Bond is back with a vengeance; . Craig in fine form in his third (and arguably best) outing as 007

Rating: 9/10 (9 November 2012)

SKYFALL (2012) ***1/2 Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear. Craig in fine form in his third (and arguably best) outing as James Bond, finds 007 resurrected from a near fatal mission resulting in former op-turned-baddie Bardem (hamming it up in a cross between Raul Julia and Christopher Walken's Max Zorin look in A VIEW TO A KILL!) on a revenge fueled vendetta to off M (Dench) and possibly every MI agent to boot. Replete with the usual Bond touchstones (including a nice nod to the Aston Martin) this runs on all cylinders in its stealth storytelling by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & John Logan and swift movements thanks to Sam Mendes' smooth direction peppered with just enough breakneck action (the pre-credit train chase is a hoot) and Bond babes Harris as Craig's colleague and Marlohe as the breathtaking seductress. With a touch of CITIZEN KANE alluding to the title and a dash of origin story, Bond is back with a vengeance.