ALERT: there are some spoilers here, technical and some things about the
plot, but you won’t find extreme spoilers here, so you’ll be able to read
without guilt.
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| Daniel Craig as James Bond watching over London |
The day has
finally arrived, and this time –unlike what I did with CASINO ROYALE and
QUANTUM OF SOLACE- I made the effort of stay spoiler free (something hardly
possible thanks to social networks and forums). I’ve read some comments (some
very painful to read) about the film when they were only a rumor, but didn’t
dare to confirm it with my worldwide friends in Europe who had seen the film.
As I told in
my radio interview with Sebastián De Caro, I tought friendship this time was
avobe Bond itself, at least for this year, so I’ve kindly rejected the
Argentinean premiere tickets I won without much effort in their official
Facebook page contest.
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| Bond finds out that some things aren't necesarily best kept underground... |
Suddenly,
November 1st came, and SKYFALL was there round the corner. As I met
my friends and I was heading to the cinemas I wondered: is it gonna be the best
Bond since GOLDENEYE? The trailers sold the film very well, plus the cast list
including names like Bardem, Fiennes and Finney seemed to confirm it.
I have to
start here with a certain spoilerish critique (calm down, it’s not that heavy):
the gunbarrel is not at the beginning, but at the end (yet again!). That pisses
me off. Its misplacement was justified in CASINO ROYALE, then we had some
tongue-in-cheek reason to believe it’d fit at the end in QUANTUM OF SOLACE and
yes, it certainly can fit the end of SKYFALL in a sense, but it should have
been at the beginning, particularily for a 50th anniversary Bond
film which combines both classic and modern touches both modern and conservative fans will like.
As we get into
the ten minute teaser we see a spectacular motorbike rooftop chase over the rooftops
of that exotic place were FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH was
filmed: Istanbul, Turkey. Bond and rookie agent Eve are chasing Patrice, a
shadowy hitman responsible leaving agent Ronson heavily wounded and stealing a
drive containing a list with all the secret agents embedded in terrorist
organizations worldwide. The fight between Bond and Patrice ends atop a train
where Bond gets a “bloody shot” from lousy marksman Eve. Then the beautiful main titles by Daniel
Kleinman come to screen, cleaning up the forgettable disaster made by the MK12
in the previous film. Skulls, tombstones, girls, moors and Bond stalked by
shadows are some of the beautiful things we see to fit with the lovely
“Skyfall” song performed by Adele.
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| Eve (Naomie Harris) shares some jokes with 007 at the MI6 new digs. |
Then we are
introduced into the film’s proper plot: MI6 is blown away right after M’s
computer and all the secret service network is hacked by an unknown man that
has apparently made with the missing list and is constantly posting macabre
jokes and games to M. Her authority is constantly challenged by her superior
Gareth Mallory, brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes.
Then, Bond is
back from the dead to save M’s reputation and the enormous security breach in
the country. And here’s where we traditionalist fans will get to rise a smile
by watching the return of Q, this time a nerdy young guy played by Ben Whishaw
(we can remember his scene with Daniel Craig in 2005’s LAYER CAKE) who will
never make us forget the late Desmond Llewelyn but he brings freshness to the
character. We get to see some gadgets. The classic Aston Martin DB5 from
GOLDFINGER is there – all I will say is that it’s the same of GOLDFINGER, and
not just for the BMT 216A number plate, plus a signature Walther PPK akin to
Timothy Dalton’s photo camera-rifle from LICENCE TO KILL, and a radio. The
radio is very useful, I can assure you!
.jpg) |
| Bérénice Marlohe as French-Cambodian Sévérine |
Javier Bardem’s
Silva is probably the greatest villain since Robert Davi’s Franz Sánchez,
because he’s a first class psychopath: he’s driven by revenge against M because
he feels “betrayed” by her – there are some shades of our dear Alec Trevelyan in
its first encounter with Bond, plus a slight homosexual characteristic that
will remind you to Wint and Kidd from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (the novel, not the
film). Bérénice Marlohe (or “Bérenice Lim” as she’s finally credited in the
main and end titles) as Sévérine provides a lot of beauty to the screen and, in
her short time onscreen, we discover shades of her unhappy past.
Naomie Harris looks
very beautiful too but it’s not the Bond girl you expect to be, although she has
a surprise for Bond (and the audience) in the very last minutes of the two hour
and a half feature – and here’s another interesting thing to talk about: ON HER
MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE and CASINO ROYALE, the longest Bonds before SKYFALL,
are very good but there are slow paced scenes, unlike SKYFALL, where all the
scenes in a way or another are enough to fulfill the audience’s entertainment –
the film just flies!
We shall give
a special mention to Judi Dench’s M, who gives probably her best acting to the
Bond franchise. You will really see here she’s not just another M, but has a
maternal instinct towards Bond. And Albert Finney’s portrayal of Kincade,
ghillie of Bond’s Scottish residence, brings us to the mind the actual place
where Ian Fleming’s James Bond was born.
Daniel Craig
makes a great Bond, and we have to mention here that he has been faced off against
the original Ian Fleming’s James Bond, which is not a minor challenge. And he
does it perfectly, adding some nice one liner humour touches we’ve been missing
in the last two films. Nobody can say he’s not James Bond now, and, if you’re a
nostalgic missing the Connery era… just wait for the film’s ending.
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| "Is there anything left of the old Double-O-Seven?" - Raoul Silva challenges Bond in rather nasty game. |
Much of the
film merits belong to Roger Deakins’ cinematography, who probably is the best
photographer Bond has ever had (sorry, Phil!), the so missed Stuart Baird
editing and Alexander Witt’s second unit direction, after the fiasco of Matt Chassé
& Robert Pearson and Jason Bourne’s Dan Bradley who should be banned for
life to do another Bond film, unlike scribes Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John
Logan who created a great story and script together. Thomas Newman’s music
might not be in the scale of David Arnold or John Barry, but he’s a great
composer to be a substitute. Thankfully, we got more of the “James Bond Theme”
this time. And of course, Martin Campbell was right: Sam Mendes did a wonderful
job.
Is it the best
Bond since GOLDENEYE? It certainly beats off THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE
ANOTHER DAY (I say this being a Pierce Brosnan fundamentalist as somebody
called me) and QUANTUM OF SOLACE. By facing it off against TOMORROW NEVER DIES
we’re facing it of a film I love much and well, CASINO ROYALE is Ian Fleming’s
Bond genesis.
So, it is the
best Bond since GOLDENEYE? Yes and no.
9.75 / 10
Nicolás
Suszczyk
Editor, THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER
Editor, THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER
