A James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig that has been described as the most ‘visually stunning’ in the franchise is now available to stream on a major UK platform.
In what is a huge win for devoted 007 fans, Skyfall has arrived on ITVX more than a decade after its release in 2012.
Starring Javier Barden, Judie Dench and Ralph Fiennes, the thriller was a smash hit amongst fans and critics.
It was also the third of Craig’s performances, directed by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, who is known for 1917 and American Beauty, and shot by Roger Deakins.
Taking to social media, @CinemaTweets1 said: ‘Javier Bardem’s performance as Raoul Silva is my favorite James Bond villain ever. Skyfall honestly feels like a stand-alone film or outlier from the rest of the Bond series given the creative decisions made by Sam Mendes. Bardem is also a big reason- he’s a worthy adversary.’
@BestMovieMom added: ‘Skyfall will remain the most visually stunning James Bond film for a long time.’
@Danimalish also said: ‘Whenever I watch SKYFALL I’m convinced I’m watching the best James Bond film.
‘From Daniel Craig’s steely performance to the incredible supporting cast including Judi Dench, to of course Roger Deakins’ immaculate cinematography. This was the peak of the Daniel Craig era.’
Meanwhile, @TheCinesthetic wrote: ‘As the third film in Craig’s run, Skyfall isn’t just a great Bond film…it’s a visual triumph. Roger Deakins turned espionage into art.’
What does Metro think of Skyfall?
Back in 2012, Larushka Ivan-Zadeh for Metro described the film as a ‘perfectly balanced classic’.
In the end it wasn’t Blofeld, Oddjob or sharks with frickin’ laser beams that almost killed off Agent 007 – it was MGM going bankrupt. But the enforced 4-year delay since ‘Bond is Back’ has paid dividends in development time.
Skyfall may not be the wittiest, or the sexiest (Bond’s chief girl here is Judi Dench – no, he doesn’t go there), but it’s certainly the best acted, most ravishingly beautiful and all-round best Bond to date.
A popcorn-spraying opening set piece is obligatory and a thrilling motorcycle chase over an exotic bazaar that revs into a fight-on-a-speeding-train is daringly choreographed. But Sam Mendes – the most acclaimed director yet to take on the franchise – knows this 23rd (!) instalment’s greatest asset is its world-class cast and saves the biggest explosions for the drama.
Not all fans were equally pleased with the series though, as some pointed out its lack of logic.
Cherold on IMDb said: ‘Unfortunately, I was constantly frustrated by the plot, in which neither Bond nor anyone else (except the bad guy) ever does anything that makes the slightest bit of sense. The movie is just stupid, and the good in it never balanced the idiocy.’
Stevioruseel also wrote: ‘Ingredients for an epic film. But an extremely weak plot and an undeveloped villain made it difficult to care about the final outcome.’
The film follows Bond as he pursues an assassin in Istanbul to retrieve a stolen list containing the identities of undercover agents.
However, the plan goes disastrously wrong, leaving Chief M (Dench) forced to take drastic action.
The espionage thriller was nominated for five Oscars and went on to claim two of them for Best Sound Editing and Best Original Song, which was given to Adele.
Its move on to ITVX comes as ITV dropped all episodes of a gripping crime thriller that fans hailed as ‘phenomenal’.
The tense eight-episode drama, Under the Bridge, has finally landed on ITV for viewers to watch for free in the UK, and you are in for an emotional rollercoaster.
The 2024 series stars Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone opposite Daisy Jones and the Six actor Riley Keough.
What other James Bond movies are on ITVX?
Thunderball (1965)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Elsewhere in the James Bond universe, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight was named as the screenwriter for the latest Bond film.
Amazon MGM onfirmed on social media on Thursday night that Knight will pen the script for the next instalment.
The announcement follows an intensive search by Amazon MGM, which gained full creative control of the Bond series earlier this year from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
Skyfall is available to watch on ITVX.
A version of this article was originally published on August 2, 2025.
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