M: Where the hell have you been?
James Bond: Enjoying death. 007 reporting for duty.

Introduction

After four years Bond is back. After the quite unspectacular Quantum of Solace, comes Skyfall. With a great theme song sung by Adele, the movie has been a big hit so far at the box office. The movie is directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty). IS the 23rd Bond film in the 50th anniversary edition all that it's cracked up to be?

Plot

The film begins in Turkey with Bond (Daniel Craig) in pursuit of a man who has a hard drive with a list of MI6 agents. Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) has been sent to assist him. As they both tussle on top of a train , Eve is ordered to fire a shot by M (Judi Dench) which ends up hitting Bond. He is later declared missing, presumed as being dead. M later comes under fire from the government for losing the list and she is asked to retire. She refuses to do so and sets about on sorting the mess out. As she is about to return to MI6 there is an explosion which kills some MI6 employees. M is under threat and when Bond finds out about this he decides to return and is sent to find the villain who has caused the explosion and infiltrated MI6's computers.

Opinion

This is a film with some breathtaking action sequences. It starts off at a frenetic pace with a car, motorbike and train chase. This sets the standard for what is to come. It also features some great acting from the likes of Craig , Judi Dench and also the villain, Silva played by Javier Bardem. Bardem plays the villain but has a sometimes comic and camp style which helps him appeal to the audience. There is also the return of characters Q(Ben Whishaw) and Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris ). The Bond girls are very contrasting played by Naomie Harris as a MI6 colleague and Bérénice Marlohe as a femme fatale . They are slightly underwhelming and they don't really get a lot of screen time also.There aren't a lot of gadgets as we come to expect from Bond films. Instead the focus is on the settings and characters.
The film has quite a few stunning settings including Shanghai, Macau, London and then towards the end in Scotland. Unlike many other Bond films quite a lot of the action takes place in the UK.The cinematography and visuals are quite stunning. The film is a long one coming in at well over 2 hours but it does not seem to drag on at all and there is a lot to pack in so the length is quite justifiable. Overall I would give it 4 stars overall.