FILM · 2012 · UK
Skyfall
- Directed by
- Sam Mendes
- Runtime
- 143 min
- Studio
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, EON Productions, Columbia Pictures
320 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it's up to Bond, aided only by field agent Eve, to locate the mastermind behind the attack.
Summary: TMDB
20 Facts on the Deeper Meaning of Skyfall
- #019
A few days after the film opened in the UK, the real MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service (S.I.S.), ran a full-page advertisement in "The Times" and "The Sunday Times" under the headline "If the qualities that make a good spy were obvious, they wouldn't make a very good spy." The ad's aim was to debunk the legend and mythology surrounding fictional spies like James Bond in the film, stating that real-life espionage work is not "high-speed chases and shoot-outs" and that the average spy is not a "globe-trotting secret agent." Real agents, it showed, are actually "far more ordinary." The ad also rejected the white male spy stereotype, saying "the truth is, we don't care what sex you are, or where you're from, as long as you're a British national." The humorous campaign is considered one of MI6's most open recruitment campaigns. Even so, the ad still warns of extreme secrecy and strict confidentiality, advising potential applicants that they cannot tell anyone they have applied.
- #042
Javier Bardem described his character as follows: "An angel of death, a man who is rotten inside but very cleanly shaven. He has a very personal goal, he is not trying to destroy the world, and he moves toward that goal. A man seeking revenge. It is about focusing on the one person he wants to eliminate." Bardem also explained about finding the character inside the villain: "It is always about who the person behind the character is. It would be very difficult for me to play a role I had just seen. A kind of symbol. In this case, there is a man who is suffering, full of pain and frustration, who just wants to fix the situation. There was room to be funny or aggressive on this journey, but I could understand very well who he was, and that helped me portray him."
- #079
The painting that Q (Ben Whishaw) and James Bond (Daniel Craig) view at the National Gallery is "The Fighting Temeraire" (1839) by J. M. W. Turner. It depicts the most famous of his paintings, the H.M.S. Temeraire, one of the last 90-98 gun "second class" warships that played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It was decommissioned in 1838 and towed from Sheerness to Rotherhithe to be scrapped. Turner's main purpose in painting it was to evoke a sense of loss at the death of a ship that had once seen great glory. This evokes the theme of the aging warriors M (Dame Judi Dench) and Bond, referenced again in M's quotation from Tennyson. The painting featured in the private sale is Woman with a Fan (1919) by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. The reason it is a private sale is that it was stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris in May 2010. The same painting appears hanging in Madeleine's room at Blofeld's facility in Morocco in Spectre (2015).
- #089
Q and Bond initially look at J. M. W. Turner's painting "The Fighting Temeraire." Turner depicts the old ship of the line HMS Temeraire being towed away for scrapping. This mirrors Bond himself as an aging warrior being retired. However, at the end of the film, while Bond speaks with the new M, there is another painting in the background, this time depicting the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Temeraire's finest hour, symbolizing 007's return.
- #106
The four-year gap between the release of Quantum of Solace (2008) and this film is the third-longest period between James Bond films. This gap between films also represents the longest stretch between films without a change of actor playing James Bond. The previous intervals between Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995) (the longest period between films in the series) and later between Die Another Day (2002) and Casino Royale (2006) were accompanied by cast changes in the actor playing James Bond. The gap between Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2020), at five years, now ranks second.
- #110
The opening few seconds are a tribute to the traditional gun barrel openings of previous James Bond films. The long, dark corridor with a bright light at its end resembles the shape of the gun barrel. Bond enters the frame from off-screen with a gun in his hand and is silhouetted at the end of the corridor. Then only the first three notes of the Bond theme are played.
- #114
With the cooperation and support of the Mayor of London's Office and Transport for London, the production managed to close Vauxhall Bridge and Millbank for a scene in which M witnesses a terrorist attack on MI6 Headquarters. The explosion at MI6 Headquarters was represented that day by a few fireworks, but later a one-third-scale miniature model of MI6 was built on the backlot at Pinewood Studios, where longtime James Bond special effects expert Chris Corbould, this film's special effects and miniature effects supervisor, used twenty-eight explosives to recreate the attack.
- #145
Although this film had the most product placement of any James Bond film compared with its predecessors, it was the first in twenty-three years (since Licence to Kill, 1989) neither to introduce a brand-new car model nor to showcase a model in a major action scene. Every Bond film since Die Another Day (2002) had featured a wide range of vehicles produced by Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which then included Aston Martin, Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo. After Quantum of Solace (2008) was shot, however, Ford completely disbanded its foreign brand portfolio and with it the company's product placement arrangement. As a result, no Fords appear in this film, and current Land Rover and Jaguar production vehicles are shown only in brief shots. The only car shown at length in this film is Bond's famous 1964 Aston Martin DB5, first seen in Goldfinger (1964) and featured in a total of six Bond films. As a series icon and an automotive classic, the DB5's presence in the films was never part of a product placement deal (although the company did pay to place its modern Vanquish and DBS models in earlier films). As of 2015 it is the last modern Bond film to hold that distinction, since Aston Martin unveiled the then-new DB10 model as part of a promotional deal for Spectre (2015).
