Never having been a fan of Daniel Craig’s Bond, I was rather bemused by the overwhelmingly positive fan reaction to MGM’s makeover of the world’s favourite MI6 agent. Call me old-fashioned or stubbornly traditionalist but Craig’s ruggedly ruthless rendition left me unimpressed because the character had lost much of his suaveness and humour. Differences aside, Skyfall’s the most impressive of the Cheshire actor’s tenure, thus far.

After a failed assassination attempt on M (Judi Dench) by former MI6 agent Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), Bond pursues his leads on the cyberterrorist, ending up in Shanghai, Macau, London and finally, his gloomy childhood home: Skyfall Lodge in Scotland. Silva’s objective is to murder M, whom he holds responsible for his imprisonment and torture by the Chinese.

 

Bond girls Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Severine (Berenice Lim Marlowe) seem more like afterthoughts in this grim narrative….

 

Director Sam Mendes is one of England’s finest filmmakers, veracious and versatile. He brings us a more stylized Bond; one in which attention to detail is meticulous, from the elegantly skinny costume design disported to the rectilinear compositions. Simpler gadgets, fewer chase scenes and stronger characterization, his is a slower, more subtly intriguing 007 interpretation.

 

 

Mendes introduces Silva to us by means of a highly anticipatory long take in which he walks slowly from the opposite end of a warehouse space toward the camera. Blonder, paler and more homoerotic than you’ve seen him before, Bardem will make you squirm, not least of all when he strokes Bond’s torso.

 

He is the real star of this twenty-third Bond outing and arguably one of the most menacing villains to cross the suited spy’s path, yet.

 

A triumphant effort I will no doubt watch again. Join me?

 

Now showing at Majestic City

 

 

Stars - ★★★★

 

 

Reviewed by Rehan Mudannayake