Bond (Daniel Craig) is on another (important) mission somewhere in the big world, this time on the heels of someone who has stolen a hard drive with all the names of the British agents who work for MI6. On the mission, Mr. Bond is shot by one of his own (an agent named Eve, played by Naomie Harris) and presumed dead. However, Bond is not dead, and when he resurfaces, he jumps right into the game in the pursuit of an old agent called Silva (Javier Bardem), an old favorite of M (Judi Dench).
While Bond is out in the world, M discovers that someone, presumably Silva, has hacked their computers and threats to expose the true names of the British agents. However, it is also clear that the enemy has other plans, plans of terrorism. Bond is now in a race against time before more agents are revealed, or worse yet, before M is killed by their mysterious enemy. Fortunately, everything works out perfectly for 007, who finds the mysterious Silva with little effort.
OK, admittedly, this was a very short summary of the plot in Skyfall, but in all honesty, there isn't a big plot in this movie. I could have given some spoilers about the ending, and maybe added a bit about Mallory (Ralph fiennes), but really, this is an extremely simple plot. Not at all worthy of a big iconic character like James Bond.
It is classic 007, with everything thats part of such an adventure, like product placement (not a favorite of mine, in fact I get rather annoyed when its as obvious as the watch in the opening of the movie), car chases (in this case, more like a motorcycle chase across the roofs of some unknown city), beautiful women (which are exactly as shallow and pointless as you would expect), and lastly a total lack of emotions and realism.
I am not a big Bond fan, and haven't seen all of the movies in the series, so I am probably not the right person to review this movie. I do not understand what it is that draws people into the cinema time after time, to watch yet another Bond movie… when they can watch something original with a real plot and real characters. Perhaps these people like the shallow characters, who care little for the safety of the innocent people in the world, yes, I said it. Look carefully in the opening sequence, how the female agent cares little for the people on the bridge, as she shoots after the enemy. Later in that scene, she finds it really hard to shoot the enemy, because what if she hit Bond instead. I may be wrong in this assumption, but isn't MI6 here to protect the innocent people? Perhaps these people like the almost infinite number of one-liners that made my ears bleed at one point. Why are we treated this way? Do the people who makes these movies really think we are so stupid?
Before I actually say something nice about Skyfall, because I can do that, I just want to give a small piece of advice to future Bond villains, because who are we kidding, there will be more Bond movies in the future… my advice is this: Always remember to close the door behind you, whether its an actual door, or maybe a manhole (cover). If you don't do this, Bond will surely find you. But of course, perhaps you are dying to have him on your tail, in which case, you are doing it exactly right!
OK, something positive. Skyfall is a beautiful movie, in a very obvious (and superficial) way. The colors are just stunning, especially when we follow Bond swimming through the night of Shanghai, high above the streets. There is no denying the imagery and action of the movie, in every possible way, this is some of the best the world has to offer. I'd also like to give a shout out to Albert Finney, whose character (Kincade) raises the quality of the movie, and actually give it some human emotion.
The very last thing I want to say is this… why hire Sam Mendes for this movie? Why hire him when he is not allowed to use the powers that God have given him? Where are the human emotions, where are the dark humor, where are the personal stories that capture our hearts as much as our minds? If you want to watch a real Sam Mendes movie, I suggest the following American Beauty, Jarhead and even, Revolutionary Road.
Last words... only watch this movie if you have nothing to do… at all… and if you are a hardcore fan of 007 and feel forced to watch every movie in the franchise. This movie reminds me why I only rarely watch big Hollywood blockbusters.