Skyfall

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2013)

Who ever though Sam Mendes would direct a Bond movie? Don't get me wrong. He makes great movies, but, with American Beauty a masterpiece, but a social satire, Skyfall seemed out of genre. Nevertheless, Mendes takes it on and nails it. One of the most intriguing aspects of the new Bond is the way it was filmed, the elaborate camera angles, and the expert sense of cinema paradise is breathtaking.
Next is Daniel Craig. In Casino Royale, he looked promising, then in Quantum of Solace we doubted his confidence in the role. Now he's got it mastered here in Skyfall. He has all the intensity of Connery, but a small vulnerability can be sensed as well, a vulnerability never sensed when Connery was on screen. Here, in this role, vulnerability is good thing, as long as it comes short and subtle. It helps to create more of a sense of humanity within the Bond character.
As Skyfall drives down the road that is its ever winding plot, there are many decisions to be made. Shall we go right, or left? To use to word in its non-directional fashion, Skyfall goes right. Mendes and the producers are smart enough to see temptations leading to formula and an overdrawn linear plot, and they steer clear of any such cliché. Skyfall is an intelligent, well- paced action thriller that restores our faith in films of its genre.