“Skyfall” lives up to expectations

The third, and perhaps, final of the current James Bond series, “Skyfall,” came roaring into theaters with many expectations, some hopeful of a thrilling conclusion, while others were held in trepidation. It is my pleasure to say that “Skyfall” did not only surpass the bar for a good movie, but may have blown it out of the water. From liaisons with beautiful women in exotic locations to powerful action scenes, the third in the 007 series holds itself up as both a great movie of the series, as well as a spy movie in general.

The 007 series follows the adventures of James Bond, an M-16 agent in Britain’s secret service. The movies are often set in different exotic locales where Agent Bond seeks to uncover secret plots of criminal and terrorist organizations. Bond takes on numerous henchman, seduces several women, and everything culminates in the main bad guy dying in some ironic or horrific manner. The movie series is incredibly popular, despite its fairly romanticized and unrealistic view of espionage.

The movie does not hesitate to jump into the Bond scenes that we know and love, with bullets flying and a seemingly impossible chase scene after the opposition gets its hands on a blacklist. Shortly thereafter, Bond comes under friendly fire and is presumed dead; only reappearing after his organization comes under attack. He is now racing against an enemy deadlier than any he has met before, one aiming towards both him as well as his boss, M.

This movie was an excellent one, with just the right amount of violence, sex appeal and intrigue to keep the viewer enthralled, without coming off as campy. The plot of the story is well written and the characters have a very emotional appeal to them — even the villain has multiple dimensions, far be it from the a-typical heartless villain. It’s an excellent movie and one that could be enjoyed by just about anyone. As to a grade for this movie, I’d give it a solid A. It’s not quite to the level of fame movies like “The Godfather” and “The Dark Knight” have, but it’s pretty close.