10. Character Development
Casino Royale really upped the stakes on this one, and Skyfall manages to take it even further. After Martin Campbell's effort put paid to Bond's emotional state - namely through his relationship with Eva Green's Vesper Lynd - Mendes thoughtfully examines the relationship between Bond and M in admirable detail. Several dialogues between the two not cement their respect for each other - veiled beneath a lot of cheeky banter, mind - and this also allows Mendes to explore Bond's past, specifically his youth and the death of his parents. Never before has a Bond film dared to invest so much in its characters, but the effect is that when the bullets start flying, we tend to care a whole lot more.