Posted 23 November 2012 - 01:23 AM
I'm a nearly 50 year-old life-long Bond movie fan who was incredibly disapointed by this 50-year anniversary movie. I've written a very long and detailed exposition on Skyfall that places it in the context of not only the Craig era but the entire Bond history. It's intended for the producers but many here may find it interesting. I'll first post a short review for those who may not wish to read my full exposition. Please don't flame me. I'm only expressing my opinion. I'm not saying everyone ele is wrong about this movie.
HERE'S MY SHORT REVIEW
Mendes so meticulously crafts scenes to explore story themes that he completely misses the spirit of Bond, kills the character, and delivers a soulless movie.
If there's one scene that encapsulates this entire movie, it's the scene where M is reciting pretentious poetry interspersed with action scenes involving Bond. The inter-cut action scenes are boring but that doesn't matter. In Mendes hands, it's the pretensions that are important. The action scenes are only there to add symbolic weight to the words of the poem -- or to be strung together as pieces of "art" and paraded as a Bond movie. Ironically, there's no scene of classy performance art like we normally get in a Bond movie (we DO get it in the latest Mission Impossible movie). It's "Skyfall" itself that gets passed-off as "classy" performance art.
The Bond movie producers have committed a lot of sins over the years -- such as infusing silly-ness and a lack of consistency into the Bond movies (even within the same reboot era). And, of course, there is their flat-out refusal to EVER deliver a Bond movie that's not full of major plot faults. The one unforgivable sin though is to deliver a Bond movie that is weak on stunts and truly Bondian action. To say that "Skyfall" is weak in this regard is an understatement. Outside of the pre-credit sequence, there is NO truly Bondian action set-pieces in the entire lengthy movie (not that I normally mind a long Bond movie). Even really bad Bond movies, like "Die Another Day", at least entertain if you can ignore the stupid plot and its faults. "Skyfall" starts out well then fairly consistently bores (especially in the last half) -- something a Bond movie should NEVER do. (Note that crappy action, like that of "Tomorrow Never Dies", ALSO bores.)
It's as though Mendes felt that, having delivered a good Bond mini-movie in the pre-credit sequence, he had fulfilled his obligation to Bond fans and was now free to create a personal art project (merely checking some Bond boxes along the way) -- and an overly serious and boring art project at that. If we consider the serious experiences of our lives, we find that they are really etched in us and that we still think about them -- but we probably don't seek to repeat them. If we consider the fun experiences of our lives, we find that we seek to repeat them. The best experiences of our lives, those that leave a mark AND that we wish to repeat, have both the serious and the fun elements.
As for the plot of "Skyfall", there's not a SINGLE scene in this entire movie that makes any sense what-so-ever from a plot perspective. John Logan, who wrote the brilliant Hugo, must have simply been brought-in to add wit and story themes to the existing script -- not concerning himself at all about the, apparently, necessary plot faults. Yes, I can only think the producers believe major plot faults to be NECESSARY to a Bond movie as they refuse to make the movies without these faults. With the near total lack of truly Bondian action set-pieces, all these major plot faults, simply and unfortunately, cannot be ignored.
For those that think I've overly harped on the plot faults, consider... This Bond movie had pretensions of being taken as a serious thriller. It has an academy award winning director at its helm and is filled with top-tier actors and actresses. It has a celebrated writing team. The producers have publicly bragged about this script and all the time (YEARS) that they had to perfect it. All this and they give us a story no more cohesive than that of "Moonraker"(and, amazingly, even less original) -- but with none of that movie's stunts, gadgets, or special effects to hide the craters. It's enough to make one forget one's complaints about double-taking pigeons, gondola-car hybrids, and henchman who fall in love with teenage girls half their height.
This is our 50 year anniversary gift for all our support over the years -- and the new formula!? Old formula -- the plot and story must never make sense and we'll have great panache-laden action set-pieces to hide the fact. New formula -- the plot and story must never make sense and we'll have well-acted "art" scenes to hide the fact -- and the action set-pieces are to be thrown-out (the baby with the bath water).
All-in-all, "Skyfall" is not a Bond movie but a pathetic Batman movie. If you want to see a better Batman movie, see "The Dark Night". If you want to feel the creative fun and sense of adventure that you used to experience at a Bond movie, see any of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Harry Potter" movies. If you want to see an actual good new Bond movie, see "Mission Impossible IV". As for "Skyfall" itself, wait for someone to upload the the pre-credit set-piece scene onto You Tube and watch it there. You'll then have seen all you need to see of this mess of a movie (okay, maybe watch the credit animation too and listen to the title song but that's it).
I appreciate the great performances, theme explorations, artistic devices, drama and cinematography. I really do. These are needed additions to the Bond series. However, if "Skyfall" is supposed to be the new direction of Bond -- all the dumb story and plot faults we've come to expect of the franchise but none of the special effects, set-pieces, thrills, stunts, gadgets, panache and fun -- the series will never make it close to another 50 years.
Happy Birthday anyway Mr. Bond. You may have done nothing for us lately but we appreciate your cumulative service. Now, I'll stop "expecting you" as you've now become, yourself, an "uninvited guest". As I said, you've committed an unforgivable sin. You bored me.
James Bond is Dead (with a capital "D"). Long Live Mission Impossible.
