‘Skyfall’ a more intimate, personal story with fewer action sequences

You don't turn to James Bond for realism.

This is, after all, the same franchise that, just four movies ago in "The World Is Not Enough," trotted out Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist named Christmas Jones.

But there it is, slapping you in the face like the brisk wind whipping off the Scottish moors of Bond's youth, in "Skyfall."

As Q (Ben Whishaw, "Cloud Atlas") says after giving a skeptical Bond (Daniel Craig) a pistol and a radio: "Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don't really go in for that anymore."

It's not just the gadgets or the lack thereof. Director Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") along with screenwriters John Logan ("Hugo") and Bond regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have stripped the story nearly as bare as Bond was in that testicular torture scene from "Casino Royale."

The franchise's signature elaborate action sequences are fewer and shorter, making for a more intimate, personal story. Even the locales have been reined in, as early jaunts through Istanbul, Shanghai and Macau give way to the one place few Bond adventures have ever unspooled: the United Kingdom.

MI6 is under attack from a cyberterrorist targeting M (Judi Dench) with the message: "Think on your sins." Combined with the theft of a list of agents working undercover in terror groups - their identities are being released, five a week on YouTube, leading to their deaths - M is on the verge of being shoved out the door.

She's not alone. Everything about the way MI6 operates is being questioned, with the agency's reliance on traditional spy work derided as irrelevant.

At the heart of all this is the mysterious Silva (Javier Bardem), a madman with past ties to M. With his weird sexual vibe and mommy issues - not to mention a general theatricality that's been missing since Craig took over the keys to the Aston Martin - Bardem's Silva marks a return to the old-school, over-the-top Bond villains.

Given the way his attacks strike at the heart of London, though, "Skyfall's" vibe is much more in line with "The Dark Knight Rises" than, say, "Moonraker" or "Octopussy." Especially when you consider Bond's diminished capabilities.

After a violent encounter with a hitman named Patrice - Patrice! - Bond's body is betraying him. His marksmanship is off, his strength and endurance are waning.

"It's a young man's game," the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee (Ralph Fiennes) tells Bond, suggesting he retire.

"Chasing spies. So old fashioned," Silva declares, before asking Bond how his knees are holding up.

Even his choice of a straight razor raises eyebrows from Eve (Naomie Harris), a field agent who catches Bond's eye now that he's finally over that Vesper chick. "Old dog, new tricks," she remarks at one point.

It's enough to have Bond feeling like he's double-0-70. Especially since, instead of bedding random foreign beauties, he spends much of "Skyfall" protecting M - beautifully drawn to the forefront like rarely before - as they bicker like an old married couple.

But, three movies in, isn't it a little early to be starting the clock so noticeably on Craig's exit as Bond? Roger Moore portrayed him seven times, not retiring until he was 58. Craig, meanwhile, is just 44.

Although trying to make sense of when exactly "Skyfall" takes place in the Bond continuum may prove as frustrating as that tsunami-surfing scene from "Die Another Day."

Without spoiling things, there's at least one major event in "Skyfall" that, given what's been established in previous films, simply couldn't happen when it does.

And, despite "Skyfall's" originality, there are distinct echoes of both "The World Is Not Enough" and "GoldenEye."

But those are minor quibbles.

Bond obviously isn't going to be put out to pasture in "The Expendables."

And, if the somber realism of "Skyfall" is any indication, his martini glass is far closer to full than empty.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@
reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.