Skyfall review

Title- Skyfall
Director- Sam Mendes
Cast- Daniel Craig
          Judi Dench
          Javier Bardem
          Naomie Harris
Certificate- 12A
Runtime- 144 minutes

Released in 2012, Skyfall was released in correlation with the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise on film, starting with Dr. No back in 1962. And what an anniversary celebration it was, bringing in the newfound grit and thrills of the Daniel Craig films and mixing it with homages and cheeky winks back to the original films.

The story, given the time it was made, holds more relevance to current affairs than any of the previous entries. In 2012, when government surveillance and whistleblowing seemed like the hot topic, cyber terrorism became the ultimate aim for the films antagonist, Raoul Silva, played in charismatic yet terrifying fashion by Javier Bardem, similar to his take on Anton Chigur in No Country for Old Men, Bardem doesn't even need to speak, just an icy stare would send shivers down your spine. There is a reason his performance gave him another Oscar nomination.

Daniel Craig is exceptional once again as Bond, now no longer playing the suave and sophisticated ladies man, but instead we see an emotionally vulnerable and possibly unstable 007. This emotional fragility certainly adds to the richness of Craig's Performance, and is most notable during the scenes in which he is being tested for active duty and during his scenes with Judi Dench's M, which at times verge on heartbreaking.

Luckily, M gets to do a lot more in this instalment, and Dench revels in the opportunity, snapping between determined and unflinching, to vulnerable and morose like a flip of a switch. Dench's performance is nothing short of magnificent as M, and it's an absolute joy getting to see her do more in this film.

Other welcome additions to the franchise are Ben Whishaws younger but more than competent take on Q, in which he and Craig share a remarkable scene that just accentuates and displays the brilliant chemistry that these two actors have with each other. Similarly, especially in terms if chemistry, we are introduced to the new Miss Moneypenny, played by Naomie Harris; fans of the franchise will see exactly what they hoped for, a more than capable woman, who has a flirtatious relationship with our protagonist.

Personally for me, the greatest thing about Skyfall is the cinematography, Shot by Roger Deakins, every frame truly is a painting in this film, with a standout scene being a particular high rise fight in Shanghai between 007 and an assassin known as Patrice. Shot entirely through silhouettes, this feels similar to the crazy 88 sequence from Kill Bill Vol.1 and is just as thrilling, as the silhouettes add an extra element of mystery to the fight, and just screams of classic Noir films like the Maltese Falcoln.

Adele gives us one of the best Bond songs in years with the to be classic, Skyfall. Now this is how you perform a Bond song. It rings of previous singers like Shirley Basset and Tina Turner, who both have incredibly powerful voices that can hit the high notes and provide the sing with a cruscendo that outshines the background score.

All in all this film is marvellous. And whilst I personally prefer Casino Royale for its simplicity and sheer thrills, this is a modern classic for the Bond franchise.

9/10