My Word is Bond: A Study

This weekend's Skyfall had the biggest opening ever for a Bond film. The best part is, it wasn't just the hype. With Skyfall, 007 has been propelled to new heights. Even better, the rest of the cast came along for the ride. Skyfall couples excellent action with the best script that Bond has ever seen. Let's take a look at what worked so well:

The Script
The scripts are what have definitely given Daniel Craig an edge as the newest Bond. Skyfall is the best of the three so far. If you are a fan of tightly scripted and paced political thrillers, then you owe it to yourself to see this film - regardless of whether or not you like Bond films. Not only is the film engaging throughout, but it also has the most satisfying conclusion of any Bond film ever.

The Action
If you like Die Hard, this film may not satisfy your action itch. However, if you like your action to add to the plot rather than distract from it, then this is a must-see movie. As with the script, there is no padding in the action department.

The Actors
Daniel Craig was great as usual as the 21st-Century "broken" Bond. This film finally gets into his past and Craig shows more emotion than we've seen to date.

Javier Bardem gives a turn as a villain so sadistic, but yet so charismatic, that you find yourself rooting for him to a degree. Silva is a master chess player, and MI-6 are his pawns.

Judi Dench is perfect as M (as usual) and Skyfall really is her show. She is an institution under fire, and she never loses her nerve.

Ralph Feinnes plays Gareth Mallory, a politician that is intent upon retiring M as the head of MI-6. Though Bond has never been stopped by his many villains, Mallory shows that bureaucracy is the only thing that could ever come close.


Every character was exquisitely portrayed and three-dimensional, right down to the usually one-dimensional and cast-only-for-looks Bond girls.

Conclusion
Skyfall is the rare film that surpasses the hype. The only thing that holds it back for people is that Daniel Craig is not Sean Connery. I'm going to say something controversial here: Sean Connery isn't even as good as Sean Connery is remembered to be (he never could shake that Scottish accent). Daniel Craig has, in my mind, now surpassed all other previous Bond actors. While he does benefit from a few things like better scripting and plots that can be taken seriously, there are very few actors that could be as good in this role. It should be noted here that Timothy Dalton is the best actor to have ever taken on the role, but the scripts and action sequences in his two turns were ridiculous (to put it politely). We finally have the perfect storm of story, direction, and acting. Let's hope this upward trend continues.