# Bad News: Mendes to Direct Next Bond **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237 "2013-07-11T17:19:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/41 "2013-07-12T20:07:43Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Silva’s plan was to kill M at the public hearing. The fact that he had a _ **backup plan** _ in case of capture just proves that he’s a Bond villain. This was after he was captured, and then magically escaped by [ul] [li]Predicting that Q would hook up his computer to the MI-6 internal network which controls all security[/li][li]Figured out how to write a trojan which could autonomously hack into the network and release him at just the dramatic moment that M was up in front of the hearing[/li][li]Escape through the Tube system and meet up with his henchmen who were waiting with a police uniform[/li][li]Lure Bond into a sewer below an Underground route just in time to derail a train and send it barreling toward Bond[/li][li]And then not quite manage to kill M despite having the initiative of charging into a room of totally unprepared people. [/li][/ul] Never mind the fact that when this brilliant plan fails, he somehow arranges to show up in Scotland with two groups of mercenaries and a military transport helicopter, and yet still cannot manage to kill Bond or M (who actually dies because of Bond’s incompetence). Silva is an example of the villain archetype who is so brilliant he outpredicts and outmaneuvers the heros at every single turn until the final scene where he inexplicably fails at the last possible moment for no particular reason. It is an example of sloppy, insipid plotting, i.e. let’s make the bad guy more and more dangerous until he actually turns out to be a complete imbecile. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/42 "2013-07-12T20:25:57Z")
So some (like **pancakes3** ) think Skyfall wasn’t silly enough, while others (like **Stranger On A Train** ) think it’s too silly? > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Before this thread I thought that Skyfall was universally loved. And according to Rotten Tomatoes (92% critics, 88% public) it is. > > [Skyfall | Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/skyfall/) It’s not that universally loved then, is it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/43 "2013-07-12T20:26:59Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Silva is an example of the villain archetype who is so brilliant he outpredicts and outmaneuvers the heros at every single turn until the final scene where he inexplicably fails at the last possible moment for no particular reason. It is an example of sloppy, insipid plotting, i.e. let’s make the bad guy more and more dangerous until he actually turns out to be a complete imbecile. Meh, we’ll have to disagree. > [@Bozuit](#): > > It’s not that universally loved then, is it? 🙂 It’s close enough. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/44 "2013-07-12T20:59:08Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > It’s not that the dalliances are gritty, its that the woman is a sex-slave and Bond still comes on to her, because…Bond. Well, in either case, it is simply not a James Bond hookup without a [Disposable Woman](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DisposableWoman). ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/45 "2013-07-12T21:49:04Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > This was after he was captured, and then magically escaped by [ul] > [li]Predicting that Q would hook up his computer to the MI-6 internal network which controls all security[/li][li]Figured out how to write a trojan which could autonomously hack into the network and release him at just the dramatic moment that M was up in front of the hearing[/li][li]Escape through the Tube system and meet up with his henchmen who were waiting with a police uniform[/li][li]Lure Bond into a sewer below an Underground route just in time to derail a train and send it barreling toward Bond[/li][li]And then not quite manage to kill M despite having the initiative of charging into a room of totally unprepared people. [/li][/ul] And ke knew that all this would happen b/c Bond would find a poker chip in China from a Macau casino, go to Macau, find the prostitute at the casino that would take Bond to that island, capture him, move him to a particular underground bunker that he knew MI-6 would move to after he blew up their headquarters even though it hadn’t been used in years, place in a specific glass cage that had locks controlled by the virus, have not enough guards / trained guards so that he could overpower them during his escape, etc. etc. Also, seeings as how he’d been planning this for years, he had an impressive knowledge of British court proceedings, down to the very minute that M would be at that hearing at that time on that day. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/46 "2013-07-12T21:57:24Z")
[quote=“Stranger\_On\_A\_Train, post:41, topic:663237”] [ul] [li]Lure Bond into a sewer below an Underground route just in time to derail a train and send it barreling toward Bond[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] I only saw it once, so I’m going by memory here, but that part really annoyed me. Bond has already been chasing Silva, and shooting at him. His plan is exposed and there’s no reason to keep him alive at this point (if there ever was). Silva is climbing a ladder, Bond comes in to the same chamber and has a clear shot at him. And he starts monologging, and it delays things just enough for the subway train to crash through. No, just shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/47 "2013-07-12T23:03:34Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > And ke knew that all this would happen b/c Bond would find a poker chip in China from a Macau casino, go to Macau, find the prostitute at the casino that would take Bond to that island, capture him, move him to a particular underground bunker that he knew MI-6 would move to after he blew up their headquarters even though it hadn’t been used in years, place in a specific glass cage that had locks controlled by the virus, have not enough guards / trained guards so that he could overpower them during his escape, etc. etc. > > Also, seeings as how he’d been planning this for years, he had an impressive knowledge of British court proceedings, down to the very minute that M would be at that hearing at that time on that day. Even the writers of ‘24’ were thinking this is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/48 "2013-07-12T23:05:05Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Bond did have a meaningless, gritty dalliance in _Casino Royale_. He traces that cell phone call to someone in the Bahamas, wins his car in a poker game, then sleeps with his wife to find out where he’s going next. When she’s killed he doesn’t bat an eye. And that’s all before he met Vesper. He takes the guys car, fucks his wife and kills him…in one night. Now, the wife and killing bit were under stable, but taking his car was just cruel. I like Daniel Craig, but frankly, I think Ralph Finnes would have been a better Bond. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/49 "2013-07-13T00:00:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Bond did have a meaningless, gritty dalliance in _Casino Royale_. He traces that cell phone call to someone in the Bahamas, wins his car in a poker game, then sleeps with his wife to find out where he’s going next. When she’s killed he doesn’t bat an eye. And that’s all before he met Vesper. He doesn’t sleep with her. They’re about to get started when he has to leave for Miami. So he orders room service for one and leaves her. So he certainly would have. But he didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237/50 "2013-07-14T13:27:29Z")
The sheer absurdity of Silva’s plan is what ruined it for me, and I wasn’t otherwise enchanted anyway. There was probably a lot of good story potential in a former 00 agent who’d been abandoned by M, if they’d had the guts to show Bond beginning to question his own loyalties (i.e. “am I going to end up like THIS guy, tossed aside when M decides I’m no longer useful?”) but they made him determinedly unsympathetic and implausible and conveniently situationally incompetent that I just stopped caring. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-mendes-to-direct-next-bond/663237.md?page=2)