Skyfall is the twenty-third
James Bond film produced by
Eon Productions. It was distributed by
MGM and
Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2012.[2]
It features
Daniel Craig's third performance as
James Bond, and
Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the film's
antagonist. The film was directed by
Sam
Mendes and written by
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and
John Logan.
The film centres on Bond investigating an attack on MI6; the attack
is part of a plot by former MI6 operative Raoul Silva to humiliate,
discredit and kill
M as revenge against her for betraying him. The film sees the return
of two
recurring characters to the series after an absence of two films:
Q, played by
Ben Whishaw, and
Eve Moneypenny, played by
Naomie Harris. Skyfall is the last film of the series for
Judi Dench, who played M, a role that she had played in the previous
six films. The position is subsequently filled by
Ralph Fiennes' character, Gareth Mallory.
Mendes was approached to direct the film after the release of
Quantum of Solace in 2008. Development was suspended when MGM
encountered financial troubles and did not resume until December 2010;
during this time, Mendes remained attached to the project as a
consultant. The original screenwriter,
Peter Morgan, left the project during the suspension. When
production resumed, Logan, Purvis, and Wade continued writing what
became the final version of the script. Filming began in November 2011
and primarily took place in the United Kingdom, China and Turkey.
Skyfall premiered in London at the
Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2012 and was released in the United
Kingdom on 26 October 2012 and the United States on 9 November 2012. It
was the first James Bond film to be screened in
IMAX venues, although it was not filmed with
IMAX
cameras. The film's release coincided with the 50th anniversary of
the Bond series, which began with
Dr. No in 1962. Skyfall was positively received by
critics and at the box office, becoming the 14th film, as well as the
first Bond film to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide. It is thus far
the
13th highest grossing film of all time and has become the
highest-grossing film in the UK, the highest-grossing film in the
Bond series, the highest-grossing film worldwide for Sony Pictures and
the
third highest-grossing film of 2012. The film is currently nominated
for five
Academy Awards, eight
British Academy Film Awards and a
Golden Globe Award.
Plot
In
Istanbul,
MI6 agents
James Bond and Eve chase a mercenary, Patrice, who has stolen a
computer hard drive containing details of undercover agents placed in
terrorist organisations by
NATO
states. Patrice wounds Bond in the shoulder and, as the two men fight
atop a train, Eve inadvertently shoots Bond, allowing Patrice to escape.
Bond falls into a river and goes missing, presumed dead.
In the aftermath of the operation,
M, the head of MI6, comes under political pressure to retire from
Gareth Mallory, the
Intelligence and Security Committee Chairman. On her return from the
meeting, MI6's servers are
breached and M receives a taunting message via computer moments
before the
offices explode, killing a number of employees. MI6 relocates to its
emergency offices underground. Bond, having used his supposed death to
retire, learns of the attack and returns to London. Although he fails a
series of physical and psychological examinations, M approves his return
to the field. Shrapnel taken from Bond's shoulder wound helps identify
Patrice, and intelligence places him in
Shanghai, where he is planning an assassination. Bond is ordered to
identify Patrice's employer, recover the stolen hard drive and kill
Patrice.
After Patrice kills his target, he and Bond fight. Patrice falls to
his death before Bond can learn of his employer. Searching Patrice's
equipment, Bond finds a gambling chip intended as payment for the
assassination, which leads him to a casino in
Macau.
Bond approaches Sévérine, whom he witnessed as an accomplice in the
assassination, and asks to meet her employer, Raoul Silva. She warns him
that he is about to be killed by her bodyguards, but promises to help
him if he will kill Silva. Bond defeats his attackers and joins Sévérine
on her boat. They travel to an abandoned island off the coast of Macau,
where they are taken prisoner by the crew and delivered to Silva. A
former MI6 agent who had previously worked under M, Silva has turned to
cyberterrorism, orchestrating the attacks on MI6. Silva kills Sévérine,
but Bond overpowers his guards and captures Silva for removal to
Britain.
At MI6's underground headquarters,
Q attempts to decrypt Silva's laptop, but inadvertently enables it
to access the MI6 systems, allowing Silva to escape from MI6 custody.
