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007,

We look at the similarities between Skyfall & Christopher Nolan films are they a slap down or an invitation to direct 007? SPOILERS DON'T READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SKYFALL! - ANALYSIS

Similarities between James Bond and Batman

If you have seen Skyfall you probably felt that there were some similarities to Christopher Nolan’s films as I did and  I have been bemused when others have said that Skyfall is The Dark Knight to Casino Royale’s Batman Begins but couldn’t really substantiate the point past trying to draw a link between The Dark Knight and Sam Mendes's quote regarding The Dark Knight - see below. So I thought I would throw out some thoughts on possible parallels and synchronicity I see between Skyfall and Christopher Nolan’s films. I would suggest that if you have not seen Skyfall yet you stop reading this now.

The Establishing Shot review of Skyfall can be found here and our review of The Dark Knight Rises review here!

In discussion with Drew Taylor of The Playlist regarding parallels between Nolan's Batman films and Skyfall Sam Mendes has said:



Whilst I agree that The Dark Knight may not have been the biggest influence on the story of Skyfall - as The Dark Knight Rises is clearly more of an influence I felt I identified further synchronicity and references to Nolan’s works past the tone and couldn't help wonder if the Bond team were giving Christopher Nolan a little of his own - as he has openly admitted to plundering from Bond films over time for his own needs - or if it was more of an acceptance of Nolan’s not so subtle request to direct a Bond film?

Knightfall Skyfall

SIMILAR TITLES : SKYFALL

Skyfall alludes to the sky falling down and in Skyfall this motif is threaded throughout the story. Skyfall has a pertinent meaning tied into its climax when death literally comes from above, as well as the aforementioned - being a place that may derive its name originally from its location being between two mountains and from a certain vantage point visited in the film it looks like the sky is falling in on it. Thirdly the title ties into a crucial event that becomes somewhat lost in the magnitude of events that follow – but James Bond falls from the sky to his death at one point.


But whilst not strictly a Nolan meme Knightfall and The Dark Knight Falls are both titles synonymous with Batman. The Dark Knight Falls is the third and final part of Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight in which Batman was re-imagined for a darker future world. In The Dark Knight Falls Batman “dies” but is resurrected.

More pertinent is Batman: Knightfall, both the story arc that kicks off the Knightfall trilogy consisting of Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd as well as the title of the three story lines combined. In Knightfall Bane breaks Bruce Wayne’s back leaving him for dead but he resurrects himself across the other two story arcs which ran for a year.

Batman's Grave - Photo courtesy of @SupermanTweets

Christopher Nolan used Knightfall for the basis of The Dark Knight Rises, but sadly compacted the timeline - much to the detriment to the narrative of The Dark Knight Rises.

Christopher Nolan has said that his Batman trilogy was an elemental fight and the elements may have indeed grounded his Batman films adding gravitas. So even if the Knightfall – Skyfall similarity is a coincidence - there is more than an elemental ring to the title Skyfall.

Batman Trilogy Elemental Poster

SIMILAR PLOT DEVICES
a) After being left for "dead" our hero resurrects himself 
As I explained in my previous point both Batman and Bond die and make a comeback. Again not conclusively a Christopher Nolan Batman thing as Bond died and was resurrected in Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel You Only Live Twice novel and then on screen in Roald Dahl's adaptation of You Only Live Twice directed by Lewis Gilbert.

Skyfall James Bond's obituary

But I would contest when combined with the obvious similarities of both heroes being in films released in the same year, where they are both wounded and disappear to be resurrected - gives this point more substance.

The difference between The Dark Knight Rises and Sam Mendes’s Skyfall character resurrection is that rather than creating confusion and a huge pothole around his recovery and reappearance Mendes’s James Bond’s disappearance and reappearance makes sense.


b) Our hero’s city is attacked in a grand fashion
In The Dark Knight Rises Bane and his allies have a stranglehold on Gotham – in Skyfall Silva and his allies create fear and bring London to a stand still. Our villains attack the cities our heroes watch over.

Batman Begins Batman watching over Gotham

Skyfall James Bond watches over London

The Dark Knight Rises Bane Attacks Gotham City

Skyfall Silva attacks London

c) The dynamic between our protagonists
Bruce Wayne’s Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) was basically a thinly veiled Q, with Skyfall Quartermaster Q makes a youthful comeback. In the form of Ben Whishaw.

The Dark Knight Rises Lucius Fox and Bruce Wayne

The playful push pull mentor pupil dynamics between the two are very much in the style of Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox which seems to echo the original Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and Bond’s relationship.

Skyfall Q Ben Whishaw & James Bond Daniel Craig

Bond's relationship with M has shades of Batman and Commissioner Gordon's relationship this is further played with in one scene where Bond like Batman appears out of the shadows to chat with M.

d) Our villains employ similar methods to get close to their targets
Finally and the only clear parallel between Silva and Heath Ledger’s Joker is that Silva borrows from The Joker’s method of operation playbook to get close to his targets.

The Dark  Knight The Joker

Skyfall Sillva

e) More of a straight out reference than a plot device - a storm’s coming
At one point James Bond looks skyward and says “A Storm’s coming” as an ominous warning. This line is used in both Batman Begins by Batman and then again in The Dark Knight Rises by Selina Kyle.









This could of course also allude to a sailor’s concern - a reference to James Bond’s earlier maritime history if the new series relies on Ian Fleming’s original naval background for Bond which it seems to as Bond has the R.N. abbreviation for Royal Navy in his obituary rather than the RNVR (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve) that he had in Ian Fleming's books. As related side note: Whilst discussing the underwater shoots for Skyfall it was revealed that Daniel Craig is a keen scuba diver so I’m guessing that we may well see more of James Bond’s underwater exploits moving forward.
The two most obvious similarities is that firstly Batman visited Hong Kong a special administrative area of China in The Dark Knight to retrieve mob accountant Lau.

The Dark Knight Batman in Hong Kong

In Skyfall James Bond pursues an agent to Shanghai China.

Secondly underground tunnels are a prominent features in both films as both locations and devices to move the plot along.

Skyfall tunnels

Skyfall Silva in a tunnel

Tunnels play a part in both Bruce Wayne and Bond's childhood as well as in both; The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall underground tunnels are used by our villains in their planning.

Batman Begins Wayne Manor Tunnel

The Dark Knight Rises Bane sewer tunnel rise

More subtly in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises - and referring back to the elemental aspects of Nolan’s Batman - ice plays a part in the story. From the outset of the marketing for The Dark Knight Rises we were shown  the bat symbol cracking and shattered this tied into the frozen river that separated Gotham from the mainland. This was a device used in the comics but Nolan brought the broader symbolism of authorities / those in control / bankers walking on thin ice that could give way anytime.

The Dark Knight Rises thin ice

This could also be a reference to the lesson that Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) teaches him regarding sacrificing  sure footing for a killing stroke when Bruce & Ra's  are training on ice. this lesson can be applied to both Batman's actions and the general authorities in The Dark Knight Rises.

Well Mendes uses a similar setting but rather shows just how Bond deals with thin ice in his own special blunt and ballsy way.


Talking about the ice, the scenes in question was shot across Glencoe, Glen Etive in Scotland, Hankley Common and of course Pinewood. I would also have to mention (without giving too much away) that this location - is the Bond equivalent of the Wayne Mansion and suffers a similar fate to the Wayne Mansion at the end of Batman Begins.

Batman Begins Wayne Manor burns

Skyfall a lodge burns