At last the real Bond is back!

Rating: 10/10 (27 October 2012)

It is to my immense delight, that Skyfall has turned out to be a masterpiece and a true return to the Bond film fans have been yearning for.
Skyfall is without question the best Bond movie since Goldeneye and is possibly the best of the entire series (yes it is that good!).
I was never convinced by Daniel Craig as Bond until now, but he turns in a truly fantastic performance. All the elements of Bond are there, the 'glib remarks and pithy comebacks' as Alex Trevelyan would say, delivered without any cheesiness
The rest of the cast are all great, stand outs of course being Judi Dench and Javier Bardem. Ben Wishaw is also excellent as the new 'Q'. Anyone who had seen the BBC series 'The Hour' would already know the guy can really act.
I think credit for Skyfall being so remarkably good, is down to helmer Sam Mendes and of course his DP. The film hits all the right notes and is genuinely riveting from start to finish. The pacing is great and it never feels like one action sequence pointlessly rolling into another, as it did with Casino Royale. Instead it is a complete and extremely satisfying experience
Having suffered nothing but disappointment since 'The World is Not Enough' (the last semi-decent Bond until now). I'm almost ecstatic at this amazing return to form, and sincerely hope Mendes will direct the next one
To sum up the past few bond films:
Die another day: A total mess - could see what they were trying to do, with nods to virtually every other film in the series, but just doesn't work. And as for the invisible car, well suspension of disbelief is taken way past breaking point 4/10
Casino Royale: Not a bad action film taken on face value, but not Bond! Tries way to hard to be Bourne, and Craig's Bond is very muffled and forcibly over-serious. Product placement is also ridiculous! 6/10
Quantum of Solace: Absolute bunk - have tried to watch it a couple of times, but never been able to sit through the whole thing. Dreadful shaky-cam simply compounds the multitude of problems the film already has 3/10 (I think that's quite generous!)
Skyfall: A dazzling return to form for the franchise - really can't fault it. It also shows that with the right director, Craig makes a really excellent Bond and in my opinion puts him up there with best. It has everything and more Bond fans could want, without ever veering into silliness and it's also funny; something that has been so sorely lacking in last two outings. The chemistry between the cast is also terrific. This the Real reboot of the franchise 10/10
Anyone, who like myself, had completely lost faith in the franchise, needs to see this - it will restore it, and you'll be a happy Bond fan again! It should be nominated for a stash of academy awards, whether it will, or will simply be overlooked because it's Bond, time will tell
Finally as an aside, I've always thought Craig was earmarked for Bond after his performance in Layer Cake; particularly the scene where he is throwing shapes with the gun in his flat. Ben Wishaw 'Q' appeared alongside him in that film, funny how things work out ;-)