Shaken, not stirred

Rating: 9/10 (21 November 2012)

After the awful plunder and fall of one of the biggest grossing franchises, Bond fans were undeniably distressed. Quantum of Solace had undone everything that Casino Royale had done right; it was a Bond film that was bigger and better, it even rivalled Sean Connery's best effort 'Goldfinger'. Despite the lack of gadgets in CR everything was astounding and Bond fans were looking forward to the next instalment and the first direct sequel (although the character from Dr.No, Sylvia Trench reappears in From Russia With Love; this was not a proper sequel that followed on from the original).
However when released in 2008, Bond fans thought the franchise was over and mates would ask and wonder why it was as bad as they had heard it was.
Was it the acting? No.
Was it too long? No.
What was it? (This can be answered in less than a sentence) It has a plot that only Bruce Willis or Jason Bourne could care about. It feels like The Bourne Insanity. (Basically the villain wants to stop water coming in to Bolivia. Bond fans thought it was a lie. No! They shouted in despair, but that was it. This left the fans in outrage: Neil Purvis and Robert Wade should be shot dead. The Bond franchise was dead in the mud and with nothing left for the fans to do they re-watched Casino Royale. Even that though lost its enduring appeal; they needed a new bond film, a better bond villain and plot.
So in October comes the long awaited entry to the Bond franchise: Skyfall. Would it entertain?
Would Q return?
And is it at least watchable?
All of the above can be ticked off with pleasure. Skyfall delivers and it passes and sails with flying colours. OK so Eve is a bit annoying and has very little on screen chemistry with Bond and it feels forced. However, the many other aspects of the film will even please the most angered and bad tempered critic out there. Want evidence: it currently has an 8.1 score and is on the Top 250, on Rotten Tomatoes it has a 92% approval rating from over 250 critics, still not satisfied? OK then I will elaborate.
Throughout the film Bond's pain is felt, he's unsure if he has still got what it takes to be a super spy and stop the villain Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) from hunting down M. Silva's motive for this is that he believes M betrayed him, his cyanide capsule did not work. Therefore, he believes that she must pay and so will MI6 for his suffering and torture. Bardem is the ultimate Bond villain bringing passion and vengeance to the role, his role is probably the best to date and therefore Silva is on par with Bond villains like Auric Goldfinger.
Q makes a welcome return even if he only supplies Bond with two different gadgets, one of which is only a distress signal and hardly worth much if any of Bond's time. However, the negatives are all forgotten about with so many positives and strengths within the film it's hard to pinpoint the key elements and moments. Although not as good as Golfinger or On Her Majesty's Secret Service, this is still one of Bond's best.
As Bond girls go Eve is quite lame, but the surprise in this film is that it departs from the average and by the books Bond formula. M is the Bond girl in this instalment. As such we see her fear, even more swearing and how she reflects on her 'sins' as put by Silva. This is an odd turn, surprising yet it still works well within the film and leads to a sad yet spectacular finale.
In this film everything is there: the action, the beautiful women, the gadgets (sort of), the villain, the cars and the exotic locations. The finale will never disappoint even on a second viewing. Even though the majority of the film is set in London it ties in well with the Olympics this year and makes us all proud to be British. After fifty years, Sam Mendes proves that nobody does it better than Bond and never will do. Bond fans rejoice; the Bond Ultimatum so to speak is here!
P.S. Wade and Purvis all is forgiven!