The winners in Skyfall

Silva dies, but so does M and it’s part of Bond’s job to protect her. Given that outcome, can this be regarded as a successful mission for 007? He’s got his mojo back, but at what cost?

If one believes in the importance of legacy and the old fashioned virtues that Skyfall advocates, then M dying in direct fire combat is more honourable than ‘being put out to grass’. Particularly after she thinks on her sins and concludes, “I fucked up, didn’t I?” M, possibly the biggest villain in Skyfall, is instead anointed a hero on her passing. Her useful death brings an awkward and embarrassing government enquiry to a neat end and Mallory benefits indirectly from taking a bullet in the line of duty: his succession could not have begun any better. So M and Mallory may both be victors as far as history is concerned.

The question remains: is 007 a winner in Skyfall? He's free of M, at least. Maybe he should thank Silva for that.

As I've said elsewhere, it's a pyrrhic victory for Bond.

I think that a key part of Silva's plot is to turn Bond against M. He clearly tries to when he has Bond captive and goes over his test results. But since Bond stayed the course, Silva failed.

What's more, he tried to humiliate MI6 and see M removed from her position. And although she was stood down in the end, she was offered honours if she went quietly.

Finally, although she is mortally wounded in the attack on the lodge, Silva has no way of knowing for sure that she will die of her wounds. After all, he tries to have her kill him and herself when all he had to do was stand back and watch. M is still alive when Silva dies, so as far as Silva is concerned, he has failed.

Also, I fail to see how M is a villain. That, I suspect, is just your dislike of her.

The M/Silva backstory is WAY too sketchy, and for me, it is easy to see M and Silva as the US Military command and Colonel Kurtz in APOCALYPSE NOW ... which makes it easier to sympathize with Silva. Either there was a lot more backstory or it wasn't thought out well-enough.

What points are unclear?

Or do you think M is an unreliable narrator? And if so, what possible reason does she have to lie about Silva?

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

Also, I fail to see how M is a villain.

Of course you do.

Nobody wins in this movie, close to be winners are Malory and Eve.

From Silvia you can say he lost more then Bond in Die Another Day.

MBalje wrote:

Nobody wins in this movie, close to be winners are Malory and Eve.

I'd say you're right, Balje.

JAMES BOND - Fails perhaps his most important mission: protect the head of SIS. Despite his other minor victories in the film, this is a heavy hit.

M - Fails in leading the operation to retrieve the hard drive (leading to the death of undercover operatives), orders the shot that hits Bond, her past actions, regarding Silva, lead to terrorist attacks around London and the deaths of government employees. Eventually dies, as a result of her past actions.

SILVA - Fails to kill M himself, which seems to be his main objective/obsession.

SEVERINE - The Modigliani assassination and pay-off is essentially botched, she buys into the idea that Bond could kill her employer, and she fails to escape the sex trade. Eventually killed by Silva.

MALLORY - Fails to oversee M's smooth transition into retirement. Takes on the position of head of SIS.

EVE - Fails to retrieve the hard drive, critically injures a fellow agent, removed from field work and put behind a desk (maybe the worst thing that could happen to an active Mi6 agent, next to death).

Q - Allows Mi6 to be hacked through general carelessness and arrogance.

PATRICE - Succeeds in stealing the hard drive, killing the art dealer, but fails to retrieve his payment. Destined to fail, also, as Severine's men were to kill him at the casino, anyway.

KINCAID - Fails to protect Skyfall, fails to bring M to safety.

TANNER - Fails to remove M from the court house and puts his superior in direct danger.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

What points are unclear?

Or do you think M is an unreliable narrator? And if so, what possible reason does she have to lie about Silva?

I absolutely find her an unreliable narrator. Her reluctance to discuss the matter for half of the movie, for one, which shouldn't be a red flag, but given the way it all plays, SEEMS like one to me.

The feeding of Silva to the wolves seems like an afterthought in this movie, when given that this whole thing revolves around Silva's actions and reactions (hey, we don't even see Bond throw the knife, the drama is all with the other people, it is like Bond is now Domino at the end of TB or something), it still seems to me that merits a lot more coverage ... ideally, reflected/refracted by Bond's experiences with her (not just the recent ones.) Maybe I'll be able to watch it again when it goes to video to see if there is something I missed or misread (my attention wandered a lot, admittedly), but I'm not even remotely enthused by the prospect at this point.

trevanian wrote:

I absolutely find her an unreliable narrator. Her reluctance to discuss the matter for half of the movie, for one, which shouldn't be a red flag, but given the way it all plays, SEEMS like one to me.

