Skyfall (2012)
Plot: When a mission goes horribly wrong, Bond must recover a stolen hard drive containing the identities of embedded NATO spies.
Title Meaning: "Skyfall" refers to Bond's childhood home. It was the name of his parents' estate.
Song: "Skyfall," performed by Adele
Bond: Daniel Craig
Villain: Silva, a cyber terrorist, played by Javier Bardem
Bond Girl: Eve, a field agent, played by Naomie Harris, and Sévérine, Silva's lover, played by Bérénice Marlohe
But it's really about…
Dame Judi mutha-effin Dench! 
"Bond, James Bond" Occurrences: 1
Martinis: 1
Card Games: 1
Cigarettes Smoked: 0
Tuxes Worn: 1
Most Creative Kill: Choose any of the "Home Alone"-style deaths during the finale, but who can say no to the shotgun shells under the floorboards?
Gadgets: A gun and a radio
Mental State of Miss Moneypenny: Resurrected
First Occurrence of Sex: ~23 minutes in
Sexual Partners: 2 (Rando, Sévérine)
Most Unrealistic Moments: While awesome, the timing of Silva's escape plan is a little too on-the-nose.
Most "Bond" Moments: Have to give this to the cufflink fix on the back of the train.
Place in Bond History: "Skyfall" marked the 50th anniversary of the series.
Review:
"Skyfall" not only stands as one of the best entries in the James Bond series, but it also defines Daniel Craig's place within the franchise. As he strolls across the screen, encircled by the barrel of a gun, it becomes clear that "Casino Royale" was not a stand-alone reboot of the character and the series, but only part one of what became a trilogy. Craig's 007 isn't necessarily a different man from the previous iterations; he just had some growing up to do.
An early rumor surfaced after Sam Mendes accepted the job to helm "Skyfall" that hinted that the Academy Award-winning director planned on reigning in the action and upping the emotion, as everyone expected him to do. While absurd, there was a grain of truth to it. Like "Casino Royale," a film Mendes admires greatly, "Skyfall" grounds every plot point in a human element. Nothing is simply there for show, and not one character is expendable.
Think about it. How upset would you have been if Kincade, a character that appears 20 minutes before the movie ends, died in the final siege of Skyfall? You would have been crushed, and that's because of a whip-smart script from Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and new series go-to man John Logan.
There's so much to praise in "Skyfall" (a short list: Craig's confidence as Bond, Javier Bardem, the entire supporting cast, the Western-style ending, the explosive opening), but the single highest compliment that can be paid to this, or any Bond film, is that it reinvigorates the series, creating genuine excitement for a 50-year-old character and whatever crazy adventure he'll find himself on next.
Come back to Movies Blog tomorrow for the Bond-a-Thond wrap-up.
What do you think of "Skyfall"? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!
