Day 23 - Skyfall (2012) - Film Review

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench & Naomie Harris

Screenplay: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & John Logan

Directed By: Sam Mendes

Certificate: 12

Happy 50th Birthday Mr Bond. As we come to our last couple of films, this is the big one - unadjusted for inflation, 'Skyfall' is at the time of writing the second highest-grossing film in the UK, behind only 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. It's so prolific that as I've mentioned before, this was the only Bond film I'd watched before I embarked on this marathon. So with the context of twenty-two other films now behind me, it's time to revisit Bond's biggest film. After failing to stop a mercenary escaping with a hard drive containing the names of various undercover agents, M faces increasing pressure to retire from her role. Events escalate when MI6 falls victim to a cyberattack and the headquarters is destroyed in an explosion. Bond's new mission is to discover who is behind the attacks and put a stop to them, but it turns out the perpetrator might have reason for a personal vendetta against M... 

I'd greatly enjoyed my previous viewing of 'Skyfall' and was looking forward to getting to watch it again. Having come right off the back of 'Quantum Of Solace' too, I now have even more admiration for 'Skyfall's opening than I had before. Whereas the opening of 'Quantum' was just noise, this one is superior in almost every way. Not only is it more competently filmed and assembled (gone is that nauseating rapid editing), but the stuntwork is tremendous. The bit with the construction digger on the train has not ceased to amaze me, and seeing Bond chase his target through Istanbul's grand bazaar is not only awesome but gave me memories of playing 'Assassin's Creed Revelations'. Except, you know... with motorbikes.

Crucially, the action also does a great job at communicating information about the characters. By the end of 'Quantum Of Solace', it was clear that Bond's relationship with killing had shifted, and rather than being overcome with revenge and bloodlust as his first instinct, his very first scene of the film sees him tending to a mortally wounded fellow agent. Meanwhile, M's insistence that Bond should forget trying to help the man who's bleeding out and instead pursue the mercenary, then later giving Moneypenny the order to take the shot, sets up the whole conflict for the film, both narrative and emotional. While I wouldn't say this is the best opening to a Bond film, it's up there among the best alongside the likes of 'Moonraker' and 'Casino Royale'. And as if it couldn't get any better, we're then treated to what has since become one of the most famous Bond themes: Adele's 'Skyfall'. Surprising no one at all, this is the last of my three favourite Bond themes, and of those three, it proudly sits at the top. I'll admit that I'm biased since I'm a big fan of Adele anyway, but 'Skyfall' is just such a wonderful track. Fair enough it might not be an especially original choice, but I don't care - it's a fantastic theme for an equally fantastic film.

With the opening out of the way, we might start to wonder why 'Skyfall' had something of an edge and got more people talking about it than most other Bond films. Of course part of that is the fact that its release coincided with the 50th anniversary of the series. James Bond was obviously a big talking point as a result, and combine that with Britain basking in the afterglow of hosting the 2012 Olympics, and having the chance to celebrate another British icon, it's perhaps no wonder why it was so celebrated and now so fondly remembered. Speaking personally, the Britain of 2012 feels aeons away from Britain in 2020. This was a time where a lot of people were feeling proud and before the rise of parties like UKIP, things like Brexit and the government shifting dramatically further to the right. The problems we have now were absolutely there in 2012, but they weren't quite as laid out and blatant as they are today, and at least there was something to celebrate unlike the miserable mess that we are now.

But I'm getting wildly off topic. 'Skyfall' may have been released in the perfect kind of atmosphere to see success, but looking at the film itself, I also think it has a personal factor that sets it apart. It might not have been the first to get personal with Bond ('Licence To Kill' and 'Casino Royale' are films intensely personal to him), but 'Skyfall' gets personal in different ways. The majority of Bond films have always taken place around the globe, and while this film puts us in locations like Istanbul and Shanghai, more than any other Bond movie a lot of it takes place at home in Britain. By the time we hit the third act we start getting even more personal, as the confrontation between Bond and M against our villain Raoul Silva takes place in Bond's childhood home. Judi Dench's iteration of M has in many ways become a de facto mother figure to Bond, and Silva (who himself is another dark reflection of what Bond could've been) even outright calls her mother. Not only would Freud be having the time of his life, but it's akin to witnessing a long lost son return and an intense family breakdown. 

