“..We are not now that strength which in old
days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
A poem quoted by M at the committee
hearing before the Prime Minister and officials, and many others: the media,
the watchdog groups and the general public.
A perfect portrait of Britain
The committee hearing scene, or anything
so bureaucratic, is not the standard setting you would expect to see in a 007
film. Sam Mendes’《Skyfall》, I believe, is by far the most human, if
not realistic, of the James Bond franchise, a step further from the two
previous installments which have brought to James Bond mortal character - and mortal
weaknesses.《Skyfall》brings us back MI6 and reminds us
what it and James Bond exist for: homeland security, instead of fighting for mankind
against mysterious organisation and enemies who are either too greedy or plain
sinister - which should be the duties of superheroes.
To do their job, Bond (Daniel Craig)
and his fellow agents disarm the enemies with firepower not beyond our
understanding, as Q (Ben Whishaw), Bond’s new quartermaster, quips: “Were you
expecting an exploding pen?” And to
get their job done, good civil servants on taxpayer’s payroll paid their lives,
a sorrowful truth that M (Judi Dench) has better understanding than anyone else
when standing helplessly before the eight coffins of her lost agents beneath the
national flag.
The threats in《Skyfall》do not begin in exotic tropical forest or
ruined city of former Soviet bloc and end up against the whole world, but they lurk
in common places such as underground stations and crowded streets of the
capital city where you and us have access to everyday as part of our living.
The threats are so eminent and convincing, a feeling surely shared by MI6,
after its headquarters was demolished into a heap of ruins.
The antagonist in the film,
Silva (Javier Bardem), or Tiago Rodriguez being his real name, is a former
agent who was once M’s most trusted and is now a man deemed dead unknown to his
country, and he swore revenge to the constitution and M, the woman who he calls
Bad Mommy. Silva’s revenge, which challenges
the security agency and puts national safety on the brink of destruction, not
only a display of his wits but a desperate accusation against M’s decision of
giving him up to his own faults, is madness driven and ultimately leads to
self-destruction.
There are of course elements that
distinguish the 007 film from generic spy films: Women and Sex, so
superfluous as one can rightly expect. The encounter in Macau , the (intentionally) indistinguishable
places and people of which hardly resemble Macau (or anywhere in the world), while
laughable, adds to the consistent classiness, or prodigalness, of a 007 film. I
thought casino or ball is a necessity in the world of 007. Isn’t it?
Bond is as bold and reckless as
in the two prior installments of the series, ballooning the national bills payable
to foreign governments along his missions. Whishaw’s Q is an interesting
addition, whose outlook reminds you of Mark Zuckerberg, or any geeky college
student-entrepreneur (this is a handsome one though). You cannot really blame
Bond for doubting Q: “Because you still have spots.”
A little surprise comes at the end of the film, where Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), chairman of the intelligence and security committee who once stood in the way of MI6 and was a bureaucrat in Bond’s eyes, takes up the vital role and together with Bond, continues to finish M’s unfinished, and unfinishable, job.
