Haiku Review - Skyfall

It's no secret that I didn't care for Daniel Craig's first two outings as James Bond: the movies were so distant from what defines the character (fast cars, cool gadgets, dangerous women, and an unbending suave demeanor) that they were wholly disappointing uses of the 007 name.

Skyfall changed all that.

This is Daniel Craig turning into the Bond we know. Key characters and tropes return. Smaller details sneak their way in. Nods were given toward the older movies in organic ways. Craig even quips. The villain, played by Javier Bardem, radiates creepiness and seems like the perfect blend of the two extremes in Bond villains: physical deformities and extravagant flamboyance. He's like the Joker crossed with Two-Face with a splash of Truman Capote or, appropriately, Scaramanga or Auric Goldfinger.

The action scenes were excellently shot and played out. The pre-title sequence appeared to show the more inept side of MI6, but by the end of the film you understand why and it's understandable. My absolute favorite scene (and I don't often have favorite scenes from films - let alone Bond films - these days) is represented in the preview image. The fistfight there was fast, brutal, and beautiful.

The whole movie had a great visual flair to it. Several scenes prominently featured gold and black; colors which, to me, scream opulence and luxury. Shots in Britain were gray, brown, earthy but, at time, dead or decaying. This, too, made sense, as the world (and England specifically) is changing. It's becoming a darker and more dangerous place, and Britain's scenery reflected this. (Plus, I can vouch for the bad weather.)

Parts of the film walked along the fine line between awesome and corny. Bond movies, however, were never meant to be taken as a serious drama, an angst-filled, slow trod toward death and despair. The third film in the franchise began with a goofy jetpack, and the first involved a scientist in what can best be described as a human water bottle. I missed the cheese. Bond movies, like snacks at a dinner party, work best as two parts to make a better whole: in this case, cheese and wine.

There is so much I want to gush about here. So much of the movie is worth raising your arms in delight or victory, as I did in the theater, but the movie has been in theaters for three days. Other people need a chance to see it, and I hate spoiling surprises.

As I said in the haiku itself: go see this movie.