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[cedrics007]

Skyfall – Lost in a maze

Although I am just a fan and not in any way involved in the making of the movies, as an ambassador of the series (I was chairman of the Dutch 007 fanclub for 10 years) I am always a bit on edge when a new installment to the series makes its premiere. This time, I was able to view the new Bond movie with much less tension, as it had gotten raving reviews and was, by several commentators, regarded as one of the best of the series. The 00-status of both Craig and his latest film firmly confirmed, I no longer needed to worry about how good he would do, or defend him against the many criticisms preceding the release of Casino Royale.

Despite great performances by Daniel Craig, Judy Dench and Olga Kurylenko, the previous 007 movie Quantum of Solace, however, was a bit of a disappointment for me - the nervous, shaky camerawork making it difficult to understand what was going on (a pity in such an expensive movie) and the scenario raising several questions: if the Quantum organization is so powerful, how can Bond and Kurylenko’s character enter it so easily? Why is Domic Greene protected by so few people? Why does Strawberry Fields suddenly steps out of Bond’s view and protection, to be killed later on? (I know, there was a writers’ strike, but they could have called me to improve upon the plot. I would have done it for free.)

Fortunately Skyfall has a much better plot. One that surprises the viewer and leads to Bond getting lost in the maze that the villain has created. Although subtly referring to Bond’s past (the Aston Martin including an ejector seat, 007 returning to Macao and Istanbul, riffs of the Bond theme music pleasing the viewers’ ears) it dears to be boldly different from previous entries, even questioning Bond and M’s capabilities to run an effective intelligence organization in the present time. These deviations ensure the viewer is lost in the maze as well, not being able to fall back on previously seen Bond films to predict what will happen next.
Also a strong improvement over the previous installment is Roger Deakins’ cinematography. The shaky hand held cameras are gone, and the lavish and grand look from previous movies has returned. Strong images are Bond’s entrance in Macao on a boot sailing through a paper red and yellow dragon’s mouth, the scene on Silva’s yacht and the bike chase over the rooftops of the Grand Bazar in Istanbul. The camera work does not distract from the action – as in Quantum – and even the scenes filmed at night are very clear.

Despite the lavish camerawork, Skyfall has a much darker quality than Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale, symbolized by Daniel Kleinman’s opening titles, referring to Bond’s presumed death and depicting the graves of the people he loved. The explosions and Bond’s fall from a bridge into a river made the cinema tremble and shocked the viewers. A substantial part of the movie is shot at night and M frequently refers to the dangers hidden in the shadows – both plot elements underlining Skyfall is a sharp detour from the colorful and carefree days of Die Another Day. Whether everyone will like these changes, may be a matter of taste and expectations. Even though Skyfall evokes a few more laughs than the two preceding movies, on the whole it is the most grim movie of the series.

One of the movie’s strong points is Adele’s melancholic and grand title song. Thomas Newman, composer of the instrumental music of the film, wrote memorable music for Road to Perdition but his style, however, is less suited to a Bond movie. Bond music needs to be grand and filling the screen; Adeles more than succeeds in that field, where Newman’s music lacks punch and the potential to evoke goosebumps. Although not distracting from the action, his music lacks David Arnold’s talent to awe the viewer and completely fill the screen.

Despite being on target most of the time, several other elements of the movie – besides Newman’s score - misfire. The leading ladies – Eve (Naomi Harris) and Severine (Berenice Marlohe) – leave the stage before the audience has gotten a chance to get to know them well. I was fascinated by Severine’s character and her death both hurts Bond and the viewer, yet I had wished she had been given more screen time to fully flesh out her personality. A point of deviation between the director’s intentions and the audience’s reaction is Silva’s entrance on the screen. His line ‘mommy was very bad’ heard during the trailer was a bit too tongue in cheek for a grim movie like this, and the first scene between Silva and Bond as a whole evoked a snigger rather than a scare from the audience.

Misfiring like Bond several times, in the end SF - dark, scary, intriguing and very involving - hits the mark. It dares to question Bond abilities and surprises him – and the audience – several times. Though not as good as Casino Royale or From Russia with Love, it has the courage, humanity and roughness so characteristic of Craig’s Bond and inspires confidence in the next 50 years of 007.