Review: Skyfall

The days of old Hollywood are gone. I’ve been watching a lot of older movies lately, and it seems like the theatricality of things has changed. It takes more than just destroying as much as possible, or putting a shit-ton of money into an effects budget, but really inspiring those audible gasps from the audience, images that will forever be engrained into their memory of the film. I’ve actually noticed more old school Hollywood values executed in other mediums- Uncharted 2, for example, beginning with its epic train crash has set the bar for maintaining epic scale for all video games that I’ve played since. None of the Transformers movies, or even actually good blockbusters like 2009’s Star Trek, has those moments that I remember as truly spectacular examples of movie magic. But when Daniel Craig’s Bond casually moves between train cars as one dramatically separates from another to readjust his sleeves, I got a glimpse of that starry-eyed old-school Hollywood.

Skyfall is being celebrated as one of the best Bond movies in decades, largely (I’m assuming), because of the marriage between technical advancements of the modern studio and traditional lore of Bond films of old. Being one of the longest running franchises of all time, Bond has seen changes good and bad; Skyfall takes our modernized Bond and gives him that old-school flair that’s undeniably bad-ass. More than that, we get the allure of the dawn of Hollywood in a shiny package. Skyfall has big, identifiable action sequences, taut drama, exotic locales, a unique and fleshed out villain. It even gives nods to the old-school archetypes of Bond; the ridiculous names, archetypical side-characters, and deadpan dry wit. It’s great fun for nostalgia-whores and thrill-seekers alike.

Bond fascinates me because he feels like a superhero contextualized within the real world; he gives the possibility of adventure to the real world. Sure, Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises are modernized, “real” takes on our heroes, but they lack sincere plausibility. The world of spies and espionage has an alluring sense of sincerity to it, no matter how far-fetched it seems. Bond is the closest icon we have to a potentially real hero. Daniel Craig also executes the role perfectly. He’s stone cold and mysterious, possesses a rare, hyper-masculine sexuality, and brings layers to a character that has, at times, become a caricature. For the first time in decades, we get a villain as engrossing as our Bond. Javier Bardem as the sexually-neutral is scary charming as Silva, a “bad guy” who’s actually quite identifiable as a fallen Bond. Silva serves as a foil for a real study of Bond’s relationship to M, as well as the possible psychological destruction his line of work inflicts for his future left unstudied.

It should also be pointed out that Silva and Bond’s first showdown is a brilliant, arguably perfect, confrontation that will be unforgettable for Bond fanboys. The playful, sexually charged teasing forebodes the ethical ambiguity that Bond may see in his future- like Bond, Silva is mysterious and likeable, hinting at a repetition for when Bond detaches from MI-6. I also couldn’t help but admire the hints of Bond’s bisexuality as uncompromising for his masculinity and rather passé. This change to one of history’s most recognizable pop culture icons as being rather nonchalant is largely indicative of exponential societal progress of the past few years. 

The biggest shortcoming of Skyfall is that, for a casual fan, the story doesn’t match the scope of the scenery. A hit is set up on M, and the entire film I found myself hoping to find more depth and consequence to the issue, but that was the extent of it. I enjoyed Casino Royale because the plot felt intricate and grand, but Skyfall’s feels a bit bare-bones. Especially as the action cumulates, I found myself questioning whether or not the spectacle had a purpose. Some would scoff at the accusation, finding the infiltration of MI-6 and compromised agent identities as being enthralling, but I didn’t feel like the issue struck me as it should have. 

Regardless, Skyfall is an example of what Hollywood Blockbusters should strive to achieve. The tension, thrills, and excitement is abundant, a fitting conclusion to Daniel Craig’s moment in history as James Bond. 

Grade: B+