Imagine Assange was an ex MI6 operative and that his Wikileaks were not only politically explosive but literally as well and you have some notion of James Bond’s nemesis in the latest 007 extravaganza, SKYFALL (M).

Imagine if instead of being holed up in an Ecuadorian embassy he had been taken by a hostile power and tortured to the point that suicide seemed the only option, a suicide that was not successful but physically disfiguring and psychologically devastating.
Blonde haired, cold blooded, sexually ambiguous, Javier Badem’s badass Silva is one of the best baddies Bond has ever faced, in one of the best films of the fifty year old franchise. His entrance is diabolically delicious, an opening monologue of malevolence that parlays into a power play dialogue between he and Bond.

Hung out to dry during the Hong Kong handover, he blames M (Judi Dench) for forsaking him and has vowed personal retribution and overall revenge on Her Majesty’s Secret Service. His psychosis is as old as Oedipus, a misguided matriotism, but his arsenal is contemporary cyberspace in which he wages techno-terrorism.

SKYFALL starts in Istanbul, location of another classic of the iconic canon, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, with a pre title sequence that’s worth the price of admission.

Eschewing the traditional gun barrel, the first image of Bond is a distorted silhouette, setting a tone of secrets and shadows. There has been a slaughter of fellow agents and the perpetrator has scarpered with sensitive information. Bond gives chase by car, by motorbike, and atop a train, before seemingly dying, conjuring comparison with the film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

SKYFALL is an original, imaginative spy story informed and infused by Ian Fleming and the twenty-two films produced by the Broccoli bond-wagon that have featured his enduring creation.

After his resounding success in rebooting Bond in CASINO ROYALE, Daniel Craig is in resurrection mode, feisty and physical, more Berkoff than balletic, a British bulldog of a blunt instrument, imbuing believability in a fantastical scenario.

Judi Dench is back as M and Rory Kinnera reprises his role as Tanner, her chief of staff. New to the mix, and giving the film a good heft of gravitas, is Ralph Fiennes as Mallory, Albert Finney as Kincaid and Naomie Harris as Eve. Q has been reinstated for the first time in a decade and Ben Wishaw does it to a T.

Berenice Lim Marlohe, with her exotic Cambodian French heritage, sensually smoulders as Severine, the doomed damsel dominated by the villain.

The screenplay, a kind of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPYon steroids, is by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan and deftly adapts literary Bond while adopting and deploying deep rooted riffs from the film entity. For all that is new, there is a palpable frisson of comforting familiarity when the Aston Martin DB5 makes an appearance, and indeed, the car energises the film’s dramatic dénouement.

Director Sam Mendes has had the very good sense to reinstate Stuart Baird, who cut Casino Royale, as editor, and Roger Deakins as cinematographer. The look, feel, design of the film is astonishingly good, from the Blade Runner-ish shots of Shanghai to the natural rugged beauty of Scotland, and the London Tube has never been better served in an action adventure.

A change of guard sees Thomas Newman take over from David Arnold as composer, and Adele joins the ranks of divas such as Shirley Bassey for belting out the film’s title song.

Newman’s score begins with a sting in a reverse reverence to the famous signature theme and then leaps into full action mode with Oriental riffs that suffice Middle East and Far East location motifs. Lush use of woodwind, dulcimer and drums suffuse and a detection of a double O nod to the audio bongo track from DR NO.

Cinematography, score, style, substance, star power, settings, – at the top of his game, No Bourne, No Batman, Nobody does it better than Bond, James Bond.

© Richard Cotter

18th November, 2012

Tags: Sydney Movie Reviews- SKYFALL, James Bond, Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig, Judy Dench, Javier Badem, Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter