Skyfall (2012)
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Skyfall Movie Review
Skyfall is a 2012 spy film directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem. It’s a pretty good Bond film that ranks as one of the better ones in the series.
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“Your interior decorating tips have always been appreciated, 007“
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I actually really liked the storyline here which is highly rare for this franchise’s low standards. But the entire revenge storyline of the villain who chases M definitely led to a dangerous, emotionally charged movie, even though Bond did get a backseat here which was unfortunate. The film is still way too long and it takes its time to get there owing to some slow scenes in the first act with the third act also being too prolonged, but the second act is easily the highlight.
Daniel Craig is reliably good in the role of Bond once again, but as I said above, he did not get much to do here. His relationship with M truly is special and touching, but on his own he was disappointing here. Yes, Judi Dench continues to shine in her final role as M and I love how complex her character is. Her death scene is very sad and emotional.
Javier Bardem was always annoying to me, but here he was somewhat interesting as this gentle, yet capable and crazy bisexual man and his scenes with Bond are fueled by homoerotic touches which was an interesting choice for a villain. Ralph Fiennes is good as Mallory but underused and the same goes for Naomi Harris’ Moneypenny. The new Q played by Ben Wishaw is quite a fine departure for the character and a memorable one at that.
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Skyfall is beautifully shot, absolutely beautiful and it truly ranks as one of the most visually appealing Bond flicks. The cinematography is fantastic as the use of locations is fantastic with that ice scene being effective, the train scene being so well done and the interiors being quite memorable. And the deservedly Oscar-winning sound design is terrific.
The score’s also very good and quite memorable. The titular Oscar-winning song by Adele is definitely one of the better Bond songs out there, but in my opinion somewhat overrated, though definitely well fitting the dark mood of the film.
Yes, the film is quite dark once again and needing more humor, but I liked how emotional in tone it was and truly some scenes are quite touching and never too sentimental. The film is modern while also feeling old-fashioned at times.
The action is for once not overwhelming and that was a great choice. It was also infinitely better shot than the frenetic, shaky cam action in ‘Quantum of Solace’ and is thus a much better film, though I still prefer ‘Casino Royale’. But the film has some quite memorable, exciting action sequences. It’s also quite mysterious at times and very atmospheric which I appreciated as it led to a traditional looking and sounding Bond film.
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But the excessive length continues to plague this franchise and the overly complicated narrative with too many characters. Had it focused just on M, Bond and Raoul Silva, it would have been an amazing film, but this way it ended up being just very good which is still terrific for this series in which it ranks as the fourth best in my opinion.
Too many characters and quite excessive length continue to plague the Bond franchise and the same goes for Skyfall which is otherwise a very strong entry that ranks as one of the better ones in the series thanks to excellent direction from Sam Mendes, a memorable villain, superb cinematography and added emotional investment to the whole affair.
