Skyfall will be the best Bond ever… on paper anyway

So James Bond 23 - or 'Skyfall' - has been officially announced at an in-no-way-at-all over-the-top press conference.

Despite the fact that almost all the information confirmed by director Sam Mendes and star Daniel Craig was leaked months ago, we're still disproportionately excited about it.

[Gallery: James Bond 23 - Skyfall - cast revealed]

First the name. Okay, we knew it was going to be called 'Skyfall', as producer Michael G. Wilson said: "It was the worst kept secret in London". And it is pretty vague - it will probably end up being the code name for an enormous octopus-based double-barrelled super laser (we hope anyway).

But it's better that 'Quantum of Solace', but more importantly, not connected to 'QoS', which (one of its many problems) was let down by being so tied to 'Casino Royale'. It didn't really make sense — especially emotionally, unless you'd seen the previous film first. A standalone Bond adventure is a good thing, I think most fans would agree?

Next the stars. We all suspected Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem would be cast as baddies months ago. But that shouldn't distract from how exciting it is to have them onboard - responsible as they are for two of Hollywood's best villains ever: Anton Chigurh ('No Country for Old Men') and Voldemort (duh).

Most folk reckon Ralph Fiennes (perhaps even literally) will be in the 'Blofeld' role; a sinister megalomaniac with, hopefully, a giant lair housed in an skull-shaped iceberg… or something. Bardem is perhaps his psychotic henchman with an unusual method for killing minor characters. Garrote braces? Sounds like perfect casting to us anyway.

[See more: Daniel Craig promises to strip off in 'Skyfall']

Then there's the director Sam Mendes. He acknowledged at the press conference that he doesn't have much of a track record for action scenes ("this world is new to me") and will be relying on his "great" second unit director, but he did okay with the Tommy gun-foolery in 'Road to Perdition'.

Also on his CV: the Oscar-winning 'American Beauty', the Oscar-nominated 'Revolutionary Road', as well as 'Jarhead' and 'Away We Go'.

So on paper: great. These are classy, well-acted films. But traditionally the 'Bonds' have shied away from "name" directors - according to legend anyway even Spielberg and Tarantino both offered to direct a 007 adventure but were turned down.

The best recent Bond — 'Casino Royale' - saw dependable old pro Martin Campbell at the helm, who cut his teeth on the equally efficient 'GoldenEye'.

[Exclusive interview: Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy]

When the reins were handed to critics' fave Marc Forster for 'Quantum', who won plaudits for exactly the kid of middle-brow fare - 'Finding Neverland, 'The Kite Runner' - as Mendes, then things went horribly wrong.

It tried to be an art house psychological thriller and action spectacular, but worked as neither.

So that's the problem with Mendes: is he the right man for 'Bond'? Judging by lots of the comments underneath our title reveal story, many of you miss the escapism, the gadgets and the silly double-entendres from the series.

So, will he bring the fun back to 'Bond', while maintaining the dash of grit and high acting standards introduced since Craig took on the iconic bow-tie?

We'll have to wait until October 2012 to find out.