When Bond sits down in front of a painting to meet his new Quartermaster, a young tech-wizard not without some degree of affable narcissism, to get his mission's equipments, he gets an improvised gun and a mini position transmitter (a radio). 'It's not exactly Christmas, is it?' Bond quips. 'What were you expecting, a pen that explodes? We don't go in for those kind of things anymore' Q retorts. That scene insinuates the treatment and style of the James Bond theme in 'Skyfall'. The rituals of a bond movie are not disregarded but they lie underneath shades of progressing scenes. The scene in a Shanghai pub is a case in point. The Bond babe (not the Bond girl but the beautiful babes who end up dead in Bond movies) Berenice Marlohe gets in touch with Daniel Craig and the impressive self-introduction of Bond takes place. 'Bond', he says to her, 'James Bond.' And then the bartender hands to him a shaken martini and he accepts it with one word - 'Perfect'.
Apart from a taut screenplay, very well shot action scenes and an engaging villain (played by Javier Bardem), the film also probes, questions and quakes the relationship between M and her agents, the choices operatives make in their minds in split seconds that become irrevocable decisions in the next second and how they have to live with their acts, for the rest of their lives. Their actions might turn out right or wrong but that also hangs on if they are fortunate or not at the given point of time. The film also dwells into the role of MI6 in British democratic politics, their efficiency which is based on secrecy and their effectiveness which needs cooperation which is attained by transparency. There is also the intuition of the field-worker that is in conflict with the informed reasoning of the desk-job facilitator that reaches a breaking point in M's decision to 'take the bloody shot'. Sam Mendes makes us feel that difference right from the start when Bond and Moneypenny chase the bad guy while M constantly nags them for updates. When cars roll out on either sides of Moneypenny's jeep and M asks 'What happened?', the difference between being on the field and behind a desk becomes apparent. 'A couple of VW beatles, I think' Moneypenny replies.
M loses some of her unassailable professionalism and dignity because the director falters at points in his treatment of the character. In one scene she is decisive and impressive as in her meeting with Ralph Fiennes where he tells her that she should retire. 'You must retire with dignity' he says. 'The hell with dignity, I'll step down when the job is done' she slams back. In other scenes she comes across as someone struggling with her emotions and wrestling with her demons. And in the scenes after she is fake-kidnapped by Bond to lure in Silva, she seems even frightened at times. Her old age becomes suddenly visible and her self-control falters (she even confesses 'I fucked up') and her helplessness surfaces. The direction in such scenes appears unsure.
Daniel Craig delivers. With him there is a toughness, even if it means compromising on the charm, about being Bond. When Pierce Brosnan walks in a suit, he tantalises with his charm. When Craig suits up, it gives him the look of a grizzled operative, tough and focussed. The Aston Martin was a beauty, the blown up castle well located for a finale and Javier Bardem as the villain Raoul Silva, super-talented but a victim of acute suffering and a little touched in the brain, is a poetic Satan.
Skyfall is a well-made Bond film and when Adele croons in the beginning 'This is the end', you can get set for a grippy story told by Sam Mendes, the Bond way.
Skyfall - 7/10
