A beautiful addition to the Bond series

Rating: 9/10 (9 November 2012)

When I first saw the lineup for the most recent addition to the James Bond series, my expectations were rather high. A cast and crew compiled out of my favorite films. I will get to the obvious actors in a minute, but first I want to mention the talent behind the camera. Skyfall director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, best director) has done a tremendous job in creating a film, which I believe belongs among the top Bond films of all time. Mendes' Bond is well directed in the traditional sense: the action, chases, near-death escapes, sexuality, old-school British class, and subtle humor all mix well into a Skyfall martini—shaken, not stirred.
While Mendes certainly is the brains behind this recent Bond success, cinematographer Roger Deakins is the eyes. The film is beautifully shot, to say the least. There is no way I can really capture Deakins' beautiful use of color, lighting, shadow, and silhouette throughout this film without actually showing it to you. So, here is my one plug, even if you are not a fan of the Bond series go see this film. It is beautiful and well shot film.
I knew that Daniel Craig had performed well in his first two Bond films, showing much respect to the long-standing tradition of Bond, but at the age of 44 it was hard to believe Craig's performance would be fully up to par. I was wrong. Craig gave this film his all and he delivered another performance worth noticing. (And apparently he has more to give with the announcement of Bonds 24 & 25 in the near future.) Craig's performance has the drive and determination of a true action film star combined with the wittiness and high-class demeanor we've come to expect from Bond. But when I saw that Javier Bardem would be playing across from Bond, I knew this would be a special role for Craig.
It's not easy squaring up against a man whose screen presence is as strong as Javier Bardem. Bardem's opening shot, a slow stroll through a long shot while delivering a lengthy discourse to a tied up Agent 007, makes you cringe and smile at the same time. Bardem's screen presence is one that always confuses me. Not confusion in the sense that his acting is poor, but quite the opposite. Maybe it's the slightly detectable accent through his well-articulated English. Or maybe it's the look in his eyes that pulls you in, traps you, and deceives you into believing that Bardem is the real thing. In the film Bardem portrays Silva, an ex-MI6 agent who is using computer hacking skills as a sort of cyber-terrorism. According to the story, Bond and Silva were MI6's best of the best, but Silva was betrayed and has come back for vengeance. Bardem's character is cranial; not a chaotic criminal running wild with no plan. He is smart, conniving, and witty—with some subtly homoerotic undertones that add a unique twist to the sexuality we expect to find in Bond films. Bardem's performance in Skyfall is by far the best villainous role he has played since his work with the Coens in No Country for Old Men, for which he won Best Supporting Actor in 2008.
Judi Dench returns for her seventh Bond appearance as the beloved M and does not disappoint. Dench is the definition of a strong, female character and will stop at nothing until her job is done. Ben Whishaw makes his first appearance in the Bond series as Q, the technologically savvy head of Britain's defense division. Whishaw's appearance in the film makes it the first time that Q has been portrayed as younger than Bond, a decision that I believe is a sign of the times. Whishaw's Q is a Zuckerberg-like fellow with an aura of nerdy wrapped around a slightly stylish young boy. While it certainly is a change from the Q that the late Desmond Llewelyn portrayed for most of the Bond films, Whishaw seems to hold his own in Skyfall. And lastly, Skyfall's themesong, which was written and recorded by British vocal sensation Adele, is a beautiful track that reminds the audience of the roots of Bond in the 1960s.
Overall, I would give this film an 8.9/10. While I found many sequences to be easily predictable, as most Bond films are, I was still happy with film as a whole. Craig and Bardem go back and forth in a battle for control throughout the film in a beautifully crafted way. Mendes' direction and Deakins' cinematography certainly add to the beauty of the film and high standards of the Bond legacy. The best Bond film I have seen in a while and what I hope to be a new standard for the quality we will see in Bond 24 & Bond 25.