Trailer Talk: 'Skyfall' – Grit Over Gadgets

Daniel Craig no longer has to prove himself as James Bond. His exemplary work in the great “Casino Royale” silenced those who thought he wasn’t worth the fictional license to kill.

But the Bond franchise … that’s another matter.

“Quantum of Solace” ended up living down to its clumsy title, and the Bond franchise took an unplanned hiatus when MGM’s bankruptcy proved more formidable than any Bond foe.

Now, Bond, Craig, and the spy franchise are all back with “Skyfall,” set for a November release.

The first teaser trailer shows the series isn’t going back to the yuks and gadgets formula found in the Roger Moore era. It’s gritty time, again, as a determined 007 is all business. Yes, we get a flash or two of future Bond Girls, but the emphasis here is on deadly spy games. That line of caskets and a massive fire spell plenty of danger for cinema’s greatest super spy.

Dame Judi Dench returns, and we see Ralph Fiennes free of his “Harry Potter” garb. The rest, for now, is left up to our imagination.

“Skyfall,” directed by “American Beauty’s” Sam Mendes, co-stars Javier Bardem, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw as “Q.”