Skyfall (2012) - Film Review

 Skyfall

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomi Harris, and Judi Dench as M

Written by: Robert Wade, John Logan and Neal Purvis

Music by: Thomas Newman 

Early on in Skyfall, M (Judi Dench) tells Bond (Daniel Craig) "You know the rules of the game, you've been playing it for long enough." and this not only describes the fictional spy's 60 years of existence, but his 50 year relevance on the silver screen. 007 has gone through thick and thin, bedded half the beauties on the planet, crashed every car Top Gear appreciates and always comes back to London to flirt with Moneypenny, get his orders from M and collect his gadgets from Q. But happens when it becomes too much, what happens when you "lose a step".

     With a Bond later on in his career he's (Craig) assumed dead because of a mission gone wrong in Turkey and M (Dench) is being haunted by a mysterious ghost from her past; after Bond comes out of hiding, he's given his mission to stop the threat by any means necessary to save M and bring MI6 back. But as sophisticated he is, James Bond is still a human and all humans have origin and tested relationships.   During the 143 minute run-time it's repeatedly asked if the world still needs a gun wielding agent, and Skyfall answers this question with style and believability.

The film's script delivers a lot of dialogue referencing classic Bond films and personal themes about origin and trust, and the film never feels like it has to bring in metaphors to get an emotional attachment, instead the messages present themselves because of the given situations. Neal Purvis gives not only one of the best Bond scripts, but one of the best scripts in British cinema.

Daniel Craig is more comfortable then ever in the role of James Bond, he's believable as a trained killer and as a seductive ladies' man, Judi Dench gives her best performance and M's most exposed role in the whole series. However much of a mother figure she is to Bond, she's still his boss and Dench gave the perfect balance of that.   Ben Whishaw gives a good first impression as the Bond's new Quart-master as it's continuously teased at that he's a young Q, but he repeatedly talks back to Bond and it never feels forced, out of character or obnoxious.

Surprisingly the girls are very irrelevant. Although Naomi Harris' character is given a bigger part near the end, the girls in this film are given the least screen time in 50 Years. Berenice Marlohe is quite forgettable, but thanks to the script's reveal, Naomi leaves a bigger impact. Javier Bardem gives us a very Joker inspired villian that will stand the test of time as one of the greatest Bond villains right next to Goldfinger. His threats seem genuine as well as his reasons for plotting against M. Ralph Fiennes is brilliant here as Mallory and like Harris, he gets what could've been a really forced twist a well handled reveal.

  The direction and cinematography in the film has no limits as every different location is given a personality of it's own and is inspiring to anyone who wants to become involved with the film-making industry. Sam Mendes gives an untested style to Bond that will definitely be tried again in future installments.

The action from start to finish delivers an incredible punch as there is little to no CGI and the finale in Scotland had me on the edge of my seat.

 After 50 Years a franchise usually hasn't got anything else to offer and Skyfall could've been an unfortunate farewell to 007; director, Sam Mendes helmed a project that brings enough thrills, chills and clever references that will bring us to celebrate James Bond's 100th Anniversary on the silver screen. Daniel Craig gives an incredible performance that gives the screen writers something to be proud of and anyone who isn't interested in Bond will be gripped to see the 22 films before this one.        Bond Is Back, and Bond Will Return.
                                 I'm Giving Skyfall 10/10