My rating: ★★★★★
LET THE SKY FALL. WE WILL STAND TALL, AT SKYFALL.
SKYFALL is a mere proof that a good spy film doesn’t need nonsense action-sequences or incorporation of unrealistic gadgets, it just needs a great screenplay, astounding performances and outstanding direction. I see a lot of people complaining that a James Bond movie without action sequences and gadgets and devices is worthless. What they don’t understand is that everything needs to evolve and get out of its own self-made shell, because, sooner or later, people start demanding for something else, something they never would have expected, something that makes them change their mind about a certain subject.
Same is the case here.
Sam Mendes has proved himself to be an outstanding director once again (he directed American Beauty for which he won an Academy Award in 2000). His sense of imagination is so brilliant that it totally works for the film. Cinematography is done by Roger Deakins, having received nine nominations for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, he is one of the great cinematographers of the film industry and he continues to prove it in Skyfall with his brilliant camera work.
The important thing about this film is the screenplay, which is, no doubt, different from all the Bond movies made before Skyfall and that’s what makes it so better. Written by Neal Purvis, John Logan and Robert Wade, the screenplay works like a charm because you get to know Bond and above all, the other major character of the movie, M (played by Judi Dench). Daniel Craig continues to shine in his role even more, it seems like he had been practising to improve himself and it becomes really clear when you compare his performance to the previous installment Quantum of Solace. In Skyfall, it feels like Craig has found his lost indenity and he is never going to let go of it.
The other key character of the movie is Raoul Silva (played by Javier Bardem who is perhaps the most famous Spanish actor, having previously won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ‘No Country for Old Men’), is the film’s main antagonist and he is more than a villain. Bardem’s performance and his character reminds me of the Joker (comparing to Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight) at cerain points, he has done it so wonderfully and only he could make it happen. Other cast members include Ralph Fiennes (Gareth Mallory, the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee), Naomie Harris (Eve Moneypenny), Bérénice Lim Marlohe (Sévérine, the Bond girl), Albert Finney (Kincade, the gamekeeper of the Skyfall estate)and Ben Whinshaw (Q, the MI6 quartermaster) who support the film’s plot and storyline properly.
What I love about this film is that it doesn’t feel like I am watching a Bond movie and that’s exactly what I love. It has a different soul, a darker one, the character-driven plot has been handled in an amazing way. I don’t mind if a spy film doesn’t have more action-sequences because to me, the plot and main theme of the film are more important. People may also say that the plot of the movie is so typical and predictable and it gets boring but if we look closer, we see a rebirth of the entire Bond franchise, just like Christopher Nolan did with the Batman franchise.
…And who could forget Adele’s wonderful voice in a melodious soundtrack to the movie, written by both Adele and Paul Epworth and the way it has been incorporated in the opening sequence is just freaking brilliant. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wins the Academy Award for Original Song.
Am I liking it too much? Am I impressed with this movie too much? Am I being biased? MAYBE. Because SKYFALL is just the right amount of Bond I wanted to see in the 23rd film.
