Bond as We Know Him, Yet Not Quite.

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2012)

"Skyfall", directed by the Oscar–winning Sam Mendes, is the twenty third James Bond film. It's a series that celebrates fifty years of motion picture history, its origins stretch back to the early nineteen-fifties when former spy Ian Fleming penned the first of fourteen Bond novels, "Casino Royale". When it was revealed in 1961 that President John F. Kennedy was a huge fan of the novel "From Russia with Love", 007 became an international success that spawned in the following year the first in the phenomenally popular adaptations for the silver screen: "Dr. No".
"Skyfall", in many ways, has more in common with these earlier films than the later ones: the Aston Martin DB5 is back (as used in "Goldfinger" [1964]) as well as the ice cool style of Bond himself.
As Bond, Daniel Craig is terrific: debonair, yet tough enough to be believable when he abandons a dying field agent. His performances in "Casino Royale" (2007) and "Quantum of Solace" (2009) are built upon to deliver a complex character and not a geriatric punster that Roger Moore was close to creating in his later outings. He brings depth and a steely emotionalism to the role.
Javier Bardem as the villain is perhaps the best in years, giving us a complex creation that has a goal so much more interesting than the resolutely generic world domination plans of so many Bond adversaries. The Oscar-winning actor is superb here, his intense performance destined to be regarded as a classic.
Judi Dench, another Oscar winner, gives her finest portrayal of "M"; her prominence and well-written dialogue ensure that she is the real "Bond-girl".
Others, such as Ben Whishaw, Bérénice Marlohe and Ralph Fiennes are all excellent, making this the finest all-round acted James Bond film ever.
However, pride of place for kudos is the Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes who has brought to life a top-flight thriller first and foremost, never overplaying his action scenes. In that respect, one might wonder if Mendes is harking back to the "New Hollywood" movement of the seventies as well as older, classic Bonds. He is suitably aided by nine time Oscar nominee Roger Deakins doing the cinematography that really gives an assured feel to all of the film's locations, making you feel the cold, wet damp of Scotland, the grey November of London and the gaudy modern cities of Asia.
Why this James Bond film is so good is because Mendes has realised that this needs to be a good thriller in the first place, one that works on its own as well as a continuation of the diverse adventures of 007, licensed to kill.