7 replies to this topic

[bribond]

Here's a link to my blog discussing Skyfall.  Sorry that it is a little long.  The film is so rich that I had a lot to say.

 

http://briansthought...09/skyfall.html

[AMC Hornet]

John Grogan wrote Marley & Me; John Logan worked on Skyfall.

 

Has Craig's rebooted Bond been in Istanbul before? I know you mean the Bond team are there again, but this Bond isn't.

 

What are Bond's ribs (where you say he was shot) doing up around his shoulder?

 

Silva wasn't a station head in the late 1980s - M was supposed to have been head of Station HK (where Silva worked) in 1997.

 

Apart from that, a very thorough synopsis.

 

If you've been haunting this site for long, you'll already be aware of my reputation for being a stickler for accurate details. Don't take my comments personally - this is just what an English teacher does on his day off.

[bribond]

Thanks for reading it and for your comments. 

 

I made the correction on John Logan. 

 

When referring to Istanbul as you said I was referring to Bond in general.  About a year ago I rewatched From Russia With Love again and saw that Kerim Bay's office were in a hidden part of the Grand Baazar, which I never noticed before. 

 

Patrice wounded Bond in the shoulder but when Bond talks to Moneypenny when he is at the underground he says "It was only four ribs..some of the less vital organs".

 

I have to rewatch the scene that discusses Silva's time in Hong Kong.  I thought the film said he had been head of station from some point in the 1980s until 1997 at which point M gave him up to the Chinese but I know Tanner says something to Bond about suspecting it may have been from M's time in Hong Kong at which point Silva would have worked for her.

[RMc2]

Nice blog, sir!

 

I never noticed that they leave Bond's garage door open... haha!

 

One thing I'd love to know (which I don't think you brought up in your article, but forgive me if I missed it) is just how much John Logan had to do with the final script. His work on Gladiator was - I've heard - not as substantial as his reputation suggests, and one of the few films he's written largely alone was Star Trek: Nemesis, which has problems...

 

It's especially interesting in light of the fact that his drafts for SPECTRE weren't too well received, but his work on SF was enough to get him the solo gig on SPECTRE in the first place. Did you happen to come across anything about Logan's SF work while writing your blog?

[Emrayfo]

Patrice wounded Bond in the shoulder but when Bond talks to Moneypenny when he is at the underground he says "It was only four ribs..some of the less vital organs".

Yes, exactly, we are talking about two separate bullet wounds - Bond was shot twice in the Skyfall PTS - once by Patrice and once by Moneypenny. Bond was playfully nettling Moneypenny about her shooting of him, not about Patrice's shot, hence referencing ribs not shoulder.

I agree it is confusing from a narrative point of view (and probably lazy from a scriptwriting point of view) to have two separate gunshot wounds occurring within a few minutes of each other, and both driving important elements of the plot.

Patrice's wounding of Bond gets all the attention in the title sequence animations and it also gets the dramatic scene where Bond removes the shrapnel for testing. From memory we also see the Patrice scar in the beach cabin when Bond is still "enjoying death". By contrast, Moneypenny's wounding of Bond is forgotten as soon as Bond falls off the bridge and only mentioned in passing in the aforementioned conversation between Bond and Moneypenny and the earlier conversation between Bond and M, "Take the bloody shot", but we never see evidence of the Moneypenny scar itself.

Great blog entry, btw. I enjoyed reading your overview and analysis.

Edited by Emrayfo, 24 September 2015 - 02:01 PM.

[LJones41]

It's a pity that the screenplay for this movie was filled with many plot holes.  It could have been something.

[bribond]

Nice blog, sir!

 

I never noticed that they leave Bond's garage door open... haha!

 

One thing I'd love to know (which I don't think you brought up in your article, but forgive me if I missed it) is just how much John Logan had to do with the final script. His work on Gladiator was - I've heard - not as substantial as his reputation suggests, and one of the few films he's written largely alone was Star Trek: Nemesis, which has problems...

 

It's especially interesting in light of the fact that his drafts for SPECTRE weren't too well received, but his work on SF was enough to get him the solo gig on SPECTRE in the first place. Did you happen to come across anything about Logan's SF work while writing your blog?

 

Thank you for your kind note.  My apologies, I have not been on the forums in awhile.  To answer your question, I do not know how much Logan did vs. Purvis and Wade.  I know that Logan came up with the idea that Silva tries to sexually intimidate Bond.  I tried to find the link for it but if you can access Empire magazine podcast (the British movie magazine) there is an audio interview with Purvis and Wade wherein they discuss their contributions to the film but it has been awhile since I heard it.

 

I think Gladiator is a bit overrated and Star Trek Nemesis has an interesting "nemesis" but the film is trying to do too many things most of which I do not remember .  Logan may be good at coming up with ideas but not necessarily developing them.  If I find more I will let you know.   

[bribond]

Yes, exactly, we are talking about two separate bullet wounds - Bond was shot twice in the Skyfall PTS - once by Patrice and once by Moneypenny. Bond was playfully nettling Moneypenny about her shooting of him, not about Patrice's shot, hence referencing ribs not shoulder.

I agree it is confusing from a narrative point of view (and probably lazy from a scriptwriting point of view) to have two separate gunshot wounds occurring within a few minutes of each other, and both driving important elements of the plot. 

Patrice's wounding of Bond gets all the attention in the title sequence animations and it also gets the dramatic scene where Bond removes the shrapnel for testing. From memory we also see the Patrice scar in the beach cabin when Bond is still "enjoying death". By contrast, Moneypenny's wounding of Bond is forgotten as soon as Bond falls off the bridge and only mentioned in passing in the aforementioned conversation between Bond and Moneypenny and the earlier conversation between Bond and M, "Take the bloody shot", but we never see evidence of the Moneypenny scar itself.

Great blog entry, btw. I enjoyed reading your overview and analysis.

 

Thank you.  I agree with your points.  Moneypenny's shooting of Bond (and M's ordering of it) has a huge impact on Bond's emotional journey and to gloss over the physical cost is questionable.  In contrast we see Bond struggling with the shoulder injury throughout the first act.  Perhaps the filmmakers could have come up with something other than shooting Bond twice in a short spell.  Also in Thunderball, Bond is shot in the shin and recovers very quickly.  When Bond goes into the bathroom it appears to be a graze but when he is shot it looks like the bullet goes straight into the back of the shin.