Skyfall - Grading & Discussion

[Captaindemotion]

^The deleted scene is blocked for me too.

[Agent Richard07]

Okay, I just saw the clip from doubleohfive's link. Try this if it's blocked for you.

I had no idea someone else was cast as Q.

But seriously, good stuff. I wonder how they put it together. And I got a kick out of the Trek reference.

[Captrek]

Agent Richard07 wrote:

---

Okay, I just saw the clip from doubleohfive's link. Try this if it's blocked for you.

I had no idea someone else was cast as Q.

I wish they had cast John de Lancie.

[Professor Zoom]

CaptainCanada wrote:

---

She doesn't fake his death. She thinks he is dead. He's contemplating getting out, but gets pulled back in.

He's done that before.

Caliburn24 might have been wondering why Silva didn't just break into M's house. It, apparently, isn't very hard to do. A drunken former spy, who isn't fit for duty, with no equipment was able to do it. Should be easy for a Master Hacker, no?

[Agent Richard07]

captrek wrote:

---

I wish they had cast John de Lancie.

I would have liked Ken Jeong.

[Professor Zoom]

I just thought of another think that bothered me: stakes.

Once Silva's real goal is revealed, to kill M, the stakes go out of it for me. It seems small and easy--or should've been easy, but why kill your victim easily... but, I've talked about that. Basically, we have a two and a half hour Bond movie where the stakes are about saving the life of 1 person.

The NOC list is forgotten. Silva has no other goal. He doesn't want to take over the world. He doesn't want to make England pay. Just to kill one person. Which he succeeds in doing.

At least in Goldeneye, THAT former spy burned by the British Secret Service, wanted to make England pay AND make a shit load of money AND throw the world into the dark ages (right, can't remember) the stakes were HIGH. If Bond doesn't succeed the world is OVER.

In Skyfall, if he doesn't succeed, an old woman, who was probably going to retire soon, would be killed and then replaced...

[Captrek]

Professor Zoom wrote:

---

Caliburn24 might have been wondering why Silva didn't just break into M's house. It, apparently, isn't very hard to do. A drunken former spy, who isn't fit for duty, with no equipment was able to do it. Should be easy for a Master Hacker, no?

A lot of Silva's actions are mind-boggling. Apparently getting apprehended and then escaping was all part of the convoluted (and apparently psychic) plan. Why? It served no apparent logistical purpose.

On an unrelated note, in the word-association exercise, when the psychologist says Skyfall, Bond refuses to participate any more. Why? Because it raised an unhappy memory?

Also, how could Bond have been so clueless that he didn't realize he failed the marksmanship test and other tests? Apparently he didn't even come close to passing the marksmanship test, scoring a 40 where passing is 70.

[Captaindemotion]

^Re the Skyfall/psychologist query - I thought you answered your own question there. That's how I interpreted the scene anyway. We later learned that he never returned to the house until he brought M there and he didn't seem in the least bothered when it was demolished to the ground. So I thought it fairly apparent that that name was something of a trigger word for him.

[BillJ]

Gave it an 'A'.

Solid story, good acting and a great villain. What more could you want in this type of film?

[Professor Zoom]

Captaindemotion wrote:

---

^Re the Skyfall/psychologist query - I thought you answered your own question there. That's how I interpreted the scene anyway. We later learned that he never returned to the house until he brought M there and he didn't seem in the least bothered when it was demolished to the ground. So I thought it fairly apparent that that name was something of a trigger word for him.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty clear in hindsight why Bond stopped talking at the mention of his boyhood home. Doesn't seem like there's a lot of good memories, and Bond doesn't strike me as a sharer.

[Samurai8472]

Professor Zoom wrote:

---

Caliburn24 might have been wondering why Silva didn't just break into M's house. It, apparently, isn't very hard to do. A drunken former spy, who isn't fit for duty, with no equipment was able to do it. Should be easy for a Master Hacker, no?

Ah the old bond movie cliche " why don't you just shoot him?