Gregory Klein
logiasophia at gmail dot com
HERE IS MY FULL EXPOSITION ON BOND AND SKYFALL. IT'S VERY LONG AND AND PUT ALOT OF THOUGHT AND TIME INTO IT.
Mendes so meticulously crafts scenes to explore story themes that he completely misses the spirit of Bond, kills the character, and delivers a soulless movie.
If there's one scene that encapsulates this entire movie, it's the scene where M is reciting pretentious poetry interspersed with action scenes involving Bond. The inter-cut action scenes are boring but that doesn't matter. In Mendes hands, it's the pretensions that are important. The action scenes are only there to add symbolic weight to the words of the poem -- or to be strung together as pieces of "art" and paraded as a Bond movie. Ironically, there's no scene of classy performance art like we normally get in a Bond movie (we DO get it in the latest Mission Impossible movie). It's "Skyfall" itself that gets passed-off as "classy" performance art.
I'm a nearly 50 year-old, life-long, die-hard Bond movie fan. This is my first Bond movie review as it is my separation notice to Bond. I've only written and posted this in the hopes that the producers will read it.. THIS WILL BE FULL OF MAJOR SPOILERS. Where do I start? Best Bond ever? I really don't know what movie most folks were watching. I watched one of the most boring Bond movies ever. Also, never mind all those loose ends from the previous two movies/missions. That's all forgotten as Bond goes from being a rookie (though, at times, an unbelievably skilled rookie) to being all washed-up.
The Bond movie producers have committed a lot of sins over the years -- such as infusing silly-ness and a lack of consistency into the Bond movies (even within the same reboot era). And, of course, there is their flat-out refusal to EVER deliver a Bond movie that's not full of major plot faults. The one unforgivable sin though is to deliver a Bond movie that is weak on stunts and truly Bondian action. To say that "Skyfall" is weak in this regard is an understatement. Outside of the pre-credit sequence, there is NO truly Bondian action set-pieces in the entire lengthy movie (not that I normally mind a long Bond movie). Even really bad Bond movies, like "Die Another Day", at least entertain if you can ignore the stupid plot and its faults. "Skyfall" starts out well then fairly consistently bores (especially in the last half) -- something a Bond movie should NEVER do. (Note that crappy action, like that of "Tomorrow Never Dies", ALSO bores.)
It's as though Mendes felt that, having delivered a good Bond mini-movie in the pre-credit sequence, he had fulfilled his obligation to Bond fans and was now free to create a personal art project (merely checking some Bond boxes along the way) -- and an overly serious and boring art project at that. If we consider the serious experiences of our lives, we find that they are really etched in us and that we still think about them -- but we probably don't seek to repeat them. If we consider the fun experiences of our lives, we find that we seek to repeat them. The best experiences of our lives, those that leave a mark AND that we wish to repeat, have both the serious and the fun elements.
There's a reason that the ideal template for a Bond movie should be a modern fusion of "From Russia With Love" and "Goldfinger" (though not an uneven mish-mash like "Die Another Day"). "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (OHMSS) should not be the template. The best Bond movies are somewhat serious but always fun (though they should never be silly or attempt to be comedies). Producers, you got to 50 years by making fun movies. OHMSS was great as a one-off stand-alone. You'd have never reached 50 making something so heavy over and over -- anymore than you would have gotten there by making "Moonraker" over and over. Even OHMSS though, had some silly-ness in addition to major plot faults.
As for the plot of "Skyfall", there's not a SINGLE scene in this entire movie that makes any sense what-so-ever from a plot perspective. John Logan, who wrote the brilliant Hugo, must have simply been brought-in to add wit and story themes to the existing script -- not concerning himself at all about the, apparently, necessary plot faults. Yes, I can only think the producers believe major plot faults to be NECESSARY to a Bond movie as they refuse to make the movies without these faults. With the near total lack of truly Bondian action set-pieces, all these major plot faults, simply and unfortunately, cannot be ignored. More on that in a moment. First, what's RIGHT about this movie?
Top notch acting all around. Javier Bardem is magnificent. You find yourself wishing for more screen time with him. He completely upstages Craig. His villain is part Hannibal Lecter, part Joker, part Max Zorin -- at least original in the compilation and with just the right touch of camp. Silva's physical disfigurement adds a fun creepiness even if it lacks the sinister brilliance of a tear duct that weeps blood. This camp device makes it okay that we don't get a main henchman. Silva is his own main henchman.
Daniel Craig is a great actor. However... Half the fun of a Bond movie used to be simply watching Bond be Bond. Unfortunately, this is not so with Craig's emo Bond. In one scene with Q, when Bond is asked what he sees in an artistic painting, the uncultured, emo Craig Bond offers in put-out fashion "a bloody big ship". The more fun Bonds of the past would have come back with something completely unexpected that showed wit AND greater observation skills -- perhaps noting that the painting was a fake because of some detail noticed only by Bond. And it would have been done with something of a wink as it took the wind out of Q's more nuanced view of the painting. Similarly, during the word association game, Bond damn near howls and hisses. I almost expected him to jump-up on the table and begin snarling and clawing at the air. Craig would make a better villain than a Bond.
