Skyfall (2012)

Director:  Sam Mendes

The Bond movie franchise is celebrating its 50 year anniversary and the hiatus imposed by financial troubles at long-time studio MGM means we haven’t seen 007 on screen in 4 years.  Well, the wait is over and they’ve given audiences something to enjoy in this new edition.  Watching Skyfall got me thinking.  How does a movie franchise remain relevant in this day when so many action franchises reach the “long-in-the-tooth” feeling by the third installment?  Here are my thoughts:

1.        Take advantage of the pedigree.  Having already established Daniel Craig as a tough, scrappy, cool Bond.  A 007 less interested in frivolities and snappy one-liners and more down to earth.  He can wear a suit with the best of them for sure.  However, his intensity brings some mystery to Bond that the character sorely needed.  He seems driven by internal forces and he’s magnetic to watch.  With audiences clearly accepting of Craig as Bond (looking at the grosses of the previous two efforts), the production team brought in Sam Mendes (a director more interested in theatre than action films) to direct, added John Logan (screenwriter of Gladiator) to co-write, and Roger Deakins (of Cohen brothers films) to photograph.  This is clearly a sign that Team Bond is taking opportunities seriously and they want Bond to be around for another 50 years.  The production is top-notch filmmaking.  Staging, editing and pacing are all key to the story and the suspense.  They have made that rare film where images stick with you after the movie, in a good way.

2.       Respect the audience and your history.  A tricky part of keeping a franchise alive is to constantly balance giving the audience something new, something old (tipping the hat), and something to look forward to.  In this respect, Skyfall pays off in spades.  While Casino Royale’s job was to introduce us to Craig as Bond and bring the action into our Bourne-influenced times, Skyfall juggles the tasks of paying homage to the previous 50 years of Bond as well as setting the stage for future installments.  It felt to me like the job of re-booting Bond was not over, because the lack-luster Quantum of Solace didn’t do much to keep you wanting more. So, Skyfall seems to complete the process of re-instating 007 through its events.  I won’t get into spoilers, but fans of the Bond movies of old will catch several homages and some changes are made that set things up for Craig to fall into a groove in the next few Bond films (of which I understand he has committed to doing 2 more).

3.       Recognize the times.  Skyfall is blatant about pointing out how different our world is now.  Enemies are no longer as obvious as countries (as in the Cold War era) and for all we know could be terrorist cells housed within small towns.  When anyone could be a major threat, this drives fear, uncertainty, and panic.  Movies, by definition, counteract this because no matter what happens, in the end we are going to be looking the enemy straight in the eye as they face down our hero, in this case 007.  So, while movies today go to great ends to demonstrate that any one of us can create a whole lot of trouble for the masses if we are crazy enough, it is somewhat cathartic to have that camera follow them around so we know who we are looking at.  And Javier Bardem is no slouch as a totally crazy Bond villain.  This guy is pure creepy, it’s as simple as that. 

4.       Gain the right to reinvent.  Bond can keep going as long as he wants to really.  Many years ago by replacing Connery with Roger Moore, they created a pattern of handing over the reign that makes the next reinvention of the character an inevitability and something to look forward to, not to dread (well, Lazenby and Dalton aside at least).  With the expectation that the wheel will keep turning, people have shown they are obviously interested and up for the escapist ride.  After all, everyone needs a hero and we can all enjoy the adventures of an anti-hero who manages to grab the gun, get the girl, and save the day. 

So, I haven’t told you very much about the movie itself, which is on purpose.  It’s a Bond movie people.  And it just so happens to be a pretty well made one.  As Team Bond would no doubt approve, I am looking forward to the next one.