Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Looking Closer

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall (2012)

Last updated on: November 10, 2012 at 1:15 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

Skyfall (2012) 2012-11-10T13:15:45-07:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For all of the talk of Sam Mendes’ first James Bond movie — Skyfall — being a “substantial” Bond movie, its real strengths are aesthetic, not literary. This, the twenty-third movie about the hero if Ian Fleming’s spy novels, is typically predictable, full of been-there-done-that plot twists, and standard issue action-hero revelations.

But genre pictures are all about the “how.” And Skyfall’s “how” is top-notch in several ways.

First, it’s the best-looking Bond movie ever made. Roger Deakins’ cinematography just might earn him an Oscar (finally), as he finds inspiration in mirrors, panes of glass, bright neon lights. The movie is full of striking silhouettes, some of them stark and simple as woodcuts, others multi-layered and illusory. Deakins gives the film a series of styles, basking in the golden glow of a sun-baked bazaar, shivering in the shadows of London’s chilly architecture, dancing in the lights of a sumptuous Shanghai late-night skyscape, drifting like a ghost through an island ruins, and stalking grimly across a mystical Scottish countryside. Then, in the finale, he celebrates flames and shadows in a blaze of glory.

All of this is reason enough to earn Skyfall a high recommendation.

Second, the action.

Skyfall eschews the advantages of digital animation that have turned most adventure movies into glorified cartoons, and insists on the value of doing things the old-fashioned way — with real sets, real weapons, real action figures, real stunts. The action is consistently imaginative and perfectly paced. Having recently reveled in a restored edition of Raiders of the Lost Ark on IMAX screens, and remembered how truly awe-inspiring an action movie can be, I must say that Skyfall is an impressive contribution to the genre. Next to Skyfall, The Bourne Legacy — 2012’s other much-hyped spy-franchise installment — looks like a total waste of screen time.

It begins in dusty, gritty Instanbul where we follow Bond on a fantastic chase. He revs a motorcycle through a crowded marketplace; propels it across brittle, clattering rooftop tiles; launches himself onto a moving train; and wrestles his target as the train charges through tunnels that seem designed to scrape human beings from their exteriors. Then, Bond is knocked out of action, and he sinks into water so deep that it allows us time for a sensational, psychedelic Opening Credits Sequence.

This prologue is as exhilarating as it is ridiculous, and even though it’s not quite as memorable as the marathon chase scene in Casino Royale, it puts to rest any worries we may have about Mendes’s capacity to direct action. Nothing else in the movie is quite so spectacular as its opening, but the fight in a Shanghai skyscraper may be the most beautiful action scene in the franchise’s history, and the movie’s big finale is a pyromaniac’s dream.

Third, the cast.

The movie purposefully revels in the furrows and textures of Daniel “Crag”, the exquisite lines in the face of Judi Dench, and the sheer enormity of Javier Bardem’s head. Emphasizing that these actors, and this franchise, are aging (this is Bond’s 50th anniversary), the movie then sets about answering its own implied question, showing that they’re not only up to the challenge, but they can accomplish things the younger, scrappier action-hero franchises can’t. They operate with authority, carrying out their grueling missions without need for much digital enhancement.

Nevertheless, to rave, as many are raving, that Skyfall is a substantial step forward for the James Bond franchise in terms of storytelling and characterization is to say that, well, this episode actually has some storytelling and characterization.

Most Bond movies have about as much narrative substance as a quick run through a video game; the movies are a series of action sequences supported by the barest of narrative scaffolding. Open the kit and assemble with the following pieces: the Car Chase, the Shootout, the Fistfight, the Scene in a Bar, the Boat Scene, a Sensual Sex Scene, the “Hero Captured and Maybe Tortured” scene, the “Check Out These Whiz-Bang Gadgets” scene, and possibly a Scene Up High in a Tall Building. Put it all together, and we’ve got a movie.

Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale changed all of that, finding a larger story in James Bond than we’d had any right to expect. And by comparison, Sam Mendes’s Skyfall suffers. Its much celebrated “substance” is disappointingly familiar. In order to bring this series up to the standard of the Bourne franchise and the increasingly literary comic book movies like Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, writers Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and Gladiator’s John Logan give us glimpses of Bond’s childhood, allow M to recite some Tennyson, and address questions about whether or not MI6 and the Bond franchise as a whole are just too outdated for the modern world, in which bad guys are not nations but individuals, operating in the shadows.

