"Skyfall" Review

Bond is back. From the very first notes of the score to the last thrilling shot, the Bond franchise has made it through the murk of financial problems and, more importantly, the underwhelming and complicated Quantum Of Solace to deliver a superb mission.

That's not to say this is business as usual. Though old faces (human and vehicle) appear again after a notable absence, this is a film firmly set in two camps: Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes. The Craig Bond films have been and always will be gritty, dark, edgy affairs, the type to rival the competition of Bourne and other more realistic action films. With Mendes, the first Oscar winning director to helm a Bond film, we get perhaps the most beautiful looking Bond film there's ever been. A gorgeous looking neon set fight scene in China, for example, or the one long shot that heralds the arrival of the film's antagonist, Silva (a dazzling performance from another Oscar winner, Javier Bardem).This is a different kind of Bond film, one that may stand alongside On Her Majesty's Secret Service as a world apart from the usual Bond formula.

Though the film starts with a thrilling pre-credits sequence involving cars, bikes, trains and cranes, the story is very character driven. An important piece of technology has been stolen containing names of undercover agents throughout the world; M's job and soon her very life is on the line. M is the Bond Woman in this film - driven, determined and at times ballsy, Judi Dench proves in her biggest role to date of the franchise just why she is the head of Mi6. Being a Mendes film, there are other suitably brilliant performances too from other British names - Ralph Fienes, Ben Whishaw and Naomi Harris, plus an excellent cameo from Albert Finney.

The action, when it comes, is fast and furious, with as much work done for real as possible, something the Bond films should be commended for (and something that shows up when it isn't, case in point: Die Another Day). The final third becomes a kind of mixture of Bond stripped of everything but the essentials, Home Alone and Straw Dogs, a weird mix that actually works. When it's all over, you breathe a sigh of relief and, more importantly, you're already impatient for the next instalment.

Though excellent, it's not perfect; despite having the best Bond theme for ages from Adele, the score by Thomas Newman is probably something that will grow with time. You miss the Barry-esque qualities that David Arnold brought to the series. As for the Bond theme itself, it feels slightly underused, though fills you with a guilty pleasure when it does kick in. The film could also arguably have been cut a little shorter, but the time really flew by when watching.

Such a fantastic work and proof of Bond's hobby: "Ressurection".

9/10