In case you haven't seen our review of Skyfall yet, we loved it; it's everything a Bond film should be, and much, much more. After the relative disappointment of Quantum of Solace - following on from the sublime reboot Casino Royale - Skyfall is an immaculately constructed, smart, funny, action-packed Bond film for the ages, and one which is likely to rank among the top of the pack once it has been seen by its legion of fans this Friday. So, here's 10 indisputable reasons why Skyfall is awesome, and why you absolutely have to see it.
12. Sam Mendes' Direction
One of the chief complaints about Quantum of Solace was that Marc Forster's direction, in trying to so clearly ape the style of the Bourne trilogy, felt disjointed and overly kinetic, failing to convey the opulent, robust, epic nature of what a Bond set-piece should be. Sam Mendes, best-known for his dramatic work on films like American Beauty and Revolutionary Road, is an atypical choice for an action-based film - even with his fine work on the pulpy Road to Perdition - but it's one that proved extremely smart, as Mendes, in clearly following the stylistic path laid out by Christopher Nolan on his Dark Knight Trilogy, has made a controlled slice of action cinema that truly sticks in the mind. Whether it's the sweeping shots of skyscrapers in Shanghai, frantic gunfights in Scotland, or more subdued dialogues in London, Mendes has a firm finger on Bond's pulse, producing a film consistent enough with the preferred style, but also distinct in its own way, crisply edited, and gorgeous to look at. Which leads us into our next point...