Skyfall Review: Shadows of the Past

As soon as Mr. bond went over the waterfall and is dragged underground in the opening credits, in which we hear Adele’s brassy and classic bond-themed song Skyfall, I thought Oh. This is going to be a katabasis, a descent and a return. But as we kept going underground, through tunnels, London’s subway system, WWII bunkers, over dark waters, and into the desolate misted hills of Scotland, I was waiting for the return, that light at the end of the tunnel. But it never happens. 

The themes of Skyfall come right out of the seventh house in astrology and the sign of Scorpio: death, sex, additions, ageing, and the past. All of these are played to their fullest and are cast in shadows and the color blue. Even the fight scenes are filled with mirrors, sharp over-the-shoulder angles, and shadows. In a Shanghai high-rise the gun shots and smashing of windows is acted through the dark of night and electric blue projections of fiber-optic tendrils and a luminescent jellyfish. James Bond (Daneil Crige) and his foe Patrice, played by Ola Rapace, are silhouettes of themselves fighting in the dark, lending to an almost theatrical display of armed combat.

Of course what would a James Bond flick be without the women. Judi Dench once again plays the motherly M. She is first and foremost the head of MI6 and plays her stochastic, emotionless self to the T, making the hard decision for the safety of England and the world with every turn. As the film progresses and the plot keeps its metaphoric and literal downward path, her hard-edged resolve is slowly melted away, as if all the films watery filled scenes attempt to wash away at her steadfastness while remnants of the past are reviled. Her performance is great and for being 77 years old and still captivating the audience, I say You go girl!

Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) plays second fiddle to bond throughout the film and I wish she would have had I bigger role. She is a strong, graceful, and quick witted agent who acts as flirt and support for bond in several key scenes. She delivered her lines well and held the audience’s attention through high and low parts. I look forward to see her kick ass and hold her own in future films. The lovely and lithe Sévérine, played by Bérénice Lim Marlohe, is perhaps the stereotypical bond girl: Pretty and doomed play a part in the villain’s plans. Sévérine is more a prop than a character. Even her dresses plays up the fluid nature of the films, skin tight and shadowy evening gowns detailed with black curling designs.  

Javier Bardem (Eat Pray Love, No Country for Old Men), is Silva. He’s smooth like a snake and just as cunning. His blond hair and eyelashes and clay like face lean towards the grotesque. He is one good villain with just the right amount of crazy which makes his one step ahead of MI6 plot that more thrilling. Even in the end, with his final encounter with M, his dialogue rips at everything the film has been digging down towards.

Skyfall is classic James Bond, drawing from the old Bond mythos in every way: cars, women, martinis (shaken), bullets, and exotic locations. But all the tropes don’t bore you with the clichés. There are plenty of explosions, car chases, close calls —sometimes all in the same scene—to keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Don’t expect to come out on top with waving Union Jacks. This is a darker side of the bond story. It is a ride through the past, through fog and shadows and I highly recommend the trip.