Sincere, knee-drop praise from Variety‘s Peter Debruge suggests that Skyfall may indeed be as good as all that. When, by the way, is Jay Penske going to take down the Variety firewall? He told staffers a couple of days ago it would soon be gone.

Debruge #1: “Putting the ‘intelligence’ in MI6, Skyfall reps a smart, savvy and incredibly satisfying addition to the 007 oeuvre. In Sam Mendes‘ hands, the franchise comes full circle, revealing the three-film Daniel Craig cycle to be both prelude and coda to the entire series via a foxy chess move that puts these pics on par with Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy as best-case exemplars of what cinematic brands can achieve, resulting in a recipe for nothing short of world domination.”

Debruge #2: “Whatever parallels it shares with the Bourne series or Nolan’s astonishingly realized Batman saga, Skyfall radically breaks from the Bond formula while still remaining true to its essential beats, presenting a rare case in which audiences can no longer anticipate each twist in advance. Without sacrificing action or overall energy, Mendes puts the actors at the forefront, exploring their marvelously complex emotional states in ways the franchise has never before dared.”