Really solid and well made, though it really does lack originality. Never boring, never amazing.

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2012)

Skyfall (2012)
In many ways this is a return to a full-fledged Bond archetype. The special effects are still spectacular, and the tricks and impressive smarts and physical stunts are still terrific. But here is the man, James Bond, with a sense of history, character, persona. And just as the Nolan Batman movies rise above through character development, so does "Skyfall" make the most of the essence of "Bond" the legend and uber-spy.
The key to this was in the middle of the opening chase and fight scene, highly and wonderfully improbable, where he lands after a series of crashing and crushing cars (VW Beetles as his sidekick almost too obviously notes), suddenly he's inside a train car full of passengers and before dashing for his life after the bad guy, he straightens his cuff. That, after all, is James Bond, with gorgeous suits as important as gorgeous women.
Walking out with my girlfriend slightly unimpressed by the whole two hours plus of this, despite the strong beginning, I heard the key to it all. She said it wasn't fantastic enough, it didn't push the edge enough. Think of Dr. No or other early villains with their incredible complexes of evil set in exotic locales. And I think she's right, because this lacked some kind of unique 007 flair. It's a really well made movie, exciting and bold, that much we can all agree on.
But guess what? That's the norm these days. There are so many movie with tremendous chases, fights, fireballs, and even crashing trains these aren't distinguishing traits anymore (including the "Incredibles," which borrows tropes like they were your neighbor's tools).
What's new? In a way the biggest "trick" is the dipping into the past, literally. A classic Austin is pulled out complete with machine guns mounted in the grill. A joke is made about low tech gadgets like the radio (a radio!) he is given, and then it saves him. And there is Moneypenny, the twist being only that she is now black. I'm not sure that's a triumph--I'm ready for a black Bond, actually. Now that, think about it, is new. It's a new world. Check out the U.S. elections.
What about Daniel Craig? This is his best Bond, to my naive eyes (I'm a Sean Connery fan at heart). But he manages a coolness that doesn't just become lack of life. The "women" around him (a Bond cliché) are actually held in check, so we aren't subjected to the same sexualized objectification as the earlier films. Good.
And Javier Bardem? He's great. But he's no Joker (either Nicholson or Ledger). In fact, the whole attempt at being outrageous (the computer stuff, the glass cage) is painfully small minded stuff. Maybe this is Sam Mendes's fault, ultimately. He's a first rate director, but normally plays deft with psychology and creepy human types, not action-adventure.
See it. It's a good film, a good Bond film. The fact it isn't what it could have been by several important levels is not so terrible. It's fun, powerfully made, and a necessary step in the evolution of the genre--the genre of its own making, Bond, James Bond.