The best Bond in 40+ years

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2013)

Let me say that I am am James Bond fan. I have seen all of the movies and multiple times. They have been a part of my youth from seeing For Your Eyes Only in a theater as a little boy and almost every other movie since then the same way. They hold an important place in my familial history as it's a common love of a good number of my clan who may not agree on much but sure love 007.
Skyfall is the single most entertaining Bond movie I have seen in theaters ever. I can say this because as I am 34 I wasn't alive to see the Connery movies and of course they are considered (rightfully in my opinion) to be the gold standard.
The ongoing problem I had with the franchise as a whole was that from my perspective the movies had become dull and boring. They were becoming parodies and Pierce Brosnan has just so smooth and snarky he just didn't fit the bill for what I wanted to see anymore, the issue was that I didn't know what it was I wanted until I saw Casino Royale.
What I got in CR was Daniel Craig as a (dare I say it?!) rebooted Bond. He was newly minted in his double "0" status and learning his way through things. But Craig brought a brutality and a menace to Bond, something I'd always wanted because after all he is a KILLER first. I remember hearing the groans when he was hired and how the internet blew-up with scorn and fear and I kept hearing about Layer Cake and how that one movie had gotten him the gig. So, I jumped up and rented the movie and was simply riveted by the performance he gave; cold, calculated and straight-up cool. After that I knew that I was interested to see what they did and boy I was happy with the outcome.
Skyfall sees Bond as a well footed and established agent, he isn't learning the ropes now, he's maybe now a bit long in the tooth for a field agent and coming to grips with what he and others wonder if he can do it much longer. It is this sense of humanity that I love so much about the movie. Bond is shot in the first 10-15 minutes and thought dead. He comes back to MI6 when Silva (Bardem) attacks and threatens the lives of M (Dench) and deep cover agents true identities around the world (typical Bond plot so far right?). The kicker here is that Bond is weakened and unfit for active duty but it is his resolve and intensity that is called for to save the day.
To say that Craig is my favorite modern Bond is pretty obvious, he is amazing in a modern age in a franchise that has embraced a more realistic approach (no invisible cars here). It is Javier Bardem's Silva who is the truly remarkable performance here and needs to be seen to be appreciated. My thoughts on the matter are this: Silva is Bond's Joker in that he is the perfect mirror image of him. A former agent himself and just as cold blooded he is a true menace and a match both physically and mentally for Bond. Not sense Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight have I been this entertained by a villain. It should be noted that this is the first post-Dark Knight Bond movie and I think it shows in the writing and in the execution. We like seeing our hero's struggle with their own mortality and the days of capturing spacecraft with another spacecraft to try to start WWIII are over. This is a Bond movie that knows the history of the franchise and respects it but is throughly modern in it's approach.
Some will say the movie lacks action, and while I don't feel it misses it I can see why they say it does. This isn't a ton of car chases or gadgets and crazy evil plan movie that people have become accustomed to and for that I think it's the reason so many are turned-off to it. It's more human and for the first time in any of the Bond movies makes James and M actual people. There is history here and there is a soul and that is the most compelling part of the movie.
In summation this is the first Bond movie that isn't a traditional Bond movie. This could have been a stand alone film and stood up just as well without the connotation or expectation of what a Bond movie is. Sam Mendes should be commended for strong direction and for making this better than a Bond movie 10/10.