Saturday Movies: Skyfall (2012)

Sam Mendes directed American Beauty, so it doesn't seem he would be the one to put together the most recent Skyfall film. He brings what he did to American Beauty though in making the movie masculine, story charged, and intense in the same way he accomplished with it. He has a thing with story telling, and this time around James Bond actually feels like he has a little more to him than just women and nice cars as he seeks to stop one of his toughest enemies yet who is threatening the few people he still cares about in his life.

James Bond has always had his loyalty with M, but someone from M's past is coming back to see revenge, and while his first thought is to protect her revelations about her show where her own loyalties have always lain, and it doesn't appear to be with any of the agents she employed. Silva, is a crazed psycho path, who will stop at nothing till he takes M down even if that means personally attacking Bond himself, and the whole city they live in. M tries to make a point through all this though, that no matter how much personal cost you have to make you have to do what you got to do.


Daniel Craig is great as James Bond, and definitely ranks as one of the top portrayals of the guy. It really depends on what type of Bond you like though. Craig is quiet, mysterious, and he kicks butt. He is sort of like a shadow. He isn't really over the top, and his catchy lines are delivered every now and then. Craig as Bond seems to just be getting better though, and he's come along way from how the first movie was building up the James Bond he would portray.

Judi Dench reprises her role as M, and she really takes center stage as one of the more profound characters we learn about in the film, and keeps us captured whenever she is one screen. Dench plays a much bigger part than she has in previous films, and we finally get to see her in the middle of playing her part as a member of the agency in more hands on roles. Seeing the dynamics between her and Bond are also interesting as the depth of their relationship has never quite been explained.

Skyfall is also action packed as you would hope, and instantly kicks off with an intense scene to get you hooked that takes place atop a train. There is also the very memorable part of the train breaking through underground that most people probably just remember from the commercials. Also, the soundtrack doesn't fail, and this one probably has one of the best ones.

It's a tad bit of a different Bond in this one, and it makes it more enjoyable. He's more serious, and there is a lot more depth running beneath the movie that hasn't been there in prior ones. Javer Bardem is also the bad guy, Silva, and while a little over the top, it sort of fits into the whole persona of who he is. The cast is really one that seems to have been picked over, and put together well as it's more memorable than even the prior films in this series.

Rating 8 of 10.