Skyfall

Don’t let all the hype fool you – Skyfall is not an easy sell. For all the critical acclaim of Casino Royale and the hefty box office earnings of Quantum of Solace, the Bond fan base has been somewhat divided ever since Daniel Craig inherited 007’s tuxedo. One half embraces the new take on her majesty’s finest agent, an approach that is defined by brutal, furiously-edited fist fights and grounded in reality to the point that Quantum’s villain was an eco-terrorist bent on monopolising water supplies and selling them to puppet governments in Latin America (yawn). The other half instead bemoans the departure of the quirky gadgets along with the improbably-named femme fatales and longs for a villain that wields satellite lasers, has a propensity for delivering evil monologues and is content with residing in an active volcano. If only there was a way to please both parties…

Enter Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, who has pulled off the nigh-impossible task of striking the perfect balance between realism and escapism in time for Bond’s 50^th anniversary. From the moment you see 007 nonchalantly adjust his cufflinks during a scuffle aboard a moving train, you just know we are back in classic James Bond territory, where a deadpan quip or the seduction of an exotic belle is never far away. But Mendes is respectful enough not to discard completely the work that’s been done before him, as he makes the pragmatism of the previous two films work to his advantage – a major plotline in Skyfall deals with how some of the more serious errors of MI6 are perceived by the media and a tribunal of enquiry.

Another decision that is sure to have some purists up in the arms is that of stripping Bond of his super spy persona and have him reduced to an unkempt, boozing wanderer who can’t shoot straight to save his life. It’s in these segments that Craig and Mendes infuse the decades’ old spy with an amount of doubt and self-loathing never seen before and that quite possibly we’ll never see again in the franchise. Put simply, if Casino Royale was about how James Bond got his mojo, Skyfall is about him losing it… before getting it back in grand, triumphant style, of course.

Just when all the dark introspection risks outstaying its welcome, Mendes puts the film firmly back on track and we finally get to see Craig as James Bond, rather than as a versatile actor. We all know by now that Danny boy convinces as a cold-hearted hit-man, but we’ve yet to see him revel in wry putdowns and the shameless womanising, which he gets to do both in spades here. It also helps that he is up against a brilliant villain in the form of Silva, a toad-faced Javier Bardem with bleached hair who amuses and unsettles in equal measure. And for a franchise that is commonly known for its use of glamorous locations around the globe, there is something immensely refreshing about staging the film’s most gripping action sequence in the London Underground.

So are there any let-downs? Well, the third act’s parochial setting definitely sets the right mood for a chilly climax, although it does play out like an odd blend of Straw Dogs and Home Alone. Meanwhile, Albert Finney’s cuddly gamekeeper is the kind of impromptu sidekick you’d expect from the Roger Moore era Bond (although he does get to deliver literally a killer line).

Yet these inconsistencies matter little as the explosive and surprisingly gut-wrenching climax is over, and the closing scene divides audiences once again. One half will see it as a melancholic ending, the other will no doubt see it as an exciting new beginning. But there is one thing everyone is sure to agree on: nobody does it better than 007.

5/5