Welcome Back, 007

Daniel Craig’s third outing as the legendary James Bond takes a more traditional approach. This incarnation sees Bond duelling with Javier Bardem as the truly menacing Silva. I digress; Skyfall chronicles a more personal Bond film than I have ever seen. The film puts MI6 under direct threat from a devastatingly cunning enemy. The threat takes the form of controlling a piece of key intelligence and the story of how Bond is able to deal with the new world of hackers. Cue the new Q, proof that this film is a throwback to classic Bond. The infamous character of quartermaster returns, in the shape of Ben Whishaw and the exchanges between Bond and Q are highlights of the film, from Bond mocking his age to Q mocking his archaic ways, proclaiming he could do more damage in an hour with his computer than Bond could ever do with his Walther. Dame Judy Dench returns as M. Skyfall sees M’s character a lot more involved with the story than ever before as her past comes back to haunt her in this film.

This new Bond highlights what Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace sorely missed a memorable, Bond-esque bad guy. This problem was solved by Silva. Bardem’s Bond baddy is an ex-agent/genius hacker. Bardem nearly steals the show with his brilliant portrayal. He will definitely go down as one of Bond’s classic bad guys, perhaps even in the league of Blofeld or Scaramanga from the past classics. Craig seems to be coming into his own as Bond now, being able to deliver Bond one liners quite convincingly and a match for Silva. Director Sam Mendez, who directed Jarhead and American Beauty in the past, was perhaps a strange choice for a bond. Most, after seeing Skyfall will be humbled by his direction of Britain’s best secret agent. The finale especially is excruciatingly tense and gripping, even in its simplistic nature, will blow your mind. 

Bond has come back in glorious, traditional old school ways and Skyfall is one of the best Bonds ever.