Skyfall (2012) Review: Bond Gets Old, and Better

Is Skyfall worth watching?

Yes. Skyfall is one of the very best James Bond films, a beautifully made action thriller that gives the character a genuine emotional core without losing the series’ sense of fun. Sam Mendes brings a director’s eye for character and mood, Roger Deakins’s cinematography makes it the best-looking entry in the franchise, and Javier Bardem creates a villain for the ages. The reservation is a plot that depends on some wildly convenient scheming, but the craft is so strong that it hardly matters.

What is Skyfall about?

In Skyfall, a mission in Istanbul goes badly wrong, leaving James Bond (Daniel Craig) injured and presumed dead, and MI6 exposed. Back in London, M (Judi Dench) faces pressure over her leadership as the agency comes under attack from an unseen enemy who seems to know all its secrets.

Bond returns to duty, older, slower and less certain of himself, and follows the trail to a former agent (Javier Bardem) whose grudge against M is deeply personal. The hunt forces Bond to confront his own loyalty to M and a past he has spent years avoiding. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw, as a new, young Q, round out the cast.

Mendes directs this British production, the 23rd official Bond film, released in the series’ 50th anniversary year. It is in English and runs 143 minutes.

The best-looking Bond film

Roger Deakins’s photography transforms the series. The Shanghai sequence, with a fight silhouetted against glowing neon screens in a glass skyscraper, is one of the most striking images in any action film of its decade, and a Macau casino lit by floating lanterns has a dreamlike glamour. Later scenes in the Scottish Highlands trade neon for mist, rock and firelight, giving the film a stark, elemental final movement.

Mendes also knows how to stage action. The opening chase through Istanbul, across rooftops and on top of a moving train, is thrillingly physical, and he keeps the set pieces grounded in character rather than simply escalating spectacle. Adele’s theme song, which won an Academy Award, sets the elegiac tone.

Bardem, Dench and a Bond who can be hurt

Javier Bardem’s villain is one of the great Bond antagonists. His entrance, a long, unbroken monologue delivered as he walks slowly toward a captive Bond, is a masterclass in menace and camp, and he plays the character’s wounded vanity and theatrical cruelty with relish. He is the rare Bond villain whose motives feel personal rather than merely megalomaniacal.

Judi Dench gets her richest material in the series as M, a leader forced to defend both her agency and her own decisions. The relationship between M and Bond, tough, affectionate and complicated, gives the film its emotional weight. Craig, in his third outing, plays Bond as battered and ageing, and his vulnerability makes the character more interesting than ever.

Where the plot gets too clever

Skyfall’s weakness is its story mechanics. The villain’s plan depends on anticipating events with an almost supernatural precision, and some twists make little sense on reflection. The film’s themes of old versus new, and of Britain’s place in a changing world, are sometimes stated rather too plainly. And its final act, though atmospheric, is structurally simpler than what comes before. None of this diminishes the pleasure, but it keeps the film just short of perfection.

Who should watch Skyfall?

It is essential for Bond fans and an excellent entry point for newcomers, although it is richer if you have seen Casino Royale first. It suits anyone who enjoys stylish, intelligent action thrillers. At 143 minutes it is long but well paced. There is gun violence, some bloody injuries and mild sexual content, suitable for teenagers and adults.

Other films to try:

• No Time to Die, which continues Craig’s era and its interest in Bond’s past and personal cost.
• The Dark Knight Rises, another 2012 blockbuster about a battered hero forced back into action.

For more of Javier Bardem, his page gathers his other work.

The verdict

Skyfall is a superb Bond film and a great action thriller, combining gorgeous images, thrilling set pieces and a surprisingly moving story about loyalty and age. Its plotting is occasionally absurd, but Mendes, Deakins, Bardem and Dench make it one of the high points of a sixty-year series.

Rating: 4.5/5