Realising Silva's capture was part of a plan to confront and kill M,
Bond gives chase through the tunnel network under London. Silva attacks
M during a
public inquiry into her handling of the stolen hard drive. Bond
arrives in time to join Mallory and Eve in repelling Silva's attack, and
M is hurried from the building by her aide,
Bill Tanner. Bond drives M to Skyfall, his family estate and
childhood home in Scotland. Laying a trap, he instructs Q to leave an
electronic trail for Silva to follow, a decision Mallory supports.
Bond and M are met by Kincade, the Skyfall
gamekeeper. The trio are only lightly armed, but they improvise a
series of
booby traps throughout the house. When Silva's men arrive, Bond, M
and Kincade fight off the assault, although M is wounded. Silva arrives
by helicopter to lead a second assault, and Bond sends M and Kincade off
through a secret tunnel at the back of a
priest hole to a chapel on the grounds. The second assault uses
firepower from the helicopter, while Silva throws incendiary grenades
into the building. Bond detonates gas canisters with a stick of dynamite
and retreats down the same tunnel as M and Kincade. The resulting blast
causes the helicopter to crash, destroying the house and killing most of
Silva's men. Silva survives and, spotting Kincade's torch beam, follows
Kincade and M to the chapel. He forces his gun into M's hand, begging
her to kill them both. Bond, having been delayed fighting Silva's
henchmen, arrives and kills Silva, but M succumbs to her earlier wound
and dies. Following M's funeral, Eve—formally introducing herself to
Bond as
Eve Moneypenny—retires from field work to become secretary for the
new head of MI6, Mallory, who assumes the title of M.
Cast
-
Daniel Craig as
James Bond, agent 007.
-
Judi Dench as
M, the head of MI6 and Bond's superior.
-
Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva (born Tiago Rodriguez),[3]
the film's
main antagonist.
-
Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, Chairman of the
Intelligence and Security Committee.
-
Naomie Harris as
Eve Moneypenny, an MI6 field agent.
-
Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine, Raoul Silva's mistress
-
Albert Finney as Kincade, the gamekeeper of the Skyfall estate.
-
Ben Whishaw as
Q, the MI6
quartermaster.
-
Rory Kinnear as
Bill Tanner, the MI6 Chief of Staff.
-
Ola Rapace as Patrice, a mercenary.
-
Helen McCrory as Clair Dowar MP, a British
Member of Parliament.
Production
Development
Production of Skyfall was suspended throughout 2010 because of
MGM's financial troubles. They resumed pre-production following
MGM's exit from bankruptcy on 21 December 2010 and, in January 2011,
the film was officially given a release date of 9 November 2012 by MGM
and the Broccoli family, with production scheduled to start in late
2011. Subsequently MGM and
Sony Pictures announced that the UK release date would be brought
forward to 26 October 2012, two weeks ahead of the US release date,
which remained scheduled for 9 November 2012.[4]
The film's budget is estimated to be between US$150 million[5][6]
and $200 million,[7]
compared to the $200 million spent on
Quantum of Solace.[8]
Skyfall was part of year-long celebrations of the 50th
anniversary of Dr. No and the Bond film series. According to
producer
Michael G. Wilson, a documentary crew was scheduled to follow
production of the film to celebrate the anniversary.[9]
Pre-production
In August 2011 the Serbian newspaper
Blic
stating that Bond 23 would be entitled Carte Blanche and
would be an adaptation of the
recent continuation novel by
Jeffery Deaver.[10]
On 30 August Eon Productions officially denied any link between Bond
23 and Carte Blanche, stating that "the new film is not going
to be called Carte Blanche and will have nothing to do with the
Jeffery Deaver book".[11]
On 3 October 2011 fifteen domain names including 'jamesbond-skyfall.com'
and 'skyfallthefilm.com' were reported to have been registered on behalf
of MGM and Sony Pictures by Internet brand-protection service
MarkMonitor. This led to supposition in the media that the film had
been given the name "Skyfall". These reports were not confirmed at the
time by Eon Productions, Sony or MGM.[12]
Skyfall was later confirmed as the title at a press conference on
3 November 2011, during which co-producer
Barbara Broccoli said that the title "has some emotional context
which will be revealed in the film".[13]
The title refers to the name of Bond's childhood home "Skyfall", and the
setting for the film's finale.[14]
Casting
The main cast of Skyfall was officially announced at a press
conference held at the
Corinthia Hotel in London on 3 November 2011,[15]
