Time To Go Back To "Formula" (Ironically Enough)

Rating: 3/10 (8 March 2017)

There is no denying that "Casino Royale" and, albeit to a lesser extent, "Quantum of Solace", did a remarkable job of breathing new life into a Bond franchise that had become too over-the-top at the tail end of the Brosnan years. Yet, in the case of "Skyfall", the franchise actually goes too far in the OTHER direction (e.g. too gritty, too "real", if you will). This is what prevents the movie from being a true Bond Classic (or really even close).
For a basic plot summary, "Skyfall" sees an aging Bond (Daniel Craig) once again taking orders from M (Judi Dench), this time trying to bring down cyber-terrorist Silva (Javier Bardem) before he can completely cripple MI6.
There are two glaring problems that haunt this film (one "macro", one "micro"):
1. The "big picture" problem is that director Sam Mendes doesn't seem to have a clue how to place "Skyfall" in the Bond canon. SPOILERS AHEAD: At first, viewers will think that this is the latest Bond film after Die Another Day, as the main theme of the movie deals with Bond getting older. Yet, as the movie goes along, one begins to doubt (what with a young "Q" and an MI6 setup remarkably like the Connery years) if this isn't still treading prequel territory. I think this is suppose to be more of a "reboot", of sorts, but it just doesn't make a whole ton of sense. You either need to have continuity in a film series, or you need to reboot it completely...there can't be a large amount of overlap.
2. The "little stuff" trouble, then, is that the "Does the world need James Bond anymore?" storyline is a complete flop (and that is what is supposed to be the main emotional backbone of the movie). Again, director Mendes tries to take the franchise too far into "Dark Knight" territory here, when in fact that Bond character is not meant to be done in such a fashion. It worked once in "Casino Royale", but this is not a place (e.g. dark themes) in which this franchise can consistently succeed.
Overall, then, I was severely disappointed by "Skyfall". I hope that the next two Craig Bond efforts go back to the more traditional Bond formula (gadgets, girls, & fun) without falling into the "over-the-top" trap that ultimately slayed the Bond runs of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. Bond is all about balance, and the scales need to be tipped a little bit away from the "dark side" once again.