'Bond movie experience' taken to a whole new level

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2012)

The trio of Sam Mendes, Javier Bardem and Thomas Newman has taken the 'Bond movie experience' to a whole new level. No fancy toys or meaningless sex. This is edgier, darker and one of the the best Bond movies ever. Sam Mendes hits a renaissance point by perfecting the impossible task of injecting a fresh lease of life into the character without compromising on the vintage element of nostalgia. The newly transformed Bond has skyrocketed Skyfall to an unscalable height of brilliance in the 50th year of the franchise. Thomas Newton's music is the soul of the film, right from the opening credits to the gripping finale. Javier Bardem is compelling as a psychotic avenger with a deliciously cold sinisterness, marveling at the prospects of accommodating controlled chaos and mayhem within his private designs of revenge. Daniel Craig strips Bond of his gaudiness, and looks meaner and sexier with restrained panache and wacky humour. The physicality of 007 is overwhelmed by the psychological moorings and vulnerabilities of the human Bond. Judi Dench, the incumbent faithful, is beautifully centre-pieced as the object of elegiac tribute.