fifty years to the day since
Sean Connery was announced to play James Bond in the film
Dr. No.[9]
Daniel Craig returned as James Bond for the third time,[16]
saying he felt lucky to have the chance to appear as 007.[17]
Director Sam Mendes described Bond as experiencing a "combination of
lassitude, boredom, depression [and] difficulty with what he's chosen to
do for a living".[18]
Judi Dench returned as M for her seventh and final appearance in the
role.[19]
Over the course of the film, M's ability to run MI6 is repeatedly called
into question, culminating in a public inquiry into her running of the
service. As the film's principal villain Javier Bardem was cast, playing
a
cyberterrorist who is seeking revenge against those he holds
responsible for betraying him.[20][21]
Bardem described Silva as "more than a villain", while Craig stated that
Bond has a "very important relationship" to Silva.[22]
In casting the role, director Sam Mendes admitted that he lobbied hard
for Bardem to accept the part. Mendes saw the potential for the
character to be recognised as one of the most memorable characters in
the series and wanted to create "something [the audience] may consider
to have been absent from the Bond movies for a long time".[23]
He felt that Bardem was one of the few actors up to the task of becoming
"colourless" and existing within the world of the film as something more
than a function of the plot.[24]
In preparing for the role, Bardem had the script translated into his
native
Spanish in order to better understand his character, which Mendes
cited as being a sign of the actor's commitment to the film.[25]
Bardem dyed his hair blond for the role after brainstorming ideas with
Mendes to come up with a distinct visual look for the character,[26]
which led some commentators to observe a similarity between the
character with
WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange.[27][28]
Ralph Fiennes was cast as Gareth Mallory,[29]
a former
lieutenant colonel in the
British Army and now the Chairman of the
Intelligence and Security Committee,[30]
which gives him the authority to regulate MI6.[31]
At the end of the film, Mallory becomes the head of MI6, assuming the
title of M. During production, Fiennes stated that he could not say
anything specific about the role other than that it was a "really
interesting part which is really quite fun".[32]
To play the returning character of Miss Moneypenny, Naomie Harris was
cast.[33]
Harris' role was initially presented as that of Eve, an MI6 field agent
who works closely with Bond. Despite ongoing speculation in the media
that Harris had been cast as Miss Moneypenny,[34][35]
this was not confirmed by anyone involved in production of the film,
with Harris herself even going so far as to dismiss claims that Eve was
in fact Moneypenny, stating that "Eve is not remotely office-bound".[36]
According to Harris, Eve "[believes] she is Bond's equal, but she is
really his junior".[37]
Another character returning to the series was Q, played by Ben Whishaw.[38]
Mendes had initially declined to confirm which part Wishaw would play,[16]
and later said the idea of the re-introduction was his, saying "I
offered ideas about Moneypenny, Q and a flamboyant villain and they said
yes".[33]
Bérénice Marlohe was cast as Sévérine, a character who had been saved
from the Macau sex trade by Silva and now works as his representative.[39][40]
Marlohe described her character as being "glamorous and enigmatic",[16]
and that she drew inspiration from
GoldenEye villain
Xenia Onatopp (played by
Famke Janssen) in playing Sévérine.[41]
To play the part of Kincade, Mendes cast Albert Finney.[42]
The producers briefly considered approaching
Sean Connery to play the role in a nod to the 50th anniversary of
the film series, but elected not to as they felt Connery's presence
would be seen as
stunt casting and disengage audiences from the film.[43]
Crew
Skyfall was directed by
Sam
Mendes, who first signed on to the project shortly after Quantum
of Solace was released, and remained on board as a consultant during
the period of uncertainty surrounding MGM's financial situation. Mendes,
who had previously worked with Craig on
Road to Perdition was approached after seeing Craig in a
production of
A Steady Rain. The two met after a performance, where Craig
broached the subject of directing a Bond film for the first time.[44]
Mendes was at first hesitant to accept the job as directing a Bond film
had no appeal to him, but he did not reject the offer immediately
because of Craig's involvement and enthusiasm for the project; Mendes
described Craig's casting and performance in
