Skyfall (2012) directed by Sam MendesFor the fiftieth anniversary of James Bond (on film, he's a bit older in print) the third installment with Daniel Craig as Mr. Bond has been released, two weeks earlier in the UK than in the United States. The movie starts with Bond hunting down a hard drive containing a list of all the deep cover operatives working for NATO countries (at least, I think that's what they said). The chase sequence is very exciting and leads to both an unexpected ending and the usual visually amazing credits sequence.
The story unfolds rather nicely with some good plot twists and a fine balance of action, acting, and explanations. I hate to give away too much detail, because the movie does not follow the generic Moore/Brosnan-era 007 plots where some megalomaniac tries to take over the world, or destroy the world, or become rich, etc., and Bond foils the villain by infiltrating his base and blowing everything up. I'm not saying those movies are not entertaining but they are pretty light-weight compared with the new direction the movie makers are taking with Daniel Craig's Bond. There's still plenty of action and excitement but different stakes are raised, allowing for some surprises and some fine storytelling. I would definitely recommend this even if you aren't a Bond fan.
The cryptic title of the movie has a much better explanation than I guessed many months ago.
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