Review of 'Skyfall'

Watched as broadcast on ITV2, with lots and lots of breaks for adverts. I've not been a James Bond fan for years, but I recently found myself watching Spectre so I thought I'd see what this was like. Spectre is James Bond for Guardian readers (see earlier review) and this is a transitional form - some distinctly modern elements that don't fit with the earlier James Bond (M is a woman - Judy Dench, the locations are not so glamorous, Bond's relationships with women are less casual and more caring, etc).

But the politics are still more Daily Mail/Telegraph than Guardian; the baddie is a rogue agent turned against MI6 because the service sold him out to please the Chinese government and thereby ensure a peaceful transition in Hong Kong. In fact given that he's a lone rogue his power and influence, and the resources he can command, seem implausible - not that anyone cares about that sort of thing in a Bond film.

It also sets up the scenario for the next film, with Bond's upbringing in a remote house in Scotland, and a bit of a 'bureaucrats want to close down the field agents and replace them with technology' story line.

More watchable than I expected, and the filming in Scotland was quite beautiful, at least until it gets all shooty.