Skyfall

After being shot in the line of duty, MI6 agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) fakes his own death in order to enjoy retirement. But when MI6 is attacked by cyberterrorist Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) and undercover agents are compromised, Bond jumps back into the fray. Meanwhile, MI6 director M (Judi Dench) faces political pressure from soldier-turned-bureaucrat Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), who urges her to retire with dignity. The ante is upped when Silva’s highly personal motivation is finally revealed.

            Skyfall marks the fiftieth year of the cinematic James Bond franchise, and in many ways, it’s the ultimate reflection on the 22 films that preceded it. Like any Bond movie, it offers the requisite tuxedoes, gunplay, Bond girls, car chases, and quips. It also offers some overt visual cues – think shaken martinis and a well-preserved Aston-Martin – that evoke the franchise’s history. But what truly makes Sam Mendes’ film more than just another entry in the series is the way it synthesizes past and present while offering a vision for the future.

            Skyfall finds both Bond and MI6 at a crossroads. Both are damaged physically (Bond by gunfire, the agency headquarters by explosion) and both face tough questions regarding their necessity in the 21^st century. M is dragged before a committee that views her as a Cold War relic while a young new Q (Ben Whishaw) haughtily informs Bond that he can accomplish more from his computer than 007 can in the field. This sense of pending obsolescence is compounded by a villain who brings technological savvy to a dangerous new level. And yet the film continually reminds us – through both gratuitous catchphrase dropping and the characters’ fortitude – that sometimes, the old ways are best.

            However, to reduce Skyfall to a mere glorification of the past would be to ignore its other thematic lesson: past decisions often breed future consequences. Whether it be M’s protect-the-greater-good approach to her operatives’ safety or Bond subjecting himself to tons of physical and psychological harm or a former agent’s botch suicide via cyanide pill, the effects are on full display here, and they are far from pretty.

            Nevertheless, the quest for depth and relevancy does not render Skyfall a boring film. From the opening pursuit to the (literally) explosive finale, there are places when the film slows, but it never stalls out. The action is aided by one of the best Bond casts in years. Craig, whose casting I once found objectionable, has clearly grown into the role, and his weary, cynical, but ruthlessly effective take on the character is a good fit for the plot. M is given considerably more screen time here, something that both fleshes out the character and allows Dench to shine. As the antagonist, Bardem pulls out a performance that no one else (save for maybe Christoph Waltz) can match. The bleach-blond Silva is a refreshing break from the stale megalomania of villains’ past. Here, he uses innuendo-laden frivolity as a mask for bloodlust and psychosis, and he does so disturbingly well.

            By the end of the proceedings, an era has ended and a new guard has been ushered in. This includes resurrecting certain legacy characters, a move that would have been regarded as cheap in lesser hands. But Mendes and his collaborators ultimately show that a key component of Bond’s refusal to die is his – and the franchise’s – ability to change.

8.5/10