Casino Royale as being precisely what he felt the Bond franchise
needed in its lead actor. He agreed to direct after meeting with
producers Michael G. Wilson and
Barbara Broccoli and seeing the early direction the film was going
to take.[44]
Speculation in the media suggested that Mendes had commissioned rewrites
of the script to "[remove] action scenes in favour of 'characterful
performances'" with the intention of bidding for an
Academy Award.[45]
Mendes denied the reports, stating that the film's planned action scenes
were an important part of the overall film.[9]
Peter Morgan was originally commissioned to write a script, but left
the project when MGM filed for bankruptcy and production of the film
stalled; despite his departure, Morgan later stated that the final
script was based on his original idea, retaining what he described as
the film's "big hook".[46]
Director Mendes adamantly denied this, stating that it was "just not
true" and that Morgan's script treatment had been discarded once Mendes
agreed to direct.[47]
The final script was written by Bond screenwriting regulars
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and
John Logan.[48]
Logan recounted being brought into the project by his long-time friend
Sam Mendes, describing the process between Mendes and the writers as
"very collaborative", and that writing Skyfall was one of the
best experiences he had had in scripting a film.[49]
Roger Deakins signed on as cinematographer, having previously worked
with Mendes on
Jarhead and
Revolutionary Road.[50]
Dennis Gassner returned as production designer, the costume designer
was Jany Temime,
Alexander Witt was director of the
second unit, the stunt co-ordinator was Gary Powell and
Chris Corbould supervised the special effects, while the visual
effects supervisor was Steve Begg. All have worked on previous Bond
films.[2]
Daniel Kleinman returned to design the film's
title sequence after stepping aside to allow graphic design studio
MK12 to
create the Quantum of Solace sequence.[51]
Location scouting
Sam Mendes and
Barbara Broccoli travelled to South Africa for location scouting in
April 2011.[52]
With the film moving into pre-production in August, reports emerged that
shooting would take place in India,[53]
with scenes to be shot in the
Sarojini Nagar district of New Delhi[54]
and on railway lines between
Goa and
Ahmedabad.[55]
The production crew faced complications in securing permission to close
sections of the
Konkan Railway.[56]
Similar problems in obtaining filming permits were encountered by
production crews for
The Dark Knight Rises and
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.[57]
Permission was eventually granted to the Bond production crew, however,
it was later reported that the production crew had elected not to shoot
in India.[58]
Filming
Principal photography was scheduled to take up 133 days,[59]
although the actual filming took 128.[60]
Filming began on 7 November 2011 in and around London,[9][61]
with the cinematographer Roger Deakins using
Arri Alexa cameras to shoot the entire film.[62]
Scenes were shot in London Underground stations,[63]
Smithfield car park in West Smithfield,[64]
the
National Gallery,
Southwark,[65]
Whitehall,
Parliament Square,[66]
Charing Cross station[67]
the
Old Royal Naval College in
Greenwich,[68]
Cadogan Square[64]
and
Tower Hill.[69]
St Bartholomew's Hospital[65]
was used as the filming location for the scene in which Bond enters
MI6's underground headquarters, while
the Old Vic Tunnels underneath Waterloo Station in London served as
the MI6 training grounds. For the meeting between Q and Bond, production
worked during the National Gallery's closing hours at night. The
Department of Energy and Climate Change was used in the scene when
Bond stood on the roof near the end of the film.[64][70]
The
Vauxhall Bridge and Millbank was closed to traffic for filming the
explosion at the
MI6 headquarters at
Vauxhall Cross.[70]
Unlike
The World Is Not Enough, which also featured an explosion at the
building—which was filmed at a large-scale replica—the explosion in
Skyfall was added digitally in post-production.[71]
Shooting of the finale was planned to take place at
Duntrune Castle in
Argyll,[72]
but was cancelled shortly after filming began.[73]
Glencoe was instead chosen for filming of these scenes.[70]
Although supposedly based in Scotland, Bond's family home of Skyfall was
constructed on
Hankley Common in
Surrey[74]
using plywood and plaster to build a full-scale model of the building.[75]
Production moved to Turkey in March 2012, with filming reported to be
continuing until 6 May.[76]
Production was expected to take three months in the country.[77]
