I always enjoyed the James Bond franchise starting with Pierce Brosnan and GoldenEye. The other Bond films came out before I was born. GoldenEye was not only a solid film, but also a great video game. When Die Another Day came along, you could see Brosnan’s gray hair peeking through, which meant it was time for a new Bond. Enter Daniel Craig who I had only seen in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. He played an American tomb raider. In 2006, Casino Royale hit the big screen. Craig shined as 007 and established himself as the best Bond of the franchise’s 50-year history. Craig is not only a clean-cut, attractive male but also he is a believeable badass. He has a stern face, jacked muscles and an edgy side (Yes, I do have a man crush on him). Both are necessary in a Bond character and I don’t think any have nailed it as well as Daniel Craig. Two years later, Quamtum of Solace came out and although it wasn’t as good as Casino Royale, I thought it was another solid film. 

After a four-year layoff, James Bond returned and Skyfall easily became the highest grossing Bond film of all-time.

Skyfall starts off with the usual Bond chase/fight scene, where James Bond is shot and thought to be dead. Obviously, he’s not because there wouldn’t be a movie. He returns when MI6 is under attack by an ex-MI6 agent (Javier Bardem). The rusty Bond, who has been out of the job living a life off the grid, is thrown back into the fire to face one of the greatest threats a Bond character has ever encountered. 

Skyfall was really a movie to set up more movies. It also returned to the traditional James Bond by establishing characters of past Bond movies, while keeping the new feel of a Daniel Craig Bond film.

I don’t know exactly what sparked this rush to the theatres to see the 23rd James Bond movie, but it was fantastic. The difference in Skyfall is that James Bond was seen as a little vulnerable and that made him more relatable. Also, I felt as though the stakes were higher than they had ever been in a Bond film.

It truly nails what we’ve come to expect from a Bond movie. It’s entertaining yet edgy, which is really what you see in some the best films of the past decade. It also matches up to the Bourne movies, which is saying a lot.

The cast is also fantastic with Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem. A lot of effort was put into this movie to make it right and it showed. After MGM’s bankruptcy, this was a huge win for the production company.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Daniel Craig continues to capture the true nature of James Bond while Skyfall reestablishes the Bond franchise for many years to come.

I’ll give Skyfall 4 and 1/2 out of 5 cups.

As of Nov. 29, Skyfall made a domestic total of approximately $229 million versus a production budget $200 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Skyfall has a rating of 92% at Rotten Tomatoes while users at the Internet Movie Database gave it 8.1 out of 10 stars.

To see the movie trailer for Skyfall, click here.