November 1, 2012. Bonding. My father, my sister, my brother, and I watched Skyfall, the latest James Bond movie.
The plot is like this, the villains were able get possession of a computer hard drive containing the identities of Secret Agents working for NATO. James Bond's mission was to recover that file; and to find out who was behind this before such sensitive information is disclosed to the public.
The film begins with a chase scene where James Bond got shot by a sniper upon M's orders to pull the trigger despite the fact that the sniper had a difficulty obtaining a clear target. Bond and was presumed to have died. The truth is, Bond didn't die. He survived, lived in anonymity, and enjoyed a life of a rock star. One day, he learned that the MI6 Secret Service headquarters in London was bombed. Bond resurrected from retirement but with evidence of declining strength, agility, and endurance.
M, having her full confidence on him, nevertheless sent him to a mission to Macau to track down the villain. The villain turns out to be an ex-agent, computer geek, psycho whose life long goal was to kill M with his bare hands. He felt that M betrayed him. M was the reason for all the suffering in his life.
Skyfall is about James Bond 007 going back to basics. There were no new exploding pens, no new sleek state-of-the-art Aston Martin, no new high-tech mini computers. This movie is a deviation from previous James Bond's recurring elements of modernity in the art of espionage. Here, it seemed like Bond was too old to understand the complexities of gadgets and technology. It felt like Bond can't even run an iPhone.
Is he losing his charms with women, too? At one point of the movie, he promised a woman to set her free from the Mafia-like gang if she could bring him to her boss. The woman obliges, she brought him to the boss, and exposed herself to risk. She threw herself to James Bond and even made love with him. But when the time came where her life is in danger, James Bond barely did anything to save her from imminent death. The James Bond I know doesn't take advantage of women.
Bond's refinement and class was part of everything he does in previous James Bond movies. It's his enigmatic look, his refinement in wine, his way of dressing up that's missing. It is this persona that makes him a hero or anti-hero, whatever you want to classify him. I can't help feeling that Skyfall is a James Bond for the oldies. Is he losing his grip? Is he losing his charm? Where's the spy we loved?
There are things I like about the movie. Adele sang the perfect theme song for Skyfall. Adele lifted the movie and aroused the audience's curiosity at the very opening of the film. She sang Skyfall projecting very raw emotions.
I also loved the cinematography of Skyfall. The film's combination of light, color, effect, and mood contributes to the film's general impression. Most of the scenes were shot at night (Reminds me of Rocky 1). Most of the lighting were low-key, adding to a dramatic look. It's only when the film has reached its conclusion that the night turned into day.
Memorable Quote:
James Bond: Everybody needs a hobby.
Clair Dowar: So what's yours?
James Bond: Resurrection.
I enjoyed the watching James Bond, but what I really enjoyed more was the bonding our family had. It was a picture perfect moment. Our eyes were glued to the silver screen, on a theater at Gateway (that smelled like an old bus with that fugly yellow pine tree air freshener everyone dreads, by the way), sharing pop-corn and chips, and simply having a great time.
