Skyfall (2012)

Directed by: Sam Mendes★★★★☆Skyfall is the 23^rd installment of the Bond film series, in time for the 50^th anniversary of the series, and the third appearance of Daniel Craig as 007. A hard drive with details of undercover agents is stolen and used to make M look bad at her job, by a man called Silva (Javier Bardem), and Bond is set on recovering it.The surreal opening credits seem to be endless but are made far less boring by the amazing theme song; ‘Skyfall’ by the talented Adele. It might not quite live up to the classic themes such as ‘Goldfinger’, but it’s a refreshing modernised theme, with John Barry’s classic riff running through it, to make it feel like a Bond film.This film obviously occurs later in Bond’s career, Craig feels like a more experienced Bond and for me, this makes it the most Bond-like film of the series that Daniel Craig has been in. He finally feels like the suave, powerful Bond rather than just a generic action hero. It’s the first Bond film to use British locations for the majority of the action, as opposed to exotic locations we’re used to seeing in the film series. And although many Bond fans were disappointed to see Bond drinking Heineken, it was a minor issue as he still drinks his classic drink as well; a Vodka Martini. Skyfall definitely has everything that a Bond film needs; girls, cars, gadgets, suits and action; but manages to feel fresh at the same time.Bardem’s character is a psychopathic ex-employee set on bringing down M. Bardem does an amazing job with this dysfunctional character, adding both humor and a horror aspect to the film through his disturbed behavior and appearance. For these reasons Silva is definitely my favorite Bond villain to feature in the last three Bond films. Whilst his demise might be slightly anti-climactic after his initial explosive actions, it is made better by the shocking plot twist at the climax of the film.I walked away from the cinema thinking about the next Bond film, and for the first time with a Bond film featuring Craig, I was excited about the prospect of seeing another installment featuring Daniel Craig as Bond.I’d recommend this film if you want some action, or some eye candy (Craig is looking better than ever)!If you enjoy this film I recommend: The rest of the Bond series, The Bourne film series, and the Die Hard film series (All great action films).