A respectable entry after the lackluster Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is propelled by two strong performances: Craig's ruthless Bond and Bardem's ghoulish supervillain Silva.
Set-pieces are also vastly improved, although with the occasional misstep - a stupid, unexciting brawl next to Komodo dragons being the worst.
Skyfall suffers from the "bad guy with ludicrously complex plans" syndrome, which exploded in modern action cinema after the memorable shenanigans of The Joker in The Dark Knight. Silva's impossible machinations all go off without a hitch and yet turn out to be an absurdly convoluted way to achieve revenge for someone who can blow up a building half a world away with a few clicks of his mouse.
Good guys, on the other hand, are astoundingly thick. In the climactic finale, Bond and M lure Silva and his army to an isolated location and face them with no reinforcements aside for an old caretaker. I understand preventing civilian casualties, but why not bring, you know, MORE MI6 AGENTS? It's kind of their job. It makes no sense even for a series featuring henchmen with steel-capped teeth or deadly bowler hats.
I am also doubtful about delving into Bond's past. It's fairly well done, but in these long-established sagas the protagonist's past is best left vague, imagining it being part of the implicit pact between creators and viewers. This isn't an origin story, and it isn't LOST: after 22 movies, I didn't need to see the hole young James crawled into when his parents died.
6,5/10
Set-pieces are also vastly improved, although with the occasional misstep - a stupid, unexciting brawl next to Komodo dragons being the worst.
Skyfall suffers from the "bad guy with ludicrously complex plans" syndrome, which exploded in modern action cinema after the memorable shenanigans of The Joker in The Dark Knight. Silva's impossible machinations all go off without a hitch and yet turn out to be an absurdly convoluted way to achieve revenge for someone who can blow up a building half a world away with a few clicks of his mouse.
Good guys, on the other hand, are astoundingly thick. In the climactic finale, Bond and M lure Silva and his army to an isolated location and face them with no reinforcements aside for an old caretaker. I understand preventing civilian casualties, but why not bring, you know, MORE MI6 AGENTS? It's kind of their job. It makes no sense even for a series featuring henchmen with steel-capped teeth or deadly bowler hats.
I am also doubtful about delving into Bond's past. It's fairly well done, but in these long-established sagas the protagonist's past is best left vague, imagining it being part of the implicit pact between creators and viewers. This isn't an origin story, and it isn't LOST: after 22 movies, I didn't need to see the hole young James crawled into when his parents died.
6,5/10