10 Best Film Sequels By Different Directors
4. Skyfall (2012)
The Sequel To: Quantum Of Solace (Forster, 2008)
The Director: Sam Mendes
Taking Over From: Marc Forster
If Casino Royale got Bond back on track, then Quantum Of Solace, Marc Foster's flawed follow-up, immediately derailed him again, and while it's far from being one of the worst Bonds, it remains a deeply inferior film to Royale, with fatal missteps in direction, casting and story which looked set to prove Campbell's reboot a bit of a fluke.
Step in then, Sam Mendes, who followed Solace with Skyfall, perhaps the most assured, stylish, well received Bond of all time. If Casino Royale is top five Bond, then Skyfall is top three, eclipsing this list's previous entry in terms of aesthetics and narrative, with Craig giving his best ever performance to boot.
Helped immeasurably by the presence and performance of Oscar winners and nominees like Judi Dench, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes, Skyfall attains classic-film status, whether that's in the Bond canon or not. The ending, which sees the battle of Skyfall, Bond's childhood home, is as poignant as it is spectacular; a fitting denouement to a film typified by one key word: resurrection.