There's a scene in "Casino Royale" where Craig's Bond commandeers a tractor and does nothing more inventive with it than crashing it through a wall. There's another scene where he crashes his own body through a wall like the old Jaws henchman -- the same wall a "bad guy" had himself just negotiated with Bondian panache. Enough said? Bond had digressed into Rambo.
Q then gives Bond a signature gun which we've already seen used more effectively in "License to Kill" than the use it gets here -- failing to deliver after setting us up with the ".... more of a personal statement" line. Then Q quips "were you expecting an exploding pen"? Well, yes, frankly -- at the very least.
I like the idea of a young computer expert assisting Bond (even if all the "computer work" by Q in this movie is ridiculous and unbelievable -- and the graphics look like something from the 80s after we were JUST given REALLY GOOD graphics for the computer work in "Quantum of Solace"). However, shouldn't someone older, with more experience, be creating gadgets?
The producers have long been content to allow the actor portraying Bond to become too old to be believable in the role. 35-45 is the ideal age for Bond -- old enough to be an experienced expert and young enough to still be a field agent who is believable in the action and matched to still physically attractive women who are not too young. Five movies per actor -- one every two years. Then a reboot with a new actor -- not a new origin story --keep Bond a mystery -- just a reboot.
Now it seems the producers want someone too young portraying Q to possibly be believable as someone having the experience and knowledge needed to create truly great gadgets. The Whishaw character works very well as a computer expert (an ADDITIONAL character to the tradition) but not as a weapons inventor / quartermaster.
Casting John Cleese as Q was genius back in the Brosnan days. I wish Cleese were brought back. To hell with consistency. That was already thrown out when Dench was kept on as M following the reboot. Yes, she is very good. So is Cleese -- just in a fun way rather than in a serious way. This character has always been about fun.
Also, it used to be that Q was the only one allowed to out-quip Bond. This is no longer the case. This is a good change in relation to the young Whishall who Bond really should be able to out-quip (and who should respect Bond as an elder who's been with MI6 longer) but we still need an older gadget master who Bond cannot out-quip and someone who Bond respects (even if Bond doesn't respect the actual gadgets and never returns them in working order) -- someone who doesn't really care for Bond.
I did like the reveal of the new Moneypenny -- which suggests that she may be more than the traditional secretary of previous Bond movies (and is a fun character). I hope she's more than a secretary anyway. I'd hate to think the producers got their wires crossed with Q and Moneypenny. The computer age makes a pure secretary completely unnecessary while a gadget master is made even more necessary -- given that nearly every gadget will surely have a built-in microprocessor and embedded software (see the latest Mission Impossible movie for wonderful examples) and given that gadgets will become dated so quickly (which means we need a quartermaster regularly handing-out new gadgets). Also, we don't want Moneypenny ENTIRELY discouraged from the field just because of Bond's crass discouragement toward her. HE's never made a mistake?
As with Q, who is now out-quipped by Bond, the script is similarly flipped with Moneypenny. It is Bond who makes sexual advances toward HER while she is the one keeping HIM in check. This is a GREAT change. It's refreshing that not every woman unbelievably fawns over this man (especially given this Bond's lack of model good looks -- which makes such fawning even less believable). The flirting is still there on both sides and is fun. Hopefully they will never actually sleep together (which would be unprofessional) and ruin the fun.
The pre-credits action is a bit routine (AGAIN with the over-turned market carts) but made fresh by some added dramatic elements. Then, thank goodness, there's Bond's perfectly "planted" leap with his cuff-link and jacket adjustment and the truly good digger action directly before and the "just changing carriages" quip directly after -- all taken together to FINALLY give us a truly Bondian extended moment in a Craig Bond movie (and all done very well by Craig). All that is missing from this scene is the Bond music theme.
I disagree that this pre-credit set-piece is the best in the series. For me, that honor belongs to both "Golden Eye" and "Casion Royale" -- though, obviously, I have very different reasons for the selection of each. (And never mind that the "Golden Eye" pre-credit set-piece starts out with Bond breaking into dam and but ends with him exiting some completely different place. At least it's not a major fault in the story itself.)
As in the "Golden Eye" pre-credit set-piece, the Bond music theme is conspicuously absent from the "Skyfall" pre-credit action -- even though both set-pieces offered great placement opportunities for it. Still, "Skyfall" gets EXTRA credit from me for fusing these two different types of pre-credit sequences ("Golden Eye's" and "Casino Royale's"). Even if it's not quite as great as either, it's still a good pre-credit set-piece.
Producers, can we PLEASE have the gun-barrel back to the beginning of the movies NOW? Pretty please with sugar on top?
I've often thought that the pre-credit sequence should not be the very best set-piece in a Bond movie -- though it should be one of the best in the movie. There should be about five set-pieces (interspersed with smaller action bits) and the pre-credit piece should be the third best -- with a better one mid-movie and the best one at the finale. This way the movie, starting out with a bang, and while breathing and perhaps moving up and down, is still generally always building. (The same should be true of the drama, fun and twist/surprise reveals.) Many Bond movies make the mistake of never topping the pre-credit action. Worse, more still have very weak finales. Well, in "Skyfall", the pre-credit set-piece is all we get. Period.