Speaking of M, this is Judi Dench's final appearance in the role after starring in seven films. While Bernard Lee might be the longest-reigning M, it was with Dench that the role transformed into a fully fleshed-out character as opposed to just a function of the plot. As a result, she's easily the best M and it's always been a treat whenever she's been given more screentime. 'Skyfall' may be a personal film for Bond, but it's personal to M as well, and the way their relationship develops over the course of the film is really great stuff. Their friendship reaches breaking point in the introduction and it takes time for it to begin healing again. And by the time it can, as the film winds down, tragedy strikes as M succumbs to her wounds and ultimately dies - a scene where you can just feel the full weight of the emotions as Bond holds her in his arms.

It takes one hell of an actor to hold their own against powerhouses like Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, but that's exactly what we have in Javier Bardem as Silva. After a pretty lacklustre villain in the equally lacklustre 'Quantum Of Solace', Silva is a return to form and is deservedly ranked up as one of the series' best adversaries. There are times where Silva feels almost omnipotent in his abilities, destroying the MI6 base early on, and enacting several very nearly fatal attacks in his revenge quest against M. The mere mention of his name is enough to cause his mistress Severine's hand to start shaking, and expose the cracks in her otherwise confident façade. Like Craig and Mads Mikkelsen's scenes together in 'Casino Royale', whenever Bardem and Craig share the screen it crackles with energy. That said, and while absolutely no fault of Bardem, the framing of Silva is one of my only serious issues with 'Skyfall'. See, after a failed suicide attempt with a cyanide pill, Silva wears a prosthetic piece to conceal his misshapen jaw, rotted teeth and sunken eye socket. It's part of a wider tradition in film to mark the villain out with physical disfigurements, which is a potentially troubling trend that's worthy of discussion. Making it arguably worse, in his introduction Silva is not so discreetly queer-coded. Just look at how he contrasts to the heroic Bond. With his longer blonde hair, more elaborate costume and of course the very homoerotic interrogation scene where Silva strokes Bond's chest and thighs, the implication is definitely there. Like discussions on how we represent deformity and difference, LGBT+ representation in cinema is a topic we can talk about for a long time. But Silva being coded as LGBT+, being physically deformed and being the villain all reads as just a bit disingenuous. Worse still, we have the representation of Severine. Berenice Marlhoe gives a really strong performance, but despite Bond working out that Severine is a former sex slave bought by Silva and that she's clearly terrified of him, she still ends up being seduced, slept with and then coldly dismissed when she's later killed. Normally I'm all for an ice-cold Bond quip, but his reaction to Severine's death is just one big ol' "Yikes!" - the kind of thing you might've expected from the early Bond films, but which has no place here now. 

Now before I wrap this review up, it would be remiss of me to not mention the several returning characters brought back for Bond's 50th. Not only do we have the 'Goldfinger' Aston Martin DB5 returning, complete with its machine guns after taking a couple of films off, we have the return of both Q and Moneypenny. Interestingly, both differ a fair bit from their predecessors. Our first time seeing Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, she's out in the field with Bond, and while I don't think Lois Maxwell will be usurped as the definitive Moneypenny anytime soon, it's really nice to see the character in a more active role. The playful back and forth between her and Bond isn't sacrificed either - the use of innuendo is turned down a notch but there's still a fun dynamic between them. As for Q, I've got to give respect to the casting director for opting for somebody so different to David Llewellyn. Like Maxwell, Llewellyn may always be the definitive Q, but Ben Whishaw is some great casting. The decision to reinvent Q from a sweet older guy to a young, nerdy guy is a great overhaul of the character.

So after all that, what's the verdict on 'Skyfall'? Well while I might not win any points for originality by saying this, and nowadays it automatically puts your critical integrity into question by saying that a popular thing is good actually, 'Skyfall' really is one of the best Bond films ever produced. With an incredibly strong leading actor at the helm, a great score and near perfectly paced, it's one of 007's finest outings. Unlike its predecessor, it allows itself time to breathe and is all the better for it. It absolutely justifies its length, and by celebrating past glories while also continuing to push the series forward, it's the perfect kind of anniversary celebration.

9/10

NEXT TIME - Spectre