Best 007 Movie In 50-Year Bond Franchise

By now, almost every single review I've read on Skyfall is beyond excellence. Having watched the first show in Canada, I cannot but agree! Not only is it engaging, exciting and sexy, it's visually stunning and as close to reality and logic as a movie on James Bond could ever get.

Kudos first go to director Sam Mandes whose training in classical theatre, including Shakespeare, probably explains why this is the first Bond movie that's poetic not only in storyline and screenplay, but also in its visual glory and structural perfection. This is the first Bond movie that is not related to any previously-published Ian Fleming James Bond short story or novel. In fact, Mendes said that Skyfall does "not connect" with the two previous Bond movies - Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. That's why the film is so much more creative and full of pleasant surprises.

Second to the director, credit should go to the script and screenplay writers - award-winning Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) and John Logan (RED, Hauptmann and Never The Sinner). The screenplay is so witty that in spite of all the tensions created between Bond and the villain, the sense of humour makes you laugh throughout the movie and marvel at the writers. In an interview with CNN, Daniel Craig revealed that he had a lot of input on the screenplay and the writers actually listened to him and took some of his suggestions.

A lot of questions have come up about where the 25th Bond movie was shot. Well, the correct answers are Glen Etive, Highland, Scotland; Smithfield Market, Holborn, London, England; London, England; Shanghai, China; Surrey, England; Adana, Turkey; and Istanbul, Turkey. The rest were either studio shots or digital recreations. This is also the first time that a Bond movie has filmed in China.

If anybody has doubts about the cast, let's take a look at the number of individual Academy Awards from this film's cast and crew. Sam Mendes won an Academy Award from American Beauty; Javier Bardem who plays an impressive villain (Kevin Spacey was offered but turned down the role) has two nominations and one win (No Country For Old Men). Ralph Fiennes as M's new boss has two award nominations while Albert Finney and Judi Dench each has five nominations. This leaves only Daniel Craig and Ben Whishaw (as Q) with the thinnest resume. Everybody raves about Bardem as the villain Raoul Silva in this movie, but I actually think we should give both Craig and Whishaw their deserving credit. The latter was proclaimed by many critics as one of the best young actors of his generation and I thought his performance as Q is funny, cute and outstanding!

I read that Daniel Craig was worried about the delays in the film's production as he feels that, at the age of 43, he is already getting too old for the challenging physical demands of the stunts. Well, not only should he not have anything to worry about, but I thought he's, by far, the best Bond ever. I've not seen any other actor in as excellent a shape as he's in. Apart from wearing his Tom Ford suits well, Craig's six-month pre-film preparation and the daily two-hour workout put him in absolute top form!

Among all the actors in the movie, talented Ralph Fiennes and the two Bond girls are disappointments. The former has considerably aged and his character really doesn't need the skills of such a gifted actor. The latter two continue to play sex objects to men - what's most disturbing is that in this day and age, shouldn't they find a Bond girl who is both attractive and intelligent? Perhaps CIA Director David Petraeus's mistress Paula Broadwell (minus her jealousy) could be considered for a future role?

What's most impressive about Skyfall is that Bond is portrayed realistically as an aging and vulnerable spy in the 50-year-old film franchise instead of being the ultra-invincible and indefatigable MI6 star agent. Relevant to our times, Bond is now sensitive, vulnerable and even tormented from his childhood pains! But because of this evolution of his character, we, the audience who grew up with him, tend to relate to him even more! The flick is definitely worth an ecore for me at the IMAX theatre before it retires from the big screen.