Skyfall

A film about the importance of large sailboats in times of fast ships and a romantic dream of a return, thanks to which Bond survived half a century. A narcissistic reflection of what I have for years adored Bond films for. Sail on, heroic heart, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield. (26/10/2012)

As an uncritical admirer of QoS, I am quite amazed at how many people there are who are able to bitch about Bond ceasing to be Bond and fading out of the franchise. Yet Sam Mendes has made the most classic entry in the saga, one that fits perfectly into the Sean Connery era in particular, while still being able to work within the confines of the new century. In the opening action, the excavator seems to symbolically break the trend of the previous two films, so that the protagonist then sets out on a new adventure through the path of presumed death. It serves up all the old-school proprieties, starting with a creepy villain that Bardem relishes to no end (the dental exposition will keep me waking from sleep for a long time) while still managing to make fun of them (the conversation with Q) and still managing to get deeper into Bond's head than last time. Everything then culminates in a purely personal final battle, which styles itself as a personal apocalypse (not only because of the helicopter raid). If anything deserves extreme praise, it's Deakins' cinematography and the lighting work (the Shanghai episode rules!), which is crowned by Newman's music, taking a novel route in the style of John Powell. Craig, as usual, is on point. If I have anything to criticize the film for, it is perhaps the persistent effort to remind us that it is "old-school." However, a second screening will certainly fix that. [And it did. A film perfect in every detail. Watching it is pure ecstasy.] (27/10/2012)

The first half of Skyfall, the only highlight of which is the Shanghai skyscraper, is well crafted but lengthy. Following the obligatory Bond traditions, the pace of the story is slowed down by unnecessary characters (the Bond girl) and brings few surprises (Bond being equipped with technological toys). However, from the scene with a sailboat approaching the island – and the villain’s entrance – it is the best Bond movie until today. Paradoxically, it doesn’t really look like a Bond movie at all. Too bad that the directors of subsequent instalments won’t be able to follow in Mendes’s footsteps. The editing art in the scene involving the imminent court attack and the visual aesthetics in Scotland elevate the Bond brand to the level of a delicate film drama. It is also the first Bond movie in which I enjoyed the relationships between the characters. Javier Bardem, whose performance is somewhere between the Joker and Hannibal, should get an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. (03/11/2012)

Six years ago, 007 was rebooted in a darker, Batmanesque tone. And while its batty neighbors brought their story to a closed trilogy, the team behind the brooding James Bond also joined the continuity of three installments. It's personal here too, and thanks to Javier Bardem's Silva, surprisingly powerful. It's precisely from his appearance onscreen that Skyfall finally picks up speed, while in the first act, it almost goes backwards. The island, the metro, and especially Scotland, however, leave no breathing room and make Daniel Craig's intense physical acting a fitting path to success. In the end, the birthday Bond is rather successful. Better and more tightly knit than the sometimes breathless Quantum of Solace, worse than the deliciously aging Casino Royale, but given my general adoration of the artistic side, I have to shake my head a little due to several plotholes and yet another strangely sluggish opening act. However, this format still works for me, especially since I know it can still go one step further. (14/09/2013)

I’m very lukewarm towards Bond films (“it’s just Bond”), but the hero of Skyfall is not James Bond, it’s Sam Mendes. Skyfall is perfect craftsmanship, no more than that. Skyfall is such perfect craftsmanship that I can’t avoid being enthusiastic about it. I truly enjoyed the climax in the foggy Scottish Highlands. A brilliant Barden. (14/12/2012)