Fifty years and 23 films later and the James Bond franchise is stronger than ever.  Daniel Craig has done well to cement himself among the Bond greats including Sean Connery and Roger Moore, and Skyfall is his most ambitious and demanding performance yet.

It is well known that intelligence officers in MI6 don’t last long in their profession, and Skyfall makes it abundantly clear that Bond is beginning to deteriorate. His precision and speed are no longer at his best and people wonder if he is even fit for duty. Nevertheless, M (Judi Dench) sends him out to capture MI6’s biggest threat to date; cyberterrorist Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). As a former MI6 agent, Silva knows the ins and outs of the organization and the best way of taking it down. He very well may be Bond’s most threatening adversary yet.

This is Craig’s third outing as the titular Bond and once again, he approaches the role with a certain style and finesse that is synonymous with the character. He’s a man determined to get the job done at any and all costs, whether that means using a construction digger to hold two trains together temporarily or improvising a bomb, MacGyver-style, to escape his enemies’ clutches. There’s plenty of action and suspense, as evident by the thrilling opening chase sequence.

Surprisingly, Skyfall manages to push the action even further when villain Silva is introduced into the film. Bardem has shown his penchant for villainy with the likes of Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, and he creates a memorable and disturbing counter balance of Bond. Silva carries himself with a scary determination and cockiness that’ll send shivers down your spine. He’s elegant yet ferocious, and it’s those two opposing qualities that defines Bardem’s character and make him one of the most memorable Bond villains yet.

Throughout Skyfall there’s this constant theme of old and new, not only with Bond himself but with the state of the franchise as well. A young Q (Ben Whishaw) aids Bond with all his gadgetry needs, including a fingerprinted gun and GPS transmission device. Gone are the exploding pens and complicated spy gadgets of olden times. More and more, Skyfall seems to be ushering in a new era for Bond.

The Daniel Craig series of James Bond has had its ups (Casino Royale) and downs (Quantum of Solace) but Skyfall eclipses all of them and delivers the most exciting venture yet. Fifty years and Bond is as strong as ever. Clearly we haven’t seen the last of Bond, or Daniel Craig for that matter, and we can’t wait for what the future holds.