Skyfall (12A)

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The much anticipated latest edition of James Bond, featuring Daniel Craig as Bond, explodes on to the screen with an Oscar winning theme tune and the same no nonsense attitude we have come to expect from the straight faced secret agent. The opening sequence is a trail blazing pursuit cut short unexpectedly, the result being the rebirth of a tragic hero who is perhaps feeling his age. Bond is then released to finish the mission, he was prevented doing the first time round, and salvage some nationally important data. But he is soon up against the impressive portrayed Silva, an ex-agent bent on seeking revenge on M and played by Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men).

Bardem rolls up in a theatrical way. He speaks in a heavily accented English, has died his hair an off yellow and flaps his hand around a in nonchalant way, hamming up his campness, and seems to have combined these traits to establish his own brand of baddie. At first it is difficult to believe this somewhat over the top image of a man but as we learn more about him his twisted nature is revealed and to a certain extent he is accepted into the great canon of Bond villains. His presence is impressive.

Naomie Harris (28 days later) appears as agent Eve and Ralph Fiennes (English Patient) as Gareth Mallory and M’s new boss or so it seems. Both are excellent and will no doubt feature in the next Bond film their characters becoming more involved as the story moves forward. M, played by Dame Judi Dench, is implacable, unforgiving and hard until the end. She has more than ever been held up, in this version of Bond, as the vision of the ‘stiff upper lip’ and does not give an inch. She brings to the screen all her experience and washes the film with credibility.

 There seems to be everything you could need in this incarnation accept for one thing. The Bond Girl is a strange bit part played by Berenice Marlohe. When she appears she is exotic and has a power screen presence, with an interesting back story, but her role is short lived. Bond fails to save her or even give it much of a go. One of the reasons why Daniel Craig’s Casino Royal was the best Bond Film ever made was because of Bond’s connection with Vesper Lynd played by Eva Green. There is little of this in Skyfall. The emotion element is perhaps Bond’s link with his past and we glimpse a sense of the loss of his parents. Yet somehow this only weakens him where as his love for Vesper empowered a dark man who seemed to have no hope, and riveted us to our seats. Skyfall is intriguing and bleakly impressive.

73/100

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) Actor Scores

Daniel Craig 70/100

Rooney Mara 89/100

Christopher Plummer 74/100

Stellan Skarsgård 45/100

Joely Richardson 65/100

(See Review Below)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (18)

Uncompromising and brutally frank this remake of the much acclaimed Swedish original throws the viewer into the cold wastes of Northern Europe where two characters from very different backgrounds, each caught up in an out of control storyline, unexpectedly come together to solve the mystery of a missing girl. The female lead, Lisbeth Salander is played by Rooney Mara, her performance powerful and grim, loaded with the baggage of a damaged childhood. She helps out Daniel Craig, a magazine editor called Mikael Blomkvist, who has been enlisted as the investigator during an enforced sabbatical. The film is about these two entrenched central characters and their suffering and only the notable stalwart presence of Christopher Plummer and the emotional Joely Richardson, adds much to the mix. The film therefore hinges on Mara and Craig and both achieve a dispassionately savage approach to the problems they face that keeps the viewer following in their wake. But much of what we see here is the same as the original, the Director David Fincher (Se7en, Alien 3) adding little originality, just not as good and even the shocking violence fails to shock as much as the parent film does. In many ways this 2011 remake of the 2009 film has not had enough time to breathe, the original actors Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist still iconically linked to the roles. Rapace is also fast becoming a super star with her role in the new aliens film Prometheus much banded and secured no doubt after her success in the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It is plain though that this film is gripping and a frank engagement with a hard tortured reality, a worthy watch. No doubt Rooney Mara will also soon benefit from taking on such a demanding role. 

78/100

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