Next week sees the release of Bond film number 23, Skyfall; It's the third outing for Daniel Craig as the British spy, and the first to see him drop the shaken-not-stirred classic drink of the iconic character, in favour of Heineken.

The Mirror not only gave Skyfall 5/5 stars, it also said that “Daniel Craig gives Sean Connery a damn good run for his money as the best Bond actor”. If this really is true then what is it that makes Craig, and the film, so good? In an interview with MTV.com Craig said "I like to think [I have input]. Certainly, [the producers] let me talk; whether they listen to me, I don't know. The truth of it is that Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, the producers, they allow me to get involved, and it means so much to me. I always said to them when I did 'Casino Royale,' 'I don't care about many things, but if you allowed me to be involved, I can pretend to be James Bond.'"

Sam Mendes as director can't go wrong really either. Although this is his first action movie, Mendes' portfolio is more than impressive, without a scar upon it. American Beauty, his first film, was rife with tensionm which is an attribute well suited to the action/thriller genre as well. Craig is also contracted for another two films, and the next film has been reported to already in the first stages of production, with a release date for sometime in 2014. With a four year gap between Skyfall and the last film, Quantum of Solace, Craig said "I think they'd like to [speed up the timetable], and I think that would be the plan. That was too long last time, although I quite enjoyed the gap, but it's too long. As long as we've got the script and we're ready to go, there's no reason why we can't start shooting."