In a world where film franchises generally rule the box-office roost, the James Bond franchise, which spans 23 films and 50 years, remains truly extraordinary. That it has managed to maintain its relevance despite radical changes in both technology and the global socio-political landscape, both of which were an integral aspect of the storytelling when the series was launched in 1962 with Dr. No, attests to the dogged efforts of second-generation Bond producer Barbara Broccoli to keep things fresh and to enlist the best talent available for the movies. To be sure, there have been a few creative blips in the franchise's half-century of existence, but with the latest installment, Skyfall reaping both critical accolades and box-office gold, Bond is arguably bigger and better than ever.
Skyfall begins, as all Bond films do, with an action-packed prologue, this one set in Istanbul. Bond (Daniel Craig) and fellow MI6 agent Eve (Naomie Harris) are out to recover a stolen list of undercover agents from Patrice, a very slippery freelance operative (Ola Rapace). The retrieval operation fails and as a result of a very marginal call by MI6 boss M (Judi Dench) to have Eve take a shot at the mercenary despite the fact that he and Bond are fighting tooth and nail atop a train, Bond ends up falling from the train and into a river, and thereafter presumed dead.
Months later, a mysterious attack is launched on MI6 headquarters which leaves eight agents dead, and M, who appears to be the target of the unknown enemy's ire, is then dragged over hot coals by the British government. A civilian official, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) is brought on board to basically help ease M into retirement and to help the government determine if, perhaps, the time has come to close down MI6 altogether.
Bond, very much alive, learns of the attack on MI6 and returns "from the grave" to active duty. A bit of shrapnel from a wound he got from Patrice, which turns out to be rather unique hardware, enables him to follow the mercenary to his latest job in Shanghai, but even after fighting him he is unable to learn for whom the mercenary stole the list of agents.
When three NATO agents are killed because their names as undercover agents were posted on the internet, it becomes clear that time is running out for Bond, M, and perhaps the entire British intelligence operation in general.
Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, The Road to Perdition) shows a keen eye for wall-to-wall action, in addition to the cerebral drama on which he has built his career. His dramatic skill serves him in good stead here as well as he explores Bond's origins in a way no other filmmaker has done before and manages to come up with a story that is genuinely, tragically moving, even without going overboard on sentimentality. Craig basically inhabits Bond and Mendes brings out the very best from him. I've taken issues with Craig's performance as recently as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but ever since he assumed the mantle of Bond in 2006's Casino Royale, he has never been less than riveting in this role, and this, to my mind, is his best outing to date.
For me, though, the star of the show was Dame Judi Dench as M, who is central to the plot of the movie. There has been much talk about how Javier Bardem's cybersavvy antagonist Silva is one of the most uniquely compelling Bond villains of all time, and to be fair, his insane, effeminate and ultimately brutal antagonist is really something to behold in the time he's on the screen, but Dench owns the show as she portrays M under fire, fighting not only for her own life but the continued existence of the agency she leads. It's been over seven films and 17 years since Dench first took on the role, and she was the only actor from the franchise who took part in its reboot in 2006, and she's really stamped her authority on the character and has made hers a tough act to follow.
Mendes has crafted not only one of the best Bond films I've ever seen, but easily one of the most compelling action films of the year. His collaborators bring their very best to the feature as well, from cinematographer Roger Deakins' moody lighting to composer Thomas Newman's surprisingly vibrant score, including a few very cool riffs on Monty Norman's iconic James Bond theme.
While I can't claim to have seen all of the Bond films dating back to Sean Connery's movies, I can certainly recommend Skyfall as a thoroughly engaging action film, Bond or otherwise.
5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment