Someone Call Chicken Little, the Sky has Indeed Fallen!

The name’s Greening. James Greening. And I like my spy films masterful, not mediocre.

Open my dossier, and you will see why. I grew up in the 1980’s, which was a great decade for Horror and Coming-of-Age films, but not for spy action thrillers. It was the true age of mediocre for James Bond. Moore was finishing up his career with the extremely cheesy entries of Octopussy (1983) and A View to Kill (1985), and then we entered the under-appreciated, but still boring Bond films of Timothy Dalton. Things weren’t looking great upon the dawning of the 90’s either, as Pierce Brosnan took over the helm of Agent 007 in 1995’s Goldeneye (great soundtrack and video game but left much to be desired in the actual film).

Regardless, I still fell in love with James Bond for some reason. It might have been the fact that my mother made me watch Sean Connery’s older Bond films or that I was training to be a real life spy for the American government (that fell through for several reasons and don’t get me started!), but I was and still am the guy that will watch every Bond marathon on television that I happen to stumble across.

And there’s plenty of reasons to watch hours of Bond on end: beautiful women, exotic locations, cool gadgets, interesting villains, and outrageous stunts…to just name a few. Bond films were always merely a form of popcorn entertainment in my world, but every fan of film needs those kinds of movies in their lives.

Soon though, my world would be completely upended when Skyfall (2012) was released. I had sensed that a masterful, meaningful Bond film was coming, with the close-but-not-quite entry of Casino Royale(2006). Daniel Craig appearing as the new Bond, who had charisma but also a very serious killer side to him (not to also mention he was the first Blonde Bond, which I truly appreciated being blonde myself), along with high-caliber writing and directing, brought this Bond film to a new level of film-making.

However, once I saw the follow-up Quantum of Solace (2008), I lost all hope of a Bond film being a truly great film.

But hope was fully restored with the third entry of Craig’s Bond series, Skyfall (2012). And though clocking in as one of the longest Bond films in history, every minute was absolutely beautiful and kept my utmost attention (unlike even some of the other better Bond films, which inevitably have those 20 minutes or so in the beginning of the third act that seem to just drag on and on…), which is why I rank Skyfall as the best Bond film ever committed to celluloid (well, not actually celluloid, as it was the first Bond to be completely filmed in digital format).

Skyfall finds our hero spy hunting down a stolen disk of MI6 agents that eventually ends up in the wrong hands of one of the best Bond villains ever – Raoul Silva (played by the amazing Javier Bardem). Mr. Silva then starts killing agents and eventually reveals a master plot to kill the incorrigible M (masterfully acted by Dame Judi Dench). M and Bond head for the hills of Scotland to escape the technological wizardry of Silva, which leads to a classic 80’s montage of setting up deadly booby traps for Silva and his henchmen. A time-tested showdown ensues, and Bond is pushed to his limits to save everyone, including himself. All do not make it out alive, but I will leave the details as a mystery just in case the two people in the world who haven’t seen the film accidentally read this review.

So, Skyfall has all the makings of a classic Hollywood action film and holds true to Bond’s provenance –perfect fodder for popcorn and a couple hours of eye entertainment. But viewers beware – the intelligence of the script, the gorgeous cinematography, the character interactions, and the relationship building in this film make it not only mere entertainment, but a powerful, masterful film!

Instead of Bond building a shallow relationship with a gorgeous woman half his age, this film examines the strong, but strained relationship between M and 007. Instead of Bond using self-driving cars and self-exploding pens, Bond resorts to traditional methods of warfare and his old reliable classic, Silver Birch Aston Martin DB5. Instead of exotic beaches, the film ends in Glencoe, Scotland at the failing Bond manor. Instead of glorifying the spy world, this film examines the current global climate where technology is overtaking traditional espionage and if Bond truly has a place in today’s government voyeurism (and even perhaps in the film world itself).

We are granted a deeper glance into the real world of politics, as well as a killer view of Bond’s family and background. Hinting that Bond’s family were Recusant Catholics (perhaps an attempt at connecting the fictional Bond family with the real Recusants named Bond from Dorset) with the family motto of“Not even the world is enough” (hmm…heard that before, I believe), this James Bond attaches ancestry to his life and ends up destroying that part of himself, replacing it with the much closer and powerful relationships he has with M, the new Q, and Moneypenny. Bond is suddenly not this suave spy in control of all things, but rather much more human and caught questioning his past loyalties and actions.

Thus, the film is self-reflective, meaningful, and holds gut-punching dialogue, which is unlike any other Bond film I have ever laid eyes on, before or since. This is it, film-fan folks…after fifty years and 22 films before it, Skyfall marks the time when Bond finally both entertained and amazed. Skyfall is not only a great Bond film; it is a great film…period. Praise the film gods – I wondered if this film would ever be delivered!

And, it will probably never happen again. As No Time To Die (2020) appears to be a continuation of Spectre (2015) and an examination of his trust in women he loves, I believe Bond has forgotten everything that happened in Skyfall and has moved on to popcorn problems and soda pop scenarios. But that is okay. Craig gave me Skyfall, and for that, I will always remain true to the Bond series until I Die Another Day.

You can rent Skyfall on about every platform and can probably even find it for free on television.