James Bond has been someone to aspire to be like for many boys, now men, for decades. From the suave way he has with gorgeous women, to bad puns and dry wit, to the outright superhero-like way in which he dispatches villains, Bond has remained an appealing fixture. I’m sure many women like him as well, but I would bet the reasoning has a fair bit of difference from the guys.

Bond praise aside, “Skyfall” was the 23rd film in the series and marked the 50th anniversary of Bond’s appearance on the silver screen. The hype as to how to pay homage to all the years of action and intrigue had been a topic of many an Internet chat-board, but I don’t think any of us were prepared for the essential deconstruction of Bond that we were presented with.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First off, Daniel Craig returns as what is being hotly debated as the best Bond to date. Craig is the more brutal Bond, sharp but still wielded similarly to a blunt instrument. Gadgetry is not a big part of this Bond’s repertoire, a joke which is made when Craig is introduced to the new head of Q-Branch, the research and development side of the British Secret Service. Craig’s Bond has the old-school appeal Sean Connery first had, but with the advantage of modern filming techniques and action sequences to bring Bond’s athleticism to larger-than-life.

The plot for this turn centers around the whole of the secret agent existence. The identities of all MI6 agents undercover across the globe had been stolen with the threat to slowly reveal their existence. Rather than many of Bond’s other end-boss baddies to overcome in previous features, this time Bond is fighting someone with a grudge; territory the previous two Craig-Bond films laid out as very familiar to our favorite secret agent.

The man behind the curtain is played by Javier Bardem. Bardem’s previous work in “No Country for Old Men” demonstrated just how frightening a villain he could be. In “Skyfall,” he keeps the frightening, but mixes it with a debonair, yet sinister and logical appeal to create the ex-secret agent Silva. The character of Silva is, for all purposes, the same man Bond could have been if he had been pushed just a little bit further, if he had sought revenge against the institution that spawned him for the tragedies of his life, rather than chosen to embrace the agency and live for Queen and country alone.

Seriously, the kinship between Silva and Bond is marvelous. Silva instantly became almost my favorite Bond villain during what I consider the best part of “Skyfall,” in which Bond’s anima is laid bare, exposing just how similar Bond and Silva are and how empty the existence really is for a “Double O”; well, that and the unnerving sexual power-play as Silva turns the tables on Bond.

The movie has the usual well-choreographed fight scenes and gun-play to make any action-lover squeal, but the story maintains a more foreground appeal. Usually, the story in a Bond movie is second-fiddle to Bond dashing about to deal with a dastardly foe while diddling some damsel or another. In “Skyfall,” the questions of what the world of Bond is like, if he is regarded as a person or just another body dedicated to government deeds, is highly relevant. We are even given what no Bond film has gone into detail about before: the world Bond came from before he was adopted into MI6.

This brings in his relationship with Judi Dench‘s character of M. I adore Dench’s M, as Dench is on the top list of actors in the history of film. The rumors when the new Bond film was announced were that this would be her final turn as the head of MI6. Whether that was due to the death of the character or just a replacement was up for debate; and with the introduction of Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, note the “M” name, this seemed likely. My bet was on death, because this is a Bond story and anyone that seems to legitimately care for Bond and goes out into the field with him tends to meet their end.

Overall, the M and Bond relationship becomes as important to the story as the relationship of Bond with overcoming Silva, who is essentially Bond through the looking glass. The 23rd Bond installment lived up to the task of being a Bond flick regarded as one of the best.

Despite all my praise, something still didn’t do it for me. Exposing Bond as human after all, even if only for a small while, made some of the action toward the end less of an adrenaline rush, and more into a survival spectacle. Then again, the entire ending story line’s almost muted feeling made the whole movie even more appealing. Bond turned into an action-drama for a while. The extravagant world of Bond was forced into a very much more Jason Bourne secret agent world of using what you have available. Being as how I also like Bourne stories, this was fine with me.

Anyone that is a Bond fan should go see “Skyfall” and likely already has. Anyone that is new to Bond but familiar with the character should see “Skyfall” because it is a worthwhile secret agent movie. I would love to tell you all it is a must-see in theaters, but it isn’t. The theater will still be an awesome experience, as Bond as larger-than-life is always a treat, but the human sides to this tale make the comfort of a living room more appealing; that and the ability to marathon view the three Craig-Bond installments.

One final note, Bond has been successfully rebooted. Series after series has been seeing re-vamping in the new millenium, and not all of them hold up as outdoing the previous works, but Craig’s run has done it. This Bond is a secret agent that remains wildly exotic in appeal, but grounded enough to be able to connect with audience emotions.