Faded glory for a messed-up world.

 I have been asked to comment, but wait, let me first get the lamentations out of the way:

James Bond is misogynist and heteronormative.

Layered with racial and class stereotypes.

Skyfall is neither cleverer nor more sophisticated than its predecessors.

And so on and so forth!

Q: Age is no guarantee of efficiency.

Bond: And youth is no guarantee of innovation.

Q: Well, I'll hazard, I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pajamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field.

Bond: Oh, so why do you need me?

Q: Every now and then a trigger has to be pulled.

Bond: Or not pulled. It's hard to know which in your pajamas.

I can recommend Roger Ebert's review  “... I don't know what I expected in Bond No. 23, but certainly not an experience this invigorating...”

Exactly.

Skyfall is an exhilarating combination of new and old which remakes the franchise while somehow coming full circle and putting Bond back where he began proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Bond and M had to battle suggestions of both people and institutions being "too old" and "outdated." M's speech quoting Tennyson is nothing short of genius and it captures exactly the uncertainties of our age. 

“Though much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

The movie is unashamedly positive about the necessity of defending and loving Britain. This is a Bond movie you should see if you have the slightest interest in the franchise. And if you do not, perhaps you will enjoy the soundtrack.