The third and final chapter of the Sam Mendes-directed James Bond films, Skyfall hit theaters in early November and made a big splash in box offices worldwide. Probably the most dramatic of the newer Bond films, Skyfall starts out with James on a mission that goes terribly wrong, and he suffers an injury that forces him to go off the grid. But he’s soon forced back into the world when MI6 faces its greatest threat to date. Does James still have what it takes to save MI6, or will this new foe prove to be too much for our beloved action-hero?
Admittedly not my favorite Bond film, and not even my favorite of the Craig Bond trilogy, Skyfall still has one quality that every movie needs: a great cast. The true stand-out performer of this film would have to be Javier Bardem for his portrayal of the villainous Raoul Silva. Bardem’s performance as Silva was brilliant; he was as creepy as he was devious, and if you’ve seen the film, you know how impressive that truly is. In fact, I think Bardem might go down in history as one of the most memorable Bond villains of all time. Another highlight of the film is Craig’s performance as Bond, because this movie showed a very different James Bond than what fans are used to. Craig did a wonderful job portraying Bond’s struggle to overcome a traumatizing failure in order to become better than he’s ever been.
The action is where this film falls a little short. It had its moments, but compared to previous Bond movies, this one wasn’t quite up to snuff action-wise. The film seemed to be more focused on dialogue than action, and while it made for a compelling story, it didn’t quite have the extra “kick” needed in order to make it a truly great action film; especially considering that this was the end of the trilogy. The cinematography, however, was definitely one of the film’s highlights. They did a great job making the best use of lighting and angles to help convey mood.
Overall, Skyfall is definitely worth a trip to your local theater. Sam Mendes did a great job directing this film and it’s not a bad way to end his trilogy. It does, however, make you wonder how the next James Bond actor-director duo will fare in comparison, and I, for one, can’t wait to see. Although it may not have been everything I’d hoped for, this was undoubtedly an entertaining movie to watch, and wouldn’t be a bad way to spend two hours. All in all, Skyfall scores a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. Well done, Mr. Bond.
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