Skyfall Review

*WARNING!  SOME MINOR SPOILERS*

As a young man, I was a fan of just about any action franchise that existed.  Die Hard, Batman, Superman, the Star Wars films, etc.  James Bond holds an interesting place in my personal pantheon of action heroes because, well, he's all over the map.  And I don't mean that he travels a lot, I mean that, tonally, the films all feel so different.  That is because so many different writers, directors, producers and actors have gotten their hands on it throughout the last 50 years (that's right, Bond as a franchise turns 50 this year!)

For half a century, changes in culture, politics, and audience tastes have altered how Bond is interpreted for the common moviegoer, which means the character and his films have changed tone greatly throughout the years.  This makes Bond difficult to pin down, and it also makes it difficult for any two people to agree on their favorite film or versions.

I'm a darker individual.  By that I mean I enjoy films with darker tones--not that I can't have lots of fun at films like Marvel's The Avengers, that are a deal lighter, but I just rather enjoy films that approach their subjects with greater seriousness.  That is why I will always prefer Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy to Joss Whedon's Avengers.

However, the spirit of a character, and thus the character's integrity, must be kept NO MATTER WHAT throughout the ages, or else you deplete what it was that truly made that character unique.  This is why I didn't much care for Bryan Singer's Superman Returns--while it was a decent dark tale, it was too gloomy for Superman.  Superman is about hope for a better tomorrow, while a darker tale is more suitable for Batman.  It's what we've come to expect, and, in the end, audience affection for a character is what made them last in the first place.

The perfect balance for me is when a character's original integrity is maintained, yet they are updated and taken seriously.  No matter how much fun he was having with The Avengers, Whedon took his superheroes more seriously than, say, Gavin Hood did for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

So, short story made long, this is why I LOVED Bond's new outing in Skyfall.

Darker?  Yes.  Taken more seriously?  Absolutely.  But, is he still wooing random hot chicks as always?  Check.  And is he still playing by his own rules?  Of course.  And, is he kicking ass while using gadgets from Q and flirting with Ms. Moneypenny?  Well, until this movie he wasn't.

The movie begins with a bang, with a chase between Bond and someone who we have no clue about, only that he has a list and MI6 must get it back.  Something goes wrong, however, and Bond is believed dead for quite some time before resurrecting himself.  Before he can go back into the field, though, he must go back through training and a psych evaluation.  During this eval, the clinician plays a game of word association, asking Bond what's the first word that comes to mind when he says "England" and "home."  But when the doctor says the word "Skyfall," Bond says "Done" and abruptly leaves, leaving the audience with a mystery.

What is Skyfall, and why does it bother Bond so?

Daniel Craig's performance is as appropriately brooding in this film as in the previous two.  Craig is an intense actor, and he works best when there aren't things yet revealed about the characters he plays.  Here, he's perfectly uneasy with Bond, as it should be in this final chapter in Bond's origin story (though I know more are coming with Craig in the leading role, these three seem to work as an "Origin Trilogy").

This movie completes the origin of James Bond.  Casino Royale introduced him to MI6, Quantum of Solace revealed his need for revenge and a yearning to put the past behind him, and here in Skyfall we see Bond finally severing the last of his emotional ties to who he was before he became 007.  The circle is now complete.  By the end of this film, he is finally Bond.  James Bond.

But even James Bond isn't good enough to carry a movie by himself.  The supporting cast needs to be tight and colorful.  Judi Dench is back as M and is as commanding as she's ever been.  We have the introduction of Q (short for quartermaster), and, as I said before, Ms. Moneypenny.  However, it's Javier Bardem's performance as the villainous Tiago Rodriguez, the performance that have some demanding to give him another Oscar, that lights the fuse and ignites this movie.

What else can you possibly say about Javier Bardem that hasn't already been said?  All I know is that this is the second amazing and threatening villain he's played, and it's nothing like his villainous role in No Country for Old Men.  His character here is playful, smiling a lot, gay (in both senses of the word), angry, insane, and giddy about it all.

By the end of this film, Bond and Rodriguez duke it out at Bond's childhood home, we see a bit of the mystery of Bond's past get unraveled...and we finally discover the truth of Skyfall.

A perfect mystery with a more than serviceable answer.  Realistic gadgets from Q (no exploding pens or laser watches).  Excellent intrigue.  Awesome villain.  Spectacular chases and fight sequences.  And, of course, the return of the classic James Bond theme song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8KvYKn9-0

In my humble opinion, 5/5 stars.

(Oh, and Bond drives an Aston Martin, but you knew that from the previews.)

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