ACTION; 2hr 23min
STARRING: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench
Back in action: Craig
It’s been four Bond-free years since the underwhelming Quantum of Solace and, wow-and-how, was Skyfall worth the wait. A rip-roaring chase sequence sets the larger-than tone before Secret Agent 007 (Craig) and Co get down to nonstop business. The villain of the piece is an era-appropriate cyber-terrorist (Bardem as Silva), whose target is MI6 — and by association, department head M herself (Dench).
While staying true to the adrenalised glamour of the franchise, in many ways this Bondian incarnation is, as the man himself observes, “a brave new world.” Injured in action, Bond is feeling his age. With crucial MI6 data stolen, M is feeling the pressure. Director Sam Mendes, on the other hand, is plainly feeling jazzed about the entire starry enterprise, and so he should. With its creeping suspense, thriller spikes of action, martini-dry quips, bombshell girls (Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe) and Bardem chewing every stick of scenery as the deranged face of evil, Skyfall is a right old blast. But with Craig exposing a more vulnerable side, this timely Bond is also more intimate. That’s a lot to cram into one movie package; then again, JB never does anything by halves.
