Skyfall

I'm conflicted over Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond. On the one hand, Craig's done a fine job making Bond his own. Unfortunately, the films themselves have been forgettable. True, after the absurd Pierce Brosnan era a more grounded approach was welcome. But Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace more resemble Jason Bourne and Christopher Nolan's Batman than 007. Mix lame villains, nauseating shaky cam and irritating faux-"realism" and you have generic Hollywood action product.

Skyfall is a welcome improvement. Sam Mendes' installment suffers from lazy, inconsistent plotting. But it's got a few elements unquestionably right. The action is comprehensible, Bond is a more compelling, rounded hero - and best of all, there's a worthwhile villain.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) narrowly survives a mission in Turkey, where M (Judi Dench) orders another agent (Naomie Harris) to fire at an enemy regardless of risk to Bond. Bond lives incognito for a time until a terrorist attack on MI6 headquarters brings him back. Bond tracks a ring of hackers to China, where he uncovers Silva (Javier Bardem), an ex-MI6 agent with a grudge against M. M herself is blamed for the loss of several agents, with a Defence Ministry official (Ralph Fiennes) breathing down her neck. Bond and M go on the lam, goading Silva into a showdown at Bond's family estate.

Over everything else, Skyfall feels like a Bond movie. It delivers the requisite action, humor and thrills, though is fairly light on sex. Unlike previous films, the character development proves interesting: Bond cautiously reveals back story and vulnerability, while M battling bureaucracy grounds the movie better than epileptic camera work. Nods to Bond mythology abound, not least the introduction of new Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny. Indeed, two set pieces - a fistfight in a komodo dragon pit, Bond target-shooting with Silva - seem more authentically Bond than anything else in the Craig era.

Sam Mendes seems an odd choice for a Bond flick but proves surprisingly adept. He makes brilliant use of locations, with photographer Roger Deakins providing distinct looks: crowded Istanbul, flashily-lit in China, foreboding moors in Scotland. The action scenes are wonderfully straightforward, shot and blocked in classic, unrestrained style. CGI aside, the final farmhouse siege is one heck of a set piece.

Skyfall suffers mainly from lazy storytelling. The second half begins with a profoundly tiresome trope: Silva allowing himself to get caught. After The Dark Knight and The Avengers surely this has lost any cleverness or surprise. The first half builds up slow-burning intrigue with Silva exposing MI6 agents and undermining world security. This vanishes as Silva shifts gears to a personal vendetta, the mastermind becoming a mindless thug. Fortunately, Skyfall is entertaining enough to overcome these shortcomings.

Daniel Craig continues his fine work. Bond's as indestructible as ever, surviving a shot to the shoulder and 50 foot fall with effects seemingly only on his aim. But Craig relishes the chance to express some depth: his increased emotional strain, old-fashioned patriotism and testy relationship with M. We also see, for the first time in years, Bond reveal something of his background. He's the best Bond since Sean Connery and finally has a film worth his performance.

Judi Dench gets an excellent sendoff: she's been M since 1995's GoldenEye and excelled even in her weaker movies. Dench reveals a proud woman whose cold professionalism catches up with her. Ralph Fiennes, fine actor though he is, doesn't inspire confidence as her putative replacement. Feisty Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean) and droll Ben Whishaw make strong impressions as future MI6 mainstays. Albert Finney has an hysterical cameo as Bond's estate keeper.

It's Javier Bardem though who steals the show. From his marvelous introduction scene on Bardem personifies the classic Bond villain: frosted hair, greasy charm, sexual ambiguity, grisly deformity. His motivation is simplistic but Bardem's colorful menace proves far more interesting than Mads Mikkelsen or Mathieu Almaric. It's nice to see Craig up against a worthy opponent.

Skyfall remains a flawed movie, namely through awkward plotting. That said, it's easily the best Daniel Craig installment yet. Here's hoping when James Bond returns, he'll continue in this vein.