Skyfall - 'The Dark Knight' Related-ness

I have seen Skyfall three times now and have noticed that there is parts very similar to that of The Dark Knight triology.

Don't read on if you haven't seen the Batman film or Skyfall ;)

• The film begings where Bond is broken, a physical wreck, just like Bruce Wayne. Then he sees terrible things happening or about to happen and 'gets back in the game'
  
• He sees Q or Fox in Batmans case to get equipped
  
• The villain Silva, being similar to the Joker. Both psychopaths with plans.
  
• The villains 'wanting to be caught'. Both Joker and Silva are caught, as part of their plan, only the then go onto their master plans.
  
• Bond's grave is seen. Another orphan (parent-less) cinema hero along with Batman (spiderman, superman, ironman etc)
  
• The Nolan-Esq Ending, tying all loose ends, characters dying, wills read out etc.

I am sure there are a few other things, but am I the only one who is making these connections?

I doubt they are as coincidental as you might think.

There was the whole theme of resurrection that was pretty much at the heart of The Dark Knight Rises.
There's the main protagonist who is presented as being past his physical peak and not longer able to cope with the demands of his job.
There are entire lines of dialogue, e.g. "There is a storm coming".
The main villain carries the effects of facial/oral injuries.
There's the role of the older servant who functions as a link to the heroes past (Alfred & Kincade)
Both Bane and Silva get onto the radar of intelligence agencies as big players who have made regimes fall and economies collapse

People might try to deny the influence of Nolan's movie but it's too obvious to be a coincidence.

I'd say the similarities with TDKR in particular are definitely coincidental since both films were developed around the same time. It sounds like the same kind of claims about DAD ripping off that Vin Diesel XXX movie when it's impossible since it was done filming before XXX ever came out.

The running on ice reminded me of TDKR, but like Python said, they were developed around the same time,

bondaholic wrote:

• The film begings where Bond is broken, a physical wreck, just like Bruce Wayne. Then he sees terrible things happening or about to happen and 'gets back in the game'
  
• He sees Q or Fox in Batmans case to get equipped
  
• The villain Silva, being similar to the Joker. Both psychopaths with plans.
  
• The villains 'wanting to be caught'. Both Joker and Silva are caught, as part of their plan, only the then go onto their master plans.
  
• Bond's grave is seen. Another orphan (parent-less) cinema hero along with Batman (spiderman, superman, ironman etc)
  
• The Nolan-Esq Ending, tying all loose ends, characters dying, wills read out etc.

I am sure there are a few other things, but am I the only one who is making these connections?

With most of those points, wouldn't it be safe to say that Nolan's been relating Batman to Bond, rather than EON relating Bond to Batman?

It's no secret since he has been proclaiming himself as a huge Bond fan and incorporated Bondian elements into his Batfilms and especially Inception. The reason he even took the Bat gig was because he wanted to fulfill his childhood dream of making a blockbuster spectacle like the Bond films he grew up with. Might as well say he's been using Batman as an audition for a Bond gig.

If Nolan gets the gig I'd be okay with that as long as EON keeps Baird editing and Logan on writing. Last thing Bond needs is Lee Smith and Nolan writing dialogue. Also, they should show him some quality porno as prep, to let him know there's this activity called sex.

bondaholic wrote:

The film begings where Bond is broken, a physical wreck, just like Bruce Wayne. Then he sees terrible things happening or about to happen and 'gets back in the game'

Bruce Wayne was injured over the course of TDRK. Which was being written parallel to SKYFALL.

bondaholic wrote:

He sees Q or Fox in Batmans case to get equipped

Bond has gone to Q to get equipment for fifty years.

bondaholic wrote:

The villain Silva, being similar to the Joker. Both psychopaths with plans.

Pretty much all villains in films have plans.

bondaholic wrote:

Bond's grave is seen. Another orphan (parent-less) cinema hero along with Batman (spiderman, superman, ironman etc)

Both Bond and Wayne are orphans. This is an established part of the source material to each franchise. Consequently, both film franchises address it.

bondaholic wrote:

The Nolan-Esq Ending, tying all loose ends, characters dying, wills read out etc.

Again, SKYFALL and TDRK were written at the same time. So just because a character dies and has their will read out, it doesn't mean that one is ripping off the other.

Salomé wrote:

There was the whole theme of resurrection that was pretty much at the heart of The Dark Knight Rises.

Again, the films were written side by side.

Salomé wrote:

The main villain carries the effects of facial/oral injuries.

Bond villains have long since had physical deformities. And Silva's isn't limited to his face - he's got scarring from the cyanide burns all through his body.

Salomé wrote:

Both Bane and Silva get onto the radar of intelligence agencies as big players who have made regimes fall and economies collapse

The intelligence community is totally unaware of Silva's existed until he makes himself known. He talks about bringing down regimes and destroying economies, but only to demonstrate to Bond that he can do it.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

bondaholic wrote:

The villain Silva, being similar to the Joker. Both psychopaths with plans.

