Skyfall is the newest and twenty-third James Bond film with this outing being the third film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond. The film is about Bond investigating an attack on MI6 from the film’s villain, Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem. The attacks aren’t occurring to just hurt MI6, but are actually Silva having his revenge on M, played by Judi Dench, for reasons best left to be found out on your own. Silva however presents a new challenge for Bond since he is a very advanced cyber-terrorist. This means he can make more damage all while not even being in the area of destruction. It’s now up to Bond to protect M and try to capture and stop Silva.
This film marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film starting with Dr.No in 1962 and this film is definitely a treat. Daniel Craig feels completely natural in the role of James Bond and reflects a character that is trying to adapt to this new threat. The Bond we see in this film is one that has been doing his job for a long time and is starting to show his age. Javier Bardem as Silva shows a Bond villain which hasn’t been seen before as Silva isn’t particularly interesting in killing Bond unless he needs to in order to get to M. Silva keeps his cool and even acts a little extravagant when conducting his attacks, which is a new thing for a Bond villain.
Some of the newer characters for the Daniel Craig films (but reintroduced from the older films) are Q, played by Ben Whishaw, who is this time a young computer genius. Q is very likable and his scenes with James are interesting with a chemistry that is quickly established. Another new character is Gareth Mallory, played by Ralph Fiennes, who is a former lieutenant colonel of the British Army. While being rough around the edges, he has a great screen presence and you feel for him trying to keep MI6 in order and help M.
If this is someone’s first James Bond film, this one is a good starting point since it gives you everything which makes Bond films great. The film barely drags as everything seems balanced so that it keeps your attention the entire running time. The opening action sequence where Bond has to get a hard drive in India, for example, has just enough action to keep one interested but not enough to drag on too long. There is also the opening title sequence, with a theme song called “Skyfall” and performed by Adele, which puts one into the mood of the kind of film this is.
If there is anything bad to say about this film that would have to be the third act which is Bond’s final face off against Silva. For one thing, it seems that it’s a little too dark and it hurts the eyes a little bit to see what’s going on till the climax. There is also the fact that it might seem a little underwhelming since it ends a little too quickly. However, a person can overlook these faults since they don’t ruin the film and the acting saves it.
Overall, this is a great film for the fall season and is a great film in the Bond lineage. The acting is spot on and feels up to date with the same Bond we love. While a person can have some problems with the third act, they can be overlooked. The cherry on top occurs at end when we see the famous James Bond shooting at the camera shot and a title card at the end declaring that “James Bond will return”.