By OLIVIA QUATTRONEJames Bond films are typically not the most intelligent movies. They have action, girls and not much else. However, the new Bond flick, Skyfall directed by Sam Mendes, is a delightful change from the usual. The film, which stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem, is a fast paced action film that is also surprisingly clever.
The film focuses on MI6 as it is seemingly falling apart. The head, M (Dench, Notes on a Scandal), is under political pressure to step down, a list of NATO agents have been stolen from a murdered agent, and its headquarters are being hacked. To make matters worse, agent James Bond (Craig, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is missing and presumed dead. Of course, Bond is not really dead, and is using his “death” as a way to retire. He, however, must come back from the dead when M and MI6 are threatened by the psycho hacker Silva (Bardem, No Country for Old Men).
Bardem is the shining star in this production. His character, the creepy, merciless Silva, was by far, the most interesting in the entire film. It keeps one on the edge of his seat waiting for what insanely outrageous thing that he will do or say next. It is surprising how well Bardem plays crazy. Without his role, the movie would have not nearly have been as good as it is. In fact, the movie isn’t enjoyable until his character is introduced. His performance was highly believable and truly award worthy.
The same cannot be said for Craig, the lead actor. His role as James Bond was one of the only problems in the film. Though the character of James Bond has never been very deep, it was obvious the film was trying to give some background to the character and create character development. However, Craig doesn’t work for this. Throughout the film, Craig does nothing but stare broodingly at the camera. The few times he was supposed to show emotion, it looked incredibly forced. Because of Craig’s inability to act sad, happy or frustrated, there was virtually no character development in the film, even though it so desperately wanted some.
Another problem with film is its two and a half hour run time. Though the plot was very interesting, by the end it began to drag.So if one is willing to sit through it, and endure the dull Daniel Craig, the film is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, thanks to Bardem. 3 out of 4 stars.
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 143 minutes
Opened: 11/9/12