Pretty much all villains in films have plans.

bondaholic wrote:

I have seen Skyfall three times now and have noticed that there is parts very similar to that of The Dark Knight triology.

Don't read on if you haven't seen the Batman film or Skyfall ;)

[*]The film begings where Bond is broken, a physical wreck, just like Bruce Wayne. Then he sees terrible things happening or about to happen and 'gets back in the game'

Technically, Skyfall doesn't begin with Bond broken. Even so, "Broken Bond" in Skyfall isn't nearly the same kind of "broken" as Batman.

Quote :

[*]He sees Q or Fox in Batmans case to get equipped

I think it's a bit unfair to say Q reappears because of Lucius Fox. They are quite a bit different.

Quote :

[*]The villain Silva, being similar to the Joker. Both psychopaths with plans.

While I agree they are similar, it's not necessarily because of that reason. Your reason is a bit too broad. Their mannerisms are what makes them similar.

Quote :

[*]The villains 'wanting to be caught'. Both Joker and Silva are caught, as part of their plan, only the then go onto their master plans.

Guess I agree on this one. Both Joker and Silva had ludicrous plans.

Quote :

[*]Bond's grave is seen. Another orphan (parent-less) cinema hero along with Batman (spiderman, superman, ironman etc)

I suppose, though Batman makes a much bigger deal out of the dead parents thing than Skyfall does.

Quote :

[*]The Nolan-Esq Ending, tying all loose ends, characters dying, wills read out etc.

It's a bit of a misnomer to call that "Nolan-esque," considering a lot of films end with loose ends being tied. Even then, it would be virtually impossible for Skyfall to be influenced by The Dark Knight Rises considering they were in development simultaneously.

http://whatculture.com/film/7-ways-skyfall-borrowed-from-batman.php

"7 Ways Skyfall Borrowed from Batman"

Another article by someone who's never read Fleming's Bond. The writer was obviously grasping for straws, especially with the comparison of derailed trains.

Salomé wrote:

I doubt they are as coincidental as you might think.

There was the whole theme of resurrection that was pretty much at the heart of The Dark Knight Rises.
There's the main protagonist who is presented as being past his physical peak and not longer able to cope with the demands of his job.
There are entire lines of dialogue, e.g. "There is a storm coming".
The main villain carries the effects of facial/oral injuries.
There's the role of the older servant who functions as a link to the heroes past (Alfred & Kincade)
Both Bane and Silva get onto the radar of intelligence agencies as big players who have made regimes fall and economies collapse

People might try to deny the influence of Nolan's movie but it's too obvious to be a coincidence.

There's even a bit during SKYFALL (in Scotland) when the music reminds me very much of Hans Zimmer's work on the Batman films.

Didn't Mendes say that he was a fan of Nolan's Batman films and that THE DARK KNIGHT in particular helped convince him that a mainstream franchise movie could be done brilliantly?

It seems to me that THE DARK KNIGHT was the single biggest influence on SKYFALL, just as Bourne was the single biggest influence on QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

LIVE AND LET DIE was influenced by blaxploitation, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN by Bruce Lee, MOONRAKER by STAR WARS, OCTOPUSSY by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.... Bond being influenced by something like THE DARK KNIGHT is therefore nothing new.

The Bond series has always absorbed influences from other successful films. It's how Bond has kept its finger on the pulse, kept itself relevant and kept itself successful. Being influenced by things is no disgrace to the Bond series. Bond does not (and should not) exist in a vacuum.

It goes both ways, of course: it's hard to imagine Bourne existing without Bond, while Nolan brought a heavy Bond vibe to his Batman outings, and ENTER THE DRAGON is essentially Bond meets kung fu....

With track 7 of the soundtrack i must think about TDK and agree about the joker part. I think Silvia is a highlight of the movie and be a mix of that, Eliot and Alec/006. I whant to make a note that i think that not the joker, Eliot or even "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'' from Harry Potter are the biggest source of the Silvia chacter.

Bond a physical wreck, not yet. I think that is better done in QOS and mabey the best stil must be come.

I don't think it is accurate to say these scripts were written simultaneously. Nolan's film had a finished script long before shooting began, and the movie itself was completely finished several months prior to release. Considering Logan's fairly late involvement, plus the fact he always seems to have his hands in a lot of different (but similar tasting) pies, it's entirely possible he had read a draft of Bat3 before finishing work on SF.

Before this is dismissed as sour grapes and more distaste for Logan's alleged talent, note that he already has a history of having his name appear on an instatnly-written script that largely duplicated one already written by another party, one that the guy who hired him had read (you can find out about this and the issues with two different football scripts if you research Oliver Stone's ANY GIVEN SUNDAY.)

