Definitely,way better than its (Daniel Craig) predecessors...

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2012)

I had watched this movie at its midnight screening and oddly enough I found it to be better than the other two Daniel Craig rendition of the man with a license to kill. That might be because of its director Sam Mendes (Academy award winner for American Beauty-2000) who actually tries to tell a story instead of making a mishmash of action and chase sequences, putting in a couple of really beautiful women, and of course the inevitable and implausible bond villains. It still has all that but this time it seems to have a coherent story line. If you have followed the work of Mendes over his career, you will be aware that he is a consummate storyteller and thats where Skyfall is different from its predecessors. It actually tell a story. It has a very stylized cinematography and has been shot in exotic locales. It has some surprise elements which will affect future Bond films (I am trying very hard not to give away spoilers). It also sheds a lot of insight into the origin of the man we have come to love and admire.
My only concern was the misuse of Javier Bardem as the villain Raoul Silva. Make no mistake,he is a brilliant actor but he seems to be miscast. His attempts to portray a megalomania-cal villain fit for the Bond genre fall flat as I believe his part was not well written. He tries to do justice to it but ultimately fails. Its a pity, as he was one of the primary reasons I went to watch the movie. And Adele's version of the opening track reminds us of the Shirley Bassey songs of yore (Goldfinger anybody???). Overall its a very interesting watch and its value for money.