9. Intelligent Action
Remember how impressive Casino Royale's opening chase scene - as Bond pursues a free-running assailant across Madagascar - was? After the let-down that was Quantum of Solace, Sam Mendes has thankfully returned us to that same sublime level; the action has a propulsive rhythm that keeps it bounding along, but on the whole it is also very considered, making complete spatial sense - as is too common a problem for the action film nowadays - and not just letting off explosions for their own sake. Much like Nolan's Batman films - essentially the go-to-reference for smart action - Skyfall has clearly had a lot of thought put into not only its narrative, but the manner in which the action is constructed; these thrills could so easily have been cheap and baseless, but Mendes makes them feel absolutely integral to the narrative, a part of the story's fabric.