M Is for Mum: My Impression of "Skyfall"

I saw the movie "Skyfall" yesterday. 

I don't want to criticize it, because the film "American Beauty", directed by Sam Mendes who was a director of "Skyfall", is one of my all time favorite films, but I can't say that I was satisfied with "Skyfall."

I like Daniel Craig's James Bond more than even Sean Connery's. Someone might think that Daniel Craig was too athletic, but I think that he looks intellectual enough at the same time. At least he looks really good in a suit and tie. The 007 movies had been slumping after Sean Connery resigned, and the first Daniel Craig's James Bond movie, "Casino Royale", revived the 007 series. In "Skyfall", Daniel Craig did a great job too.

And I found many scenes that impressed me. One of these was when Bond stopped his old Aston Martin, and he and M stood in front of a desolated land in Scotland. The scenery was truly beautiful and I could feel that they were struggling with a feeling of heplessness in order to fight with their enemy.

But as a whole this movie had lack of harmony. Although the story was basically serious, sometimes the 007 movies should be absurd and comical. The seriousness and comicality were dissociable, so I couldn't empathize with the story and laugh about the jokes enough.

On the serious side, the story of this movie was about fictional mother-son relationships. Both Bond and his enemy Silva, who was played by Javier Bardem, were agents who have no family. They were asking motherhood for M. In this sense, M is for mum. Sam Mendes has dealt with family affairs in his films, so "Skyfall" was no less his film.

In the 007 movies, directors have to use many clichés, for example, the self-introduction, "Bond, James Bond," and these are their chances to show their skill. I guess that Sam Mendes studied 007 movies quite hard, but he couldn't use them well, because the story was too serious.

The point of the 007 movies is the balance of seriousness and comicality. I like "From Russia with Love," because it was moderately absurd and moderately serious. Sean Connery's James Bond movies kept their balance, but Roger Moore was too comical.

Although Javier Bardem gave a good performance, but the character of Silva was too similar to Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, and the killer in Coen brother's film "No Country for Old Men" was far more horrible.

I wrote bad things about "Skyfall", I enjoyed it enough, even if it wasn't a masterpiece. Anyway I am looking forward to Sam Mendes' next film.