James Bond has returned, what a shocker. I enjoyed nearly everything they did with Casino Royale which still holds up as a really edge of your seat action adventure. It had just enough hints of characterisation to keep me involved. The set pieces and the score also helped a lot. What keeps me watching this sort of series, particularly over time, is the pacing of events and the staging of the action. It can help a so-so script or a dull villain. Which is why the sequel is such a headache, it in took things in totally the wrong direction with all that shaky cam rubbish. Someone was desperate to remain relevant and ape the likes of The Bourne Ultimatum. But they're back again to give it another shot. The reactionary nature of this franchise is well documented, is this a return to form or at least an improvement?
Skyfall does get a lot right and moves away from the failings of Quantum of Solace. But while there's a lot of this I like, there are still certain elements that are all over the place. They seem to want all the serious drama and all the heavy moral issues. But then at the same time mix that up with the older school stuff like a Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 out of nowhere. They're going to throw in these pop references now after ignoring them for so long? Why? Is this still a reboot like before, or are we pretending it's a continuation now? Were the last couple of Craig outings a starting point for the other twenty plus adventures and this is now a successor? If they wanted to get back to their roots why is the gun barrel at the end, like it's an embarrassing relic?
This conflicted
approach spoils things a bit, and I wish they'd just pick a side and stick the landing. There
are some great dramatic moments mixed with some that are strange and almost inappropriate feeling. It's a little odd. It still manages to
celebrate fifty years of Bond with more finesse that what they did at forty at least. Let's try not to remember that CGI tsunami surfing sequence.
However despite the idea of melding old and new (in the style of the film and the storyline) there is no new David Arnold soundtrack during the film's duration. After he served them so well all this time, why not keep him around to provide more great music? It's a strange way of celebrating things to exclude him.
I appreciate Sam Mendes wanted it to be scored by his old time
collaborator. But at times it feels like those older ones where you realise John
Barry wasn't available and a Bond remix theme starts playing. Some of it
doesn't even fit what is happening on screen, and to make things worse they borrow cues from Casino Royale and throw them in at odd places.
Like the tone, the mixture of orchestra and electronica doesn't quite gel. I have to admit the Adele theme itself works
better than I originally thought, at least after hearing it initially. The film sound mix gives it a boost that tinny radio broadcasts lack. The intro is also pretty slick, but I guess stylish opening credits
sequences are a given at this point. It gets points for the striking imagery though, more death and less kitsch is nice to see.
Daniel Craig is still good as 007, and supporting cast members Ben Wishaw and Naomi Harris are fun as his new allies. It's hardly a revelation but good characters and performances are something that are a total must in this series. Judi Dench is also still great as M, and everyone has great chemistry. But the best inclusion is Javier Bardem as the villain Silva. He's intense when required, along with being suitably charismatic and campy at regular intervals. Besides it's nice to see a
memorable villain for once, and gets all the best scenes. What we saw of the Quantum rogues gallery was so totally forgettable, particularly that one guy and his big water stealing plan. What a dastardly villain.
As a result we have a thriller that manages
to sit at that mid level of the series for me. Despite being so well made it doesn't sit
properly as a consistent adventure and it never reaches the heights of the better entries in the franchise. Despite the applauded cinematography looking very nice and the refreshing plot being at its heart a simple vendetta for once, it's an unexceptional spy adventure overall. Maybe it's all that hacker techno babble in the second act. Or the lack of impact events seem to have taken during the closing scenes. Or the plot elements taken from The Dark Knight. Maybe it's the jumps they take between tongue in cheek action and sudden sleaze. There's a lot to enjoy, but it's very shaky and inconsistent in places.
3/5
