Why Skyfall Is Over-rated

Skyfall, the most recent James Bond film and twenty-third in the series, currently holds a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Richard Corliss, from Time Magazine, says in his review “one could call this the greatest Bond Movie ever…the old dog has learnt some new tricks”.

So, imagine my excitement whilst I’m sat in the movie theatre, watching adverts for James Bonds watch, James Bonds laptop and James Bonds after-shave, knowing the high praise this film had received. Surely I was in for a treat.

Was I completely blown away? Did my eyes melt from sheer amazement? No, not really.

It wasn’t bad. The cinematography was interesting (at least for an action film), tension was built and the special effects were exciting (sometimes).

But the one thought on my mind once the credits started to roll was “how can people say this film is the best ever?!”

At one point I found myself looking around the room to find something more interesting to look at.  The pacing in this film is completely off.  Just when things are at their most exciting, the film decides to take a road trip to Scotland.

My initial gripe is the films beginning. In short Bond and his female spy partner are chasing down the baddie who has stolen something of MI6’s. M explains to Bond that this “something” is a list of all the English undercover spies and their locations, and he’s told it’s perhaps the most important thing ever that he retrieves it.

Francois Duhamel/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions

It’s so important that M even risks Bond being killed so that Naomi Harris’s character can fire at the thief. So what got me was why, when catching up to the villain, instead of just breaking the man’s neck (violent I know, but it’d get the job done) Bond instead decides to engage in a manly fist fight.

Furthermore, once Harris’s character (spoilers) shoots Bond by accident, instead of firing again, multiple times until the correct target is taken down, she instead stands there in shock, and watches the incredibly important list slowly pass into a tunnel.

I know all of this was done for dramatic effect, and to set the story up for the rest of the film, but that was my problem. It felt forced, and it was annoying that the entire plot was centered on this failure.

My other little gripe with the film was its attempts to turn back time.

Francois Duhamel/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions

Back in 2006, Martin Campbell attempted to re-invent the Bond franchise, by directing Casino Royale. The film tried to make a more adult, human and realistic Bond film.

Instead of Bond womanizing every female he saw, he fell in love. Rather than having an evil villain, with a plot to destroy the world, and an evil lair in a volcano, we instead have a banker to terrorists, trying to win big in a poker game to reclaim lost funds.

It was a refreshing and modern take on a franchise which roots lay in foreign stereotypes, sexism and ludicrous plots and characters.

So when in Skyfall , Bond opens up his secret garage and inside we find a sleeping classic Aston Martin DB5, followed by the suave classic bond music, I was a bit disappointed.

Sure, a part of me smiled to the throwback, but the other part thought it was like the film trying to say “well we tried to change but it didn’t work, so here’s the old stuff back!”

Even the ground-keeper to 007’s childhood house remarks with “If all else fails, the old ways are the best”

What’s worse though was the ending. (Big spoiler) M dies and is replaced by a man, while Naomi Harris is revealed to be Monneypenny and decides to leave field work behind in exchange for being secretary to the boss.

To me that seemed like the film saying spying is a man’s game, and women don’t have a place other than behind the desk. It just seemed a bit weird.

But maybe I’m wrong, who knows, I certainly don’t… Overall the film was average, nothing terribly unpredictable, or brilliant.

Ending on a high note though, I did like Javier Bardem’s performance, so I guess there’s that.