Bond is back, for better or worse

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2012)

An ex-agent bent on revenge against M wreaks havoc on MI6, and only Bond can stop him.
It is difficult to talk about Skyfall in its own terms as it makes such overt intertextual reference to the preceding two films, and the franchise as a whole. Under siege from the slickness of the Bourne movies, the parody of Austin Powers, and the backstory angst of Batman, the 007 franchise decided to re-invent itself with Daniel Craig and Casino Royale. It all got muddled in Quantum, and Skyfall puts Mendes at the helm to set the ship straight. Casino Royale seemed to be at pains to mitigate, if not exactly justify, the misogynistic legacy of Connery, Moore and Brosnan. Bond had been done over in his early double-O career and love was his weak spot. Skyfall turns it all around once more, taking aim at a female M, and using Moneypenny to show women do not belong in the field, but behind desks as secretaries to M and 007. The Aston Martin returns to symbolise this reversion to the old patriarchal order. A woman is shot but Bond mourns the whisky spilled as collateral damage. A shaken not stirred dry martini might not have been worth a damn to the Casino Royale Bond, but his shaken drink is "just perfect" this time. Bond is getting on, his bones creak, and the Qs are getting younger and lippier. But the more the world changes, Skyfall seems to say, the more Bond will stay the same. We are even back to the villains wanting to talk him to death, rather than just shoot the bloody menace.
Not so much a new outing then, or even a re-boot, but a re-set of the franchise to traditional values - for better or worse.
Great use of locations, especially Istanbul and Scotland (Bond, the quintessential Englishman, apparently grew up in Scotland - no wonder he has issues. Though it does explain Connery's accent). The action sequences are top class, and Bardem cuts loose to great effect as the evil genius. The attempts at modernity falter, however: M is called to a parliamentary committee to account for three executed undercover agents, and lamely quotes Tennyson. Bond's backstory (turns out Batman and Bond both have loss anxiety) is touched upon only to be dismissed by a one-liner quip as Bond watches his childhood home go up in flames. The script strains to keep it all coherent and plausible, and suspension of disbelief is required in greater degrees at some points. Personally, I couldn't always mange it and so my enjoyment of Skyfall was patchy.
So Bond is back, and will be back again, baggage unloaded, and any nods to PC mores or gender politics have been jettisoned like an unwanted passenger in the Aston Martin. The traditionalists will be happy with this re-invention and threading through of New Lad culture tropes. For my part, I had grown fond of the vulnerable Casino Royale Bond. Skyfall works partly as an apology for that incarnation. A shame really. I'll miss him.