SKYFALL

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Lim Marlohe
Running time: 143 minutes

Is this the end, hold your breath and count to ten because Skyfall deserve to be in the top ten Bond movies. Back with style, Mendes put Bond to basic or to say it more classy, deconstruct it The Dark Knight way. No flashy gadgets or fancy cars, just Bond being old fashioned against the modern world. In 143 minutes Bond and non Bond fans got an interesting story and character to watch.

Daniel Craig is back for the third time (and the third time a Bond film shoot in Istanbul and Turkey after From Russia With Love and The World is not Enough), fulfilling the common promise 'James Bond will return' in every Bond film. 

Six years after Casino Royale and four years after Quantum of Solace, Craig embodies Bond more comfortable. In the pre-credit scene he is accidentally shot in Istanbul then back from the dead to meet M (Judi Dench) who have to face a new problem; MI6 undercover agents being exposed by some criminal mastermind who happen to crack MI6 computer network. Bond must solve this problem and eventually met Silva (Javier Bardem) the ultimate villain of Skyfall.

But this is the new world where enemies are not easily distinguished in terms of race, ideology or even motives and Mendes put this question; was it necessary for Bond to exist in the world where enemies are hard to define? and how 'human' Bond can be where his skills are not as good as it use to be.

Here we see the human Bond where he must use his basic wits to defeat a sophisticated enemy and several quiet moments to be solved in a loud bang. Some who seek classic Bond elements might be a bit disappointed since the second and third act happened in England not in an exotic country where usually some fancy villain HQ get blown up.

Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan’s script is solid and gives a whole new meaning to Bond. Roger Deakins give a smooth and classy look for Skyfall, some scenes are just plain beautiful. Especially the one with Aston Martin DB5.  

Not just that, the story also ask a deep question; what must Bond do to adapt to the new ways of war. It is establishment vs reinvention and the most important is; who is James Bond without his gadgets and fancy cars. Can he use his basic skill to survive?

You can say Casino Royale re-boot Bond, but this one reinforce the re-boot in a way that can satisfy Bond and no Bond fan. Mendes has set a new bar for Bond and one thing for sure, Bond will return.