Best action, best villain, best film

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2012)

'Skyfall' is the third Bond film starring Daniel Craig – it also marks the 50th anniversary of James Bond in cinema. There are lots of delightful little old references to classic Bond films with lots of old gadgets, gags, cars and theme song.
The script is well-written; it's an interesting story focusing more on M than Bond. It can be a bit confusing because it's moving at such as fast pace but it does all make sense and you don't struggle to keep up with it. Like 'Casino Royale', it began with a great action sequence and an even greater title sequence. The middle of the film is interesting and there is a decent amount of gripping classic Bond scenes but at some points it can lose momentum and lag a bit. However, the ending is brilliant with a fantastic finishing action sequence and a great last scene to make us all look forward to Bond 24.
The acting is very good; Daniel Craig returns as Bond and provides the same quality of performance as he brought in the past two films. Judi Dench features a lot more in this film and gives a great performance. Bond girls Naomi Harris and Berenice Marlohe are great and are probably the best of the Craig series so far. However, Bond villain Javier Bardem definitely stole the show; he gave a fantastic performance and was genuinely creepy. He may be type-cast after fantastic performances in this and in 'No Country for Old Men' but he fully deserves to be up there with the best Bond villains. The only problem was that he simply wasn't in it enough!
Overall, this is a fantastic film and has already been called one of the best Bond films ever. It's the first recent Bond film that hasn't tried to be like a Bourne film so hopefully the three planned future Bond films will take heed of this. A truly excellent film that everyone should see, a great piece of cinema that could even get awards attention due to both the performances and the script.