Theatrical Review: Skyfall

SKYFALL
2012
Rated PG-13
"Mommy was very bad."

I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of James Bond. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying there's nothing to the franchise. The iconography is peerless, the tradition legendary, and if there is a single person on earth who can order a vodka martini, "Shaken, not stirred," without feeling like a poseur, I've never met them. Still, as much cultural significance as the films have had, they always seemed kind of corny.

Until, that is, Mr. Daniel Craig took over.

The first time I saw it, I openly declared - much to the horror of many friends and family members - that Casino Royale was not only the best Bond movie, but that Daniel Craig blew even the much revered Sean Connery off the screen. And, despite its many detractors and its chronic case of weak villainy, I still think that - if only for its tone - Quantum of Solace is better than at least 90% of the rest of Mr. Bond's outings. The shift away from the wink-wink, nudge-nudge silliness that had positively strangled the franchise since even before Connery called it quits was such a breath of fresh air that, for the first time in my life, I found myself eagerly awaiting a new James Bond film.

Expectations, as it turns out, were a tad too high.

I had my first inklings the first time I heard Skyfall's eponymous theme song on the radio. Now, I love Adele - I have probably listened to her album 21 at least that many times - so I don't want you to think my dislike of this song stems from some stylistic grudge I bear her. The problem here is that naming the theme song after the movie is a nod back to the bad-old-days of Bond, to songs like Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" (Gah!), Tina Turner's "Goldeneye" (Gah!), and Madonna's "Die Another Day" (Double-Gah!). It represents a step backward to a time which I had dearly hoped lay buried in the past, never to be resurrected.

Sadly, I hoped in vain.

Now let me qualify. I don't want to leave you with the impression that I think Skyfall is a bad movie. It certainly isn't the shameless type of snark-and-schlockfest that the Brosnan Bonds had devolved into by the end. It's just that it's a little too wink-wink, nudge-nudge for my taste.

My biggest complaint is that there is a way to tell a story that goes back to Bond's roots, and this isn't it. The implication here is that - despite the fact that Bond only earned his 00s two films back - he's been doing this forever, and indeed the filmmakers imply that all of the Bond movies happened some time between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. It just doesn't make sense within the rebooted storyline unless you do some serious mental gymnastics. (CLICK HERE for some of the best I've ever seen.) But even if you can pull that off, once we get the winking reveal that Naomie Harris's character makes at the end, the chronology falls apart again. It's just sloppy storytelling for the sake of fan-service, and I simply cannon support that philosophically.

But like I said, it isn't all bad. Despite all of the self indulgent wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say-no-more-ing on display, there is still some great action to enjoy here. Also, as anyone who's followed the franchise for any amount of time knows, a great villain covers a multitude of sins, and here we have a truly great villain.

Javier Bardem's demonically affable Raoul Silva may be the greatest Bond villain of all time, and I don't say that lightly. While I have never been a huge Bond fan, Bond villains are among the best in the business of being evil, and Bardem's pitch-perfect performance aside, Silva is complex, well written, and - even at his most diabolical - disturbingly sympathetic character. I'm sure that I will rewatch this movie many times if only to see him strut.

So, despite all my complaints and reservations about 007's future, I liked the movie. Though shameless fan-service and backtracking to the cutesy cleverness of Old Bond kept me from enjoying it wholeheartedly, Bardem's performance and director Sam Mendes's steady hand both manage to make it worth revisiting, even if it isn't up to the standard set by Casino Royale. Still, the film ends with a title card reading, "James Bond will return!" If the drop-off in quality from Casino Royale to this is any indicator of future trends, perhaps it would be best if the filmmakers don't keep that particular promise.

8/10

-GABE

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