Reconciling the edgy, gritty "Casino Royale" Bond with the classic suave Connery/Moore/Brosnan Bond, "Skyfall" is a great transition film and maybe Craig's best outing yet!

Rating: 10/10 (13 November 2012)

The thing that really struck me about "Skyfall", Daniel Craig's third outing as the iconic character James Bond after the amazing "Casino Royale" and the very so-so follow-up "Quantum of Solace", was that this film is very much a transitional piece for the character. "Casino Royale" and "Quantum" are both very much products of their time, taking cues more from the Bourne films and other gritty reboots than the classic Bond movies from yester-year. This film begins to really transition and change that, reconciling Craig's previous dark, brooding take on the character with the classic, suave Bond we knew for decades before. And it works. It works darned well.
Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, "Skyfall" is the 23rd entry in the Bond film series, although it's technically the third entry in the Daniel Craig Reboot series. (As this film, along with "Casino Royale" and "Quantum", are essentially the start of a new continuity)
After a riveting, exciting opening chase sequence that puts the shaky-cam opening chase from "Quantum" to shame, Bond (Craig) is accidentally shot by fellow agent Eve (Naomie Harris), and presumed dead after his limp body tumbles into a river. Bond is of course alive, and using his presumed death to retire from MI6. However, after a terrorist bombing on MI6 and threats against the life of MI6 head M (Judi Dench), Bond is forced back into action. With the help of the new Q (Ben Whishaw), Bond tracks the villainous Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), attempting to stop his plot of vengeance against MI6.
The acting is essentially flawless all around. Craig seems more comfortable with Bond, still maintaining his dark edge, while adding a bit of the classic suave and complexity to the character. Dench is a joy, as always, as M. Naomie Harris is a lot of fun as Eve, Bond's fellow agent. Ben Whishaw is fantastic as the new Q. And Javier Bardem is both tragic and terrifying as Silva, the lead villain. Other characters played by the likes of Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney are also fantastic.
The production is also top-notch. Mendes' direction is some of the best in the series. Thankfully, he eschewed the shaky-cam work that Marc Forster introduced in the prior film, and presents us with some first-class action, without relying too much on CGI. The script is tight, concise, and simpler than previous films, giving us a more elegant, easy-to-follow-yet-still-deep-and-complex storyline, which was nice as a few prior films got too convoluted. Costume and production design are absolutely gorgeous. There is almost nothing to complain about with the production.
I usually try to think of a few things to complain about, but here, it's near impossible. This is a flawless Bond film and a flawless picture in general.
I loved "Skyfall." It's possibly Craig's best outing yet, and re-invigorates the franchise yet again. A perfect 10 out of 10.