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rhythmaningI really liked the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. I thought it was intelligent, modern, and at the same time retro. I loved the references to previous Bonds movies - the car, Moneypenny. I thought Daniel Craig was great, Judy Dench really earned her pay, and Javier Bardem made an excellent, scary villain. And so on.
But...
The movie was full of both major plot holes and minor, really bloody irritating errors.
The biggest plot hole was that the whole of the first half of the plot had to be planned by Silva in intricate detail way in advance, in so much detail (viz "if I blow up MI6, they will chase me and put in this place where I will escape and be chased down this tunnel where I have planted a large bomb months before...") that it really did not seem credible. It required so much double-think ("the girl will double cross me and lead the agent who everyone thinks is dead to my lair and they will send helicopters to arrest me and take me half way around the world... Yadayada") that it actually failed to work for me.
And then once he has escaped, without a phone (of course, he may have secreted one in that tunnel when he planted the bomb...), he manages to pick up a change of clothing from an associate and get into conveniently waiting vehicle. Those months of planning clearly paid off, to the second.
The next major plot hole is in Bond's thinking. So, psychopathic genius escapes from the inescapable prison, tracks down his target, and is clearly intent on doing harm. So do you
Of course you do (b.). If you're a fuckwit following an inane script.
Onto to the erm... Continuity errors? Well things they just got wrong.
First that springs to mind is the tube train. Silva detonates a bomb that causes a tube train to plough through a subterranean tunnel towards Bond. The train was fully lit and empty of passengers. This is probably necessary, because film audiences would rather not think if innocent people being hurt. Nor would I. (Being part of the audience.) You do get empty tubes trains - shunting between stations, or just moving before the start of a service. (Commuters hate them: "going my way! Completely empty!") But empty tube trains are unlit, to stop people getting on them. This just seemed wrong. It was meant to be a train folk of people, but it was empty - as you can see on this YouTube clip at 0:48.
Then Bond breaks into a tube station: we are told it is Temple. Which is on the District and Circle lines. But the trains on it are neither District nor Circle line trains: those are larger, bulkier. The train that nearly kills Bond looks like a Jubilee line train, or maybe a Bakerloo line.
Having rescued M, he tells Q to last a false trail which only Silva could follow. To lead to wherever it is they are going. Or... They could just let Silva follow their real, actual trail. This would be just as effective since they want the psychopath to follow them. As you do.
Then some posh git suggests a route for the false trail (that leads to where you are actually going). "Send them up the A9", he says. Where you are going - from London to Glen Etive - is pretty clear. And the route from London is M1 (or M40), M6, M74, M8, A82. Even if you go by the longer, east coast route, you don't go up the A9. So why does posh git tell M to lay a trail via the A9?!!
So Bond and M have driven for hours and reached Glen Coe, and set off down the very beautiful single track road into Glen Etive. (It's an unnumbered road.) And they get out to look at the view. Like this.
(It is a lovely spot. A wonderful place. I was walking there in August.)
And they get back in their car... And suddenly they are driving back down the double track road of the A82 through Glen Coe.
Which makes no sense whatsoever.
Most of these errors are just lazy, unthinking or maybe patronising - if they think no one will notice or it isn't important.
The thing is, lots of people will notice. And it is important because it breaks the internal rules of the movie. I can believe that Bond would chase a villain on a motorbike over the roofs of the Istanbul bazaar. But take the A9 to get to Glen Coe? No way!
Edit: you can see more of the drive in Glen Etive on this video (via![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
andrewducker).
But...
The movie was full of both major plot holes and minor, really bloody irritating errors.
The biggest plot hole was that the whole of the first half of the plot had to be planned by Silva in intricate detail way in advance, in so much detail (viz "if I blow up MI6, they will chase me and put in this place where I will escape and be chased down this tunnel where I have planted a large bomb months before...") that it really did not seem credible. It required so much double-think ("the girl will double cross me and lead the agent who everyone thinks is dead to my lair and they will send helicopters to arrest me and take me half way around the world... Yadayada") that it actually failed to work for me.
And then once he has escaped, without a phone (of course, he may have secreted one in that tunnel when he planted the bomb...), he manages to pick up a change of clothing from an associate and get into conveniently waiting vehicle. Those months of planning clearly paid off, to the second.
The next major plot hole is in Bond's thinking. So, psychopathic genius escapes from the inescapable prison, tracks down his target, and is clearly intent on doing harm. So do you
- a. take the target somewhere secret and safe whilst leading the psychopath a merry dance, away from the safe target? Or
- b. set a trail only the psychopath could follow, out of the reach of any support, using the target as a lure?
Of course you do (b.). If you're a fuckwit following an inane script.
Onto to the erm... Continuity errors? Well things they just got wrong.
First that springs to mind is the tube train. Silva detonates a bomb that causes a tube train to plough through a subterranean tunnel towards Bond. The train was fully lit and empty of passengers. This is probably necessary, because film audiences would rather not think if innocent people being hurt. Nor would I. (Being part of the audience.) You do get empty tubes trains - shunting between stations, or just moving before the start of a service. (Commuters hate them: "going my way! Completely empty!") But empty tube trains are unlit, to stop people getting on them. This just seemed wrong. It was meant to be a train folk of people, but it was empty - as you can see on this YouTube clip at 0:48.
Then Bond breaks into a tube station: we are told it is Temple. Which is on the District and Circle lines. But the trains on it are neither District nor Circle line trains: those are larger, bulkier. The train that nearly kills Bond looks like a Jubilee line train, or maybe a Bakerloo line.
Having rescued M, he tells Q to last a false trail which only Silva could follow. To lead to wherever it is they are going. Or... They could just let Silva follow their real, actual trail. This would be just as effective since they want the psychopath to follow them. As you do.
Then some posh git suggests a route for the false trail (that leads to where you are actually going). "Send them up the A9", he says. Where you are going - from London to Glen Etive - is pretty clear. And the route from London is M1 (or M40), M6, M74, M8, A82. Even if you go by the longer, east coast route, you don't go up the A9. So why does posh git tell M to lay a trail via the A9?!!
So Bond and M have driven for hours and reached Glen Coe, and set off down the very beautiful single track road into Glen Etive. (It's an unnumbered road.) And they get out to look at the view. Like this.
(It is a lovely spot. A wonderful place. I was walking there in August.)
And they get back in their car... And suddenly they are driving back down the double track road of the A82 through Glen Coe.
Which makes no sense whatsoever.
Most of these errors are just lazy, unthinking or maybe patronising - if they think no one will notice or it isn't important.
The thing is, lots of people will notice. And it is important because it breaks the internal rules of the movie. I can believe that Bond would chase a villain on a motorbike over the roofs of the Istanbul bazaar. But take the A9 to get to Glen Coe? No way!
Edit: you can see more of the drive in Glen Etive on this video (via
andrewducker).