An enjoyable film but not a James Bond film.

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2014)

Don't get me wrong, I liked this film. In fact I enjoyed watching the film. But somehow it didn't feel right. Even the mediocrities of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace gave off similar vibes to all the other James Bond films we know: the charm, elegance and fun that is the taste of a James Bond movie. However, this film did not feel like this. It did not feel like a James Bond movie. So here we go with a straightforward plot about ex- agent Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) back with a grudge against M (Judi Dench) who cut him loose when he was going about some unauthorised hacking and was captured by the Chinese.
There has been a recent trend in big film series that the sequels continue to get darker and darker, as can be found in the likes of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and the Dark Knight trilogy. This happens also in Skyfall, and although making such films darker can often make films more successful, this simply does not work with James Bond. The uncharismatic role Daniel Craig plays as James Bond does not help with this. In the films (and the novels), James Bond has always been full of charisma, charming and full of witty remarks. Although many of the films have incorporated real-life situations in their plots (such as the Cold War), there have been few that have been too serious (The Spy Who Loved Me, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die). To his credit, he manages to pull a couple off here, but they are very few and far between. Although it was entertaining, it did not seem reminiscent of the others.
Unfortunately, although the plot was quite different to what we've experienced in the past, the film itself was quite one-dimensional – the only major plot line was Silva's vendetta against M. That's it. One plot. Few (in fact, one) subplots.
It starts off well. Silva is threatening to release all the names of operatives implanted in terrorist organisations of the world. That sounded really interesting. However, everybody forgot that it existed as they dropped it halfway through the film so Silva could pursue M. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. If you are going to create a plot device, it should be followed through, not binned and hope that nobody realises. So they had to fill in the rest of the film with tons of action sequences (everybody enjoys a bit of mindless action, but that was too much) and by bringing Bond's family into the story was little more than plot-filler, for what could have been a very short film. This subplot (the only subplot actually) could have easily been placed in any other Bond film as it serves no function to the overall plot whatsoever.
Most notably, Skyfall has the biggest anti-climax I have seen for a long, long time. All 3 of Daniel Craig's Bond films have ended in a huge anti-climax which has always made the film a huge letdown. There are no henchmen, or "second-in-commands" to speak of in these recent films, and every major villain has posed little match for Bond. The past 3 films, one was shot unceremoniously by another terrorist, another flailed around with an axe for 15 seconds before being easily disarmed, and now, the villain, Raoul Silva, who was one of the best Bond villains we have seen in a long time – gets a knife in the back. He did not deserve to die in such an abrupt manner, like any one of the grunts James Bond ploughs through each film. It's insulting.
Although elements from previous films such as Q, the Aston Martin and Moneypenny were welcome in Skyfall, often they served little function in the film whatsoever but to amass nostalgic favour from long-time James Bond fans. I really think the change to Britain as the backdrop for most of the scenes in the film was very refreshing and enjoyable – the exotic landscapes of far abroad places are not missed in this film. The UK has plenty of natural beauty to showcase itself, and it was nice to see some of that. New additions to the cast like Mallory and Moneypenny I am sure will keep the series afresh for many films to come and made noticeable impacts in Skyfall.
As the 23rd film of a series, this film could not relate in any way whatsoever to the previous films. Its plot is one-dimensional and makes little sense in many parts. However, if you were to consider this film individually from the rest of the series, and could ignore the awful ending, it was a decent film.