Skyfall - ITV

(Image credit: Francois Duhamel)

Daniel Craig's third 007 movie is magnificent

Daniel Craig's third 007 movie is magnificent.

It gets off to a scorching start with a heart-pounding chase through Istanbul, which ends with M (Judi Dench) ordering Bond's elimination.

But she's the one in the firing line, since a hard drive identifying MI6 agents has fallen into the wrong hands and her new boss (Ralph Fiennes) thinks that it's time for her to retire.

Javier Bardem's mad, bad cyber terrorist is a Bond villain to savour, while other stars making their mark include Ben Whishaw, amusing as Q, Naomie Harris, feisty as Bond's fellow agent, and Albert Finney, as a crusty Scot.

Director Sam Mendes' brilliantly staged action makes this is edge-of-seat viewing, but what really sets this movie apart is that it cares about its characters and has real substance.