The Case for a Quantum of Sky

It had to be better than the last one.

And Skyfall proved to be a whole heap better than Quantum of Solace, though it still was not quite as excellent as Daniel Craig’s first outing as James Bond in Casino Royale.

Watching a James Bond movie at the Embassy just feels so right somehow.  The large theatre with the ornate decorations and plush seats (platinum, definitely; normal, still pretty awesome) is designed to make watching a movie an event, and a James Bond movie always fits that bill.  Loud, with big explosions and action set pieces and (since the 1990s) a pretty nondescript theme song, Skyfall ticks all the right boxes, with director Sam Mendes playing it large with nods to Bond films past and (quasi-chronologically speaking) future.

Of course, the film hinges on some big performances, and Daniel Craig has reclaims his mantle as the “dark, troubled” Bond for the 21st Century (whereas Timothy Dalton was the darkish, dangerous bond of the 80s).  Craig’s Bond seems in an almost permanent state of irritation, and considering his muscular, battered condition, he definitely does not appear a man that you would want to annoy.

Unless you are Javier Bardem of course, who once again manages to make a fairly bad haircut a sign of incredible menace.  His Mr Silver is this movie’s arch villain, a man bent on revenge, and bent in several other ways as well.  He has a grand, mysterious plan, one that I will not reveal here, but which requires an incredible (and I mean that in the “suspension of disbelief” as well as the “impressive” sense of the term) forethought and clairvoyance to achieve.  Quite why this computer wizard who can hack into the MI6 computers on a whim would need to steal a laptop’s hard drive to gain MI6 secrets (why was the computer in Turkey again?) is never fully explained, but then there are a lot of things that crop up that the audience is expected to accept as part of the normal Bondish fantasy.

At any rate, much like his villain turn in No Country For Old Men, Bardem steals the show as soon as he arrives on set.  Bond may brood, but Bardem is bonkers and it’s a credit to Craig that he manages to keep his character visible with Mr Silver stealing all the spotlight.  Even the great Judi Dench, returning as stern headmistress M, has a hard time keeping centre stage.

It was about the time Silver slipped back into obscurity that my enjoyment of the film began to wane.  It’s not to say that it is bad, not at all; but the pace just seems to slow somewhat, the bangs and explosions seeming to lack a little bit of thrill.  But bangs and explosions there are, and who can complain about that in a Bond film?

There is also a sense that Craig will not play Bond much longer.  As fit and intense as he seems, there film hints that he is getting a bit "past" it.  He will no doubt be back for the next Bond, but how long will it be until we see a new one?  But, more interestingly, how will the next Bond "reinvigorate" the franchise?

Verdict:  Skyfall is everything you would expect in a Bond film, including its length (at about 2.5 hours).  Big explosions, girls, bad one liners, more explosions - and this one has Javier Bardem upping the awesome evilness factor.  Not the best, but definitely a goodie.  7 martinis out of 10.