Directed By: Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judie Dench

Run time: 143 minutes

Rated: PG-13

In Daniel Craig’s third performance as James Bond, he has mastered the role. The campiness of past 007’s such as Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan has been replaced with hard-faced, Steve McQueen-like swagger. While the franchise is in its fiftieth year, an aging Bond is portrayed in the film. Bond seems to be past his prime, with many of the MI6 advisors pressuring him to retirement. His aim of a handgun is shaky due to debilitating injuries from bullet wounds. But just like a broken-down boxer anxious to get back in the ring, Bond comes back despite his critics and injuries.

The film keeps its pulse-pounding, action-packed foundation, but is backed by clever and solid screenwriting and action, giving it the presence of a Shakespearean drama. The film takes on a 21^st century storyline, where the adversary is not a villain with the physical force of a doomsday device, nearly a staple of Bond films. Rather, the adversary is a rouge agent who’s hacking and cyber security genius wreaks havoc wherever and whenever. This transition corresponds with the transition that warfare has undergone in the past century. Nations are no longer at war with one another; instead, war is waged by groups and individuals. The emerging premise is a past-his-prime 007 battling a new form of enemy.

What makes Skyfall stand out from the long and esteemed history of the franchise is that it is an absolute visual treat. Scenes of neon and fluorescent lights of Shanghai skyscrapers and a lantern lit oriental-style casino out on the water give the film the feel of an Oscar-winning drama rather than an action flick. Even the scenes without breathtaking landscapes are set up with meticulous cinematic prowess. The cinematography of a scene with rouge-agent Silva, played by Javier Bardem, when he is being detained at MI6 in London, turns a typical interrogation scene into a powerful interplay between the characters. Bardem sits on a small bench in drab detainee clothing in a tall glass chamber. It gives the scene a feel from The Silence of The Lambs, where Hannibal Lecter is detained in a large barred cage. The psycho behind the impenetrable cage gives the scene an intimidating atmosphere.

Javier Bardem delivers another wonderfully evil performance, just has he did in his Oscar-winning performance of murderous psychopath Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men. And just like Chigurh, Agent Silva has again been adorned with a horrible haircut. He jumps into the role with enough playfulness to keep it interesting, but enough stone cold seriousness to keep him intimidating.

Skyfall has plenty of nods to the original movies, like when he jumps in his old Aston Martin from Dr. No, but enough of its hard, political style to keep the franchise moving forward. Incredible performances from Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem, along with incredible cinematography give it Academy Award gravitas that transcend the James Bond tradition. In his first Bond film, Mendes has produced a formula for a Bond film that both Bond fans and film critics with adore.