Review XLVI - Skyfall

Review XLVI
Skyfall (2012)

I have never seen any of the James Bond films, nor have I read any of the novels. I know Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan played James Bond at some point, and there was a guy who played James Bond only once, but otherwise, I don't know anyone else who played him. Please don't hit me - I know there were other, probably better, actors that played him, but for whatever reason, I never watched the films. I guess twenty-five movies and seven actors later, I was bound to see one at one point. It ended up being the latest one (big surprise, right? I mean, excluding the fact that I put the title of the film and all... Whatever!), Sam Mendes' Skyfall with Daniel Craig as the double-o-seven agent. The film also stars Naomie Harris, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw, and Javier Bardem. I actually wanted to watch this film way back when it first started getting advertised because Ben Whishaw was in it. Then when I saw Ralph Fiennes in the film, I was really glad I had watched it. I really love Ralph Fiennes - great actor!

In Istanbul, James Bond and Eve (Naomie Harris), two MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service for the United Kingdom, though MI6 stands for Military Intelligence, section 6) agents, are chasing a mercenary, Patrice (Ola Rapace) who has stolen a computer hard drive which contains the information of the undercover agents who have been placed in terrorist organisations. While Bond and the mercenary battle on top of a train, M (Judi Dench), the head of the MI6, tells Eve to take a shot at the two, even though the shot isn't clean. Bond ends up being the one who is shot, allowing the mercenary to get away, and falls into a river and dies. Wow, that was a short movie! In reality, Bond is not dead, and eventually returns when the offices at the MI6 headquarters are destroyed. A game between the bad and the good begins, and with Bond trying to recover psychologically, as well as physically, this may end up being the hardest mission he's ever faced.

We all know what I should begin this review with... Okay, maybe not, but I'm going to comment on the opening song, Skyfall, sung by Adele and written by Adele and Paul Epworth. First off, the intro animation and all was pretty captivating. It was beautiful to watch, though maybe a bit out of place. Still, it was beautiful, but made even more so because of the song. It takes the original elemental bits from the James Bond theme at times, but overall, makes a very compelling song. I really liked it! I'm even listening to it right now. The other music throughout the movie, which, again takes elemental bits from the original James Bond song, was really good.

Okay, the movie itself. I always thought James was supposed to be shown as a completely indestructable, lady's man who only really said, "Bond. James Bond," but apparently not! The film shows James Bond as having weaknesses... I mean, other than not being resistant to bullets. He obviously has psychological issues with his past (Skyfall is where he grew up - I was pretty clueless on that one until the end), and while he could probably get any woman he wanted, he only had two lovers in the film - one of which is seen extensively and is his partner of sorts. Obviously there's more to this man than I thought! Anyway, the plot itself. I thought it was very interesting. It's not just a villain who wants to take over the world, but one that has emotional ties. I don't really want to say anything beyond that since it'll ruin the film, but it's still interesting. I mean, kind of typical, I suppose, but it had justification in it. It's a James Bond film, so you can expect a certain type of plot. Still, well executed, and I definitely enjoyed it.

I have no other James Bond to compare Daniel Craig to, so to me, he did a great job. He plays Bond as a three-dimensional character generally, and I bought him as James Bond. Judi Dench did a great job as M. She hides her emotional side well while doing her job, but it shows up every once in a while, and Judi Dench shows it well. Naomie Harris' character is not just the lady who appears just for sexual provocation, but is rather a strong person as well, and Naomie Harris does a good job of acting it. Ralph Fiennes, well, he's pretty awesome, but I'm biased here. Bérénice Marlohe is the James Bond woman in this film, but there isn't really much to be said. Sévérine, who she plays, is vapid, so we don't get to really see Bérénice Marlohe's acting ability. There is one scene, though, that I will comment on. When Sévérine is talking to Bond at the table, she is obviously shaking because she's scared. Yet Bond comments he knows when a woman is pretending not to be scared. Anyone could see she was scared! Jeez, man, always putting on an act. Javier Bardem, though, was the guy who really stole the show as Silva, the main villain. He was interesting, articulate, evil, yet you sympathised with the man. I find the man already has the face of a villain, and the fact that he can act just adds to that. I really enjoyed his performance, even with the scene with the pretty fake looking CGI.

Finally, the cinematography was beautiful. The scene where Patrice and Bond fight in the window walled room in Shanghai was really well filmed. We get their "shadows" fighting, and it just looked really cool. I also recall, nearing the end, we get a shot of M in the dark and Bond partly covered by the light of a dark, blue-ish gray sky. I thought it looked really beautiful, and it probably symbolises aspects in the film too. Anyway, most of the time, I don't really notice this in films. I mean, I'll find it looks pretty, but in this film, I really noticed it. Maybe because I was looking for it, but anyway, it was well filmed! Good job!

In the end, this is an action film with typical villain-esque plot. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it. I'll give it eight stars on ten. The cinematography was really well executed, the music was compelling, and Javier Bardem did a great job as the antagonist. Again, not a masterpiece, but a fun movie to watch nonetheless. If you can still catch it in theatres, definitely check it out.

Pirate Bay torrent (saw it in theatres, so I can't confirm quality or anything for this one!)