Also disappointing: the “Bond girls.” After Casino Royale allowed Eva Green to play a love interest who was more than just a disposable compliment to Bond’s masculinity, Skyfall suggests that the world isn’t ready for sexual equality in a Bond movie. Women are reassigned to their previous role as either jaw-clenching authority figures like M, or turn-ons who flatter the hero with their lascivious grins, double entendres, and instantaneous swooning. And that’s a shame, because Naomie Harris’s personality is a pleasure, and Bérénice Marlohe is as ravishing as any beauty on the big screen this year.

Hopefully, the next couple of Bond movies will show us a world in which female spies can stand on equal footing with 007. Until then, Bond’s world remains a man’s wonderland, with just enough room for a mother figure.

Most disappointing of all: the narrative itself. Sure, the movie builds new levels of characterization, but that construction is done with parts so familiar that, good as everything looks, it still feels too cut-and-pasted.

People are bound to comment on the sense of déjà vu, as Skyfall seems to have been written by moviegoers who just saw Nolan’s Batman series. It begins, like The Dark Knight Rises, setting up a situation that will plunge the hero into a deep pit of despair, and then, well, you half expect someone to say to Bond, “Why do we fall?” Bardem’s Silva is a variation on The Joker, with a bit of Hannibal Lecter thrown in, dressed up like a judge for America’s Next Top Model. Like The Joker and Bane, he always seems to have as many nameless minions as he needs. There’s the all-too-familiar scene in which a villain allows himself to be caught, inhabits a glass cage in the center of the hero’s headquarters, and smiles as his plan is carried out anyway through impossible foresight and computer savvy. (I’m flashing back to The Avengers, The Dark Knight, and X-2: X-Men United.) Bond gets his own “Alfred the Butler,” played in a surprise appearance by a living legend. (The character made me suspect that the filmmakers had hoped to bring Sean Connery back, but alas, no.) There’s even a joke about going incognito in a flashy car, just like in The Dark Knight.

Still, Skyfall comes armed with something that The Dark Knight Rises lacked: playfulness. It has a winning sense of humor about itself all the way through. I’ll take this movie any day over Nolan’s latest tsunami of ponderousness and self-importance.

It’s pointing out the obvious to say that Bond movies are as hedonistic as any superhero stories. Their primary purpose is to glorify a man who seems to have it all. The impressive authority of the law and the freedom to live and work outside of it. The appearance of fidelity to a cause (queen and country), but the freedom to bed women as voraciously and thoughtlessly as kids eat candy. The ability to single-handedly overcome crowds of highly trained killing machines, to shoot with accuracy in a world where others rarely even nick their targets. To survive impossible falls, and to leap tall buildings on a flashy motorcycle.

For all of its style and sophistication, Bond remains an adolescent’s fantasy figure. Unless the storytellers start questioning the hero’s recklessness and promiscuity more seriously, 007 will remain a character that only the naïve and childish admire. Watching him, I enjoy the stunts, the jokes, the gadgets, the actors, and — in Skyfall’s case — the cinematography. I emerge smiling, dizzy from the rollercoaster ride. But the dizziness quickly fades, leaving me feeling kind of hollow. When it comes to Bond, the whirl is not enough.

–

Director – Sam Mendes; writers – Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, based on the character written by Ian Fleming; director of photography – Roger Deakins; editors – Stuart Baird and Kate Baird; music – Thomas Newman; “Skyfall” performed by Adele; production design – Dennis Gassner; costumes – Jany Temime; producers – Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Starring – Daniel Craig (James Bond), Javier Bardem (Silva), Ralph Fiennes (Gareth Mallory), Naomie Harris (Eve), Bérénice Lim Marlohe (Severine), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Tanner), Ola Rapace (Patrice), Albert Finney (Kincade) and Judi Dench (M). Columbia Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer. 2 hours 25 minutes.

Previous Post

November 9, 2012

Lincoln (2012)

Next Post

November 14, 2012 Father-Figuring It Out: "Margaret," "Moonrise Kingdom," and More

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was Paul's native language?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Latin Hebrew Greek Aramaic