50 years have passed since Ian Flemming’s Dr. No appeared on the silver screen, beginning a Bond movie empire that has kept viewers entertained with the exploits of British Intelligence agent James Bond ever since.
In director Sam Mendes’s Skyfall, Daniel Craig returns as James Bond after having played the part in Casino Royale in 2006 and Quantum of Solace in 2008.
Compared to the lackluster Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is a triumphant rebound. Craig’s Bond in Skyfall is growing tired of his job, aging, and stretched beyond his limits physically and mentally as he adapts to the digital age of espionage. This conflicted, and more human Bond presents a fresh change in dynamic that brings Bond to a place darker than we have ever seen before.
Skyfall begins with Bond pursuing a mercenary through Turkey to retrieve a stolen hard drive containing the identities of every undercover NATO agent working in terrorist organizations. Ultimately, Bond’s partner accidentally shoots him, and he is labeled “missing, presumed killed,” and the target escapes with the information.
Bond recovers from his injuries during his hunt for the real perpetrator of the terrorist attacks. The man behind the elaborate cyberterrorism is the eccentric Raul Silva, played by Javier Bardem.
Bardem’s chilling performance as this megalomaniac hacker harkens back to his previous role in No Country for Old Men, where he played a similar creepy and menacing character. The scenes between Bardem and Craig are convincing and well-acted, as Bardem’s unique performance is gripping through every moment of his time on screen.
Chemistry is lacking in the relationship between Bond and his latest “Bond Girl,” played by Naomie Harris, who though, witty and skilled as an agent, leaves much to be desired in her uninspired performance as Bond’s central love interest.
Throughout Skyfall, Bond’s exploits take him to such exotic locations as a waterborne casino in Macau, the skyscrapers of Shanghai, and back to his native Great Britain in London and the Scottish Highlands.
Bond movies have always been known for their musical scores, and in this area Skyfall delivers. Its score, composed by Thomas Newman, and powerful intro song by Adele are what make Skyfall’s soundtrack so great.
Daniel Craig’s Bond has given the character a new meaning, revitalizing the role and fitting it for the 21st century. This is a Bond who draws from what viewers know and love from Bonds past, but is engineered to be a smarter and richer character full of humanizing flaws. With Skyfall, Mendes successfully proves that you can teach an old dog new tricks.