Best Bond ever, but still better to come, hopefully

Rating: Null/10 (3 November 2012)

007 motion pictures hitherto are best described as "flicks", granted that a few of them have been enormously entertaining flicks. "Skyfall", finally, is one that deserved be dignified with the term "film".
The first 45 minutes of this 143 minute film sets the stage and tone and warrants a detail description. The opening scene is palpable with not only tension that comes with a thriller, but also a sense of horror, mainly because of the Gothic gloom the camera delivers. Bond (Daniel Craig) goes into a dark apartment and discovers of a bleeding agent. The audience's attention is turned immediately to a moral dilemma as an electronically-transmitted voice sternly orders Bond to ignore his dying colleague and go after the enemy. The voice we soon find out is that of M (Judi Dench) monitoring his action from MI6 Headquarters in London. When Bond emerges from darkness into broad daylight and gets picked up in a jeep by agent Eve (Naomie Harris), we soon find out that they are in Istanbul.
The ensuing 15 minutes of their chasing the enemy gunman brings 007 fans back into the familiar territory of the customary opening sequence. What happens during this exhilarating and ingenious sequence is best described in what Eve says to M (through electronic transmission of course) "It's rather hard to explain, ma'am". The sequence ends with M, while fully aware that Eve does not have a clear shot with Bond and the enemy holding each other in a gridlock atop a speeding train, orders her to take one anyway (another moral dilemma), ending in Bond plunging a few hundred feet into roaring waters.
What's it all about, anyway? MI6 is after a stolen disk that contains secret identities of all their agents around the world. Now this is not exactly the most novel plot, but it does not have to be. "Skyfall" does not offer convoluted plot twists which, frequent moviegoers will agree, have become dime-a-dozen. "Skyfall" offer everything else, and all in excellence.
With Bond dead (temporary, as anyone who has seen the trailer knows, and that probably comprises over 90% of the audience), the focus switches to M. The villain, whoever he may be, is going ferociously after M, first cracking into her security system, the blowing up her headquarters. It's only a matter to time when he cracks the code that protects the list of names he has stolen and all hell will break loose. M gets a new boss, none other than recently retired Voldemont, now in his new identity of Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), who fires her at their very first meeting, with two months' notice. Then comes the best known scene in the trailer when Bond appears in a dark corner of M's room, triggering the following exchange – M: Where the hell have you been; Bond: Enjoying death.
This is the real beginning: Bond's mission to go after the villain. There is just one more, simple, twist: the roles of hunter and prey are later reversed. That's all on the story. Enjoy.
Daniel Craig is acquired taste, commanding a wide spectrum of audience reaction from love to hate. Nothing more needs to be said. You can't talk about 007 without mentioning Bond girls. Interestingly the most important woman here is Judi Dench who can almost be billed as female lead. As support, her performance is Oscar-worthy. The two Bond girls are imbalanced. Naomie Harris first got my attention in "28 days later" (2004) with an impressive performance in that excellent Brit sci-fi. Her performance in "Skyfall" is solid and I think we'll see more of her in future 007 franchises. The new French bond girl is hardly anything more than stage prop, utterly forgettable.
The new Q is Ben Wiltshire who comes with an impressive resume including "Perfume: the story of a murderer", "Brideshead revisited" and "Bright star". He is a vital element in bringing a good balance to this new 007 franchise (Bond #24 and #25 are coming) between old and new, portraying a delightful IT wiz-kid. Albert Finney has a small role that is a little bit of Michael Cane in the new Batman franchise. Most impressive is campy, blond villain in Javier Barden, whose performance has already been compared by many to Joker in "The dark knight" and there is no priase higher than that. The only question is whether it will fetch him his second Oscar, and that is quite possible.
A particular strength in "Skyfall" is the spoken words. The abundance of sparkling dialogue is best represented by an exchange between 007 and Q in their first encounter. The most memorable moment is when M, in a parliamentary inquiry questioning the value of MI6, quotes some of the most loved lines in English poetry, the closing of Tennyson's "Ulysses". This also aptly reflects the spirit and sentiment going forward with the Bond franchise. While on this, I'm most happy with the lineup of the new M, Q and Moneypenny. Hope they'll all come back as, no doubt, planned.
The final praise should go to the titular set piece. "Skyfall" is an old house in a desolate countryside in Scotland where James Bond lived as a kid. This finale accomplished the impossible: lifting an already superb film yet another notch.