"For Your Eyes Only" is a great example of a Bond movie with a large number of set-pieces held together by an engaging, down-to-earth, realistic story with a few twists. It's not a perfect movie mainly because Moore is miscast as Bond in this reboot. Bond is played very differently than the Bond we'd already gotten from Moore -- and Moore, at this point, had already become too old to portray Bond. This should have been the first Bond movie starring Dalton. The movie also had some silly moments.
The "Skyfall" title song is good (WAY better than that of "Quantum of Solace") and the the credits animation is great. I really enjoy the work of Daniel Kleinman. His Bond work is more original and less pornographic than the credit sequences of the Brosnan Bond movies. His work here is not quite as inspired as his work on "Casino Royale" but still great. The cinematography is similarly great. Mendes gets credit here for insisting on his cinematographer.
The score is slightly weak with only passing notes of the Bond theme. The Bond theme never really takes-off because there are simply no action scenes with the required panache to place it. Well, it could have been placed in the pre-title sequence.
The producers have inexplicably shied away from the great Bond theme now for many years while the Mission Impossible movie producers continue to make expert use of their own good theme. As a result of this, more people seem to be now familiar with the Mission Impossible theme than the Bond theme. It's likely that newer Bond fans, form the Brosnan era on, have never heard a lengthy segment of the theme. Producers, if you believe the Bond theme has become dated, then update it with some modern instrumentation and computer enhancements. Don't abandon its full expression during a great action scene. It has gone a long way in adding to the panache for which Bond had previously (prior to the Craig era) been famous.
Mendes was responsible for insisting on his sound man and should take blame for the slightly weak score. Also, apparently Mendes was not completely forthcoming when he said that he did NOT ask for action scenes to be deleted from the script (to make more room for pure drama scenes) when he was hired-on as director. This is easily one of the most Bondian action set-piece WEAK Bond movies ever. You can't make-up for this with crap action bits.
There's a lot of wit written into the script despite its plot faults (everywhere). I like true wit like Craig's brilliant last line in the "Casino Royale" pre-credit piece. Prior to the Craig Bond movies, I'd grown tired of Bond's school-boy sexual innuendo and his add-on un-witty comments displaying his tasteless disregard for life following a necessary killing. Nearly everyone, including Craig, gets witty lines in this movie. Now, let's get to those plot faults...
First, why does Bond go AWOL and become addicted to alcohol and pills? It's never explained. Is it simply because he was accidentally shot? One minute, he's on top of his game fighting on top of a train. The next, he's all washed-up but we don't know why. Bond can't take a bullet? He's sulking. An attack on MI6 pulls him out of it. Really? Why doesn't the knowledge of those infiltrated Quantum agents still embedded within MI6, or that dangerously still missing hard drive, keep him from going into sulk-mode in the first place? Surely they're at least as great a threat to MI6 -- maybe Quantum is even behind the recent attack.
Why does MI6 not attempt to recover Bond's body after he's thought killed? Is it not at least possible that he had obtained the hard drive just before he was shot and that he has it on his person? Did MI6 not send another double oh after the hard drive after Bond said "to hell with it" for three months?
MI6 is attacked with explosives which we've already witnessed in a scene (albeit an unbelievable one -- a lone woman who continues to attack MI6, after the explosion, all by herself in broad daylight on open waters) from the vastly more entertaining and original story that is "The World Is Not Enough" (the miscasting of Denise Richards and the boring finale not-with-standing). How did Silva get the explosives into the building? Maybe he made use of those Quantum agents that have infiltrated MI6 but have been forgotten about. Then, once NATO agents start getting exposed, shouldn't Felix Leiter step-in? Where's the CIA? Oh yes, the Americans had already covered this ground years earlier in "Mission Impossible I". Why is Quantum never suspected by MI6 or M or Bond in all this?
Bond breaks into M's home. He also did this in "Casino Royale" -- a movie in which he also remotely hacked her computer. How does this behavior not get him court-martialed -- especially after he just went AWOL? It's an obvious attempt by the producers to make Bond more Bourne-like but Bond is not Bourne. He works FOR queen and country not AGAINST them -- or, at least, he shouldn't work against them.
After living with it for three months, Bond gets around to extracting shrapnel from a bullet wound in his chest so that he can identify the shooter -- the same shooter that killed MI6 agents at the beginning of the movie with the same gun. (I wonder if there's shrapnel in his body from Eve's gunshot.) Apparently MI6 never thought to extract those bullet remains from the other agents' bodies three months earlier as any police investigation would have done. Thank goodness for Bond's superior intelligence.
Shanghai. Three "bad guys" (we later learn) have someone in a room that they want to kill. Do they simply kill him? No. They fly in a hit man to shoot him from a neighboring skyscraper. Bond coldly watches the murder without interfering. Then Bond quickly out-fights the hit man and accidentally kills him -- the same man he was unable to kill on top of the train. Now that Bond is all washed-up and unable to fight, he is suddenly able to vanquish him quite readily. Why did Silva, who's been monitoring nearly everything at MI6, not warn his hit man that Bond was pursuing him? I did really enjoy the very well shot silhouetted fight.
Macao. The same three "bad guys" who couldn't kill a man that they had surrounded and isolated in a room (and had to hire someone to murder him), decide to kill Bond in a crowded casino. They're not worried about anyone seeing. They don't wait to try to kill him outside. They attack him in the casino -- but without simply pulling a gun on him. They first allow Severine (another good performance) to speak with him but don't bother to find our who he is what Severing learned before trying to kill him. I did enjoy the Bondian Komodo dragons.
