IT STRIKES ME as odd that both 007 and the Rolling Stones are celebrating their 50th anniversaries in 2012; if only the remaining original members of the Stones could have arranged for as many physical replacements as Bond along the way, and still keep their mojo.
Daniel Craig has some way to go to looking as grizzled as Jagger or Richards, but he does look pretty aged and fraying in Skyfall, and itโs hard to know whether he really has edged close to retirement age in the time itโs taken to star in three 007 movies, or whether his bedraggled looks are entirely the concoction of a makeup team dedicated to the story – wherein a battered and alcoholic Bond is called back to duty, despite the fact that he can no longer even shoot straight.
Perhaps thatโs why the feats arenโt quite as astonishing or pyrotechnic (or as preposterous) as usual, but new director Sam Mendes (whose most liked film is still American Beauty) has fashioned a much better film by avoiding most of those (frankly impossible) set-pieces.
Which isnโt to say that the expected astonishing chase scenes, or the edge-of-seat (or in my case, under the seat) thrills are damp squibs, exactly. In fact, the film starts with an almost too-long chase through the streets of a Turkish town, in cars, on motorbikes and, improbably, on the roof of a train, and itโs definitely thrill-a-minute, if not quite up to the killer beginning of Craigโs debut, the refashioned Casino Royale.
Itโs just that thereโs a lot more drama and (dare I say it) character development in this film than is usually allowed, and that the action sequences feel like theyโre organically part of the whole rather than tacked on, as they sometimes have in the past.
The reason for the extra drama is that weโre getting more up close and personal with both Bond, and his boss/matriarch, M (Judi Dench), as the film explores her hard-assed relationship to her charges, and we get to see through that hard edge to the rather fragile little old lady that in the end, needs protecting.
The script has been sharpened up, as well, and the film strikes just the right balance between genuine emotional clout, spurious thrills and funny, well-aimed one-liners that lighten the mood when most needed.
Thereโs no sexy villainess this time round to act as a foil for Bond, although weโre teased with that possibility early in the piece. In any case, the movie doesnโt suffer for its lack, because thereโs an implied romance between Bond and one of his junior (but very smart) operatives. The fact that sheโs a dusky maiden also gives the film a bit more of an edge than it might have had.
Oh, and the cinematographer seems to think we really want to see up people’s nostrils. I think that’s a shame. But it is a minor point.
One aspect of the whole Bond franchise at this point is quite confusing. The audience is in on the fact that different actors have played 007 over the years, but the plot shouldn’t be. Craig is portrayed as the original Bond, but a man in his 50s won’t have been in the secret service in the mid-1960s; so why the utilisation of the 1960s Aston Martin, along with the original theme music? It’s a nicely nudge-nudge, wink-wink moment, but just confuses the issue, and muddies the water.
Rating – 4/5
* Skyfall opens in New Zealand on November 22.
good review.
thank you for not mentioning that godawful title song.
Damn, I meant to mention that godawful title song! I’ll have to go back and amend that.