Even for a Bond film, Skyfall has received massive amounts of
hype. Maybe this time (the 23rd in the series) it was justified. An
award-winning director in Sam Mendes, the talented Javier Barden as the
antagonist and Daniel Craig returning as James Bond. None of this really
matters when the films are so formulaic that any talent attached to them is
diluted by the strictures imposed upon the story. However, this is a ridiculous
criticism to make of Bond films as they remain essentially unchanged and if you
don’t like the formula, don’t see the films.
Where Skyfall deserves celebration is in
hiring Roger Deakins as cinematographer. Deakins has worked on countless films
of a quality far greater than that of Skyfall
and has brought to this most average of spy franchises a beautiful image. Fargo (1996), Jarhead (2005), The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and True Grit (2010) are just some of
Deakin’s more recent films as director of photography.
Some of the dialogue
in Skyfall is excruciating and there
are plenty of times when the film could be muted and pleasure could be taken
from what Deakins has achieved. A silhouetted fight scene atop a Singapore
skyscraper is incredible. The mist hanging over the Scottish moors communicates
more about the atmosphere of the film and the mood of the characters than the script
can achieve. Talent will (almost) always survive being attached to a Bond film,
but rarely does it shine throughout it. Deakins makes one aspect of Skyfall something to be admired.
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