CRAIG BOND THREE: SKYFALL

year: 2012 cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench rating: ***1/2

Never mind what the new Q says: a young hipster/hacker arming James Bond with only a gun and radio, telling the seasoned spy that the usual “exploding pens” are outdated. While this thinking person’s 007 has a lot of brooding substance and, directed by Sam Mendes, goes more for the brain than the jugular, there’s top-notch thrills liken to the good old days: Beginning with a high octane prologue which includes riding motorcycles on rooftops… and then facing an adversary on a train speeding through low tunnels... we lose Bond to a botched killshot not meant for him: His lifeless body plunges into the water and we’re left with Judi Dench’s M, about to be let go of her services.

When Bond returns from “death” (a vacation of drinking and sex) his boss isn’t surprised. But he has to get into shape quickly, which won’t be easy given his recent lifestyle. Daniel Craig, with the countenance of a determined badger and the usual pursed-lipped stone face, plays Bond more gently than usual, even showing his age on occasion: or else being reminded of it: Out to find a stolen list that could uncover the identities of fellow Secret Agents, he happens upon the main villain on a dilapidated island. Javier Bardem’s Silva is the kind of menace who loves hearing himself speak… Imagine a gossipy hairdresser mixed with a cold-blooded killer reciting Shakespeare… But being a disgruntled former agent, it’s M he’s really after.

The storyline fails to capture the nonstop espionage where every scene opens a new bag of tricks, leaving a very basic revenge plot stretched through an overlong two-and-a-half hours. Then again Bond himself – who, to protect M's life, returns to a rural childhood orphanage with a knife and gun – is back to the gritty basics: he alone makes SKYFALL work.