By Dave Steele

Trouble is brewing for MI6 in Turkey. 007 agent James Bond and his partner, Eve, are chasing a man who could singlehandedly bring down every know undercover operative working for NATO.

As the situation slips further and further from control, Bond takes the foot race atop a speeding train that is conveniently towering above a raging river.

When the mission reaches desperation, Eve is ordered by M, leader of MI6, to take a shot on the assailant that is anything but clean.

Unfortunately for Bond, his melee is cut short by Eve’s wandering bullet that lands him in the purgatory that is the opening credits.

Meanwhile, London officials are calling for M’s resignation because of the apparent slaughter of agents whose covers have been blown to hell by her failure at command. Refusing to leave her department in a worse condition then when she started, M rallies the remaining agents to hunt down this murdering puppet master.

After being lulled awake by Adele’s sweet serenade, Bond also heads back to London to finish what he started. Much to their surprise, the saboteur pulling the strings used to be a superior double-0 agent himself.

After both sides exchange blows, M realizes that these attacks are much more personal than just a rogue agent bringing down NATO. This man is after her and everything that she holds dear. To put it simply, Bond is back.

“Skyfall” is a brilliant symphony of the saga’s past, present and future. The conductor of this masterpiece, Sam Mendes, displays his directing prowess in a way that will change this franchise forever.

Being careful to honor the old ways of the series, Mendes treats audiences with plenty of mementos from films past as to ease the transition for those who have been with Bond from the very beginning.

Don’t expect any exploding pens: The new direction of Bond tries to be a bit more plausible than Pierce Brosnan para-surfing a giant ice wave, or Roger Moore making moves on the moon.

With this new direction, “Skyfall” is to Bond what “The Dark Knight” is to Batman. Plausibility gives the film a chance to make the situations far more relatable.

When characters aren’t being chased around by giant lasers, it gives audiences more of an opportunity to focus on the human element that is born from the intensity of the conflict at hand. The acting in “Skyfall” is the absolute best that the Bond universe has ever had the pleasure of conveying.

Javier Bardem will send chills up your spine while managing to extract a certain level of pity at the same time. That being said, diehard fans may roll their eyes at “Skyfall’s” transformation of Q into a smug 98-pound hipster.

However, these new faces and places ease the saga’s powerful new direction, making “Skyfall” the perfect transition into Bond’s extremely promising future.

5/5 stars