Skyfall: Movie Review

By Scott Harrison | gargoyle@flagler.edu

“Take the shot!” “Take the shot!” The character M (Judi Dench) orders Eve (Naomie Harris) as she peers through the scope pointed between James Bond and the enemy as they wrestle for their lives on top of a speeding train. In the first five minutes of the new Bond movie Skyfall, released on November 9, 2012, director Sam Mendes sets the pace of the film as Daniel Craig is dropped hundreds of feet into a river after being struck by a bullet.

After the usual graphically brilliant introductory sequence, which always gets better with technology, the high-strung action, assured from the beginning of the picture, doesn’t cease. Whether it’s dragons eating humans in a Shanghai casino, tragedy during a marksmen’s show down, subway cars falling from above or gun play in the courtroom the film-makers waste no time inserting excitement into this series.

Since the first 007 movie 50 years ago titled Dr. No (Sean Connery) James Bond’s character always had signature gimmicks. You can be certain James will be drinking a shaken martini, romancing with multiple lovers (good and bad) and in a suave manner saving the world by a hair on his head. However, this being the 23rd official Bond movie, filmmakers did a fine job of innovating new ideas while keeping the basis similar to previous productions.

Some interesting features of SkyFall being Bond’s warm-hearted loyalty to Judi Denth as M, protecting her from the enemy and those in her department. Furthermore, a background of Bond’s past, including disclosure of his parents and his childhood house in Scotland adds to the personal relationships between characters. The plot held less substance than most other Bond films as far as his duty as a secret agent, but instead focused on interactions between Bond and M.

The movie’s ending was disappointing because it was not parallel to the steep rise of intensity projected in the beginning. Nevertheless, Skyfall certainly met my standards and brought more pleasure than disappointment.