Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond in the Sam Mendes directed Skyfall is suave as ever, but the character is quite literally losing his grip. Everyone’s favorite secret agent is caught in a world where espionage, (along with pretty much everything else) occurs from behind a computer desk. Early in the film’s third act he quips “[We’re going] back in time. To where we have the advantage.”

This Bond is not a cartoonish action hero – he is a gritty, tragic figure, and unlike his predecessors, has a squishy human center beneath his perfectly-cut tux and guiltlessly cavalier exterior.  This is a Bond that possesses the capacity to cry.

Craig stars opposite the vengeful, flawlessly driven Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem, (No Country for Old Men) who terrifies every time he’s on screen. Not only is Bardem’s performance immaculately chilling, but the character is very well-written. Silva’s motivations are believable and even relatable, a balanced contemporary counter to the aging, obsolete Bond who clings to his “pathetic love of country.”

Skyfall is a film about change – cutting excess, streamlining to keep up with the speed of progress. In the final action sequence, its pacing and photography is more reminiscent of a Bourne movie than any of the old Bond films; a sign of the times, perhaps, that this is a Bond suited for the future.