As a longtime Bond fan (probably because of my heritage), I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reboot of the franchise with Daniel Craig. Though he breaks the mold being blonde, Craig is edgy, dark, brutal, and does not rely on gadgets or happenstance. In my opinion Craig’s version of Bond ranks second only to the classic Sean Connery. So how was Skyfall, the third film in the Craig series?
Billed as the best Bond film in recent memory, I found Skyfall good but not excellent. Centered around a plot pulled from previous films, the villain is quickly identified as a former agent with the “double-oh” branch who went off the reservation and seeks revenge — uh, wait a moment, didn’t we see this in GoldenEye with a disgruntled Sean Bean? Beyond that, the film is disjointed and lacks the smooth transitions of previous Craig vehicles. Additionally, one hardly gets time to enjoy Bond’s love interest before things jump sharply left, breaking the plot into annoying bite-sized chunks barely woven together. That trend continues throughout the entire film — finally landing at an obscure Scottish estate bearing the name Skyfall, clearly something pulled from a production of Final Fantasy rather than a Scottish highland estate.
Craig’s Bond remains exceptional and the obligatory action is intense but the plot and perhaps direction didn’t keep up. I rank this film somewhere between a Blockbuster rental (if you can find one) or RedBox rental. Big screen not required, a good but not great film earning a 7 out of 10.