The best Bond film since the original 50 years ago... possibly the best ever.

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2012)

Contrary to what a lot of critics and viewers say, my choice for no.1 Bond movie has always been Doctor No. "The original and still the best" has been my assessment of 007's big screen debut since I first saw it as a youngster. A few subsequent 007 films have come close (From Russia With Love, Goldfinger for instance) but Doctor No remains the only film in the series that I have considered worthy of full marks, a perfect score, a 10-out-of-10. Until now. Skyfall sees ace director Sam Mendes taking up the helm after the disappointing Quantum Of Solace, bringing a new sense of direction to the franchise and managing the near-impossible trick of doing something fresh and unpredictable with a formula that is now into its fiftieth year.
Following a botched mission in Turkey, James Bond (Daniel Craig) goes into a self-imposed exile, drinking and whoring his way into oblivion. Meanwhile, back in England M (Judi Dench) and the rest of the Secret Service find themselves under attack from a deadly enemy, a mysterious faceless adversary who delights in blowing the cover of various agents around the world and creating havoc and destruction in the supposedly impregnable halls of power. 007 eventually comes out of his exile, returning to the fold to find himself facing a new kind of opponent – no mad mastermind out for world domination here, just a seriously unhinged ex-agent named Silva (Javier Bardem), who has a personal vendetta against M and the service and will go to extreme lengths to have his revenge. When it becomes apparent that the enemy is one step ahead of them at every turn, Bond takes M to his boyhood home – the remote mansion 'Skyfall' in the Highlands of Scotland – where he prepares to take on an army of bad guys on his own familiar turf.
No Bond film prior to this has demonstrated a depth of characterisation like this – the maternal relationship between M and Bond; the origins of Miss Moneypenny and her banterish rapport with Bond; the psychological mechanics of a Bond villain Skyfall really changes the ball game for the better, while still providing enough heart-in-mouth action to keep series' fans happy. Craig is still the most serious and sullen Bond to date (even more so than Timothy Dalton, which is no mean feat), but his troubled moodiness actually suits this film to perfection. Bardem's villain is the best in years – perhaps ever – an adversary all the more dangerous because his objective is merely to wreak vengeance. Adele's theme song is also one of the best in the series in many a long year. I didn't expect great things of Skyfall – it was, I expected, going to be another fun but disposable action flick in a familiar old series. However, this film is simply excellent one which will surely be looked back upon as a classic in another 50 years time.