Mission Success

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2012)

The Short: Skyfall is exciting, tense, action packed and surprisingly beautiful. The perfect way to conclude 50 years of the incredible Bond legacy.
Bond is back, baby.
Skyfall is here; the highly anticipated next chapter in the much loved and respected Bond film legacy. And to much delight, Skyfall is no cash-in...this is a full fledged, action packed, and thoroughly conclusive Bond experience like no Bond film before it.
Daniel Craig returns as the stoic James Bond, but this time he is a more vulnerable James Bond than before. The story takes Bond to and company to very interesting places, and the set pieces that follow are incredibly memorable (partly because of the superb cinematography). The finale is especially incredible; it oozes style. Judi Dench is as classic as ever, Ralph Fiennes is excellent, and Javier Bardem is an incredibly complex and sinister: he is equal parts flamboyant and insane. The only weak link here is Naomie Harris. Her introduction is far too brief to get the time to like the character, and her humor is pretty bad. She becomes better as the film moves along, but nothing to the level of past Bond girls.
The action scenes are incredibly well shot and feature some of the best choreography since the Bourne trilogy. Like before, the finale is one of the best of the series, no doubt. It is explosive, intense, thoroughly satisfying and concludes a chapter in the Bond universe. The second half of the film also brings back some classic Bond ideas, and I'll keep it at that. If you have been in love with Bond series as long as I have, ever since childhood, you'll be giddy in your seat!
The soundtrack is also really great, and the new music added fits the mood well. Adele's intro song is surprisingly good. Also, the classic intro scene style is back, and it is very, very cool.
Now, Bond's latest isn't without some faults. Like mentioned before, Naomie Harris isn't great. Some of the humor is really hit or miss. There are a couple of small plot holes. All of these are little things, but keep this movie from being perfect. That being said, these things won't hurt the experience for all, and they do little to mar the overall experience.
Summing up my feelings for Bond's latest is simple: Skyfall is such a good film. Aside from a few nagging little issues, Skyfall couldn't be better. It's filled with memorable action scenes, great characters, impressive cinematography and an unforgettable finale. It carries that same level of cheesiness that Bond films are well known for, and that same brand of humor is back. It's classic Bond in a new era, directed with expertise and style.
Bond's latest mission is a success.
4.5/5 - Fantastic, a must see.