I also enjoyed the spin on the "shaken-not-stirred" bit. There should always be a spin on this. The "Bond, James Bond" bit was tired. While this line should be in every Bond movie, the set-up and delivery has only been done really well five times -- Connery's in "Dr. No", Moore's in "Live And Let Die", Dalton's in "The Living Daylights", Brosnan's in "The World Is Not Enough", and Craig's in "Casino Royale".
Next we meet Silva on his island lair. It's a great scene with a great performance by Bardem. The trouble is, it makes no sense. We are to believe that this man, formerly of MI6, is motivated by revenge and wants to kill M -- maybe attacking MI6 and NATO first for greater revenge even though this represents the same kind of betrayal to his compatriots that he himself has suffered.
Anyway, didn't we have this basic story already in the superior "Golden Eye" (the dumb Boris character and the fact that everyone in the world in that movie speaks English as their native language not-with-standing)? Silva has Bond tied to a chair and sexually harasses him. Didn't we JUST see this in "Casino Royale" -- Bond's "first time"?
We don't know how Silva obtained his release from his Chinese captors (whose hands M had betrayed him into) but we do know it was many years ago. Does this great (we learn) former agent immediately track down M to seek his revenge upon gaining his freedom -- the very reason, he says, that life continues to "cling" to him? No. He somehow becomes an amazing computer expert (better than the genius new Q who is outsmarted by Silva). Silva becomes a sort of computer-espionage expert for hire and builds a private army. Apparently, this is all merely to pass the time while he continues to think, for years, about getting his revenge on M -- not worrying that the "little old lady" might well die of natural causes or retire before he gets to her and her MI6.
He and Bond are the two lone survivors that M has created - -as Silva explains to Bond. Really? Bond is all that's left of the 00s or MI6? When did THAT happen? Silva acts as though he knew, for years, that M would send Bond for him and that he has some connection to Bond. Bond is part of his plan -- but Silva has no connection to Bond as he does to M.
Also, with all the potential story material in today's headlines, the producers, for Bond's 50- year anniversary, decide to give us a tired story of revenge with a throw-back to the Hong Kong hand-off of a now distant time. This same clinging fixation on Hong Kong appeared in Bond's 40-year anniversary movie. Great Britain, please get over Hong Kong and let-go. Your empire is long gone. Move on.
Silva kills Severine (a waste of on-screen talent and an interesting character). Bond, who had promised to rescue her, doesn't give a damn -- even though he's a more emotionally vulnerable Bond when it comes to his own hurts. This is now the third time in as many missions/movies that Craig's Bond has directly caused the death of an innocent and not cared.
Then Bond, who couldn't hit a stationary target with his gun a few days earlier, expertly outguns four moving gunmen at once -- killing them all with only one shot to each. Silva is then taken into custody -- all part of Silva's plan. Apparently, it was also part of his plan to blow the cover on his island lair, lose some men, and lose his access to the vast computer network that he had spent years building and was the source of his livelihood and power. (Why did he ask Bond to join him?) This must be why Silva, the former great agent, never bothered to frisk Bond which would have led him to discover the not-so-tiny 1970s-ish radio that Bond had expertly hidden on himself by dropping it into his pocket.
Also, apparently, after Silva's attack on MI6, he knew MI6 would move its headquarters to an underground location giving him access to London's subway system. He also knew that MI6 would build a "Silence of the Lambs" glass prison just for him and connect its door to their main computer network so that he could escape and meet some of his men at a pre-arranged place. This escape would be assisted, he knew, by Q's "brilliant" decision to plug Silva's laptop into MI6's main computer network. Awesome.
Is the missing hard drive still out there in a henchman's hands? Has the information contained on it already been shared with unfriendly governments and terrorist organizations? Is NATO's long-standing American-European alliance now finished thanks to M? Does anyone care anymore? What happened to Silva's plan to continue to expose NATO agents and wreak computer network havoc on MI6? If he's now done with all that and it's time to kill M, why not track her down and kill her? Why did he want to get himself captured first? Why did Silva want access to the subway system via MI6 rather than simply walking into the subway from the street? Well, it's now all about Bond...
You see, in his master plan, years in the making, he knew that if he escaped from MI6 into the subway system that Bond would pursue him there and catch-up with him as he was making his way up a ladder -- at the exact moment that a subway train would be approaching. Silva could then blow a hole in the subway corridor (with explosives that he must have planted years earlier) that would send an entire subway train careening toward Bond (a train that, at rush hour, is completely empty). This is much better than having one of his men kill Bond. You see, it makes perfect sense. This train scene is quite bombastic and totally lacking in Bondian flair. This ludicrous "plot" (for lack of a better word) device is what gets passed-off as a mid-movie action "set-piece".
In all of this, the producers were obviously trying to take a chapter from the "The Dark Night". The only thing they got right was the brilliant portrayal of Silva by Bardem. The plot of "Skyfall" shows none of the intelligence of the "The Dark Knight". (I'm not talking about the "Dark Knight Rises" -- which was heavy and lumbering and not nearly as good or as fun as "The Dark Knight".)
