After Daniel Craig's second outing as Bond, Quantum of Solace, was merely adequate, he had a lot to prove with his third time up to bat, Skyfall. Appointing Sam Mendes as director certainly proved to be a savvy choice, for the acclaimed filmmaker gave Bond the Dark Knight treatment, focusing on dark cityscapes, a fall-and-rise narrative, and exuberant set-pieces. I don't think anyone expected Skyfall to be quite as great as it turned out to be, benefiting from one of the series' best-ever villains in Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva, and an excellent performance from Judi Dench as M, giving her final turn as the character. This is everything a contemporary blockbuster needs to be: it's smart, slickly-directed, visually stunning (thanks to master DP Roger Deakins) and superbly acted. It also manages to be reverent to the Bond of old while ushering in a new era for the character. Smartly, Mendes is attached to return for Bond 24, so the odds are looking good that we won't see another Quantum.