Skyfall (2012)

DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
STUDIO: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
STARRING: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris
RATING: PG-13
GENRE: Action, Adventure, Crime

GRADE: B


This is the film I lost my James-Bond-movie virginity to, and honestly I was surprised by how little I understood who Bond was and what he did. Not that it is a very complicated aspect, but the closest I had ever seen was Austin Powers.

Skyfall is 23rd of the Bond films, and it follows James Bond (Craig) on mission to find a mastermind (Bardem) who stole a vital list from MI6 and who plans to threaten the entire existence of the agency unless Bond can retrieve it. The plot takes some twists and turns, but that is the main idea.

Although I have only seen Daniel Craig in a few movies, he never fails to succeed. Really, almost every actor in the movie is good, but some of the dialogue was weak, especially when it got serious. There are also some moments when many things are unclear.

For example, you find out a secret about the past of M, (Harris) but you do not actually feel the emotional connection to it. It is revealed with the detachment of a history book, instead of the characters and their emotions. I feel that this goes to directing and the dialogue.

There is also an event at the end of the third act, which is supposed to hit the audience hard. It might be my lack of Bond-watching, but I felt next to nothing when the even occurred.

Not to say that this movie was bad, but it was not exactly a work of art. I will definitely have to watch more of the Bond franchise - just to see how everything compares.