Skyfall humbly celebrates 50 years of the great 007, and it is an anniversary not to be missed. Sam Mendes courageously depicts Bond as an agent aging, now unable to perform all the tricks of a young recruit. Not only are Bond’s physical downfalls on show for all to see, but we are also hurled into Bond’s past, faced with the question; what does this indestructible man really have? After his supposed death, having no permanent partner or children, Bond’s apartment is sold, and of course, there are no parents to be notified.

His advancing years is not to say there isn’t the odd action-packed chase scene or dramatic explosion–it is a Bond film after all–and they are hooking. I found myself genially holding back from screaming survival instructions at the characters. I mean Bond gets a train basically hurled at him!

Javier Bardem, as Silva, makes a spine chilling, and amusing, baddie with his brilliantly casual attitude to single-handedly destroying MI6. He is also surprisingly charismatic as he almost flirts with the enemy. Silva is child-like; a bittersweet bad guy, who seems to both idolise and hate M (Judy Dench), treating her as his mother and him the naughty boy. He is scary, but in a somewhat alluring way. 
That’s the great thing about Skyfall, it is different.

MI6 is no longer destroying the baddies in the bat of an eyelash. It’s in dangerous waters and it’s not just Bond deemed unfit for duty, but the whole department. There is also controversy as to whether M is capable of holding her position due to her age, highly relevant to prejudice that thrives in workplaces of all kind.

We are given a glimpse into Bond’s childhood, something I am told we are not often invited to see. For all Bond’s perceptible strengths, we overlook the fact that he is an orphaned child, which we are reminded of when taken back to his childhood home, Skyfall. A particularly tear-jerking moment is when a dusty brick room is shown, where the young Bond hid for days on end after hearing of his parents’ death. We then watch him delighting blowing up the house and all its memories.

Skyfall is just what Britain needs to boost its film industry and compete with America’s huge dominance. It contains Britain’s wonderfully dry sense of humour, a brilliant soundtrack from British singer Adele, it was filmed almost entirely in Britain and contains a mostly British cast—not  to mention plenty of upper body shots of Daniel Craig, proving not all British men look like Frank Gallagher. It also contains a wonderfully unusual animated Banksy-style scene, quite surreal for a Bond film. 
Coming from someone completely impartial to the James Bond hype, having seen none of the previous films, I would definitely recommend it.