Adana
stands in for the outskirts of
Istanbul in the film.[78]
A group of Turkish teenagers infiltrated a closed set in a railway
sidings in Adana to film rehearsals of a fight scene on top of a train
before being caught by security.[79]
The train scene depicted in trailers showed the
Varda Viaduct outside of Adana. Bond stunt double, Andy Lister,
dived backwards off the 300 foot drop for the scene. A crane was set up
on a train carriage to hold a safety line.[70]
Parts of Istanbul — including the
Spice Bazaar,
Yeni Camii, the Imperial Post Office,
Sultanahmet Square and the
Grand Bazaar — were closed for filming in April.[76]
Store owners in the affected areas were reportedly allowed to open their
shops, but were not allowed to conduct business, instead being paid
TRY
750
($418) per day as compensation.[76]
Production faced criticism for allegedly damaging buildings while
filming a motorcycle chase across rooftops in the city. Michael G.
Wilson denied these claims, pointing out that the film crew had removed
sections of rooftops before filming began and replaced them with
replicas for the duration of the shoot; when filming finished, the
original rooftops would be restored.[80]
The production team negotiated with 613 part owners of the Calis Beach
in
Fethiye, to film along the coastline.[70]
Mendes confirmed that China would be featured in the film, with
shooting scheduled to take place in Shanghai and "other parts" of the
country.[9]
John Logan described that production deliberately sought out locations
that were "in opposition" to London with an exotic quality that made
them "places for Bond to be uncomfortable".[70]
Many scenes were not filmed on location in Shanghai. Instead, the
Virgin Active Pool in London's
Canary Wharf acted as Bond's hotel pool in Shanghai,[65][70]
and the entrance to London's fourth tallest building,
Broadgate Tower, was also lit up to look like an office building
there; for the aerial footage of Shanghai, the crew received rare access
to shoot from a helicopter on loan from the Chinese government.[70]
The interior of the Golden Dragon Casino where Bond met Sévérine was
constructed on a sound stage at Pinewood, with 300 floating lanterns and
two 30-foot high dragon heads lighting the set.[70]
Additional scenes were filmed at
Ascot Racecourse, standing in for
Shanghai Pudong International Airport.[81][82]
The first official image from the film was released on 1 February 2012,
showing Daniel Craig on set at
Pinewood Studios, within a recreation of a skyscraper in Shanghai.[83]
Set reports dated April 2012 recorded that scenes would be set on
Hashima Island, an
abandoned island off the coast of
Nagasaki, Japan.[84][85]
In actuality, the scene was set on an unnamed island off the coast of
Macau, though based on the real-life Hashima. Sam Mendes explained that
the location was a hybrid of a set and computer-generated images.[86]
Production chose to include the Hashima model after
Daniel Craig met with Swedish film-maker Thomas Nordanstad whilst
shooting
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in
Stockholm. Nordanstad, who produced a short documentary on Hashima
Island in 2002 entitled Hashima, recalled Craig taking extensive
notes on the island at the time of the meeting, but was unaware of his
interest in it until Skyfall was released.[87]
The film was later converted into the IMAX format for projection in
IMAX cinemas. Deakins was unaware that the film was to be released on
IMAX until after he had made the decision to shoot the film with the
Arri Alexa cameras, and was unhappy with the IMAX tests made from
his footage as the colours "didn't look great".[62]
After exploring the IMAX system further and discovering that the IMAX
Corporation was using their
proprietary re-mastering process, Deakins had further tests made
without the process and found that "the images looked spectacular on the
big IMAX screen", quelling his doubts about the format.[62]
Music
Thomas Newman, who worked with Sam Mendes as composer for
American Beauty,
Road to Perdition,
Jarhead and
Revolutionary Road, replaced
David Arnold as composer,[88]
becoming the ninth composer in the series' history. When asked about the
circumstances surrounding his departure from the role, David Arnold
commented that Newman had been selected by Mendes because of their work
together, rather than because of Arnold's commitment to working with
director
Danny Boyle as composer for the Opening Ceremony of the
2012 Summer Olympics.[89]
The soundtrack album was released on 29 October 2012 in the United
Kingdom and on 6 November 2012 in the United States.[90]
The film also features
Charles Trenet's 1938 song
Boum !
