Shaken AND Stirred

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2012)

Skyfall is not a return to "classic Bond"; it is rather a completely unique hybrid of elements from the earlier films and the darker tone and character of Fleming's later novels (which have been hinted at, but never fully explored before now). Thematically, the film is a Freudian examination of two orphaned sons and the cold, manipulative and abandoning surrogate mother they share. Bond's trademark self-confidence is shattered by a monumental betrayal by M., who seems to have lost her moral compass. And Bardem's Silva offers a manic and terrifying glimpse of what Bond may well become if he continues on his self-destructive path.
It is strange and disturbing to see Bond as anything less than the tuxedoed superhero that drew me to the cinema religiously every other year for decades. I don't consider Skyfall the best Bond film by any stretch (for me, that would be Goldfinger, followed by OHMSS and Casino Royale), but it is certainly the most disturbing and thought-provoking. I respect it for those reasons. I also pray the folks at Eon don't try it again for a very long time. There's a place yet in the world for the glorious popcorn days of exploding pens and space stations.