Hi, everyone! It’s Story Sunday again and this week I’m talking about Skyfall. I saw this movie very recently and it actually inspired me to write a post about prisoners and the balance of power in a scene.
Here’s the risk the film makers took, they broke the usual formula. I like Bond movies, for the most part. However, I’ve never been blown away by a Bond movie. There are good Bond movies, bad Bond movies, but they’re all Bond movies. This one, honestly, didn’t need to be a Bond movie. You could have taken quite a few of the same elements, distanced them from the Bond name, and I don’t think people would have said “oh, this is just like a bond film.” That tactic worked, no question. You had the great elements of Bond mixed with a story that wasn’t made from a pre-packaged Bond recipe.
This movie had a lot of creative action. Sure, it had explosions, but it also had a lot of normal guns. The focus wasn’t on the gadgets, the big bombs, or the special device that will be used at just the right moment. Instead, Bond was on the run with M and they had to get a little creative with some of their weaponry. They had to use their ammo wisely. Essentially, they had to survive and I believed that doing so wasn’t guaranteed.
Just as The Dark Knight feels different from the established superhero standard, Skyfall feels different from the previous Bond films. We didn’t have a Bond girl, though we did have a cut away sex scene. The romance wasn’t quite there, but vulnerability walked through the door, despair followed, and it was truly a struggle for the protagonist to succeed. He was no longer the top agent or the pinnacle of physical fitness and ability. Instead, Bond was the one who persevered, endured, and wouldn’t walk away.
This seems to have turned into a glowing movie review but, in truth, I really liked the movie and can’t say much against it. The plot worked, the pacing was good, the character development felt natural and necessary, and the acting was fantastic. The villain didn’t even have the classic Bond villain feel. Sure, he had theatrical moments, but he was well-written, developed, and carried an interesting reflection of what Bond could potentially become, if he decided to go down a certain path. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Now it’s your turn, what movies “break the formula” of their genre or franchise? Or, if you’ve seen this movie, what did you think of it? Was it what you expected or did it surprise you?