Craig's Best Bond!!!

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2012)

The twenty-third installment in the James Bond film franchise "Skyfall" qualifies as an above-average 007 opus with several surprises. Clearly, this predictable but entertaining thriller ranks as the best Bond for actor Daniel Craig. Previously, Craig acquired his license to kill in "Casino Royale" (2006) and brandished it again in the lackluster "Quantum of Solace" in 2008. Oscar-winning "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes orchestrates the action with distinction. He gives it a polished look with the help of ace lenser Roger Deakins. Nevertheless, he cannot maintain a full head of steam to keep this actioneer from losing momentum in its last half-hour. Furthermore, "Skyfall" wears out its welcome during its final thirty minutes after serving up some vintage hard-knuckled heroics throughout its preceding two hours. Mendes does a good job of staging a rugged fistfight in a skyscraper in Shanghai, another knock-about brawl in a casino, and an early shoot-out scene at the arch-villain's hideout where 007 turns the tables on him.
Daniel Craig's James Bond struggles to stay at the top of his game after recovering from a near-death experience. "Skyfall" concerns James Bond more than his boss M. Scenarists Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan provide us with several insights about Bond's life before he joined MI6. Whether he is clinging to the bottom of an elevator ascending a towering skyscraper, scrambling after a subway train as it hauls out of the station, or swapping blows with an adversary atop of a speeding train racing into and out of tunnels, 007 survives by the hair of his chin. Comparably, "Skyfall" resembles "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "License to Kill." Not only does "Skyfall" shun the usual puns, but it also avoids romantic entanglements. Bond shares the shower with one gal and flirts with another who enjoys shaving him with a cutthroat razor. Primarily, Her Majesty's best espionage agent spends most of his time under pressure to save his immediate superior M from an insane villain who resembles the villain in "Law Abiding Citizen." Judi Dench makes us feel M's pain but admire her pugnacity. "Skyfall" is surely her finest hour in Bondage. Ralph Fiennes makes a solid impression as M's rival.
"Skyfall" unfolds in scenic Istanbul as 007 (Daniel Craig of "Cowboys & Aliens") discovers that the top-secret hard-drive from a laptop computer belonging to a British agent has been stolen. Bond pursues the killer, Patrice (Ola Rapace of "Beyond"), with the help of another MI6 operative, Eve (Naomie Harris of "Miami Vice"), who knows how to maneuver a truck through traffic gridlock. When Eve tries to cut off the elusive Patrice, Bond seizes a motorcycle and careens in close pursuit after him. Patrice ditches his motorcycle and leaps from a bridge onto a train. Bond follows him over the edge. Like Titans, they rain blows down on each other from the roof of the train. Eve lines them up in her gun sights. Since she cannot get a clean shot at Patrice, she refuses to pull the trigger for fear of hitting Bond. Back at MI6 HQ, an impatient M (Judi Dench of "J. Edgar") prompts Eve to take the 'bloody shot.' Eve's bullet slams into Bond rather than Patrice. Bond plunges from the train into the depths of a river below to be swept off in the rapids. The elaborate credit sequence that ensues is one of the more surreal since it depicts Bond's near-death experience. Later, M learns that the hard-drive contains the names of all NATO agents who are deep undercover in various terrorist organizations.
Miraculously, Bond survives the high fall, and chills on the beach before duty propels him back to London to help M sort herself out of her darkest hour. The interval in Bond's life is glossed over by the filmmakers. Mind you, this is James Bond at his most vulnerable, but he suffers a worst fate than this in "Die Another Day" at the hands of the Koreans. Nevertheless, 007 doesn't shuffle off this experience quite so easily. He is definitely damaged goods when he returns for active duty. Meantime, one of M's former operatives from her tenure as the head of Hong Kong bureau has gotten his hands on the hard-drive. This peroxide blonde madman, Silva (Javier Bardem of "No Country for Old Men"), emerges M's worst nightmare. Silva is as deadly as he is deranged. He plans to release the names of these embedded agents if MI6 cannot thwart him. Silva has an ax to grind with M because she sacrificed him to the other side in exchange for six agents. Silva shares with her how the lethal cyanide capsule didn't kill him. Meanwhile, M has to contend with an unhappy Prime Minister, Clair Dowar (Helen McCrory of "Hugo") who questions the necessity of British Intelligence in the wake of this debacle. This is about the time that Silva and his gun-wielding henchmen burst in with guns blazing!
"Skyfall" completes the reboot begun with "Casino Royale." Not only does this movie bring back M's secretary Miss Moneypenny, but it also recalls Q (Ben Whishaw of "Cloud Atlas"), the quartermaster who dispenses Bond's gadgets. Unlike the classic 007 capers where our hero could count on a clever gadget to bail him out of any tight spot, "Skyfall" provides Bond with a radio transmitter to keep track of him and a pistol designed so only he can fire it. The Scotland scene is looks like something out "Home Alone," but "Skyfall" gives a good send-off to James Bond's Aston Martin from the Sean Connery years. Oscar winner actor Javier Bardem is fiendish as the arch-villain. Sadly, he goes out with a whimper instead of a bang. Although it is dramatically intensive, "Skyfall" cannot compete with the best Roger Moore 007 outing, but looks more like a Bond caper after "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace."