50 replies to this topic

[S K Y F A L L]

Maybe Silva has cancer.

[Pussfeller]

That's an idea. It could explain the urgency of his mission and his willingness to take risks. But "terminally ill villain" smacks of Renard. I don't think they'd go back to that well so soon after TWINE.

[Napoleon Solo]

That's an idea. It could explain the urgency of his mission and his willingness to take risks. But "terminally ill villain" smacks of Renard. I don't think they'd go back to that well so soon after TWINE.

Of course, the villain is attacking MI6 headquarters in Skyfall and MI6 was attacked in TWINE.

Not endorsing the idea of Silva being terminal ill (I don't know), but they're already doing one TWINE element, so they've gone back to the well. We'll see.

[Pussfeller]

Yes, I recall a few commenters pointing out the Lincoln-Kennedy thing between TWINE and SF : a director not known for action films, a bomb attack on MI6 headquarters, scenes in Istanbul and Scotland, a French actress playing a femme fatale, M venturing out of London, etc.

[Shrublands]

Maybe Silva has cancer.

Do we really think that being terminally ill with cancer is a suitable or tasteful plot device for a Bond film?

[L4YRCAKE]

Silva having terminal cancer wouldn't really jibe with why he wants revenge on Mi6 and M in particular, unless he was some sort of experiment done by them and he got cancer as a byproduct, but it's got to be far more personal than that. I'm also totally convinced that Mallory is a villain, and Kincaide is either a relative of Bond's or M's husband, perhaps? And that Kincaide will be the replacement to M should something happen to her, god forbid. Mallory is running like a coward in the trailer, I can't ever imagine Dench's M doing the same...

Definitely taking Broccoli's comments as proof that Silva the character is wearing a wig and she's not referring to Bardem, it's got to be part of the plot. All that weird gadgetry in his lair and his antique gun he fires seems significant...

[TheSilhouette]

Silva having terminal cancer wouldn't really jibe with why he wants revenge on Mi6 and M in particular, unless he was some sort of experiment done by them and he got cancer as a byproduct, but it's got to be far more personal than that. I'm also totally convinced that Mallory is a villain, and Kincaide is either a relative of Bond's or M's husband, perhaps? And that Kincaide will be the replacement to M should something happen to her, god forbid. Mallory is running like a coward in the trailer, I can't ever imagine Dench's M doing the same...

Definitely taking Broccoli's comments as proof that Silva the character is wearing a wig and she's not referring to Bardem, it's got to be part of the plot. All that weird gadgetry in his lair and his antique gun he fires seems significant...

Spoiler

Kincade is an old figure from Bond's past. He's a friend of the family who takes care of Skyfall. Also, from what I know, I'm pretty certain Mallory is not a villain. Fiennes himself said his days of playing the bad guy are over for the time being.

[L4YRCAKE]

I don't buy it. I think the conventional wisdom about who Mallory's character is, is wrong, but now I'm having a tough time finding the quotes I thought supported that...

Maybe he's Karla.

[Pussfeller]

Putting aside whether or not Fiennes will succeed Dench, I can't imagine any sort of recurring role for Finney.

First, consider what we know about his character : Kincaid is described as eccentric to the point of zany, and may even be senile. He's definitely not a part of the inner circle at Whitehall, and there's no clear indication that he's involved in intelligence work. He appears only in the scenes in Scotland. All this suggests that his function is to add a dash of comedy and local color, and to serve as a character development catalyst for Bond and/or M. I see his role being similar to that of Zukovsky in GoldenEye, or Raoul in DAD. He'll have a few expository conversations with the main characters, do something small but pivotal, and then recede into the background (or suffer a stakes-raising martyrdom at the villain's hands).

Second, there's Albert Finney himself. He's already 76, only five months younger than Dench, and has recently suffered from cancer. Speaking actuarially, he's not the sort of actor that a far-sighted producer would cast in a recurring role. After Dench's long tenure, the producers probably want to follow her up with someone else who can spend a while in the role and make it their own.

It's the question of age, more than anything else, that makes me bet on Fiennes. He would be the youngest M, but not by much. Bernard Lee was only 54 in Dr No. If Fiennes were to debut as M in 2014, he'd be 51.

[L4YRCAKE]

Those are all very solid points about Kincaid and Finney, my speculation was indeed a stretch. Where did you get the bit about him being 'eccentric to the point of zany', that's new to me...?

I'm still really not convinced that Fiennes will be the new M tho' (and I'll be upfront about having a bias), wasn't he quoted as claiming his part was' deliciously sinister' or 'darkly complex', or some such? And there just seems something... doesn't he seem to lack the stoic quality we'd expect, not only that but the footage in the trailer of him seems weasely, the slouch, the beady gaze, the slight smirk, his needling dialogue...?

And shouldn't we take John Logan's quote about 'who Bond should always fight' seriously, especially in light of certain legal dust finally settling...?

[Pussfeller]

The "zany Kincaid" thing comes mainly from descriptions of the character's wardrobe and interests. I don't recall precisely where this was reported, but he's supposed to be dressed in outlandish garb, and I don't mean highland dress. Also, he's supposed to have an interest in antique firearms. To me, the two things suggest a batty ex-military man, or an old countryman with antiquarian, nostalgic tendencies. At the very least he ought to be eccentric, picturesque, and devoted to his house and hobbies, which suggests that he's been retired for some time and not burdened with professional responsibilities.

Granted, most of our information about the character is hearsay, and I think he's the only named character that we haven't seen in a photo. That in itself is noteworthy. Either his appearance is so bizarre that they want to keep it a secret, or his role is so small that he's simply escaped notice. It's possible that we're expecting him to play a much bigger part than he actually will play. As I said, my hunch is that his role will be about the size of Valentin's in GE. I bet he'll be a colorful side character closely associated with the lodge, its history, and its secrets. I doubt if he'll have any recent association with the secret service, though his personal acquaintance with the Bond family will have left him with some privileged knowledge that could change the relationship between the main characters. Basically, I expect him to be a personification of Skyfall Lodge, a way for the characters to have some outward, dramatic interchange with the estate.

And shouldn't we take John Logan's quote about 'who Bond should always fight' seriously, especially in light of certain legal dust finally settling...?

I wouldn't take John Logan's comment literally, and I wouldn't read anything much into it. I've seen him interviewed a few times, and the guy slides uphill. He speaks for effect and to flatter his audience. He was probably just being schmoozy.

As for the idea itself, I'm sure the producers have considered it, and will continue to consider it, if they can only find a way not to make it silly. But I don't see how it would fit into this story. Silva is shaping up to be a big, self-sufficient supervillain, and I don't expect they would feel like overshadowing him. Also, I doubt if Bardem would have approved a script in which he shared the stage with a bigger, better, more iconic villain.

[L4YRCAKE]

Iiiiinteresting. I hadn't really considered how secretive they've been about Kincade til now, but he's probably the most under wraps character of the film so far. Why cast a major actor in the role unless he's significant? And wasn't he initially described as a politician? That's what I seem to recall. Could they be keeping his face a secret because he resembles Silva? It seems both have a penchant for antique firearms...

[Vauxhall]

The comment about Kincade being a politican, or specifically "a Foreign Office mandarin with powers over the Secret Intelligence Service", appears to be a mistake. That description is actually of Fiennes' character.

From the brief glimpse we've seen of Finney in the trailers, he appears to have a large bushy white beard and is dressed as a gamekeeper. That would be in keeping with him being the ghillie and probable guardian of Skyfall Lodge, and a long-term friend of the Bond family.

I also don't believe that Kincade has ever met M before the events of the movie and I wasn't really expecting him to be fully wrapped up in the M/Silva backstory. Having said that, the mutual interest in vintage firearms is curious.

[S K Y F A L L]

LOL I was just joking about Silva having cancer, sorry.

The only connection between Bond / Kincade and Silva / M we have is the old fashion guns.

Kincade is from Bond's past and Silva knows about something from M's past, their is probably a reason why Bond takes M to Skyfall lodge right?

Is it possible that Kincade is one of the agents on M's hard drive? Operation Skyfall could be about a sleeper cell at Skyfall Lodge or a safe house for those agents?

I wouldn't consider M's fate a 'big hook' to the story because of her age, seems kind of thin doesn't it?

[Pussfeller]

Killing M rather than having her die off-camera seems a reasonably-sized hook. A film in which M dies violently will probably be remembered as "the one where M is killed". But I couldn't say. One of the interesting things will be seeing just what that "big hook" was.

[TheSilhouette]

LOL I was just joking about Silva having cancer, sorry.

The only connection between Bond / Kincade and Silva / M we have is the old fashion guns.

Kincade is from Bond's past and Silva knows about something from M's past, their is probably a reason why Bond takes M to Skyfall lodge right?

Is it possible that Kincade is one of the agents on M's hard drive? Operation Skyfall could be about a sleeper cell at Skyfall Lodge or a safe house for those agents?

I wouldn't consider M's fate a 'big hook' to the story because of her age, seems kind of thin doesn't it?

The only thing is, I doubt Bond's old home would be used as an Mi6 safehouse.

[Vauxhall]

Kincade is from Bond's past and Silva knows about something from M's past, their is probably a reason why Bond takes M to Skyfall lodge right?

Is it possible that Kincade is one of the agents on M's hard drive? Operation Skyfall could be about a sleeper cell at Skyfall Lodge or a safe house for those agents?

I've mentioned this before but I don't believe M and Kincade have any prior history or relationship. I believe Kincade solely exists as a figure from Bond's past and someone he trusts beyond all doubt. The issue of Kincade and Silva both having antique guns is interesting, and perhaps there might be something to that, but we can't be sure quite yet.

[Royal Dalton]

Kincade's a bit of an unknown quantity for us at the moment, isn't he.

But they got Albert Finney for it. So, I wouldn't be surprised if the character is pivotol to the plot in some way.

[SecretAgentFan]

He must be. Otherwise Finney would not have been cast or wanted to play that role.

[L4YRCAKE]

Killing M rather than having her die off-camera seems a reasonably-sized hook. A film in which M dies violently will probably be remembered as "the one where M is killed". But I couldn't say. One of the interesting things will be seeing just what that "big hook" was.

In one of his more recent interviews Daniel Craig states that Skyfall has three big hooks, that's one of the reasons why I believe strongly that his greatest enemy may be returning.

LOL I was just joking about Silva having cancer, sorry.

The only connection between Bond / Kincade and Silva / M we have is the old fashion guns.

Kincade is from Bond's past and Silva knows about something from M's past, their is probably a reason why Bond takes M to Skyfall lodge right?

Is it possible that Kincade is one of the agents on M's hard drive? Operation Skyfall could be about a sleeper cell at Skyfall Lodge or a safe house for those agents?

I wouldn't consider M's fate a 'big hook' to the story because of her age, seems kind of thin doesn't it?

The only thing is, I doubt Bond's old home would be used as an Mi6 safehouse.

What if there's a connection between Kincaide and Silva, since they both have a thing for antique guns, and Bond goes not so much to Skyfall lodge as a safe house, but rather Silva has an emotional connection to Skyfall and since Silva attacked Mi6, Bond goes to Skyfall as his counter attack to make it equally personal?

[Vauxhall]

As Skyfall Lodge is Bond's ancestral home, the only way that I can imagine Silva having an emotional connection to the house as well is if he was a former associate of Bond when they were both young men.