2 out of 5
There's a constant battle with certain types of films and books to avoid letting expectation influence the way you react to something new. Films like Prometheus and books like The Casual Vacancy often struggle against their legacy, and sometimes suffer because of it. James Bond movies have a bigger legacy than most to deal with. In the fifty years that 007 has graced the silver screen, we've seen cheesy and unrealistic, thrilling and ambitious. But I never thought I'd see a dull James Bond film. Skyfall opens with a motorcycle chase through Turkey that ends with Bond and a nameless villain pummeling each other atop a train. This leads into a story about a megalomanical tech guru who bears a grudge against Bond's supervisor M. While individual sections of the story are interesting, the whole falls flat, resulting in a unfocused mess of a film. There are some highlights; Ralph Fiennes turns in a particularly effective performance, and Judy Dench is at her usual outstanding self. But as I watched a James Bond film fall apart into what could easily be an adult version of Home Alone, I found myself consistently hoping that the film was nearly over. Skyfall makes the attempt to provide the admittedly flat character of James Bond a bit more depth. But the attempt stumbles badly, and does so at the expense of the spectacle and excitement that usually go hand in hand with Bond movies. Perhaps the legacy of Bond left my expectations in a different place than they should have been, but whatever the reason, left the theater shaking my head. Many people seem to enjoy this film quite a bit. For me, Skyfall ranks as one of the biggest disappointments of 2012.
- Dietrich Stogner
- Dietrich Stogner
