Skyfall has all the usual Bond features; exotic locations, Istanbul,
Shanghai, Macau; a mad villain, Raoul
Silva, played by Javier Bardem (2008 Oscar supporting actor winner for playing
another looney tunes in No Country for Old Man); beautiful women, Naomie Harris
as Eve & Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine; plus cars, chases and lots of
shooting and explosions. Everything to keep Bond fans happy then.
Apparently not. Some people I know that have seen Skyfall
were disappointed. Not me. We really thought it was great, even better than
Daniel Craig’s first outing in Casino Royale and far superior to the
forgettable Quantum of Solace.
Without giving too much away the plot begins with a stolen
list of agents and Bond going MIA after being shot by a baddie and Eve who, on
the command of M (Judi Dench), is forced to ‘take the shot’ when Bond is
fighting the baddie. While Bond remains missing presumed dead M16 comes under
attack and this time it’s personal – M is target of the frankly bonkers
villain, Silva. Bond chooses to return to London and to M, who is also under
pressure to resign. Despite Bond’s lack of fitness M sends him out into the
field to track down Silva – cue action, death and destruction.
I’m not a massive fan of Bond films. I understand they are a
genre of their own and view them as such. Skyfall stands out for me because
while it has all the Bond ingredients, for a change you really get a sense of
the characters emotions and feelings of love, duty and loyalty.
What next for the Bond film franchise? There are rumours
that Skyfall will be the last Daniel Craig Bond film and that the lovely Idris
Elba may play the first black Bond. Interesting as that prospect is what I
would like to see is a female agent as least as tough and resourceful as Bond,
or at least for Bond to actually save the girl for a change!