during scenes in which Silva shows Bond around his abandoned island, and
The Animals' 1964 cover of
John Lee Hooker's
Boom Boom when Silva assaults Skyfall in the film's finale.[91]
In October 2012 British singer-songwriter
Adele confirmed that she had written and recorded
the film's theme song with her regular songwriter,
Paul Epworth.[92][93]
She later posted the cover for the "Skyfall"
sheet music on
Twitter,
crediting the songwriting to herself and Epworth, with arrangements to
both Epworth and orchestrator
J. A. C. Redford.[94]
The song was released online at 0:07 am
BST on 5 October 2012, a day dubbed "James Bond Day" by the
producers as it marked fifty years to the day of the release of
Dr. No.[95]
Release and
reception
The premiere of Skyfall was on 23 October 2012 at the
Royal Albert Hall in London. The event was attended by
Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.[96]
The film was released in the UK three days later on 26 October and into
US cinemas on 8 November.[97]
Skyfall was the first Bond film to be screened in IMAX venues[98]
and was released into IMAX cinemas in North America a day earlier than
the conventional cinema release.[99]
Skyfall attracted some criticism from the
National Sexual Violence Resource Center which, without having
screened the film, expressed concern that Bond "abuses his power and
authority" in a scene that suggests Bond initiates
sexual intercourse with Sévérine, a former victim of
sex trafficking.[100]
Box office
Skyfall has earned $1.024 billion worldwide,[7]
and is the highest-grossing film worldwide for Sony Pictures,[101]
the
third highest-grossing film of 2012,[102]
and the
13th highest-grossing film of all time.[103]
On its opening weekend, it earned $80.6 million from 25 markets.[104]
In the UK the film grossed £20.1 million on its opening weekend, making
it the second-highest Friday-to-Sunday debut ever behind
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.[105]
It also achieved the second-highest IMAX debut ever behind
The Dark Knight Rises.[104]
The film set a record for the highest seven-day gross with
£37.2 million, surpassing previous record holder Deathly Hallows –
Part 2 (£35.7 million).[106]
By 9 November 2012 the film had earned over £57 million to surpass
The Dark Knight Rises as the highest grossing film of 2012, and
the highest grossing James Bond film of all time in the UK.[107]
After forty days of release the total UK gross stood at £94.28 million,
making Skyfall the
highest-grossing film in the UK, surpassing the £94.03 million of
Avatar.[108]
By 30 December 2012, it became the first film to gross more than £100
million ($161.6 million) in the UK.[109]
Skyfall set an opening weekend record in Switzerland
($5.3 million) and recorded the second-largest opening weekend for a
Hollywood film in India ($5.1 million).[110]
In Austria, it achieved the second-highest opening weekend ever
($3.4 million) behind
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, while in Finland,
it scored the largest opening weekend when excluding previews
($1.47 million).[111]
In North America, the film opened in 3,505 cinemas, the widest
opening for a Bond film.[112]
The film earned $2.4 million from midnight showings on its opening day
and a further $2.2 million from IMAX and large-format cinemas.[112]
CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade filmgoers gave the
film was an "A" on an A+ to F scale.[113]
Skyfall went on to gross $30.8 million on its opening day in the
US and Canada,[114]
and $88.4 million in its opening weekend, the biggest debut yet for a
Bond film.[115]
Critical reception
Skyfall received generally positive reviews from critics;
Rotten Tomatoes sampled 278 reviewers and judged 92% of the reviews
to be positive,[116]
while the film scored of 81 out of 100 on
Metacritic based on 43 reviews.[117]
A number of critics, including
Kate
Muir, reviewing for
The
Times,
Philip French, writing in
The Observer,
IGN's Daniel
Krupa and the reviewers for the
Irish Independent and the
Daily Record, all asked whether Skyfall was the best
Bond film produced.[118]
The Daily Telegraph's
film reviewer,
Robbie Collin, considered Skyfall to be "often dazzling,
always audacious",[27]
