Where you go I go, what you see I see

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2012)

After the abortion that was Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is the only Bond to retain the same actor after a four year long gap, and is the representation of the 50th anniversary of MGM's flagship franchise. Does Skyfall deliver, or does Adele let it crumble? It has a LOT (and I mean a helluva lot) to make up for, and I feel that critics fawned over it a bit too much, probably just ecstatic that it wasn't Quantum of Soulless. I enjoyed some of Skyfall, but overall I felt deflated and occasionally a bit bored. There's more subtext here than usual, but the plot is full of holes and it weighs down the action too much.
After a list of undercover agents is stolen (it is never explained how as the movie jumps in after the story has already started) Bond goes off in pursuit of the culprit and is accidentally gunned down by his colleague during a scrap aboard a train moving over a massive viaduct. M believes him dead and is due to be hauled over the coals for analogue incompetence in a digital age. But Bond knows he lives twice and guesses he'll die another day. He's broken and beaten-down, though he insists he's good enough for another shot at catching the baddie.
And so enters Javier Bardem as Silva, a charismatic ex-agent (it's never made clear if he was a double-oh) who lives for revenge. He IS a great villain and is wonderful to watch, bringing an unusual amount of sadness and empathy to the role. He wants to get back at M for selling him out some years previous, and as Bond does everything in his power to protect her they come across as siblings fighting for mother's attention and approval. It gives the film an emotional heart that Bond doesn't usually have.
I feel that this is undone by such ludicrous development and bad scripting as Silva goes about executing a years-in-development plan that relies on way too much contrivance. Where on Earth does Silva get his endless supply of goons? Does he put an ad in the paper? Wanted: Henchman for revenge plot. Must be willing to dress the part (no uniform provided) and die for me. Meets national minimum wage. You can have a gun if you want.
And, for that matter, where does he get his supplies, equipment, helicopters? For a man living as a ghost he sure is connected. Yes, I know I am pedantically picking apart an action movie plot, but Skyfall promotes itself as more serious and a return to form. The aforementioned complaints feel like leftover elements from the Bronson era, and I do feel like it is high time to fire Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. With this fresh start they should have brought in stronger writers, or perhaps just employ a single writer for consistency.
Bérénice Marlohe and Naomi Harris pop in as the Bond girls but neither are really given anything to do, the former having about 10 lines of dialogue. And with the franchise adapting to modern sensibilities it feels a bit corny having Bond jump into bed (or in this case shower) with a girl he met five minutes earlier. He's a bit too detached from them for their presence to have any impact on the plot.
There are many attempts to give this entry a better continuity with previous movies, and while I really like this, it feels a little (just a little) fanboy-ish. Am I the only one who thinks that the Aston Martin (in all of it's lovely gray-ishness) is an ugly-as-sin automobile? Or that the Walther PPK is a wimpy-as-hell gun? I've seen potato guns that look more intimidating. Also, the film explores Bond's roots and history more so then ever before, but the big revelation about M's past that has been teased in the pre-release hype is thoroughly non-existent. Judi Dench does get a lot more to do this time around and really does become the emotional core of the Oedipal fracas between Bond and Silva.
Roger Deakin shoots the entire film in Redcode RAW and it looks L-O-V-E-L-Y. Every scene has its own unique aesthetic and atmospheric production design. Really, really good work there. All done digitally, obviously, and while it's gorgeous for this 50th anniversary adventure, I hope it doesn't become standard practice. 35mm may be the past, but I hope it sticks around for the future.
David Arnold is gone. In his place is Thomas Newman, who unfortunately scores the film with no decent melodies and rarely even uses the Bond theme or even the melody from the title song. How I miss John Barry. There is a fare amount of globe-trotting, including Turkey, China, Macau, and the Scottish highlands. However, too much of this cuts back to mundane London. Stuart Baird (having seemingly abandoned his career as a director) cuts it altogether expertly, but he can't add excitement to scenes that have been written so flatly.
I've always felt that Bond movies are defined by the second unit and stunt co-ordination. With the action reserved for short bursts in Skyfall it allows Sam Mendes a chance to put his own stamp on the film. This is both good and bad. Turning a Bond in a character study is a bold chance to take, but they should have turned up the action more. I like gritty, realistic stunts and choreography, but Bond isn't really the franchise for it. There is a sweet spot in-between invisible cars and fist-fighting and I am not sure that Skyfall has found it.
It's not the darkest or angriest Bond adventure (that honor goes to Licence to Kill), but it sure is most atmospheric and downbeat. Let's hope that next time around they deliver more spectacle and excitement.