Movie Review: Skyfall

          I’ve been a little worried that, in an attempt to “fix” the popularity of the James Bond franchise, the makers would try to make him Jason Bourne lite.  I don’t find the Bourne movies very interesting or all that well made.  The plots are OK but the way they shoot the action leaves me with a headache and no idea what was going on.  But with one line my worries were washed away.  James Bond isn’t Jason Bourne, he’s Batman!  M declares late in the movie that orphans make the best recruits and suddenly everything came into focus.  M is Commissioner Gordon, Q is Lucius Fox, and a new character we meet in this movie is clearly Alfred.  Both Bond and Batman drive fancy cars that shoot missiles, carry around various crazy gadgets, are highly trained in various forms of hand to hand combat, try to take down bad guys “from the shadows,” and can take long amounts of time off without missing a beat.  If Batman would just start sleeping with random women and Bond would become a little more morose, they would be identical.

            I don’t point all this out to take the piss out of the Bond franchise.  I love Batman and I love Bond.  The fact that their stories are so similar just makes me Bond all that much more.  The fact is Skyfall is a fantastic movie whither the main character feels like a realistic Batman or not.  Sam Mendes did an incredible job straddling the line between high art and high action.  Skyfall has both impressively framed camera shots and huge explosions, something we have been lulled into believing can’t happen.  Leave it to a James Bond movie to remind us all what an action movie can look like when well made.  The fight scene in the glass building done in silhouette is everything the Bourne films aren’t.  You can see every punch and kick, not missing one bit of the action, and it’s all done with an extremely artistic shot.  The introduction of Javier Bardem as our baddy, Silva, was another great example of Mendes using art to enhance an action movie.  The odd angle of the camera from behind a tied up Bond and its slow zoom in as Silva walks the length of the long room adds an ominous sense to the character and the situation Bond finds himself in.

            People have been saying for years now that James Bond is a character who has lost touch with our modern world.  That his cavalier style, playboy persona and corny ploys just don’t work with today’s more sophisticated audiences.  But that doesn’t have to be true.  Everything that made James Bond one of the greatest film characters ever can be tweaked to fit in a modern world because at his core he is still an amazingly compelling character.  Skyfall both directly and indirectly tackles this point.  The film is essentially about the fight between old and new and how we bring old ways into an ever changing world.  Mendes did a great job of addressing this same theme while making the movie.  He was able to sift out what we all loved about the old Bond movies and combine them with a more modern sensibility.  He threw the old fans the bones they want without hurting the serious tone this movie demanded.  And the result is one of the best Bond movies ever and a reminder of what action movies can be capable of.

            Like every action film, there are times were you are forced to suspend your disbelief, as wonderful a movie as Skyfall is Mendes does rely on a few action movie troupes, but everything else is done so well it’s easy to let it pass.  Bardem is incredible as the obviously mentally disturbed Silva.  I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the previous Craig Bond films, but he was great in this one showing the wear and tear the job has taken on Bond’s soul.  If I have any complaint it’s that the themes of the movie are a bit heavy handed, but again, it’s such an interesting theme that I quickly forgive it.  This is very much a must see movie.  It should also be a contender for a few Oscars, but I’m not getting my hopes up there.  Much like comedies, popcorn action movies don’t get recognized as much as they should when it comes awards time.  Oscar or not this is one of the best movies of the year