with excellent action sequences in a film that contained humour and
emotion.[27]
Todd McCarthy of
The Hollywood Reporter thought that Skyfall was
"dramatically gripping while still brandishing a droll undercurrent of
humor",[119]
going on to say that it was a film that had "some weight and complexity
to it".[119]
Variety's Peter DeBruge
suggested that the film's greatest strength lay in its willingness to
put as much focus on characterisation as it did action set-pieces,
allowing the two to co-exist rather than compete for the audience's
attention,[120]
while Dave Itzkoff, reviewing for
The New York Times, considered Skyfall to be "a superior
follow-up to
Casino Royale"[121]
which is "opulent rather than outlandish and insistently, progressively
low-key".[121]
Kim
Newman, reviewing the film for
Empire, concluded, "Skyfall is pretty much all you could
want from a 21st Century Bond: cool but not camp, respectful of
tradition but up to the moment, serious in its thrills and relatively
complex in its characters but with the sense of fun that hasn't always
been evident lately".[122]
Roger Ebert of the
Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, describing it
as "a full-blooded, joyous, intelligent celebration of a beloved
cultural icon".[123]
Reviewing for the
New Statesman, Ryan Gilbey saw that "nostalgia permeates the
movie",[124]
going on to say that "sometimes the old ways are the best".[124]
A number of reviewers praised Daniel Craig in Skyfall. Roger
Ebert believed that in Skyfall "Daniel Craig [takes] full
possession of a role he previously played unconvincingly";[123]
Philip French commented that "Craig manages to get out of the shadow of
Connery";[125]
while Daniel Krupa thought Craig's Bond was a "defining performance" for
"a great actor".[126]
Edward Porter, writing in
The Sunday Times, considered that "Craig has developed an
authoritative Bond persona, dry and intelligent".[127]
Ryan Gilbey thought Craig had "relaxed into Bond without losing any
steeliness".[124]
The supporting cast also received praise. Roger Ebert reflected that
Skyfall "at last provides a role worthy of Judi Dench, one of the
best actors of her generation. She is all but the co-star of the film,
with a lot of screen time, poignant dialogue, and a character who is far
more complex and sympathetic than we expect in this series".[123]
Jenny McCartney, writing in
The Sunday Telegraph, agreed, describing Dench as "compellingly
luminous" in the film, and the one that "the camera caresses most
meaningfully and often".[128]
McCartney thought Javier Bardem played Silva "with worrisome élan",[128]
while Henry K Miller considered his character "the most authentically
Bondian Bond villain in decades".[129]
A number of critics noted the strength of the supporting cast; Kim
Newman found the "warmth and gravitas" of Finney's performance
noteworthy,[122]
while other reviewers, including Edward Porter, Daniel Krupa and The
Playlist's Oliver
Lyttelton, singled out Ralph Fiennes as Mallory and Ben Whishaw as Q.[130]
Ann Hornaday, writing for
The Washington Post, thought Sam Mendes had reinvigorated the
series, with Skyfall being "sleek, crisp, classy ... exhibiting
just the right proportion of respect for legacy and embrace of novelty".[131]
Henry K. Miller of
Sight & Sound agreed, and praised Mendes, who he thought was
worthy of directing more Bond films.[129]
Kim Newman also praised Mendes' direction of the action sequences.[122]
The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins also received praise: Newman
commented that he "delivers the most impressive visuals this series has
had since the 1960s",[122]
and Miller described the film as "dazzlingly photographed".[129]
The film did not escape criticism, with reviews pointing to its two
and a half-hour running time, and the final third of the film being
"protracted", and not matching the first two thirds in its momentum as
the underlying flaws in the film.[132][133]
Xan Brooks of
The Guardian, in an otherwise positive review, criticised the
"touchy-feely indulgence" of "the bold decision to open Bond up – to
probe at the character's back-story and raise a toast to his
relationship with M".[134]
Daniel Krupa also singled out
Naomie Harris as "awkward" and having a "virtually non-existent
