Aptly Named Skyfall: Perfect Post-Election Escape

Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film in the iconic 50-year-old series opens at midnight tonight (Thursday) but I've already seen it.

And now I can finally tell you about it.

Many people are saying that Skyfall may be the best Bond ever.

Not being an expert on Bond films (I've hardly seen all of them and often find this genre difficult to follow) I can't tell you if this is the best one ever, almost the best, or somewhere in the middle.
But I can tell you this: It's damned entertaining. And it's more moody, more cerebral, more psychological and even more thought-provoking than many of the other Bond films as I remember them.

Here's as much as I can tell you about the story, in a nutshell: Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Sound intriguing?

Well, the cast is absolutely outstanding: Daniel Craig (the new, moodier, brooding Bond for the 21st century), Javier Bardem (a wildly scary villain), Dame Judy Dench (perfect as M), Ralph Fiennes (cooly managerial as Gareth Mallory) and Naomie Harris (ultra-tempting and admirably tough as Eve). But then to top it all off, there's the great Albert Finney in a role that you will love. Finney is simply identified as Kincaid. I'll say no more.

Now, I can also tell you that the name Skyfall has a particularly (and somewhat poignant) meaning in the film and this will eventually be revealed to you. I say eventually, because at 143 minutes, this flick is longer than most -- even as most current films are longer than they have to be.

But it takes awhile for all the nuances in Skyfall to present themselves, for all the twists and turns to twist and turn and for all the issues to be resolved. Not to say that there's not a lot of action here -- there is. In fact, the film begins with a wild car chase and ends explosively. Yes, a lot of it is preposterous but other parts are headline-hopping real and truly scary.

And let's not forget the role of computers here. The cyberworld plays a huge role in the story and yet, in the end -- well, I'll let you be surprised.

You'll also like many of the inside references and asides and homages to other Bond flicks that are snuck into this latest 007 outing.

Finally, I want to commend young Ben Whishaw who plays Q, the self-assured cyber genius who helps Bond and the gang makes a badly-needed generational leap. Whishaw is fantastic and we hope to see lots more of him.

Skyfall is destined to be one of the season's huge hits.

Hurry!

Put all of the events of the past week behind you.

Escape to the movies and savor Skyfall!