... This picture, directed by Sam Mendes, contains some crucial elements that are all too frequently lacking in the average action movie.

| Aug 28, 2023

[Skyfall] celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the franchise while also confidently launching it into a potentially intriguing future.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 19, 2022

Britain is quite diverse right now, feel free to reflect that anytime, Mr. Bond.

| May 10, 2016

It achieves an effective balance between the ever-escalating action sequences that each successive Bond picture apparently demands, fresh use of charismatic talent, and nods to the legacy

| Oct 5, 2015

Mendes's breezily, imaginatively directed film shows faith in the thrill of the real -- not the weightless dazzle of CGI but the feeling of actual objects (bikes, cars, Tube trains) crashing and colliding in a solid world.

Full Review | Oct 5, 2015

A Bond film should feature a menacing villain who's also just a touch daffy; Javier Bardem has more fun than anybody else onscreen as a rogue agent with a mommy complex and a come-hither leer.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 5, 2015

Skyfall easily moves into the top 5 of Bond movies ever, maybe even the top 3 with From Russia With Love and Casino Royale.

| Original Score: A- | Oct 4, 2015

This latest installment, which firmly cements Daniel Craig as one of the best Bonds ever, feels more serious, less gimmicky, more geared towards mature adults.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 4, 2015

Craig has relaxed into Bond without losing any steeliness.

| Aug 21, 2015

As an attempt to fill in Bond as a character, rather than just make the same film over, Mendes has succeeded, I think.

| Aug 21, 2015

In Sam Mendes's first Bond movie, dazzlingly photographed by Roger Deakins, the sequences shot in wintry London and Scotland stand out.

| Aug 21, 2015

Bond traditions haven't just been updated -- they've been intelligently modified and rethought, giving us the franchise's inherent pleasures in a new package.

| Feb 12, 2013

It's been a long time since I enjoyed a Bond movie so much.

| Jan 4, 2013

Skyfall is not, of course, ''darker'' or more serious than previous Bond films, but it's more knowing about its own conventions.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 22, 2012

Breathes fresh life into the genre.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 22, 2012

'Quantum of Solace,' was a dour, dire letdown. This picture's a substantial bounce back, and easily the best Craig Bond picture. Emotional depth and all.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 13, 2012

The cool accomplishment of Skyfall, 23rd in the Broccoli franchise, is that it seems a necessary, rather than mandatory, addition to the year's popular culture.

| Nov 9, 2012

Among the most ambitious imaginings of Bond to date: dark, supple, and punctuated with moments of unanticipated visual brilliance.

| Nov 9, 2012

Its canny blend of ingredients is sure to entertain any audience but I think Bond enthusiasts will relish it most, as it draws on our familiarity with the series' many touchstones.

Full Review | Nov 8, 2012

"Skyfall" is a different kind of Bond movie, one that works just fine on its own terms, but a steady diet of this might kill the franchise. One "Skyfall" is enough.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 8, 2012