Another big step forward to depict the new face of the world's most famous spy

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2012)

Since Daniel Craig incarnates the role of the most famous spy in the world, the James Bond series have profoundly changed. The movies got away from the image of a slightly arrogant but somewhat charming heart breaker who has superficial sexual relationships with the most exotic women in the world and who faces megalomaniac but vulnerable enemies and beats them with the weirdest gadgets. These movies certainly had a unique charm but when one objectively looks back on these films nowadays, they were often somewhat limited. A big portion of charm, humour and sex has gone and the new special agent has become a more emotionally driven character instead of the unbeatable superhero he has been before. While "Casino Royale" perfectly showed the new face of James Bond and can be considered as a milestone of the series, the direct follow-up "Quantum Of Solace" had its lengths and lacked of consistency.
"Skyfall" is just in between the quality level of its two predecessors. It features a more emotional agent who has faced death, who gets isolated, who has alcohol problems as well as mental weaknesses and who finds himself in the abyss of his existence. The special agent becomes a quite authentic character who shows us the darker side of his personality one has never known before. One also learns more about his special relationship to his superior and the movie even takes us back to the childhood of the character. The latter part is particularly atmospheric and intriguing and innovates the series fifty years after the cinematic creation of this format.
The main problem with the new movie is that the personal story of James Bond gets so important that the plot about the new main villain almost gets too secondary even though Javier Bardem does an excellent job and incarnates a smart madman who has many similarities with his opponent. On the other side, the plot has its lengths. The parts turned in China are visually stunning and Bérénice Lim Marlohe convinces as mysterious femme fatale but the whole thing is too long and features too many unnecessary dialogues. The final showdown also has its length and doesn't come along very spectacular. These parts are saved by an authentic and strong acting but anybody who is waiting for breathless action scenes may only be satisfied by the explosive opening. Action fans should rather check out "The Bourne Legacy" that has come to the movie theatres last summer.
In the end, the series still head for new shores fifty years after "Dr. No". The focus in this film lies on James Bond's personal story and the character development and not on the action scenes, locations or villains. From time to time, this film feels like a drama and not like an action flick. It introduces though a couple of famous characters of the traditional James Bond series again which is quite addicting for old and new fans and makes the wait for the twenty-fourth feature even more exciting. "Skyfall" follows the tendency of its two predecessors but makes a more radical step forward. It's up to each fan to decide if he or she prefers the new face of James Bond or the traditional one or if they happen to be intriguingly complementary which would be my personal description. In the end, I enjoyed the movie despite a few flaws and I would put it in the upper midfield of the table featuring all twenty-three features but it still doesn't come close to my personal favourites that are "From Russia with Love", "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "Casino Royale".