Skyfall

We've waited four years since "Quantum Of Solace", but 50 years after "Dr No" started the longest and most successful franchise in movie history comes the 23rd James Bond film and the third starring Daniel Craig as 007. I was 14 years old when I attended the spy's first cinematic outing; over the next couple of years, I read all 14 Ian Fleming novels; and, over the last half a century, I have gone along to the theatre to see each new film as soon as it was released.

What was new with "Skyfall" is that I managed to see it a week before its general release at a special viewing for cast and crew when all mobiles were taken off us, all of us were searched, and everyone sat through the credits before applauding a brilliant team effort.

The sense of excitement was rewarded by a superb movie. A cracking opening is followed by a powerful song from Adele which is followed by a storyline that is genuinely distinctive from other Bond movies: more intelligible and more intelligent.

Instead of the archetypal villain as someone crazed by megalomania, we have an adversary, subtly played by a blond Javier Bardem, who is motivated not just by power and wealth but by a very personal sense of vengeance. Instead of a Bond who easily outwits all foes, we have an agent with some obvious vulnerabilities, both physical and psychological, who does not always get his way. Instead of the usual two Bond girls, effectively we have three: French actress Bérénice Marlohe in her first English-speaking part, British actress Naomie Harris in what will prove to be a break-out role, and the redoubtable 77 year old Judi Dench playing M for the seventh time in 17 years.

The film is a triumph for British director Sam Mendes, making his first British movie after such more serious successes as "American Beauty", "Road To Perdition" and"Revolutionary Road". I was shaken and stirred.

"He knows us. He's one of us. He comes from the same place as Bond, a place you say doesn't exist, the shadows." The world's greatest secret agent is back, but is the need for an agent outdated in today's modern world? After MI-6 is attacked and M (Dench) is brought under scrutiny by the government Bond (Craig) alone is left to find out who is behind the attack while M is trying to both help Bond and defend the need for an agency that has been compromised. I know that a review is really not needed here, being the 23rd Bond movie either you will watch it or not. I am a huge fan of the series and was really looking forward to this after hearing this is the best Bond movie yet. I have really loved the Craig movies but for some reason they never had the feel of a Bond movie to me, I wasn't sure what was missing but they didn't have the same feel. Knowing that they were re-booting the series I was lenient and with this one the re-boot is complete. This had much more of a feel of a classic Bond movie and by the end I was excited to see the next one. I got chills watching a few times and especially at the end. This had possibly the best opening and ending to a Bond movie ever. I could go on and on about this but I will just say if you love Bond you will love this, if you have never seen one then this one will make you a fan. Overall, From Russia With Love is my favorite Bond movie but this a very close second, and I think may be more re-watchable. I wanted to watch this one again as soon as the movie was over. I give this a very high A.

I first saw this with my family in a theatre in 2012.

Revisited it recently on a dvd which I own.

This is my all time fav Bond film.

This is the twenty-third in the Bond series n the third to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.

This time Bond returns to service after MI6's servers are hacked and M receives a taunting computer message moments before the MI6 building explodes.

Inspite of failing a series of physical, medical, and psychological examinations, Bond returns to the field to pursue an assassin known as Patrice n to recover a stolen hard drive containing details of undercover agents which is in the hands of Patrice's employer, Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist seeking revenge against those he holds responsible for betraying him.

I love the pre credit scene in this one, the motorcycle chase on the rooftops is awesome, the train chase sequence is adrenaline filled n the scene at The Varda Viaduct is amazeballs.

The climactic action is more old skool n filled with solid atmosphere.

The title track along with the picturization n Bond's fall from The Varda Viaduct is very gothic like.

The abandoned palatial house, the vast moors, the chapel, the secret passageway, the isolation n the sky almost touching the ground, is filled with top notch atmosphere.

This time Bond faces Raoul Silva n lots of his henchmen n a komodo dragon.

Bond also faces Patrice, a mercenary working for Silva.

This time Bond gets to cool off with Naomie Harris, Tonia Sotiropoulou n Berenice Marlohe.

In this movie, for the first n last time we get to see Moneypenny doing field work along with Bond and later how she opted for the iconic desktop work.

Having watched every James Bond film on the big silver screen since The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.

It was almost surreal to see Skyfall being made by an Oscar winning director, go on to win Oscars and become one of the top grossing films of all time. The billion dollar Bond.

To think back in 1989, Licence to Kill could not compete with the likes of Batman, Indiana Jones or Lethal Weapon 2 in the US box office.

Bond is presumed dead after a mission goes wrong in Istanbul as he tries to retrieve a hard drive containing a list of top agents. M is under pressure especially as it seems she is being targeted by an anonymous cyber terrorist who turns out to be a rogue agent Silva (Javier Bardem) who was once M's most effective spy.

Skyfall celebrated 50 years of the Bond films in the cinemas. It also takes liberties with the messy timeline of the film series. Daniel Craig's novice spy from Casino Royale is now a disillusioned veteran, at one point told to call it a day.

The film re-introduces some familiar characters after being away for a few films, a younger more hi-tech Q and a new Miss Moneypenny. There is also a new M hovering in the background. The film also references earlier Bond movies as part of its golden anniversary celebrations.

Although the film contains international locations, breathtaking action, some sumptuous cinematography from Roger Deakins, it flags a bit in the middle when it needed an additional action sequence.

What director Sam Mendes does bring is some character moments and making effective use of Judi Dench as she recites some Tennyson.

Unusually for a Bond film, this must be the only occasion where the villain actually achieved all of his objectives!

As a lifelong James Bond enthusiast who has been extremely disappointed with the franchise's latest efforts (with the exception of Casino Royale), I was extremely pleased with this film. It strayed away from the storyline of the previous two films and I couldn't have been happier after the mediocrity of Quantum of Solace. This film has all the constituents from the Bond films that have preceded it. Big explosions, ridiculous stunts that not a single person in the history of humanity can survive, and let's not forget to mention the beautiful women that would make both genders stop and stare. So what does Skyfall have that the other Bond films don't? For the first time, we get a glimpse into our mysterious hero's dark past. Where he came from and what made him the person he is today.

Although I've always been the one to say that Sean Connery is the greatest Bond ever, I can now confess that Daniel Craig now holds that honor. Sean plays the comedic, smooth, and witty Bond to perfection while Daniel plays the mysterious, dark, and lonesome secret agent flawlessly. I will always choose a darker portrayal over a comedic one because it takes a certain mindset to depict someone of that nature. One of my favorite scenes is where Bond is sitting in a bar drinking alone. I don't care who you are or what your background is, if you are drinking by yourself in a bar, then you have issues that are haunting you. Whether you can admit it or not, you are in a dark place and that is exactly where this Daniel Craig portrayed Bond is. And I love it.

Aside from Daniel Craig, you have a cast that includes some of the finest actors that have ever graced the big screen. Javier Bardem plays a blood thirsty ex-MI6 agent out for revenge. His performance is equally as creepy and twisted as his portrayal of Anton Chigurh in "No Country for Old Men" and it is an Oscar worthy performance in my opinion. Judi Dench reprises her role as M and Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney give important and memorable roles which I won't go further into detail about. Also two prominent figures from James bond history find their way back into the story line. Sam Mendes shows why he was the right choice to direct a film of this magnitude and along with the contribution of Oscar Nominee John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade come up with a memorable narrative after the disappointment of their last collaborating effort, Quantum of Solace.

I look forward to what the future has in store for everyone's favorite spy. If Skyfall is a sign of things to come, then I will remain incredibly optimistic about the future.