Skyfall

Ladies and gentleman, there is a reason why I hype movies. Most of the time it's for good reason, and very few times I am left disappointed. I've been hyping the crap out of Skyfall, it's true. I shamelessly adore James Bond...for some twisted reason, I want to be him. But regardless of my pre-determined excitement, Skyfall deserves every bit of hype that I was giving it. 

*For the full Bond/Rath's Review experience, feel free to play the music below as you read the review:

Oh James, quit winking at me!

As many of you know (or may not know if you live under a rock), 2012 is the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise. Just think about that for a second. 50 years. 23 movies (including Skyfall). What other franchise has even gotten close? I believe the next closest is Harry Potter with 8 official movies. It's an incredible feat, especially judging on how much Hollywood has changed since 1962. Based on that fact alone, there was a ton of pressure on Skyfall to be something special, especially after Quantum of Solace disappointed so many people (I personally enjoyed the movie, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be, just void of the humor that people expect from Bond films). And then MGM was having financial problems so the movie took an additional 2 years to come out. At this point, some were asking, is Bond even relevant anymore? Needless to say, director Sam Mendes had the weight of the Bond franchise on his shoulders. But boy was he the right man for the job. 

I also like walking into showers when women are using them...
although, it usually doesn't work as well for me as it does Bond.

Our movie starts out right in the thick of it and proceeds to deliver the best action sequence of the entire movie (which is a bit of a bummer since it's at the beginning, but there are others!). Bond and a fellow agent are chasing a man who MUST be caught. He has a list of all of the world's current NATO agents who are embedded in terrorist organizations. Que a battle on top of a train where Bond experiences the unfavorable aspects of friendly fire and plunges into a river. After the fantastic title sequence, with what might be the best Bond song ever (performed by Adele), we are greeted with a James facing his demons. He is "dead", living on some remote island and battling sex addiction, pain killer addiction, and alcoholism. He is injured and out of shape, but eventually returns to MI6 for certain reasons. It is here where he learns what he must do to make sure that the list of embedded agents does not get out. I'll end my brief setup there, but just know that the plot is fantastic. In fact, it is one of the best plots to ever be associated with a Bond film. I would even go as far as to say that it is better than the plot of Casino Royale, my personal favorite Bond film. And based on the user poll that I conducted, 77% of you also view Casino Royale as your favorite.

  

Silva is certainly one of the creepiest villains ever...

Skyfall is filled with fantastic performances. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few Oscar nominations headed its way. Craig is quite literally redefining Bond and making it completely his own. We can sense that James is battling some inner issues throughout the movie and that's all because of Craig's fantastic delivery. He's intense when he needs to be, but not a mindless killing machine or womanizer at all times. This is the Bond we can connect with. This is the REAL Bond. Equally as brilliant is Javier Bardem as the villain, Silva. People have been comparing his performance to the Joker in The Dark Knight. It's no where close to touching that performance, I'm sorry. But still fantastic in its own right. Immediately from the get-go, we can tell that Silva is brilliant, but has a few screws loose. Oh and he's a psychopath so there's that. Bardem does fantastic displaying the absolute outlandishness of Silva...the facial quips and vocal murmurs, the homosexual tendencies (yes, I said homosexual tendencies), and the drive to destroy the woman who destroyed him, M. And here we arrive at the focal point, or should I say, focal character of the movie, Judi Dench's M. We have grown to love her quips and her presence in the Bond films, but what do we really know about her? What are the aspects of her job? Skyfall humanizes her for the first time since she joined all the way back in Goldeneye, and boy does Dench give a performance. 

James Bond is super efficient:
using an enemy's body to soak
up bullets rather than his own!

On a production level, Skyfall is practically perfect. The cinematography is phenomenal, the script is tight, and Mendes directs the movie in a way that every scene is important during the 2 hour and 23 minute run time. The movie's original score is fantastic, and as we all know, I love a good original score. The action scenes are driven by synthesized numbers that build the intensity while the quieter moments are graced by soft orchestral melodies. And the James Bond theme makes a grand return! It has largely been missing in the previous two Craig-era films, but with this being the 50th anniversary, Skyfall serves as one of the best fan-service films ever. It has numerous nods to the original movies (including the phenomenal entrance of the original Aston Martin DB5) while reinventing itself and rebooting the franchise at the same time. 

"At least I got one thing right"
You'll understand after you see the film...

So what else really needs to be said about Skyfall? It continues this invigorating and deep Craig-era Bond with a tale that takes us back to Bond's roots. This is a Bond that we have never seen before, but one that we all want to see more of. Finally, after 50 years and 22 movies, we learn that Bond can bleed and that's a huge accomplishment.

Recently, I re-watched Casino Royale. It came out before I started Rath's Reviews, but it would have easily gotten a 10/10 score; it was certainly an instant classic. Skyfall may not have the amount of action that Casino Royale so perfectly executed, but Skyfall has the story, the heart, and the future. 

50 years from now, on Bond's 100th anniversary, we will all look back to Skyfall as the turning point for the Bond franchise. The point at which people quit questioning its relevance anymore, and started using it as the judging block for all future Bond films and all future re-imaginings of franchises. 

Pros:

• This a Bond movie with a REAL Bond. He has demons, he can bleed, and he has a back story. We finally learn about the man behind the tuxedo
• Stellar performances from the three main players: Craig, Bardem, and Dench. I wouldn't be surprised if any of them are Oscar nominated
• For the first time in a LONG time, we get a truly fantastic Bond villain with Silva. Brilliant yet psychotic, he holds our attention
• The action, while not as continuous and exciting as Casino Royale, is well done, inventive, and captured well on camera
• The plot is fantastic and weaves in so many different angles it's amazing it didn't get bogged down
• I loved the original score, it actually reminded me somewhat of Drive's at a few points. And Adele's opening sequence song is...well, it's perfect, similar to the opening sequence itself
• I have never been so excited for the future of a franchise as I am for James Bond right now. The movie makes several, perfectly added, fan service moments, but by the end of the film, we realize that this Bond era is established and that NOW, after all that has happened in the previous Craig-era movies, it is time to get down to business

Cons:

• Skyfall does get slow in parts. If you are looking for pure action, this may not be your movie
• While Judi Dench is the main "Bond girl" in this film, I wish they would have kept Severine around a little while longer. She was gorgeous
• There is some questionable CG in the movie. With a movie with this much hype, I would have thought they could have acquired some better special effects, especially since it's only needed for a couple scenes

Rath's Review Score: 10/10 -- Instant Classic

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