 months now, and is told she will be forced to retire. Bond, meanwhile, is enjoying life, as he's thought to be dead. When Silva highlights M's office, blowing it up, Bond returns. Bond fails his training exams, but M passes him, and sends him to find the man who stole the drive. Bond goes to Shanghai, but the man dies before he can question him. There, he mets Severine, who says she's trapped by Silva, and will take him to her. Bond agrees, and meets Silva on his abandoned island, which he cleared by using his hacking to cause panic among the population. There, he knows about Bond's failing exams, and in a nice monologue of sorts, explains how they're the two rats in a trap, and M is not his ally or his mother. Silva kills Severine, but is captured by MI-6. However, he orchestrates an escape by hacking into Q's networks, and goes to kill M during a hearing. Bond flees with M, taking her to skyfall, where with the help of Kincaid, they hold of Silva. M, however, suffers a mortal wound, and Bond kills Silva, and cradles M as she dies. Eve gives Bond his part of M's will, an ugly dog she had on her desk, A message for him to keep going. Bond learns that Eve's last name is Moneypenny, and she's going to be at a desk from now on. Then, he learns that M is calling him, and goes in to see Mallory, who has a new mission for him, which he accepts with pleasure.

Thoughts: The best Bond movies, to me, are the ones that deal with the character of Bond. There are two that really delved into his character so far, Casino Royale and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, so it's no surprise those are the top two on my list. I'm glad to say Skyfall is the third film to focus on Bond, in some ways intimately so. It also celebrates Bond's 50th anniversary in full style, subtle and dignified, not bold and blaring like Die Another Day. Silva was a memorable villain, both due to his backstory and to his characteristics and mannerisms. In a sense, he's a foil to Bond, the image of an agent gone wrong, an agent abandoned. Bond was abandoned at the start, with M putting his life at risk. Silva was also given up. But whereas Bond returned with full loyalty to M, Silva felt it a betrayal. Silva considered himself to be M's favorite, and Bond to be her new favorite. As such, he felt it all came down to Bond and Silva, the two rats, and their mother, M.

I was shocked at how daring they made this film. We never really had an explanation of what happened to previous Ms, we just saw a new replacement. This is the first time we saw M actually die, and in the field, no less. But again, we go back to the character of Bond. The titular skyfall is the name of Bond's childhood home, where his parents died, and he became a man. It's what hardened him, made him the material MI-6 was looking for. A return there, with a targeted M, was like a return to the comfort, the safety of his home, with his old caretaker included. The destruction of skyfall, and the death of M, who was as close to a replacement mother figure as Bond had, was like a new hardening of the character. Bond lost another mother figure, and lost his home completely. All at the hands of an agent, nearly the same as him, who took a different path.

How this shapes the series, and the character, can be very interesting. But just taking this film alone, it's almost like a second regeneration for Bond. From being out-of-shape and old, to being re-hardened and back on duty by the end, we see a progression of this character. Not to mention the subtle 50th anniversary homages. Starting with the hints of Monty Norman's classic theme in Adele's stellar throwback theme, to the Walther PPK, to the reintroduction of Q branch and Q, the not-as-subtle Aston Martin DB5 extended cameo, and finally the reintroduction of Moneypenny, the new M, and the classic M office, they did a commendable job honoring the old and paving the path for the new. They mentioned Moneypenny, and she's more developed a character than we knew previously. Moneypenny! I was hoping they'd do that, and they did. And the ending line was just so good, and delivered well, with Bond acknowledging and accepting the new M. "With pleasure, M. With pleasure." After all those Moore films with the early mission briefings in that room, it's so nice to see Bond back there again with M, and Moneypenny just through the doors. And Q was also well done, a subtle character, serious like Llewlyn, and good at what he does, and some good banter between him and Bond. I'm excited for the next series, where we can see more of these classic supporting characters, finally. I also liked how the Bond girls weren't overplayed, they had strong but short roles here. And what's up with Bardem's slightly sterotypical homosexual mannerisms? Was that supposed to be as unsubtle as it was? And Ralph Fiennes as M is just way too cool and exciting.

I really, really enjoyed this film. And so happy I was able to avoid major spoilers. I liked how the plot was very simple and non-convoluted, but emotional at its core. I dont understand why the barrel shot happened at the end again, kind of annoying, but the 50th anniversary logo was nice, and of course, "James Bond Will Return." Had no clue M would die, or Moneypenny would be here.And the theme song is so good, it's the first time in the recent Bonds that I went in not having the song purposefully beforehand, and it was rewarding. It was so catchy throughout the film. And it had a classy, classic vibe to it. Like, Connery-era, Thunderball-style class. And Daniel Kleinman did the titles again, which to me rank among the top Bond titles. As do most of his. The first parts of the titles were decent, but it hit its peak with the ink blot stains, featuring perhaps the best appearance of the silhouette dancing girls.

Overall, this is a stellar Bond film. Whether it takes the top spot from Casino Royale, well it's too early to tell. And it requires a re-viewing, to reassess it. But as of now, it easily makes it into the top 5 for me, and really sets the bar higher for future Bond films and the franchise, I think.

 

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