Resurrection at its finest.

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2012)

Going into this film (and it truly is a film, that's how beautiful it is), I had heard all the hype from overseas, and so I was expecting it to be good, but not this good. I was worrying that it was going to be too action-heavy, but its not: it takes the time to establish relationships between the characters, so when there is action, it actually matters. I'm really not qualified to say if this is the best Bond film, or even if Daniel Craig is the best Bond, but I can say that this is by far the best of the one's Craig has worked on, and I also believe Craig is incredibly believable as Bond--he's a person, with actual emotions and feelings, rather than just a spy.
Now even though I gave this film a perfect rating, it is not perfect--it's absolutely fantastic, but of course a few things could've been better. However, because of the way this film ends, I could not rate it anything but a ten. The ending is absolutely mind-blowing. To say much about it would be to give away the entire film, but I will say this: they have changed the future of the series forever (and by series, I mean the ones staring Craig).
Speaking of Daniel Craig, I have to praise him even further. He really is an amazing actor, and brings so much to this role. I think this is one of his best performances--he might've even been better here than in last year's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, although that's a close call. Like I said earlier, though, his Bond is the most grounded--he's still a tough, cunning spy, but here he manages to appear more vulnerable. Other actors did a great job as well: Javier Bardem is terrifyingly sly as Silva, Naomie Harris does a good job as the rookie field agent, and Bérénice Marlohe has a short but memorable role as the complicated Sévérine. Additionally, the dynamic between Ralph Fiennes and Daniel Craig is fantastic, as well as the dynamic between him and Ben Winshaw's ingenious Q.
The true performance, however, comes from none other than Judi Dench. This is by far her biggest role as M, as well as her most impressive performance in along time. In my opinion, her character's storyline makes the film. The emotion she was able to bring to her character while still staying stern in the presence of others is absolutely breathtaking, especially in the courtroom scene and the incredibly emotional ending.
The locations, too, helped make this an amazing film. From the chase scene in Istanbul-- which was one of the best I've seen in a while--to the towering heights of Shanghai; from the reinvented MI6 in London to the beautiful moors of Scotland, the sights are impressive throughout. Equally as impressive is Roger Deakins' cinematography, which was truly stunning and made the film all the more beautiful.
Skyfall truly is one of the year's best films. It may lag a little bit in the middle, but that's only a minor fault as it hurdles towards the climactic ending. One of the best parts for me, actually, was finding out the meaning behind the title, and, however subtle it was, it was a great moment and perfectly integrated into the plot line.
This is now a different Bond. I'm sure the writers realized what they were doing when the made one of the major themes resurrection, as after the alright-but-disappointing Quantum of Solace, Bond needed to be reinvented--again. They have made some sacrifices, but ultimately succeeded. This Bond is modern, but true to how the books make him appear. There are also some great references to older gadgets, like the exploding pen and ejector seat, although they don't necessarily feature in the film. Bond nowadays is more about ingenuity rather than gadgets, and he is all the more realistic and impressive for it.