Skyfall is the twenty-third in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, released in 2012. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villain, with Judi Dench returning as M. It sees the return of two recurring characters, Miss Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris) and Q (played by Ben Whishaw). In the film, Bond investigates a series of targeted data leaks and co-ordinated attacks on MI6 led by Silva. At MI6’s new underground headquarters, Q attempts to decrypt Silva’s laptop, but inadvertently gives it access to the MI6 servers, allowing Silva to escape. Bond and Q conclude that Silva wanted to be captured as part of a plan to kill M, whom he hates for disavowing and betraying him to the Chinese. Bond takes M to Skyfall, his childhood home in the Scottish Highlands. They meet Skyfall’s gamekeeper Kincade, and the trio rigs the house with booby traps. When Silva’s men arrive, Bond, M, and Kincade kill most of them, but M is wounded and succumbs to her wounds after Bond kills Silva and his men.
OK, on to the ratings;
Bond; 96 out of 100 Craig is comfortable in his role and the script and supporting cast give him plenty to work with. He gets to show a wide range of colors, and does it well.
Villain; 98 out of 100. Javier Bardem’s Silva is bent, twisted, gay and tortured. He’s given a lot, and makes the most of it.
Bond girls; 91 out of 100 Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine is a smoldering, sexy presence during her time onscreen. And Naomie Harris as Moneypenny definitely has physical chemistry with Craig’s Bond.
Theme; 68 out of 75. Adele’s Skyfall theme is memorable but not iconic.
Henchmen; 5 out of 50. There really isn’t a henchman per se. Ola Rapace as Patrice, a mercenary under Silva’s command, is the closest thing, as he has 2 fights with Bond early on,. but he really doesn’t fill the bill.
M, Q, Moneypenny, etc.- 25 out of 25. You’ve got the debut of Ben Whishaw as a marvelous Q for a new generation, Naomie Harris’s Moneypenny, Judy Dench’s swan song as “M”, Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, soon to step in as “M”, and Albert Finney as the caretaker of Bond’s familial home Skyfall. What else could you want?
Total- 383
Scoreboard;
- Goldfinger- 419
- Spectre-397
- Live and Let Die- 396
- Skyfall- 383
- Casino Royale / Die Another Day / Skyfall- 382
- The World is not Enough- 367
- Dr. No- 346
- The Man with the Golden Gun. 331
- License to Kill- 321
- Octopussy- 255
- The Living Daylights- 228
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