London, Oct 29 (IANS/EFE): Javier Bardem is being hailed by the British media for his performance in "Skyfall", the latest installment in the James Bond series, with critics saying the character played by the Spanish actor may be one of the best villains to ever take on 007.

Bardem plays Raoul Silva, a dandyish cyberterrorist, in the film directed by Sam Mendes, taking on Daniel Craig's Bond.

The 23rd installment in the 007 series has won over critics, with many calling the film the best in the long-running franchise, thanks to the Spanish actor's performance.

"The moments that elevate Skyfall from the efficient to the inspired can be attributed to one man: Javier Bardem, the hulking, 43-year-old Spanish actor whose delicious performance as Raoul Silva, sniggering cyber-terrorist, makes him a convincing contender for best Bond villain of all time," Ryan Gilbey wrote Sunday in "The Observer".

"Bardem is brilliant as the kind of insane old-school Bond villain we haven't seen for a while," Alex Zane wrote in his review of "Skyfall" in The Sun.

"Channelling all different flavours of crazy, and Christopher Walken's hair from `A View To A Kill', he is a superb adversary for 007," Zane said of the film, which hit theaters in Britain last Friday.

"Silva is almost as inscrutable as The Dark Knight's Joker himself: Bardem's lip-lickingly camp turn makes him the oddest Bond villain since the Roger Moore era, and his nicotine hair flops queasily over his forehead in a way that calls to mind Julian Assange," Robbie Collin wrote in his review of the film in The Daily Telegraph.

"Mendes has gone back to basics: chases, stunts, fights. At the same time, he has subtly re-invented the franchise, throwing in far greater depth of characterization than we're accustomed to in a series of films that are often proudly superficial," Geoffrey McNab wrote in The Independent.