Skyfall is a much-beloved James Bond movie, but it has a plot problem with its villain, with Spectre repeating the same issue. The series has always had its ups and downs, and Skyfall was certainly sky-high in terms of quality, especially with respect to its crowd-pleasing villain, Raoul Silva. However, there are some significant problems with Silva’s plot, along with Blofeld’s plot in Spectre, that cause the films to be somewhat nonsensical.
Skyfall and Spectre both share some similarities. They were the two Bond films Sam Mendes directed, but they also feature ground-breaking villains, whose plots are largely focused on James Bond himself. Silva used Bond to get to M, and Blofeld’s ambition to reveal his plot twist to Bond personally. Their plots, however, are somewhat convoluted and problematic.
Spectre's Villain Needed To Keep James Bond Alive (Just Like Skyfall)
The villains very nearly jeopardize their missions by having Bond attacked in near-fatal ways, which could have scuppered the villains’ plans. Skyfall first presented the problem. Raoul Silva’s ultimate plan was to get to M to exact revenge upon her. He uses Bond as a pawn to achieve this. Silva needed Bond to analyze the uranium pellets Patrice shoots him with in Istanbul and trace them to Shanghai, before then tracing the chip he finds in Patrice’s case to Macau. There, he would meet Sévérine, and eventually Silva himself on his island who would then be captured by MI6 (a deviation from having James Bond and Raoul Silva team up).
The problem here, however, is that when Patrice shoots Bond on the train at the beginning, he does it so aggressively that he could very easily have fatally injured Bond, as he sprayed a lot of bullets at him while he was turning around the digger. Likewise, as Bond goes to leave the Macau casino, Sévérine’s men attack Bond, with one actually taking Bond’s gun and attempting to shoot him with it. Had these two apparent murder attempts killed Bond, Silva’s plans would have been ruined entirely, which, of course, doesn’t make sense.
Spectre repeats this problem. Blofeld needs Bond alive so he can reveal himself to be his long-lost adoptive brother, declare himself to be the author of all Bond’s pain, and kill him for hijacking his father’s love. However, this plot completely eradicates the need for Mr. Hinx, akin to a classic Bond villain though he may be. Hinx chases after Bond on the streets of Rome, and he later shoots at Bond’s plane in Austria. The most obvious murder attempt, however, was their fight on the train, where Hinx literally goes to throw Bond off the train. Had he achieved this, Blofeld’s plans for Bond would have been utterly thwarted.
How Spectre & Skyfall's Villain Hurt The Movies
Spectre was not one of the most successful Bond films, mainly due to the reveal that Blofeld and Bond are stepbrothers, a retcon that was generally unwelcomed by audiences. Skyfall, however, has garnered much more respect among moviegoers, not just Bond fans. With a 92% rotten tomatoes rating, compared to Spectre’s 62%, it’s generally regarded very highly, not least because it boasts the best James Bond theme.
It’s this fact that makes these plot problems hard to overlook, once they’re noticed. It’s a shame such huge, fundamental issues exist in the film, because they exist in an era of perhaps the most realistic Bond world yet, that of Daniel Craig’s adventures. These plot problems make the film feel decidedly unrealistic, and ultimately prevent Skyfall from being one of the masterpieces of the James Bond franchise.