M doesn't deny anything Silva says, though (all she does is add a few contextual details that doesn't really change anything), so Silva's account stands.

trevanian wrote:

The feeding of Silva to the wolves seems like an afterthought in this movie

M's betrayal of Silva is literally right at the center of SKYFALL, and is underlined pretty strongly. I don't know what more you're looking for in that regard.

Control wrote:

MBalje wrote:

Nobody wins in this movie, close to be winners are Malory and Eve.

I'd say you're right, Balje.

JAMES BOND - Fails perhaps his most important mission: protect the head of SIS. Despite his other minor victories in the film, this is a heavy hit.

M - Fails in leading the operation to retrieve the hard drive (leading to the death of undercover operatives), orders the shot that hits Bond, her past actions, regarding Silva, lead to terrorist attacks around London and the deaths of government employees. Eventually dies, as a result of her past actions.

SILVA - Fails to kill M himself, which seems to be his main objective/obsession.

SEVERINE - The Modigliani assassination and pay-off is essentially botched, she buys into the idea that Bond could kill her employer, and she fails to escape the sex trade. Eventually killed by Silva.

MALLORY - Fails to oversee M's smooth transition into retirement. Takes on the position of head of SIS.

EVE - Fails to retrieve the hard drive, critically injures a fellow agent, removed from field work and put behind a desk (maybe the worst thing that could happen to an active Mi6 agent, next to death).

Q - Allows Mi6 to be hacked through general carelessness and arrogance.

PATRICE - Succeeds in stealing the hard drive, killing the art dealer, but fails to retrieve his payment. Destined to fail, also, as Severine's men were to kill him at the casino, anyway.

KINCAID - Fails to protect Skyfall, fails to bring M to safety.

TANNER - Fails to remove M from the court house and puts his superior in direct danger.

That is a pretty thorough summation, yes.

Is it guaranteed that Severine's men were going to kill Patrice at the casino? I thought they were going to kill Bond because he wasn't Patrice, not that there was a plan in place to kill whoever redeemed the chip, period.

Harmsway wrote:

Is it guaranteed that Severine's men were going to kill Patrice at the casino? I thought they were going to kill Bond because he wasn't Patrice, not that there was a plan in place to kill whoever redeemed the chip, period.

You could be right. Given their dirty business, however, I'm sure Patrice would have been offed somewhere down the line.

Doesn't Bond getting killed by these literal heavies go against the apparent plan of Silva to be captured by Bond and brought inside mi6? Or was Silva going to do a John Doe and just walk in and give himself up?

I get the impression that the bodyguards weren't in constant contact with Silva. Just briefed to escort and watch over Severine when off the island.

M in SKYFALL is essentially Victor Frankenstein.

I don't think Bond failed at all. M was a goner. If she lived, she was going to be fired. His assignment was not so much to protect M as it was to get rid of Silva, who, despite his motives, was a terrorist.

Bond killed Silva, thus making his assignment a success. M was killed as an unintended result. She willingly agreed to serve as bait to lure Silva to Bond. Her death, however tragic, was collateral damage to a mission.

On an emotional level, perhaps Bond did not win. He clearly had an attachment to M - he wanted to walk away her alive. But, at the same time, M's career was essentially over and this might have been the best way for her to bow out, as morbid as it seems. Perhaps Bond can find solace in that thought.

Just In J wrote:

I don't think Bond failed at all. M was a goner. If she lived, she was going to be fired

She was going to be awarded the GCSM with full honours after being 'retired'....which was a far more subtle way of getting a pink slip.

I thought they were intentionally setting up M as a bit of a villain. Even she says it, "I fucked up, didn't I?" I can kind of see her, Bond, Silva and Moneypenny on an episode of Jerry Springer.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Silva dies, but so does M and it’s part of Bond’s job to protect her. Given that outcome, can this be regarded as a successful mission for 007? He’s got his mojo back, but at what cost?

I wouldn't say Bond fails his mission. In fact, Silva hasn't won: he wanted to kill M but [a] he didn't killed her (it wasn't his shot) and [b] he was killed before he could see her die. In the only thing I might imagine Silva succeded was in ashame MI6 and having her "retired" from MI6 by Mallory.