7 Ways Skyfall Borrowed From Batman

raoulsilva Not only is Skyfall the highest-grossing James Bond film ever, it has also become the highest-grossing film of all time in the UK. While some critics considered Sam Mendes €˜too artsy€™ to direct a blockbuster, he has proven himself just the man to make us all forget about Quantum of Solace. But as stylish and spectacular as Skyfall may be, your typical cinema-goer may have left the screening with a sense of deja vu... Taking the reins of the Caped Crusader, Christopher Nolan may not have felt much pressure to live up to his predecessor (Joel Schumacher threatened to run the whole franchise into the ground; Batsuit, Bane and all) but nobody could've anticipated him reinventing the comic book movie adaptation. In a number of interviews, Mendes has acknowledged Nolan's achievements by referring to his trilogy (specifically The Dark Knight) as a €˜€˜game-changer€™€™. And, like The Dark Knight, the real star of the show is the villain. While he has the mandatory megalomania you'd expect in a Bond film -practically a genre in itself- rogue agent Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is so damn mesmerising you almost want him to succeed. Almost. So is Nolan's reboot a direct inspiration? There are certainly enough theories to suggest so. Although it has to be said that Skyfall's shoot ran parallel to that of The Dark Knight Rises and so, while comparisons are drawn, these are more often than not the products of coincidence. Here, with Skyfall stills in the header, are (double- oh) seven examples and just as many spoilers:
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Contributor

Yorkshireman (hence the surname). Often spotted sacrificing sleep and sanity for the annual Leeds International Film Festival. For a sample of (fairly) recent film reviews, please visit whatsnottoblog.wordpress.com.