Skyfall

Neil Young penned the infamous question, “is it better to burn out than to fade away?”  When you ask that question regarding film franchises, answers vary (The Batman films? No. Superman films? Yes. Star Wars? Yes). In the case of the James Bond films, which have been around for fifty years, they age like good scotch; the latest 007 film, Skyfall, leaves you intoxicated with a story as explosive as the gauntlet of bombs and bullets Bond runs through. With Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) behind the camera, he manages to resurrect the 007 series after Mark Forster’s failed attempt four years earlier, Quantum of Solace.

                                                                                              

After a list of active NATO secret agents is leaked online and a terrorist attack on MI6 headquarters, James Bond (Daniel Craig) tries to find the mastermind behind the attacks. Bond’s search leads him to Silva (Javier Bardem), a sadistic and flamboyant renegade agent. Meanwhile, M’s (Judi Dench) trust comes into question as she is under scrutiny by the British Government for the failed attempt of securing the identities of the NATO agents.  Can Bond keep England safe from the hands of Silva, or has he lost his luster?

Daniel Craig fails to disappoint as Bond as he casts aside the high-tech weapons with the standard pistol and radio at his disposal. Judi Dench is at her best as M, as she carries the role she has played for almost twenty years with dignity and grace when faced with public scrutiny and fear for her life. Javier Bardem is as equally vicious and charismatic in this film as he was in No Country For Old Men five years earlier; in particular, when he decides to play William Tell with a glass of scotch. Rounding up the stellar cast is Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and a sawed off shotgun-toting Albert Finney.

Mendes steps aside from the canon of dramatic films he is well-known for and raises the bar with a sleek and seductive film that finds the balance between the suspense and drama, which is similar to how he blended the violence and emotional fragility of his protagonists in Road to Perdition. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is bold and expansive as his previous work with the Coen Brothers. Thomas Newman’s score emphasizes every punch and bullet flying through the air with such intensity as the strings and horns peel throughout the film. Plus, the opening song performed by Adele foreshadows the soul and beauty that unfolds throughout the next two hours and twenty minutes.

Fifty years on, James Bond remains an icon in cinema. Despite a few flawed 007 films from the past, Skyfall will live on as a stunning achievement celebrating Ian Fleming’s stellar vision of espionage that manages to shake and stir generations of Bond-aficionados.                      

Four out of Four Stars