Skyfall

But as this suave gentleman’s cinematic avatar turns 50, the marvel is how he has adapted to changing times, especially to gender politics and market dynamics that could barely be imagined when he was birthed. With Skyfall, Judi Dench is playing spy-chief M for the seventh time, authoritatively more than Daniel Craig’s three Bonds! And Craig’s character has (blasphemously?) switched from vodka martinis to beer, because Heineken really made this the healthiest possible deal. Under Sam Medes’s direction, this latest caper keeps a fast pace through Shanghai, Istanbul, Macau and the Scottish Highlands, raking in enough attractions even after abandoning double entendres galore, even after winning the Vatican’s approval (!), to likely become the most successful Bond film of all time. In one of the film’s trailers,

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