Skyfall (2012)

So it's been five months since I last wrote down a review here, and I'm not sure if anyone outside of my closest friends actually read this blog, but I'll apologize for the lack of activity anyways. Again, I will try to be more active with this movie review blog, especially with some awesome movies coming out for the Fall season. I guess, it's kinda apt that after such a long drought, I'll be coming back with a review of the latest James Bond film - Skyfall, because much like this blog making a comeback, the film was an absolutely awesome way to bounce back from a lackluster and disappointing previous film.

MGM kept the details of Skyfall very hush hush and all I knew coming into the film was that, the past of both Bond and M will be tackled which will cause some discord between the two and even test the loyalty of 007. Given that it was a James Bond film, it was definitely one of those films that I knew I would not miss, regardless of how bad the last film was or how little I knew about the plot. The addition of Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Eat Pray Love) and Sam Mendes (American Beauty) just brought my interest and expectations in the film to a whole new level. I am glad to say, without a shadow of a doubt, that after watching the film, my expectations were EXPONENTIALLY exceeded.

Without giving too much about the plot away (although I think everyone has already seen it), there were so many other aspects of James Bond that were tackled by the film that were not remotely touched in any of the previous 22 films. In Casino Royale, we finally saw a glimpse of a more rugged and immature James Bond. In Skyfall, we delve further into the psyche and heart of Bond. Now, we see a much more human 007 than we have ever seen. One that shows that not only his body, but even his mind gets affected by his work and past. In previous films, almost dying countless of times doesn't affect Bond's skills in the least. But here, a simple word association exam is enough to rattle him.

While there have been tons said about him, I have always liked Daniel Craig's portrayal of Bond. True that he diverted from the traditional portrayal of a suave 007 in Casino Royale, it made the character more believable. In Skyfall, Craig does even better and absolutely kills it with his performance. He is no longer the immature young gun that we saw in Casino Royale, but Craig shows us the inner workings of just how complex a person Bond is.

There really was no dull moment in the film. Even during the scenes where there was no action at all and it was all dialogue, I found myself at the edge of my seat at full attention to the film. This is a testament to the excellent performance of Javier Bardem as the antagonist Silva. While I personally did not like his last film where he played the bad guy, his performance in No Country For Old Men, spoke volumes of just how good an actor he can be, and Skyfall just cements his place among Hollywoods elite. His chilling portrayal of Silva draws similarities to Hannibal Lecter as well as Heath Ledger's The Joker. Bardem was the perfect choice for such a villain. Judi Dench also delivers a top notch performance where in her character, M, finally gets out of the MI6 office and gets into the action. Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw deserve commendation as well. The only weak performance in the film was from Naomi Harris who had no chemistry with Daniel Craig whatsoever.

Speaking of action, this film is certainly not lacking in that department. From the prologue scene all the way to the climactic ending, there's enough fight scenes and action to satisfy everyone. Also, none of them were done in such a messy "blair witch" type of way that you no longer know what's going on, nor did it go all Michael Bay on us and just make us facepalm half the time. Sam Mendes did an excellent job in balancing the action with the rest of the story.

Of course, no Bond movie would be complete without a theme song. This time, Adele brings her sad little talented soul and comes-up with one of the best Bond themes of all-time. Her voice was just perfect to hearken us back to the great Bond themes of yesteryear. It was ballady, while at the same time very fresh and current. Skyfall is up there along with Nobody Does It Better and Goldeneye as one of top Bond themes of all-time, although You Know My Name is still the best in my humble opinion.

So how do I summarize Skyfall for all you people who chanced upon this blog and are too lazy to read the whole review? Skyfall, shows us James Bond's humanity more than any other film, while at the same time giving us awesome action scenes balanced with incredible acting from the cast, delivered at such a great pace that you will be at the edge of your seat most of the film. With only two months left in the year, I think it's safe to say that Skyfall will be one of my top film of the year. I honestly believe that even if Craig no longer plays Bond in the future, there will be talk of who is the better Bond between him or Sean Connery on the strength of Skyfall and Casino Royale alone.

9.5/10