And in terms of bribing scripts -- or other secret bits -- out of studios, that isn't unheard of either. There's some pretty substantial evidence -- I am pretty sure this is discusses in the book Dan Richter (Moon-Watcher) wrote about 2001 -- that somebody on John Chambers' crew stole an ape mask & suit from MGM, one developed by Stuart Freeborn for 2001, and that this work in part allowed Chambers to do PLANET OF THE APES (if you look at the earlier test for APES, it is a helluva lot rougher looking ... part of that IS that it is a test but since that test was used to sell the studio on the thing, you've gotta figure he was putting his best foot forward ... and it ain't all that great.)

Control wrote:

http://whatculture.com/film/7-ways-skyfall-borrowed-from-batman.php

"7 Ways Skyfall Borrowed from Batman"

Another article by someone who's never read Fleming's Bond. The writer was obviously grasping for straws, especially with the comparison of derailed trains.

Somebody needs to do a "7 Ways Batman Borrowed from Bond" article.

Sykes should write one.

It's rather interesting that people try to deny that Bond borrowed quite a bit from Nolan's Batman.
As Loomis rightly points out in his post, EON has been borrowing from whatever is in vogue since at least the 1970s. Why would they stop now?

I don't have a problem with Mendes stealing from Nolan, then preceding to wipe the floor with those Godforsaken BATMAN flicks.

By all means, let us know when Mendes is able to lift those ideas AND improve upon them.

Chrissake!

He did. It's called SKYFALL.

I hate having to repeat myself, probably as much as you hate having to defend Mendes stealing from Nolan by trying to turn it into something else.

Can't wait till you use the same passive-aggressive defense on TREK this summer ... or can I?

Christ, and I actually decided NOT to jump into that thread where you just tore into somebody something fierce for liking CRASH. You've gone from being a miildly amusing nuisance to a really insufferable prick, which does a lot to undue my esteem for your areas of knowledge.

I'm no big Trek fan and I can't stand Abrams, so you're safe there.

My monitor's blown so I'm having to type with my phone, and have come down with the flu - which is why I'm probably more insufferable than usual. I was being tongue-in-cheek when I attacked Manhunter. I only do it b ecause I know he can take it, and he gets my sensauma. I'm not mallicious justa bit delirius.

Someone knock me.out.

Salomé wrote:

It's rather interesting that people try to deny that Bond borrowed quite a bit from Nolan's Batman.

EON clearly followed Nolan & Co. by rebooting Bond in 2006. Seems like the mid-00s were filled with reboots, though. However, I'm not seeing how SKYFALL borrowed that much from Nolan's DARK KNIGHT films.

Faking death, going on hiatus, meeting with the quartermaster, foiling terrorist plots, etc. is nothing new for James Bond. He's been doing this long before Nolan stepped in to take over Batman. Hell, the character has been doing this long before Batman showed up on the big screen.

The Silva/Joker comparisons are a bit ridiculous. The Wayne Manor vs. Skyfall Mansion comparisons may hold up.

Then there are people comparing Newman's score for SKYFALL and Zimmer's scores for Nolan's Batman films. If anything, I think Newman's music for SKYFALL honored (unintentionally or intentionally) the past 50 years of Bond music. When I listen to the score, I hear references to Barry, Martin, Conti, Kamen, Serra, and Arnold. Plus, it's a lot more interesting than most of the shit Zimmer's produced for Batman. Newman didn't do too well with the action cues, however, and they do sound more Zimmer-esque than anything. Perhaps this is where the argument stems from.

Control wrote:

The Silva/Joker comparisons are a bit ridiculous.

How so?

Loomis wrote:

Control wrote:

The Silva/Joker comparisons are a bit ridiculous.

How so?

They're similar in quirkiness and disfigurment. They're both terrorists. Alec Trevelyan had the same character traits, though. This isn't the first time a Bond film has included a character like this. Then there's always a critic referencing the shot of Silva walking away from the Skyfall inferno, comparing it to Ledger's Joker--as if that's a point that could ever hold up in an argument.

I think Nolan's Batman films have been influenced by 007, instead of the other way around. He has admitted to being a Bond fan, too. I think fanboyism and the popularity of his DARK KNIGHT films have lead to critics calling SKYFALL a copy-cat film. EON cashed in on the reboot idea, and so have other franchises.

Nolan's Batman is like Brosnan's Bond, but wearing a bat costume most of the time.

I guess some Bond fans would like to believe that Mendes has barely even heard of THE DARK KNIGHT, but I don't think that's the case. Far from it.

Read this:

http://collider.com/sam-mendes-skyfall-the-dark-knight/204523/

Bond influenced Nolan's Batman films, which in turn influenced Bond.

Control wrote:

They're similar in quirkiness and disfigurment. They're both terrorists.

Well, there you go. Just because those traits are to be found in Alec Trevelyan - and indeed most other Bond villains - it doesn't invalidate the Joker/Silva similarities, which have been widely noted. No one's claiming that the Joker and Silva are the same character, or even that the character of Silva rips off the Joker. But it does seem fairly obvious that the Joker was an influence on Silva. Not that it's a bad thing for Bond to be influenced by things. It's a good thing. It's essential, in fact.