Skyfall

Reviewed by Junior

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw and Albert Finney.

Daniel Craig's third outing and the 23rd installment in the Bond franchise was a long time coming, following Quantum of Solace in 2008, but well worth the wait.  Definitely fulfilling the promise of Casino Royale and one of the best films in the 50 year history of the franchise, Skyfall satisfies in every way: story, acting, character development, music, cinematography, and nerdy fanboy references.

Typically, the film starts with an exciting action sequence combining a motorcycle chase across rooftops to a fight atop a moving train.  This scene sets up the rest of the film, giving a simple, understandable goal facing 007 and MI6: the recovery of a list of every undercover NATO agent currently embedded with terrorist organizations around the world.  The loss of the list has created considerable political pressure for M, as well as jeopardy for agents in the field.

As director, Sam Mendes brings a maturity and patience to the proceedings that was lacking in Quantum.  The action scenes are exciting, but filmed without the rat-a-tat editing so common in action films today.  He allows the audience to see and appreciate what is happening, in a more classic style of filming.  He also manages to allow his actors time to have brief but substantial character scenes amidst all the action, giving them a chance to shine, and they do.

Judi Dench as M is central to the story, and she is a joy to watch, as always.  Also, the audience is given the opportunity to appreciate the complicated relationship and how it has evolved between she and Bond. We are also introduced to elements of Bond's childhood history.  A new female agent named Eve is both a Bond girl and a sexy, appealing new(ish) character.  Finally, Javier Bardem stands out in an original character turn as Silva, the villain of the piece, mincing and charming, brilliant and threatening, wounded and crazy.

The cinematography is beautiful.  The musical score is wonderful, Bondian and glorious, particularly the theme by Adele.  The whole movie hearkens back, in many ways, to the best parts of the franchise, which is intentional, given the fact that this movie is released during the 50th anniversary of Bond.  Given that, there are more than a few wink-wink-nudge-nudge elements that are thrown in for fans, all of which are fun and appreciated and not too distracting, unless you really try to wrap your head around how old Bond is supposed to be here, if you consider the decades-old history to which they allude here, and whether this is really M, the original M, given that proto-Bond was only two movies ago.....well, if you go there it might give you a headache.  Best not to think about that too much.

I thought the franchise was effectively rebooted after Casino Royale and its direct sequel, Quantum of Solace, gave Bond his "double-Oh" status, invented his martini, and taught him to say "Bond, James Bond."  But at the end of Skyfall I see that we are truly there now, all the elements back in place, and ready to start a long series of James Bond missions.  If Skyfall is any indication of the quality we can expect, I am ready for 23 more...

ACTING: 10
LOOK: 10
STORY: 10
OVERALL: 10