Skyfall – review
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall. Photograph: Francois Duhamel
Ever since Sam Mendes was confirmed as the man entrusted with directing James Bond’s 23rd cinematic outing, the franchise’s latest instalment was in good hands. The Oscar-winning British director was personally asked by Daniel Craig – who worked with Mendes on his 2002 gangster epic Road to Perdition – to take the film on, even though he wasn’t sure really sure at the time whether he could be so bold.
Craig and Casino Royale got Bond’s reboot off to a flier, with much of the cheesiness of the past replaced with intense Bourne-like fight scenes, realistic (if epic) chases and vibrant settings, plus a darker, more fragile and accessible 007. Still suave, smug and quick-witted, our modern Bond is not unbreakable, he is an agent pushed to the limit physically and mentally, the result of which is all too clear to his employers. These are themes at the heart of Skyfall.
There are similarities between what Christopher Nolan has done with Batman to what the writers and producers have tried to do with Bond, particularly here with Mendes in the driving seat, who has cited Nolan’s The Dark Knight as being influential on his approach to taking Bond to the next level. Nolan reinvented a slightly tired and tainted saga and not only breathed new life into it, but showed that the comic book genre can be taken seriously come award season.
Nolan brought big icons into the modern world, making them relevant and emotive, whilst still giving the audience the popcorn-spilling tempo and action. Casino Royale showed Bond to be a real man in the real world, battling demons just like us all. Just because James Bond is an extraordinary individual, like Bruce Wayne, he is not infallible.
If the follow-up, Quantum of Solace, was received with a little disappointment, Skyfall will make up for the anti-climax and should not only satisfy the expectations of fans, but renew lofty ambitions for the future of the Bond franchise.
The premise of Skyfall is a relatively simple, with the intention seemingly to focus on themes and characters. As the film’s trailer suggests, Bond (Craig) is shot during a covert operation and presumed dead (he plunges into a river off a bridge, from atop a train). This occurs during the traditionally-dramatic opening chase scene, where 007 is hunting down a criminal in possession of a hacked list of every active undercover NATO agent. However, Bond returns from “retirement” when he sees news of a terrorist attack on the MI6 building and realises the imminent repercussive threat on his country. Patriotism calls him back to London and to M (Judy Dench).
The man behind the attack has links to MI6, an unwavering agenda and viscous intent. He is ready to play a terrifying game with the British Secret Service, with Bond and M as his prime opposing players. Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is a man on a deadly mission and his perfectly constructed plan includes sequentially releasing the identities of undercover operatives and breaching MI6 systems and controls, but his true intentions are fuelled by a personal vendetta.
With the game of revenge set up, there are several thematic sub plots. One is the contrast of the old world and new world. When lecturing Bond, Silva calls MI6 and its agents old-fashioned, comparing it a “grand old war ship” ready for scrap. He shows you can bring security to its knees with a few clicks of a mouse and clever gadgetry. When Bond meets the new (and youthful) Q (Ben Whishaw) and scoffs at his age, the witty whizkid quips, “I’ll hazard I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pyjamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field.”
There are questions about whether the returning Bond is washed up, while at the same time there are questions over M’s future. Silva taunts the rough-around-the-edges 007 and plays on his vulnerability, questioning the rights and wrongs of the treatment of special agents, while the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), does some tough talking to M and puts pressure on her to retire with dignity.
M retorts by saying, “to hell with dignity”, but Mallory recites the cold details of the impending doom of the cyber-terrorism threat: “Three months ago, you lost the drive containing the identity of every agent embedded in terrorist organizations across the globe.” There are doubts over MI6’s old regime and concern whether the era of fighting in the shadows has had its day.
Skyfall is an exciting rollercoaster ride that sees MI6 tested to the extreme in a scarily realistic terror threat. Bond tears around London as never seen before and he has really met his match in the maniacal Silva, whose playful rhetoric and camp expressiveness, fused with acute flickers of fury, recalls The Dark Knight’s Joker. Bardem delightfully revels in the role and delivers some unforgettable lines.
Mendes also gives nods aplenty to the old and new in relation to the well-trodden path of James Bond film formula and the director has hinted that this is partly to do with Skyfall’s release falling in the 50th year of the franchise. We see Bond in highly-contrasting locations, from the modern neon metropolis of Shanghai to the untouched, remote Scottish highlands (featuring a cameo from the legendary Albert Finney). In terms of gadgetry, Q jokes about gimmicks of the past, like the exploding pen. Even the classic car, the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, makes a comeback.
Mendes has ticked all the boxes for fans and admitted the pressure he felt in putting together another show-stopping opening chase, largely filmed in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, but more impressive than the high-octane stunts is the brilliantly constructed tripartite character study involving Silva, Bond and M, who are inextricable linked.
The film does not disappoint either in the Bond-girl stakes and our hero is not shy about shedding his clothes when in the company of the ladies. There is the dark and troubled Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe), who is the reluctant “possession” of Silva, and then MI6’s own, Eve (Naomie Harris), who was the one to deliver the friendly fire that dropped Bond from the bridge at the beginning of the story, when under pressure to “take the shot” at the target, who was tussling with Bond on the roof of the train.
Bond has never been grittier, cooler or more believable, as his world of espionage comes into contact with the world that we know. Skyfall will send your emotions sky high, as it has done for the box office takings.
Skyfall (12A)
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judy Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear.
Running time: 143 minutes
Skyfall is showing at the Rio Cinema until 8 November and at the Hackney Picturehouse throughout November.