Pop Mythology Pop Mythology: Movie, Book, Comic reviews & commentary
Since their reboot in Casino Royale, the Bond movies have added some much need toughness. This time there’s a bit of heart as well.
Daniel Craig is typically stone-faced, but Judy Dench finally receives screen time befitting her. Similarly, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a great Bond villain and Javier Bardem is it: dangerous, intelligent, driven, believable, in some ways admirable, and with two very memorable scenes including a long introductory shot displaying a cinematic artistry not commonly found in the franchise.
That’s where Sam Mendes deserves credit. While Skyfall would never be American Beauty or Jarhead, this is likely the best looking Bond film ever, from the chiaroscuro-like silhouetted action of Shanghai to the incredible finale, Mendes works light and composition to the fullest.
Although, as with many Bonds, the globe-trotting middle portion drags, Skyfall is all the expected fun of the best Bonds, with a surprising amount of depth. [subscribe2]
It was the best 007 movie!
I thought so too!
It's definitely up there. I'd put it a very slight degree under Casino Royale in terms of modern Bonds, but the emotion, villain, performances, cinematography and definitely the sense of actual cinematic direction were definitely upgrades for the Bond series as a whole.
Hopefully that artfulness and care moves into the next couple (a two-parter that may close out Daniel Craig's time as 007).