M explains to Bond that she traded Silva to the Chinese because he was too gun-ho in his job and exceeded his mandate. Sound like Bond? You'd think at this point Bond might be concerned that the same could happen to him and that he'd take Silva up on that job offer. After all, the Craig Bond fails every mission, is insubordinate and rude, regularly breaks into his boss' home and hacks her computer, had just gone AWOL, and is an alcoholic and drug addict. Anyway, I knew governments traded prisoners for other prisoners but it's quite unsettling to think that they trade their own agents. At this point, I began wishing Silva success.
Silva finally attempts to kill M and fails. Well, he tried to kill her by storming a congressional over-sight hearing at which M was present -- not exactly the most opportune moment. Why not break into her home as Bond does? Bond is again shown to be an expert gunman. Bond then "kidnaps" M and takes her to his childhood home -- believing that he and (ultimately) his deceased parent's old groundskeeper (still stalking around their isolated and abandoned mansion home in suite and tie) can protect M better than all of MI6. Apparently, he AND M also believe that such an isolated location offers good protection instead of making them sitting ducks. Why not get some help? Yes, Silva had infiltrated the MI6 computer network but Bond can't call in support?
The mansion and Albert Finney character seem to exist for no other reason than to make Bond more like Batman. Bond should NOT have a home life! He is Bond NOT Batman. Producers, be proud of that fact!
The old Aston Martin is brought out. Why does this modern Bond have a 1960s model Aston Martin that has been heavily modified by Q branch? It's not explained. It would have been fun if it had been shown how Bond had acquired this car. Perhaps it had belonged to some legendary double oh of the 1960s -- a great wink to the audience. Anyway, didn't we learn how Bond had acquired his taste for Aston Martins back in "Casino Royale"? How does this fit in?
THEN, there's the "a storm is coming" line. PLEASE. I can't begin to count the number of times I've heard that line used as metaphor in a movie but I think the first time was WAY back in the first Terminator movie. Logan, Mendes, and Craig should ALL be flogged for this. THIS is art?!
As in "Casino Royale", this Aston Martin is underutilized. When the car is destroyed, Bond shows his first real emotion in the entire movie. If only this materialistic Bond cared as much when Severine died. While some may think that Bond has always been materialistic, this is not true. He may make use of the best of everything but he has always had an "easy come, easy go" attitude toward money and possessions and has always been very sharing. He doesn't even attach to the designer chothes on his back. While Bond seldom breaks a bone, he regularly breaks his "tailor's heart". Before "Skyfall", we'd not known Bond to actually "own" a car or have a house/home. Thankfully, he DID hand-off his Macao "winnings" to Moneypenny.
Silva shows up with his men. Being now denied his island lair with its computer network and presumably stripped of all personal belongings when he was taken into MI6 custody, how was Silva able to organize his men and follow the computer-created "bread crumbs" laid-out for him by Q? Without access to bank accounts (which surely MI6 had seized), how is he able to pay his men? Why are they still working for him? How did they get a helicopter?
Bond fails in protecting M and Silva kills her. Bond then does Bardem's great character the dishonor of killing him by cowardly stabbing him in the back with a knife-throw. It reminded me of Bond's hot-headed and cold-blooded shooting of the unarmed bomber at the beginning of "Casino Royale" (the one he needed ALIVE). It also reminded me of his cowardly and sadistic maiming-shooting of the unarmed and unsuspecting Mr. White at the end of that movie -- which Bond performed from a distance while hidden. This Bond is not "cool" (in every sense of that word). Grow-up 007.
Unlike with Vesper, Bond gets over the death of his "mom" and his failure to protect her in no time. Well, I guess she was a "bitch" before she died (good for nothing more than sacrificing agents) -- though, to be fair, Bond wasn't the best "son" a mom could have. Wait a minute, Vesper was also a "bitch" - but AFTER she died. Let's see... Bond only has relationships with "bitches". All other women are to be used. Got it. Wait, is Moneypenny a "bitch" or will he end-up using her?
This is now Bond's third failure in as many missions/movies. In "Casino Royale", he failed to deliver Le Chiffre alive (and was subsequently shown to be cavalier and insubordinate about it in the next movie). Having redeemed himself by capturing Mr. White, he then loses him in "Quantum of Solace" and never recovers him. (By the way, why couldn't Le Chiffre simply have been kidnapped by MI6 at the beginning of "Casino Royale" the way Mr. White was at the end of the movie?) Bond then deliberately failed in delivering anyone else alive during this mission/movie -- including Dominic Greene, who could have been used to gain intelligence on the mysterious Quantum organization. In fact, Bond deliberately sent Greene to a slow sadistic death (the kind of evil the villain would normally dish-out). Bond, very unprofessionally, did this from personal motivation (after only extracting the information from Greene needed to satisfy Bond's own personal vendetta) and then he lied to his superior about it.
It's interesting that after Bond fails to recover the stolen hard drive at the beginning of the movie and then goes AWOL and then fails all of his tests, M rewards him by lying about his failed test results and sending him out on a mission with such high stakes for herself and MI6 and NATO -- especially given this drunk, drug-addicted Bond's track record of failure and insubordination. It's even more interesting that after Bond "kidnaps" M and gets her killed -- damn near treasonous action -- the new M rewards Bond with yet ANOTHER mission.
