007 at his finest

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 2017)

Skyfall celebrates a long running franchise that spans 50 years and staples itself as one of the best so far. After the misfire that was Quantum of Solace, Bond is back in a form we haven't quite seen before.
Director Sam Mendes anchors a brilliant script and adds meaning to what was previously a character without much layers. Mendes doesn't shy away from giving us a splendid variation of visual flairs, making this Bond the most aesthetic yet.
This time around we see 007 face his own vulnerabilities after having been accidentally shot down by his own team. Bond retires the life of espionage, inducing himself in alcohol, with no purpose, only to be brought back by a mysterious hacker who has targeted MI6, more precisely, M herself. After a rigorous regime to get James back in shape, the agent is back as he tracks down this new threat. Enter the villain. With a superb one shot introduction, we meet Javier Bardem's Silva, a blond haired, weirdly camp and psychotic-in-a-fun way villain that delivers right from the start with a monologue that couldn't be better written for him to chew off. Him and Bond bounce back and forth like a pro tennis match, each trying to gage the other, Silva sometimes sexually. This is where protagonist meets antagonist in a perfect symbiosis.
The action remains thrilling, relying in more realistic sequences rather than bombastic set pieces often seen in the Pierce Brosnan era. One sequence especially serves as Bond's best hand to hand combat.
The Bond girl here is Judi Dench, as she owns the role one last time. She is as much a Bond girl as he is M's guy. The relationship between Bond and M almost mirrors one of a lost son and a mother without one.
All in all, Skyfall delivers in almost all fronts. Sam Mendes has crafted a beautiful, intelligent and relevant film that brings James Bond back as one of the most iconic spies of all time.