Prime Video movie of the day: Skyfall sees Javier Bardem as a Bond villain and it's perfect weekend viewing

Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem in Skyfall

(Image credit: IndieWire)

Movie of the day

Every day, we cut through the bottomless list of streaming options and recommend something to watch. See all our Netflix movie of the day picks, or our Prime Video movie of the day choices.

The weekend calls for some action-packed thrills, and where better to start than a Daniel Craig Bond movie? Skyfall may be the 23rd outing for James Bond, but it's fresh as ever, using a tried and tested format that always delivers. Suave spy? Check. Compelling villain? Check. A dramatic intro song? It's all here.

This isn't the first time we've recommended a Sam Mendes flick in our movie of day series, having previously rated his harrowing war movie 1917. Mendes's first Bond movie is just as impressive, delivering all the fast cars, picturesque locations and gunfights you'd expect from a spy thriller. Even the opening scene alone will have you on the edge of your seat, while you watch Daniel Craig engaging in a gunfight on a moving train (rather him than me, to be honest).

Of course, it's not a Bond movie without a great villain and Javier Bardem delivers an excellent performance here as Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist and former MI6 agent who harbors a deadly grudge against a former coworker. Bardem is an excellent villain and his performance is worth a rewatch even if you've seen Skyfall before. Oh, and don't forget Adele's theme song, also named Skyfall, which won numerous awards including Best Original Song at the Oscars, the Grammy's, and the Golden Globes.

Another Sam Mendes classic

Skyfall is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic score of 92% and an audience score of 86%, impressing both critics and moviegoers alike as well as yours truly, with it firmly earning a place on our best Prime Video movies list. Many praised the visuals, world building and performances, as well as Sam Mandes's direction.

The Independent on Sunday wrote: "Mendes's breezily, imaginatively directed film shows faith in the thrill of the real – not the weightless dazzle of CGI but the feeling of actual objects (bikes, cars, Tube trains) crashing and colliding in a solid world."

Detroit News added: "Great heroes are often enhanced by the villains they face, and such is the situation here. To really work, Bond needs great bad guys. Silva is bad at its best."

While IndieWire said: "Sam Mendes adds freshness in this smart, character-driven film, as middle-aged Bond thrives in today's terror-ridden world. Still loaded with action, the best Bond in years."

Lucy is a long-time movie and television lover who is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. She has written several reviews in her time, starting with a small self-ran blog called Lucy Goes to Hollywood before moving onto bigger websites such as What's on TV and What to Watch, with TechRadar being her most recent venture. Her interests primarily lie within horror and thriller, loving nothing more than a chilling story that keeps her thinking moments after the credits have rolled. Many of these creepy tales can be found on the streaming services she covers regularly.

When she’s not scaring herself half to death with the various shows and movies she watches, she likes to unwind by playing video games on Easy Mode and has no shame in admitting she’s terrible at them. She also quotes The Simpsons religiously and has a Blinky the Fish tattoo, solidifying her position as a complete nerd.