I have waited a very long time for this film and not since The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises have I been this hyped for a film. I feel like the wait for Skyfall has been a very long and painful one, but now it’s here and I’ve finally seen it. So was it worth the effort? Well I can easily say that this is one of the best films this year.
The premise for the story in this film goes something like this:
“Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.”
The plot in Skyfall is very good, the script is well-written and there’s a surprising level focus on the characters that was very welcome for me. What I mean by that is that this film’s story really does center around the main characters of Bond, Raoul and M, as the plot thickens things get more complicated for each of them and there is a great deal of drama and revelations to discover. I also liked how much danger there was in this film, and as seen in the trailer the identities of undercover agents gets leaked online, MI6 HQ is attacked and then there’s the obvious fact that Bond gets taken out of action then has to get back into his groove when all of this chaos is going on around him. There are also some interesting secrets to discover in Skyfall and some great nods to the past for fans to enjoy.
But what’s a good story without a good cast? Luckily Skyfall has a brilliant cast in place. Let’s start with Daniel Craig as Bond. Now he’s been playing the character for 3 films over the space of 6 years and since Casino Royale he’s become one of my favourite actors. In Skyfall he continues to show me why I think he’s so badass, Craig is totally relaxed in the role and displays Bond in some of his coolest and most badass moments, but also at his most emotional too. Now let’s talk about Javier Bardem, he has always been known as this badass in most of the films he’s been in and his acting skills are pretty damn good. I still haven’t forgotten his awesomeness from No Country For Old Men and in Skyfall he is just the best guy ever as Raul Silva he was intimidating, had a great presence and a level of charisma that makes him stand out from many previous Bond villains. Bardem is just simply wonderful in this film, I loved how his character interacted with Bond and M, and I do believe he’s the best Bond villain for a while. And Judi Dench as M was wonderful, I’ve always liked Judi Dench as M, but this is the first time where her character has come to the forefront of the story and been very relevant to happens, all I can say Dench was wonderful in the film.
Then there’s Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, Fiennes is just badass in everything he’s in and that’s no exception here. While his role isn’t as big as say Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, he was still cool in the film and had his moments to shine. Naomie Harris as Eve was pretty awesome, I thought she had good chemistry with Bond and it was great to see not only a female MI6 agent, but also a Bond girl who could handle herself in the field of battle. Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine was totally classy and sexy, I liked her part in the film and I just wish her character had been in the film a lot longer. And lastly Ben Whishaw as Q was awesome, I don’t really recall about the old Q to draw up comparisons, but I thought that Whishaw brought a lovely well of intelligence and wit to his role and I liked his conversations with Bond, they were pretty humourous.
When it comes to the presentation, Skyfall has all bases covered. The action scenes and sequences are really great, with some great camera work and some really crazy and creative scenes for the good guys and bad guys to work with. But it’s really all about the cinematography in Skyfall. The cinematography is insane! I loved a lot of the scenery from the scenes in Istanbul to London, but I really loved the scenes in China, that’s when the cinematography comes alive. The use of lighting, colours and shadows is especially impressive! Also the soundtrack by Thomas Newman was great and very memorable which I was very surprised about. Now obviously David Arnold handled the previous two Bond soundtracks and while Casino Royale‘s soundtrack was awesome, Quantum of Solace‘s wasn’t very memorable at all. Newman’s soundtrack for Skyfall is very different in tone and feel from the previous Bond films, but it sounds undoubtedly sexy, cool, emotional and most importantly it sounds like a Bond soundtrack! And obviously I made my thoughts clear on the song “Skyfall” by Adele, if you haven’t read that post you can see it here. But in short I think it’s pretty good, though I feel like it could be better.
Its been said by some critics that Skyfall is the best Bond film since Daniel Craig starred as the character back in 2006 and in a way it really is. Sam Mendes was a great choice to direct this film because of his understanding of the Bond series and also because of his great film career too. There is many things to love about the film like how there is this central link between Bond, Raoul and M or the way Skyfall manages to fuse the newer Bond film elements with some of the older elements from the former films and just I loved the level of nostalgia in this film whether it be visual or audio-based. For me while this film is clearly better than Quantum of Solace, I still feel like Casino Royale was superior, why? I guess it’s because it first Bond film in a while to be really different, edgy and dark, plus I’ve watched it so many times already haha.
In conclusion Skyfall is a great return to form for this series, this film feels bolder, darker and connects with you on a much deeper emotional level. And with brilliant direction from Sam Mendes, awesome action sequences, fabulous lead performances from Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Judi Dench, and sexy presentation both from the visual and audio standpoints, Skyfall is a great Bond film to watch at the cinema and I highly recommend it!
Happy 50th anniversary to the James Bond film series, it kicks so much ass!
Rating: 8.5/10
Well there’s my review peeps, thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts on the film in the comments below! Until the next time, laters! 
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