Skyfall was the most disappointing film I’ve seen for a long time. And it was made worse because this film has been hyped to the rafters by marketers and reviewers alike.
MI6 is in a crisis. A crucial disk containing the identities of all NATOs undercover agents has been stolen and know one knows why. It’s Bond’s job to get it back.
The biggest problem I have with this film is the terrible plot. It lacks any semblance of realism and meanders horribly all over the place. Nothing makes sense.
Bond completely lacks the sharp cool edge he had in Casino Royale and takes on an almost comic role. He lacks any sense of style and its not helped that Craig has unfortunately aged badly in the past six years.
The bond villain, Silva played by Javier Bardem, was utterly ridiculous and unbelievable, his character and his motives made almost no sense. Some of the acting was poor. Bond girl Severine (Berenice Marlohe), overacts one scene with the most bizarre facial expressions, spouting the cringe worthy line, ‘You’ve never known fear like this, not like him’.
The movie is partly saved by the strong performance of Judi Dench (M) who shines at times. She has some great dialogue with Bond. However I felt her character felt too vulnerable, although others may like this.
Product placements appear throughout the film. It gets particularly bad at one point in the first chase scene. The camera focuses on a CAT digger, cuts to Bonds OMEGA watch, cuts to a Landrover, cuts to CAT digger destroying Volkswagen ‘New Beetle’ cars. All whilst Bonds female colleague says, ‘He’s past the New Beetles’ or something to that effect. I don’t usually mind product placement but this was just ridiculous and there are many many examples throughout the film.
Without wanting to give too much away, the film does improve slightly in the final few scenes. The idea behind the end point is a good one on the 50th anniversary. Unfortunately the way Bond gets there makes no sense and it feels horribly forced.
This is a massive step back from the gritty realism of the brilliant ‘Casino Royale’. People who say this is the best Bond ever should have their head examined. It is at best marginally better than the disastrous ‘Quantum of Solace’. Give it a miss.
3/10