Bond 2012: SKYFALL

I remember when I learned that Daniel Craig was to play the coveted role of James Bond several years ago, my first reaction was: Daniel who? I never heard of the guy and when the poster was shown I shook my head and dismissed the actor and the franchise to ultimate failure.  Daniel Craig did not look like the former James Bonds. They all used to share Sean Connery's tall, dark and handsome features. All of them dashing, smooth, debonaire.  Daniel, on the other hand, is not even good-looking.  He is also shorter than the other Bonds, is bulkier and more muscular and has blond hair.  So as one of the earliest naysayers, my foot is stuck in my mouth as Daniel Craig rose up to the plate and became the most bankable James Bond in history, probably even outdoing the feats of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. 

This movie, Skyfall, is set to become the highest grossing in the 50 year history of the franchise, and not surprisingly so.  The movie is great, the script intact and the cinematography superb.  I would like to commend its director Sam Mendes for doing a wonderful job at the helm.  The cinematography was also breathtaking particularly with the train crashing towards Bond in the tunnel and the fight scene on a Shanghai skyscraper. The actors themselves were very good at showing their vulnerability.  The script was almost flawless with a good injection of humor throughout the film.  This, in my humble opinion, is the best Bond film to date.

Since the first installment of Craig as Bond, the production behind the Bond series have intelligently transitioned to a more believable and more human depiction of the famous fictional English assassin.  They have done away with invisible cars, exploding fountain pens and weird disguises that fool no one.  Instead, the director has used Daniel Craig's eyes and sharp-lined mouth to make the viewers realize that Bond is not immortal.  Bond is a human being who hurts, who feels, who gets tired, who gets old.  It is with Craig that we have seen Bond tortured, wounded badly and almost die.  It is because Craig, despite not being good-looking, can pull off the hero-who-becomes-the-underdog-to-rise-and-become-hero-again stint. What's more, Craig is definitely believable to play the part.

The other cast members also performed very well.  

I am in awe of Berenice Marlohe, a French actress, who looked and played an Asian concubine/employee of antagonist Javier Bardem.  Not only is she stunningly beautiful, she was able to beautifully project deceit, fear, loathing and hope in rapid succession during her conversation with Bond at the casino.  Her hand trembled at the thought that Bond wanted to meet her boss.  She shook with fear, her mouth quivered as she told him: Be careful what you wish for.  And her eyes shone with hope when she asked him: Are you gonna kill him? 

Naomie Harris in the film, I think was confident and played the her role well as Eve a field agent who was mistakenly shot Bond as he struggled with another assassin on the train.  At the end of the movie, she is revealed to be the returning character Ms  Moneypenny, secretary to M.  In the Bond series though, her name is Jane not Eve.  I didn't think that she was as good as Marlohe in this film but yes she does have the better ass.  Yep, ass as in behind.  Go Ms Moneypenny!

Another great addition to the film is Ben Wishaw who played Q, a computer wiz who is at the helm of anything computer related within the MI6.  He played his character very well too, looking all dorky and unkempt but with the sarcastic verbose nature that all high-IQ nerds possess.  He was also able to project very well the short but plot-decisive virtual chess game with Javier Bardem.  

Judi Dench played her last role as M and will be replaced by Ralph Fiennes (aka Voldemort) in the upcoming films.  Both actors played their roles well although at times I felt veteran actress Dench looked stiff.  She did have to play a tough role though, to play an impassive and cold director of the MI6 who calls the shots and carries the burden of dead agents or failed missions at her behest all in the best interest of England.  I did expect more from her especially during her confrontation with Javier Bardem and during the opening scene when Bond was inadvertently shot by Eve upon M's command where she looked more lost than impassive. 

The most striking of all the actors though, including Daniel Craig, is Javier Bardem who was marvelous in his portrayal of Bond's nemesis as Silva, a former personal favorite of M, who was disgraced and eventually let go by the MI6.  He was portrayed as a power-hungry evil genius attracted to power and strength which birthed to his homo-erotic scene with Bond.  Silva returned as a devious and ruthless cybercriminal, fanatical in his desire for both revenge and acceptance from M.  His brilliance and cunning always put him a step ahead of Bond and the MI6 as he unleashed a wave of cyber and actual terrorism.  His portrayal of Silva in this film proves that his talent as an actor and his Oscar recognition is no fluke.  Plus, having a Penelope Cruz for a wife is a prize in itself.

This Bond movie has solidified the idea that in the world of espionage and covert operations, the concept of you-snooze-you-lose cannot be emphasized more.  This was also relayed by Liam Neeson in Taken when he confronted his former French friend at the dinner table with: That's what happens when you sit behind a desk for too long. You forget things! Like having a gun that's loaded and one that's not.  The skill and the instinct may be there, but the precision, dexterity and reflexes definitely slow down.  In this particular film, for instance, Bond retreated to seclusion and alcohol after his widely perceived death.  He returned a lesser assassin, who looked and moved like the shell of his former self.  And since I love David Morrell's (creator of Rambo) Brotherhood of the Black Rose book so much, I would like to imply again that between two equally skilled and deadly assassins in combat, the younger one always has a higher percentage of winning. The reason is the younger you are, the faster your reflexes are.  Bond, in this film, was shown as getting old with not-so-subtle hints of having him retired.  But, of course, like all protagonists, he persists and eventually triumphs over Silva and his goons but at the sad expense of M.  

As for the assassins themselves, it is clear that emotions and feelings are considered a great liability and bad for business.  The has been well-documented in the Bourne series and in Mr and Mrs Smith. Assassins are trained to kill without remorse, without doubt, with indifference.  But, no, like in all the Bourne series, Mr and Mrs Smith, Taken as well as the books of David Morrell, Daniel Silva, Frederick Forsythe and Tom Clancy, assassins are not without heart and at times risk their lives for that split-second moment of doubt or surge of regret or love.  This is the very first time in the history of chauvinistic, womanizing James Bond to have seen him at his most vulnerable.  For the first time since his parents' death, James Bond shed tears for his boss, M, Mom, the closest thing to a mother he had.  He openly wept for his love of country, his love of M and for his freedom from the dark memories of Skyfall.

P.S.  It seems that this movie can do no wrong.  Adele, the British vocal behemoth, who has inspired multiple eargasms with her soulful and bluesy vocals, has sung the hauntingly beautiful theme song of Skyfall, named as such.  Sometimes you just wonder if they made the movie just so she can sing its theme song.  It really captured the essence of the film.  I recommend that you watch it in theaters.  It will not do justice to this movie's perfection if you just download it and watch it on the small screen.