What’s the one word that really brings a smile to the face of a movie studio executive? Well aside from “profit” that word would probably be “franchise”. That’s a film property that spawns countless sequels and lucrative merchandising. Well SKYFALL celebrates 50 years of the greatest. longest-running film franchise of them all (we’ll see if Harry Potter or “Star Wars” can go five decades): James Bond 007. 1962 saw the release of the first ‘Cubby Broccoli/Harry Saltzman produced feature adaptation based on Ian Fleming’s popular novel ( there was a live US TV version of “Casino Royale” with Barry Nelson as “Jimmy” Bond broadcast in 1954): DR. NO. The series quickly become the main jewel in studio United Artists’ crown. As several pop-culture scholars have stated, the 60’s were the three B’s: Beatles, Batman, and Bond. While the lads from Liverpool broke up by the end of the decade and the Caped Crusader went into a decades long hibernation (the comic books continued, though). the Bond movie series endured, past other spies he inspired on the big screen (James Coburn as Derek Flint, Dean Martin as Matt Helm, etc.) and small (” The Man From UNCLE”, “Get Smart”). And the Bonds films survived the recasting of the hero. Daniel Craig is the sixth 007 over the course of 22 “official” films ( the 1967 CASINO ROYALE and the 1983 NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN are not part of the UA/Broccoli family canon). And after a four-year break ( thanks to some financial struggles with MGM/UA), the gentleman spy is back for this, Bond mission 23. But the times have changed so much in 50 years. Is he past his prime? Should he put away the Walter PPK? Well to quote one of the many advertising tag lines, “He’s got a license to kill…and thrill!”. And Mr. Bond’s newest exploit may be the most thrilling yet!
As SKYFALL begins, we’re thrown right into the conclusion of Bond’s (Craig) dangerous new mission. He and a co-agent, Eve (Naomie Harris) must retrieve a top-secret hard drive. But things do not go as hoped and 007 is missing. Things are also not going well for his superior M (Judi Dench) back in London. After several foreign agents’ identities are compromised, she’s pressured by her boss, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) to retire. Then an attack on MI6 headquarters prompts the MIA Bond to return. But his time away has left the master spy terribly out of shape. He’ll need to be in top form to speed across the globe in order to eliminate the cyber-terrorist known as Silva (Javier Bardem). Along the way, Bond may face his greatest challenge fighting Silva’s considerable forces and confronting his own past.
For this film Craig is called on to do more than be a clothes “horse”, throw a punch, or draw his weapon. Although he’s superb at all those tasks. We get a Bond that really runs a full range of emotions: angry, arrogant, fearful, unsure, even melancholy. This life as taken a toll on more than just his battered body. Craig is compelling every second he’s on screen whether his piercing blue are zeroed in on an enemy agent or a belligerent beaurocrat. The working over he got in CASINO ROYALE is merely a warm-up for what he must endure here (Craig’s Bond may be the most abused spy ever). And about those action scenes, Craig is one guy you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley (as opposed to a couple Bond actors I won’t name). No wonder some characters in the films refer to him as a “blunt instrument”. But in SKYFALL Craig shows us his very human heart.
The say that a hero’s only as good as his villain and Bardem is spellbinding as the enigmatic Silva, who shares a bit of Bond’s background along with a vendetta against M. We don’t meet him till nearly the half way mark but Silva puts a surprising spin on the 007/master villain first meeting/interrogation scene that’s a staple of this franchise. Their conversation (as Bond is tied to a chair) will have longtime fans buzzing. Bardem is a complex monster, equal parts menacing and pathetic. On the heroes’ side, Fiennes is the proper politico blowhard that doubts Bond initially. He later proves himself. It’s great to see veteran actor Albert Finney who is also wonderful as a tough old duffer who possess a key to Bond’s past. Part of Bond’s support team is re-introduced here with Ben Whishaw as Q, the dispenser (and often inventor) of spy-tech. Bond’s leery of Q’s youth, but the “brute” and the “geek” are soon working side by side. Speaking of side by side, Harris (as Eve) has a wonderful partnership (and some playful flirting) with Craig. A different fliteration occurs between Bond and possible lover/informant Severine (Berenice Marlohe). Yes, she’s alluring but also more than a bit tragic. You know that she’ll be haunting Bond’s dreams for some time. These actresses are great, but the most meaningful relationship may be the one between 007 and his boss M (Dench). They start at odds, but this wears away to mutual respect, and eventually a mother/son devotion and affection. This is Dench’s seventh outing as Bond (counting the four Pierce Brosnan films) and her finest work in the series. There’s been a tradition of “Bond girls”, women who dominate each outing like Ursula Andress in DR. NO or Halle Barry in DIE ANOTHER DIE. In a way, the “girl” here is Dench. They make a wonderful couple who have a true emotional connection well beyond the romantic. Oh, and did I say that this M may be tougher than all the previous M’s combined.
For this adventure, the caretakers of the Bond films have entrusted this entry to an Oscar winning director: Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY). There have been many skilled artists directing Bond since Terence Young helmed the first two, DR. NO and the cold war classic FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, and there’s been a few “journeyman” film makers, but few have created such artistic images for a big popcorn flick. From the start we see a starkly lit hallway with Craig’s unmistakeable silouhette bursting from the shadows. Later a sequence of a tuxedo-clad 007 drifting across the waters via canoe to a bright casino is a lush, painterly image. But Mendes’s cameras are there to catch every gasp-inducing frame of some of the best stunt work to grace the series. Luckily the Coen Brother’s gifted cinematographer Roger Deakins highlights the different sequences, whether it’s the neon glow of Hong Kong or the crowded, grimey London “tube” at rush hour. Thomas Newman contributes an expert score that adds a dash of the classic Monty Norman theme just at the right moment. In the tradition of title theme songs, Adele sings (and co-writes) the tune that works well with some great film graphic images. It’s not quite the pop anthems that Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” and Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does it Better” from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, but it does evoke the jazzy stylings of Shirley Bassey (most notably GOLDFINGER). Happily the producers have included many nods and winks to earlier Bond flicks for longtime fans. You might say that the overall excellance of this new adventure is the ultimate thank-you to Bond fans of all-ages worldwide. Is this the best Bond? Well my first theatre-going experiences are of seeing that dapper Scotsman named Sean, so he’ll always be my image of the super-cool spy. But this is certainly the best Bond of the last four decades. And SKYFALL is one of the best films of the year. I hoist my vodka martini (shaken..aw you know!) to you, Mr. Bond! Here’s to 50 more years of unmatched screen thrills!
5 Out of 5 Stars