In fact, Bond's presence in this mission/movie doesn't significantly change anything about how it's played-out or how it ends -- except that Severine and (possibly M) would have lived if it weren't for Bond. And maybe, just maybe, the MI6 headquarters wouldn't have gotten exploded and those NATO agents wouldn't have been exposed and killed if Bond were on the job rather than getting drunk.
The finale is completely boring -- especially the panache-lacking Die Hard - like action. In fact, there hasn't been a good finale to a Bond movie since "License to Kill" -- a movie that did a great job of using action set-pieces to actually move the serious story along. The action was very well integrated into that story. However, I don't like Bond motivated by revenge. It's okay for the villain but I like a Bond who doesn't take things personally. Also, the VERY end of that movie was out-of-place.
By panache-laden Bondian action I mean things also like the tank chase in "Golden Eye" or the boat chase in "The World Is Not Enough" (and a lot of the other set-pieces in that movie) or the car chase in "Die Another Day" -- though all these seemed tacked-in and were not as well integrated into the story as the action in "License to Kill".
And all the stuff about Bond's childhood is also out-of-place. He's not supposed to have two identities like most super-heroes. He's meant to be a continuous cipher -- always on the edge of death so always enjoying life. Where can you go after blowing his cover like this? Will he wear a mask and cape in the next movie? We EVEN learn, not only of his Scott heritage but also of his Christian heritage. This is a mistake to impart on this formerly mysterious man of the world. It also limits the ability of the male members of Bond's international audience to project their alter-egos onto the Bond character (and it limits the ability of the female members of his international audience to fantasize about being with the character) -- a commercial mistake.
Well, to be fair, Bond had already blown his own cover in "Casino Royale" when he stormed an embassy and had his picture shown and identity revealed in the newspapers. I guess his real career in espionage had ended as soon as he had become a double oh. I wonder why Dominic Greene didn't know who Bond was?
I'm all for putting intelligence, theme exploration, grittier action, good acting, artistic devices, beautiful cinematography, and more realistic and thrilling stories into Bond movies but for goodness sake, don't sacrifice the panache, gadgets, special effects and stunts (or even a slight bit of fantasy) -- the most critical elements of Bond movies and that which truly distinguishes the character from other spies, action-adventure heroes and super-heroes. Especially don't sacrifice these elements if there's been a failure in inserting the intelligence (as is definitely the case here).
These missing elements, apparently, have all been given over to the "Mission Impossible" movies -- the last of which contained much better action, stunts, gadgets, fun and inventiveness (even as the producers copied and out-Bonded Bond) than all of the Craig Bond movies put together. This, even, despite the fact that "Ghost Protocol" simply showed the Mission Impossible team breaking into places over and over again through-out the entire movie. To be fair, its plot ALSO involved unbelievable and unrealistic computer hacking (though much better graphics) and the now tired Bond cliche of a villain attempting to incite nuclear war between world super powers. It also had some plot holes but nothing like the craters in "Skyfall".
The Mission Impossible team are much more in-touch with the Bond spirit than Mendes. What "Mission Impossible IV" really did well was strike a balance between a serious espionage thriller and a fun action adventure movie -- a balance that at least half the Bond movies fail to achieve (with most falling on the silly side). It's certainly not achieved in the boring, overly-serious "Skyfall". (Okay, maybe "Mission Impossible IV" could have been a bit more serious.) "Skyfall" came out more than a full year after "Ghost Protocol" but the 007 team still couldn't top it -- even with a 50-year anniversary movie. Bond, you are no longer the leader!
I do like the update of making Bond more of a world-wide warrior and less of a "gentleman agent" and less of an icky playboy bedding women (or girls) half his age. I like that he can enjoy a beer in addition to wine or a mixed drink (thank goodness that there's been no rich playboy-esq champagne drinking by Craig's Bond). I'd prefer though, that he'd enjoy a classier brand of beer than Heineken.
I EVEN like the main characters to have back story -- just not for Bond. He is supposed to be an international man of MYSTERY. Producers, you can update him and even take cues from other franchises without completely surrendering him to those franchises. Remember, yours' is the ORIGINAL action-adventure hero all the (former) pretenders have copied. Are you content that Bond should now be the pretender -- copying everyone else instead of simply taking cues?
And, producers, please, I know it's Bond, but IT'S REALLY OKAY (I promise) to have a story without major plot faults. Nobody will complain. If you can't find a writer who can deliver this, I'll review the scripts for free and point them out. It's not rocket surgery. Also, try taking just a littler more inspiration from the highly fun and inventive "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise and just a little less from the self-absorbed Bourne and Batman franchises -- which are NOT the "game-changers" that you and Mendes believe them to be. If they were, "Mission Impossible IV", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Avengers" (though not my cup of Earl Grey) would not have done so well at the box office.
Maybe even give us a Bond movie involving modern sea-based piracy. Or take a cue from Harry Potter and give us story involving some "bad guys" into magic (a sort of updated version of "Live and Let Die") -- or both piracy AND magic. Sure, give us another Craig Bond (maybe two) to wrap-up the Quantum stuff, then give us a reboot back to a (little more) fun Bond with a new actor. Actually, Craig looks old enough to retire the role already.
