Skyfall
Now playing at Dunbar, Park, Scotiabank
To celebrate his 50th anniversary, Bond had to be big.
With several other emotionally damaged, super men characters out there - Bond and Bourne share an increasingly similar DNA - creators must have felt the pressure to reaffirm 007's relevance in a changing world.
Rather than skirt around the issue, screenwriters make obsolescence the nexus of the film: MI6 members worry about getting too long in the tooth to tackle bad guys, the spectre of retirement is raised more than once, and the "brave new world" of cyber crime threatens to make field agents an antiquated oddity.
But there's little time to cry in one's beer: the only drinking we see involves a new spin on Russian roulette, with scorpion on hand (literally).
The big guns are pulled out in the first scene (again, literally) during a breathtaking chase sequence in Istanbul. Car chases, train hijackings and a rooftop motorcycle pursuit are capped off by a terrible freefall, and M (Judi Dench, who has played the role since 1995's Goldeneye) writing 007's obituary. That's all before the opening credits.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) appears, resurrected, but damaged. The same can be said for MI6, relocated in Churchill's old bunker and under new scrutiny from the Prime Minister's aide, Mallory (Ralph Fiennes). M insists on having Bond declared fit for duty before she can send him back into the field, to chase down a cyber criminal who is publicizing the names of undercover agents around the globe.
Bond may have lost his nerve but none of his verve: he heads to Shanghai and Macau and exactly an hour into the film we get the famous line "Bond. James Bond," and the iconic drink order. After flirty wordplay with his rookie colleague Eve (Naomie Harris) our agent steps into the shower with the lovely Severine (Berenice Marlohe), a classic Bond move. Times may have changed, but sexy without the sex will always be in style.
Things get downright uncomfortable when we meet Silva, a former agent with mommy issues who has a serious axe to grind with M. Once again Javier Bardem wins for most-menacing-character-with-oddest-hairdo, just as creepy when he is on the other side of the room discussing rats as when he's close up, caressing Bond's collarbone.
Silva may be a cyber expert but there is little staring at computer screens: special and visual effects are top-notch and perfectly paced. Sam Mendes' directing is as confident as Craig's swagger, inserting aesthetically pleasing sequences of Glen Etive, Scotland, or of Union Jack-draped coffins in a stark white room, in between the action.
And so there are digs aplenty at "the golden age of intrigue," particularly with the arrival of a new Q, played by Ben Whishaw, who outfits a disappointed Bond with nothing more than a gun and a miniature radio. "Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don't really go in for that anymore," quips Q.
And yes, that 1965 Aston Martin DB5 makes an appearance: a piqued Bond even threatens to employ the ejector seat.
But just when you thought they couldn't teach an old dog new tricks (yes, that line's in the movie, too) more details of 007's past are revealed, and Bond sheds tears for a woman, in a surprising development. New characters are introduced for the inevitable sequels, because as M says, "To hell with dignity, I'll leave when the job's done." Skyfall is a highly entertaining, very dignified step in that direction.
