SKYFALL - Review by Chris Rodgers

Impressed by this review.

Quote :

I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air -
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.

It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath -
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.

God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear...
But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.

- Alan Seeger, American poet and soldier, killed in action in northern France while serving with the French Foreign Legion on 4 July 1916, aged 28


James Bond’s obituary has been written many times, on screen and off.

The Secret Intelligence Service’s most special agent was nominally killed and even buried in the opening sequence of You Only Live Twice. Ian Fleming died in 1964; the final Bond novel was published posthumously, and incomplete. Production of the films twice stalled after the departure of the leading actor and the poor reception accorded the last entry. All of this has threatened a character who has also fought to survive wars ended and begun, and loyalties strained and remade.

After a lengthy hiatus brought on by financial pressures and the need for a conceptual regroup following the incoherence of Quantum of Solace, the arrival of Skyfall will have seen the pen uncapped once more by critics and the public alike. And, indeed, before the second reel of the new film has run its course Bond’s obituary is duly prepared, this time by the person who knows him best.

But in M’s hesitancy to complete it, we see the core of the fiftieth anniversary release begin to be exposed. Throughout a film that will play with notions of duty and honour, trust and betrayal, Bond and M stand together to the end. The result is compelling.

A life that closes must first be lived. Supervised by M, Bond’s discovery of a dead MI6 agent and a missing list rapidly accelerates into a kinetic, relentless chase by car, motorcycle and train along the streets, across the rooftops and through the rail tunnels of Istanbul, the location one of several tributes paid to episodes past. A parallel pursuit develops as Bond’s driver Eve, played by Naomie Harris, races the train on which he and his adversary fight.

Challenge enough for any director yet Sam Mendes, new to this great game, grasps the epic scope and driven action immediately and controls it utterly. A thrilling physicality recalls the urgency and rawness of Fleming’s prose and is captured by camerawork and editing of immense lucidity, erasing forever the chaos that was his predecessor’s attempt. Daniel Craig again essays the visceral Bond who seldom holds back, here purposely crashing his bike into a balustrade so as to be catapulted onto the train passing below.

As Bond later plunges, flailing, into a river, arms floating wide beneath the surface, the narrative segues into the immersive opening credits. Death’s heads, diffusing blood, gravestones; Daniel Kleinman returns, filling this Acheron with disturbing imagery straight from hell itself.

Read more at:

http://www.chrismrogers.net/#/film-review-skyfall/4570523676

Having seen the title sequence (which I found to be very striking), I'm interested to see what I make of all this emphasis on aging, death, and rebirth in SKYFALL.

Isn't this the poem that JFK liked so much? I seem to recall Malkovich mentioning this during IN THE LINE OF FIRE (and following up with the assertion it was not a very good poem at all.)

Very interesting review, Dr Shark, echoes a lot of my own thoughts.

Skyfall is the best Bond film in years, certainly the best since The Living Daylights. To say I am surprised is an understatement.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Very interesting review, Dr Shark, echoes a lot of my own thoughts.

Skyfall is the best Bond film in years, certainly the best since The Living Daylights. To say I am surprised is an understatement.

I think the first hour is the best we have gotten since TLD. I don't agree with the idea that they keep that level up until the end.
Unfortunately the writing takes a nose-dive with the appearance of Silva.

I disagree in the sense that I think this is the first writer-led Bond film since DAF. In fact, Skyfall is the only Bond film to have a consistent subtext and theme running throughout. In that sense, it's very adult and I never expected to say that about a Bond film.

I agree there was so many interesting things going on all the way through the film and it feels really complete and really entertaining but still being adult and a proper James Bond film at the same time. I loved it.