For those that think I've overly harped on the plot faults, consider... This Bond movie had pretensions of being taken as a serious thriller. It has an academy award winning director at its helm and is filled with top-tier actors and actresses. It has a celebrated writing team. The producers have publicly bragged about this script and all the time (YEARS) that they had to perfect it. All this and they give us a story no more cohesive than that of "Moonraker"(and, amazingly, even less original) -- but with none of that movie's stunts, gadgets, or special effects to hide the craters. It's enough to make one forget one's complaints about double-taking pigeons, gondola-car hybrids, and henchman who fall in love with teenage girls half their height.
This is our 50 year anniversary gift for all our support over the years -- and the new formula!? Old formula -- the plot and story must never make sense and we'll have great panache-laden action set-pieces to hide the fact. New formula -- the plot and story must never make sense and we'll have well-acted "art" scenes to hide the fact -- and the action set-pieces are to be thrown-out (the baby with the bath water).
Finally, my take on Craig as Bond in general... I've been on the fence but now three movies in, I have to say, Craig is not my Bond. He's a great actor and I like much of his work but he's miscast. Bond can be a cold killer and still be fun and have panache. If people truly want the Fleming Bond then, Timothy Dalton, the most underrated Bond, fit the bill better. Unlike Craig's Bond, his Bond showed remorse at killing -- the way Fleming wrote him. His Bond was also dashing and handsome while exuding the same kind of danger and physical ability that Craig's Bond pulls-off. Also, like Craig, Dalton is a GREAT actor.
Also, while Craig now claims to have been a Bond fan since way back, it was quite obvious from the "Casino Royale" press conference that he had very little knowledge of Bond. He became Bond almost entirely at the personal preference of one person -- Barbara Broccoli. Note that I'm not suggesting a new Bond has to be like the prior Bonds. I like that Craig actually has a fit body -- as Bond should have. And I certainly don't mind Bond being Blonde -- especially since Hollywood almost always makes blondes be evil or stupid or both. In fact, Bond movies have often done the same. Please, no more tired aryan-esq villains.
At 50, I've finally given-up on Bond but may write a review of the similarly over-rated "Casino Royale" (which was still way better than "Skyfall") - whose script also has many plot faults (though they're not as numerous or as serious as those of "Skyfall"). The under-rated "Quantum of Solace" -- though I agree with most of the criticism it received -- was far more entertaining than "Skyfall" with not nearly the number of plot faults (though there were some).
I actually thought that "Quantum of Solace" had a very realistic and modern plot -- the U.S. government working with a phony environmentalist seeking to take-over the natural resources of a South American country. This is much more up-to-the-minute and original than "Skyfall's" tired revenge tale -- with all its major plot elements stolen from better movies (including better Bond movies). I don't know why folks couldn't understand the "Quantum of Solace" story -- a story that, for a realistic change (especially in a Bond movie) showed some of the less moral action of a major western nation's government.
"Quantum of Solace" also had action set-pieces even if it wasn't all Bondian action (though the foot chase and the fight that ends that chase were both GREAT -- even if it was all very Bourne). I also thought Craig looked more Bond-like in that movie than he did in his other two Bond movies. "Quantum of Solace" simply needed to be more fun (it was even more serious than "Skyfall") and it needed to be fleshed-out with more story and character development between the action scenes. Also, like "Skyfall" and "Casino Royale", it desperately needed more Bondian panache.
For those that believe "Casino Royale" was a perfect Bond movie... Why would Le Chiffre's clients attack him during the card game -- rattling the hell out of him when they needed him to win? Why would Le Chiffre put Vesper in the road risking both her and Bond's death when he needed them both alive and could have captured Bond through safer means? Why did Vesper show no hint of the turmoil she was suffering for most of the movie but seemed happy-go-lucky? Why even send an accountant with Bond rather than an assisting agent? It might have made sense when Fleming wrote it but makes no sense in the computer age. I could go on and on and on....
All-in-all, "Skyfall" is not a Bond movie but a pathetic Batman movie. If you want to see a better Batman movie, see "The Dark Night". If you want to feel the creative fun and sense of adventure that you used to experience at a Bond movie, see any of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Harry Potter" movies. If you want to see an actual good new Bond movie, see "Mission Impossible IV". As for "Skyfall" itself, wait for someone to upload the the pre-credit set-piece scene onto You Tube and watch it there. You'll then have seen all you need to see of this mess of a movie (okay, maybe watch the credit animation too and listen to the title song but that's it).
I appreciate the great performances, theme explorations, artistic devices, drama and cinematography. I really do. These are needed additions to the Bond series. However, if "Skyfall" is supposed to be the new direction of Bond -- all the dumb story and plot faults we've come to expect of the franchise but none of the special effects, set-pieces, thrills, stunts, gadgets, panache and fun -- the series will never make it close to another 50 years.
Happy Birthday anyway Mr. Bond. You may have done nothing for us lately but we appreciate your cumulative service. Now, I'll stop "expecting you" as you've now become, yourself, an "uninvited guest". As I said, you've committed an unforgivable sin. You bored me.
James Bond is Dead (with a capital "D"). Long Live Mission Impossible.
Gregory Klein
logiasophia at gmail dot com