chemistry" with
Daniel Craig.[126]
Similarly Philip French in The Observer tempered his praise for
the film by highlighting "some lazy repetition" and argued, "the
badinage is often perfunctory and Bond is as usual captured too easily
and too easily escapes".[125]
Edward Porter, writing in
The Sunday Times, considered that while aspects of the film were
"achieved with wit and panache",[127]
he found that the climax to the film was slightly disappointing,
although the "weaknesses in the final stages are not serious, however,
and the film's brief epilogue is wonderful".[127]
Home media
The film will be released on
DVD and
Blu-ray in the UK on 18 February 2013.[135]
Accolades
List of awards and nominations
| Award |
Year |
Category |
Recipient |
Result |
Ref. |
|
Academy Awards |
2012 |
Academy Award for Best Original Score |
Thomas Newman |
Pending |
[136] |
|
Academy Award for Best Original Song |
"Skyfall"
(Adele
Adkins,
Paul Epworth) |
Pending |
|
Academy Award for Best Sound Editing |
Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers |
Pending |
|
Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing |
Stuart Wilson,
Scott Millan,
Greg P. Russell |
Pending |
|
Academy Award for Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Pending |
|
British Academy Film Awards |
2012 |
Outstanding British Film |
|
Pending |
[137] |
|
Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
Javier Bardem |
Pending |
|
Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
Judi Dench |
Pending |
|
Best Editing |
Stuart Baird |
Pending |
|
Best Production Design |
Dennis Gassner,
Anna Pinnock |
Pending |
|
Best Sound |
Stuart Wilson,
Scott Millan,
Greg P. Russell,
Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers |
Pending |
|
Best Original Music |
Thomas Newman |
Pending |
|
Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Pending |
|
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards |
2012 |
Best Supporting Actor |
Javier Bardem |
Nominated |
[138] |
|
Best Supporting Actress |
Judi Dench |
Nominated |
|
Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Nominated |
|
Best Action Movie |
|
Won |
|
Best Song |
"Skyfall"
(Adele
Adkins,
Paul Epworth) |
Won |
| Best Actor in an Action Movie |
Daniel Craig |
Won |
| Best Actress in an Action Movie |
Judi Dench |
Nominated |
|
Chicago Film Critics Association |
2012 |
Best Supporting Actress |
Judi Dench |
Nominated |
[139] |
| Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Nominated |
| Best Editing |
Stuart Baird |
Nominated |
|
Golden Globe Awards |
2012 |
Best Original Song |
"Skyfall"
(Adele
Adkins,
Paul Epworth) |
Pending |
[140] |
|
London Film Critics Circle Awards |
2012 |
Best British or Irish Film of the Year |
|
Pending |
[141] |
| Actor of the Year in a Supporting Role |
Javier Bardem |
Pending |
| Actress of the Year in a Supporting Role |
Judi Dench |
Pending |
| British Actor of the Year |
Daniel Craig |
Pending |
| British Actress of the Year |
Judi Dench (shared with her role in
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) |
Pending |
|
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |
2012 |
Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Won |
[142] |
|
Producers Guild of America Awards |
2012 |
Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures |
Barbara Broccoli,
Michael G. Wilson |
Pending |
[143] |
|
Satellite Awards |
2012 |
Best Film |
|
Nominated |
[144] |
|
Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
Javier Bardem |
Won |
|
Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
Judi Dench |
Nominated |
|
Best Original Score |
Thomas Newman |
Nominated |
|
Best Original Song |
"Skyfall"
(Adele
Adkins,
Paul Epworth) |
Nominated |
|
Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Nominated |
|
Best Visual Effects |
Steve Begg, Arundi Asregadoo, Andrew Whitehurst |
Nominated |
|
Screen Actors Guild Awards |
2012 |
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role |
Javier Bardem |
Pending |
[145] |
|
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture |
|
Pending |
|
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards |
2012 |
Best Supporting Actor |
Javier Bardem |
Nominated |
[146] |
|
Best Cinematography |
Roger Deakins |
Nominated |