Scott Evil: Wait, aren't you even going to watch them? They could get away!
Dr. Evil: No no no, I'm going to leave them alone and not actually witness them dying, I'm just gonna assume it all went to plan. What?
Scott Evil: I have a gun, in my room, you give me five seconds, I'll get it, I'll come back down here, BOOM, I'll blow their brains out!
Dr. Evil: Scott, you just don't get it, do ya? You don't.

[TedShatner10]

Professor Zoom wrote:

---

At least in Goldeneye, THAT former spy burned by the British Secret Service, wanted to make England pay AND make a shit load of money AND throw the world into the dark ages (right, can't remember) the stakes were HIGH. If Bond doesn't succeed the world is OVER.

It'd be over for the UK for decades, not necessarily for the world for all time (a destructive EMP blast would rip through London; terrible, but still falling far short of Stromberg triggering WWII).

If Silva could've brought himself or sent hitmen to M's townhouse, he could've also killed M there and then when he blew up the top floor of MI6 - he seemed to be slowly and sadistically playing with M before killing her (like Dr. Evil).

His escape from MI6 custody to get at M at the courthouse seemed to be emergency plan B and him storming Skyfall in a helicopter was emergency plan C (he succeeded but unfortunately for him got killed as well).

The NOC list subplot seemed to have dropped out of the story when Silva was captured and his island operation shut down.

[Ghost Bones]

Starkers wrote:

---

My ‘even Casino Royale’ statement was made from the perspective that a large majority of people see it as some kind of perfect uber film, which it isn’t, it’s as flawed as any other, in fact in some ways I find the contrivances more jarring because it proclaims to be a “realistic” Bond film. At least when I see Roger Moore with a laser gun I know to suspend my disbelief.

Ah, well. Couldn't agree more. Some of the sheer bollocks people talked about Casino Royale when it came out was breathtaking. Statements like "The James Bond films are an anachronism" and "They've successfully brought it up to date with a bang" were made as though they're somehow intelligently considered analysis. All they really did was make a film as stupid as ever, replaced James Bond with a weathered old chavvy thug, and waited for the plaudits to unthinkingly roll in.

Captaindemotion wrote:

---

Not in a universe where Batman and Robin exists.

Batman and Robin is Citizen Kane, Rear Window and The Conversation combined compared to Cuntum of Solace.

Caliburn24 wrote:

---

5) Patrice(the assassin) uses depleted uranium bullets(whatever, its a Bond movie) which makes it easy to identify and track him. AND FOR SOME REASON Bond kept three pieces of the bullet that hit him inside his shoulder, just waiting for the right time to pull them out.

Gosh, I'd forgotten all about that. That's as ridiculous as it gets. Your entire post is quite brilliant, in fact. You remind me of me.

Pingfah wrote:

---

I think Goldeneye's legacy has seriously benefited from having one of the best computer games ever based on it.

I think that's very true, especially among the generation most represented in discussing these things on the internet.

BillJ wrote:

---

Gave it an 'A'.

Solid story, good acting and a great villain. What more could you want in this type of film?

A solid story.

And while the action and direction were top notch, a lot of the dialogue was eye-rolling for me.

[Professor Zoom]

TedShatner10 wrote:

---

If Silva could've brought himself or sent hitmen to M's townhouse, he could've also killed M there and then when he blew up the top floor of MI6 - he seemed to be slowly and sadistically playing with M before killing her (like Dr. Evil).

Which he was already doing before his capture...

His escape from MI6 custody to get at M at the courthouse seemed to be emergency plan B and him storming Skyfall in a helicopter was emergency plan C (he succeeded but unfortunately for him got killed as well).

BUT, according to the movie his capture was a part of his plan. IT was Plan A. Q even says, he must've been planning this for years.

Plan B was Skyfall.

Plan C was probably nuking from orbit, just to be sure.

The NOC list subplot seemed to have dropped out of the story when Silva was captured and his island operation shut down.

Pity. While a recycled plot from a different spy franchise, that subplot had stakes.

[CaptainCanada]

Professor Zoom wrote:

---

Pity. While a recycled plot from a different spy franchise, that subplot had stakes.

I don't see why M, by now a pretty familiar and beloved part of the franchise, isn't sufficient stakes.