Skyfall is a strange, atypical James Bond adventure.  It doesn’t look, feel or sound like a Bond film at various points, and yet the overriding feeling at the end is that the series has restarted, and in a good way.  I was somewhat bored during the first half (this adventure is almost 2 1/2 hours long) but once Javier Bardem’s villain makes his appearance, the story becomes much more fascinating.

There have been attempts to deviate from the traditional Bond formula before, and Skyfall reminded me at times of Licence to Kill, which is one of my favorites.  Thus, it surprises me that so many people like Skyfall, while Licence to Kill is routinely trashed by Bond fans.  Sam Mendes’ film does its best to turn some of the familiar Bond trappings inside out, and to a large degree this approach works.

Yet for all the good stuff in Skyfall, most of which takes place in the second half, there are some serious questions.  The list of MI6 agents, for instance, which is so important early on, is simply forgotten by movie’s end.  There is simply no way that Bardem’s baddie should be able to know exactly where M is going to be after he escapes (and to be able to target her so precisely).  And where does he keep finding henchmen?  He loses henchmen in every skirmish with Bond; why do so many of them continue to follow Bardem to their deaths?  What does anybody except Bardem expect to get out of his single-minded pursuit of revenge?

Like so many tales of espionage Skyfall fails to stand up to close scrutiny.  Of course that’s really not the point.  Sit back, enjoy the derring-do and let Daniel Craig’s not inconsiderable charisma carry the action.  Bardem and Judi Dench are quite good, and the ending segment is perfectly staged.  It is certainly not the best Bond film, as some scribes have claimed, but it’s inventive and pretty solid throughout.  And, yes, James Bond will return.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  21 November 2012.