Bond Films: Skyfall

Skyfall is the 23rd EON Bond film, and the 24th, and last I've watched in my little marathon. Released in the 50th year of Bond films, it is also certainly one of the best. Spoilers are active. There is no way to talk about this movie within referencing events within it.

The basic plot of Skyfall is: Hot on the trail of a stolen hard drive that contains the true identifies of MI6 agents hidden worldwide, Bond chases his quarry through Istanbul and atop a train, ending in a missed shot by a fellow agent that sends him falling into the river below. Eventually declared dead, Bond is pulled back in when a series of terrorist attacks zero in on M, and raise public skepticism about the efficacy of MI6. Bond comes in, and after being waved past some evaluations, he heads to Shanghai, and later Macau, following the trail of the man he fought until he 1) steals the villain's girl and 2) arrives at the secret lair. After some repartee, the villain kills the girl before being captured by Bond and taken in. There, his full story is revealed: a former agent abandoned by M, he survive a disfiguring attempt at suicide and is now a sort of master hacker. While captured, his computer materials are unlocked by Q, but in turn hack MI6's security systems and allow him to escape. After a merry chase through the Tube, he and his accomplices attempt to assassinate M at a Parliament hearing.  Bond thwarts them, and takes M in the old Aston-Martin to his family home in Scotland, where he lays in wait for the villain's assault. After a hella amount of fighting, Bond and a fatally wounded M defeat the villain.

Skyfall is epic, but not overly busy. Each sequence feels like the next logical step, and covers the half-moments between action. It's also remarkably simple - the only gadgetry Bond receives is a fancy gun keyed to his palmprint, and a tiny radio. This continues with the tone of the previous two films, returning Bond to his roos as a simple spy - albeit an incredibly capable one.

When Skyfall came out, there was much talk of it being about age, and getting old, and feeling irrelevant. The new Q is a young man, quite a turnaround from the previous Bond-Q relationship, and M as played by Judi Dench, is more than long in the tooth, being eased out by management. But Skyfall isn't about being old, or irrelevant. Bond only creaks because he's genuinely injured, not because he's getting on.

Skyfall is about abandonment. In the very beginning of the film, Bond is ordered to abandon a mortally wounded fellow agent. He himself is figuratively abandoned when another agent is ordered to take a shot at the risk (and result) of hitting Bond. The villain was also abandoned by M. See a pattern here? The villain abandons the girl, killing her, and on top of all this, Bond is an orphan who falls back to the abandoned family home in Scotland. M dies - the ultimate abandonment. Skyfall is not a simple techno-thriller: it touches repeatedly on loss, loyalty, and the wearying conflict between the two: how can we be loyal to something we know we may ultimately lose?

This is the key to all of the best Bond films: Bond actually experiences loss. The stakes are high, but while he may win for queen and country, he suffers a personal loss in the bargain. We see this in On her Majesty's Secret Service, in Goldeneye, Casino Royale, and now Skyfall.

Skyfall introduces some new changes. Moneypenny is finally introduced into the post-Brosnan "rebooted" series, and Ralph Fiennes steps in as the new M (Bond: he works for Voldemort). The new Q promises to be more smart aleck schoolboy than lecturing professor. And Bond hopefully for the better - can move forward from the losses of Vesper, and M, and achieve some measure of satisfaction besides vengeance in the next film.