Make room for 'Skyfall' in best picture consideration

Peter Debruge's review of "Skyfall" for Variety hints that James Bond might finally have a golden mission that doesn't involve "Goldfinger" – awards statuettes. 

In addition, while Judi Dench has been discussed as a kudos contender for "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," now "Skyfall" presents perhaps an even stronger possibility, with Dench's M as significant a character as Daniel Craig's Bond.

Excerpts from the review:

Putting the "intelligence" in MI6, "Skyfall" reps a smart, savvy and incredibly satisfying addition to the 007 oeuvre, one that places Judi Dench's M at the center of the action. It's taken 23 films and 50 years to get Bond's backstory, but the wait was worth it. 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. ...

... Suffice to say, "Skyfall" pushes the character into uncharted realms in terms of both psychology and action. Bond behaves as if coded for loyalty, while the remarkable script -- the work of Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan -- invites a level of Freudian analysis entirely absent from previous pics, especially as it pertains to protecting M, who emerges a professional surrogate mother of sorts. Though she was kidnapped once before, in "The World Is Not Enough," this film gives Dench by far the most dramatic opportunity to explore the character. ...