Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall is the 23rd Bond movie in the 50 years that the franchise has seen movies being released and the 3rd featuring Daniel Craig as the world’s most famous super spy. The film was produced by Barbara Brocolli and Michael G Wilson and also stars Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes & Naomie Harris. As most of you might know by now, Skyfall is the most successful Bond film ever becoming the 14th film, as well as the first Bond film, to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide. As of March 2013, it is the seventh-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing film in the UK, the highest-grossing film in the Bond series, the highest-grossing film worldwide for both Sony Pictures and MGM, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2012. Wow that is impressive!
On to the movie :
- It’s probably one of the best Bond movies ever and will be hard shoes to fill next time around. Bond is a stark version of the one we’ve know. He is broken and recovering from near death. On a mission to retrieve valuable information, from a mercenary,revealing the identities of several MI6 operatives in the field, James is inadvertently shot by his co-agent Eve and falls into the river below, leaving a lot of people to think he’s dead. The chase & fight scene is excellent. Bond recovers in secret and is using his supposed death to retire.
- When M’s computer server is hacked and the MI6 offices are destroyed in an explosion, it puts even more political pressure on her, led by Gareth Mallory, the Intelligence and Security Committee Chairman, who wants her to resign. Bond comes to know of this and returns and is made active again, albeit after a series of physical & psychological tests which he failed but which M lied and said that he passes. MI6 meanwhile has relocated to their emergency offices underground.
- Bond goes after the mercenary, Patrice, and tracks him in Shanghai where the latter is on an assassination assignment. The two fight but before Bond can get him to identify his employer, Patrice falls to his death. A search of the mercenary’s equipment leads Bond to an exotic gambling casino in Macau, where he runs into Sévérine, whom he witnessed as an accomplice in the assassination, and asks to meet whoever she and Patrice work for. After fighting off her bodyguards, with a little help from Eve, Severine joins Bond and says she will help him if he kills her employer. They travel to an abandoned island off the coast of Macau, where they are taken prisoner by the crew and delivered to Raoul Silva. A former MI6 officer who had previously worked under M, Silva has turned to cyberterrorism, orchestrating the attacks on MI6. Silva kills Sévérine, but Bond overpowers his guards and captures Silva for removal to Britain.
- Silva wants revenge for what he sees as M’s betrayal (she had to choose between him and saving several other people and she chose the latter) and – in a bizarre scene – reveals what the damage has done to him, showing Bond his false teeth and jaw. At MI6’s underground headquarters, Q attempts to decrypt Silva’s laptop, but inadvertently enables it to access the MI6 systems, allowing Silva to escape from MI6 custody. Bond chases after Silva in the tunnel network under London and follows him to the public inquiry where politicians are taking M to task on her handling of the case. ond arrives in time to join Mallory and Eve in repelling Silva’s attack, and M is hurried from the building by her aide. Bond drives M to Skyfall, his family estate and childhood home in Scotland. Laying a trap, he instructs Q to leave an electronic trail for Silva to follow, a decision Mallory supports.
- Bond, M and Kincade – the groundskeeper of Skyfalls – set up traps and arm themselves before Silva (led to the house by Bond & Q) and his men arrive via a helicopter. After fending off & killing the first wave of attack, Bond sends M & Kincade through a tunnel that goes under the house. When Silva’s men attacks for the second time, Bond sets off an explosion which kills off most of the remaining men and destroys the house. He escapes via the tunnel but are caught by Silva and one of the mercenaries. As Silva goes to kill M, Bond escapes the mercenary and kills him.
- At a small chapel near the house, Silva catches up to an injured M and forces his gun into M’s hand, begging her to kill them both. Bond, having been delayed fighting Silva’s henchmen, arrives and kills Silva, but M succumbs to her earlier wound and dies. Bond returns back to London and meets up with Eve who retires from field work to become secretary for the new head of MI6, Mallory, who assumes the title of M. And Eve’s full name is revealed to be Moneypenny.
The film won several accolades, including the BAFTA Awards for Outstanding British Film and Best Film Music; the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture; and was nominated for five Academy Awards, of which it won two: Per Hallberg and Karen Baker won the award for Best Sound Editing, and Adele’s theme song won Best Original Song. Visually, I say this movie is stunning and it’s easily one of the best movies out. I give it a 9 out of 10!