- #146
While discussing a possible retirement plan with M, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) is told he will be awarded "D. C. M. G. With honours". "D. C. M. G." stands for "Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George", a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by the Prince Regent George, later King George IV, while he was serving as regent for his father King George III. It is awarded to men and women who hold high office or render extraordinary or important non-military service in a foreign country, and may also be awarded for important or loyal service in relation to foreign and Commonwealth affairs. Dame Judi Dench holds the DBE, Dame of the Order of the British Empire.
- #156
This is only the fourth James Bond film in the official series whose title text does not allow the 007 symbol to be formed by creating one or two "0"s for marketing purposes. The others include Thunderball (1965), Live and Let Die (1973) and The Living Daylights (1987). This is the fifth if the unofficial Never Say Never Again (1983) is included.
- #158
The film used more varied locations for shooting in Great Britain, particularly London and Scotland, than any other James Bond film in the series' history. Several different locations in London were used for interiors and exteriors, some of which are not normally accessible for filming. The London locations include Vauxhall Bridge; Millbank; the Old Vic Tunnels; an underground car park on Great Suffolk Street; Trinity Square; the entrance to Broadgate Tower; the Virgin Active Pool in Canary Wharf; Cadogan Square; the National Portrait Gallery; Parliament Square; Tower Hill; the roof of the Department of Energy and Climate Change building; Smithfield Meat Market; St. Bartholomew's Hospital; Charing Cross Underground Station; the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich; Southwark; Whitehall; and London's iconic Trafalgar Square.
- #173
This film marks the return of title designer Daniel Kleinman, who created the opening titles and gun barrel sequences from GoldenEye (1995) to Casino Royale (2006). On the previous film Kleinman had been replaced by the American special effects company MK12. This is Kleinman's sixth outing as the series' title designer and his second collaboration on a James Bond film starring Daniel Craig.
- #175
The boat on which James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe) travel is named "The Chimera", which comes from Greek mythology and inspired the character of Sévérine. In real life the vessel is named "SY Regina" and is also known as "Medyat Regina".
- #197
Skyfall marks the tenth anniversary of "Bond on the Film Set," the now-standard book that documents the shooting of a James Bond film with photographs taken by Bond's regular stills photographer Greg Williams. Skyfall is the fourth book in the "Bond on the Film Set" series; the first was published in 2002 alongside Die Another Day (2002). Before that, Bond films had "making of" books such as those for GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
- #203
Contains a major spoiler — show
Villains in the James Bond film series usually have some physiological disorder or feature that makes them distinguishable. For this film, Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) has a false jaw. This is because he attempted suicide by implanting a hydrogen cyanide capsule in his left rear molar; it broke open and physically damaged his lower jawbone. Interestingly, Jaws (Richard Kiel) from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979), another villain with a false jaw, is Bardem's favourite Bond villain. Similarly, Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe), initially presented as a hostile femme fatale working with Silva, has a tattoo on her wrist as a distinguishing feature. However, as her true character is revealed, it is discovered that the tattoo means she belongs to the sex trade in Macau.
- #207
This is the first James Bond film to have two separate train action sequences involving different trains. From Russia with Love (1963), Live and Let Die (1973), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Octopussy (1983) and GoldenEye (1995) all had only one locomotive. This film is also the second Bond film with a fight on the roof of a train; the first was Octopussy (1983). In addition, Charing Cross Underground Station was used as the filming location for the Temple and Westminster Underground stations seen in the film.
- #221
Naomie Harris is the fourth actress to play Miss Moneypenny in the official series. Counting Pamela Salem in the unofficial Never Say Never Again (1983) and Casino Royale (1967), Harris is the sixth; in the latter the character was technically Miss Moneypenny's daughter. Harris's Moneypenny is named Eve, the first time the character has been given a name in the official series. This film marks the character's first appearance in the series since Die Another Day (2002). Harris is also the first black actress to play the role. Lois Maxwell first played Miss Moneypenny in fourteen James Bond films from 1962 to 1985, across all of Sir Sean Connery's, George Lazenby's and Sir Roger Moore's films. Maxwell was followed by Caroline Bliss in two films during the Timothy Dalton era and by Samantha Bond in four films during the Pierce Brosnan era. This film represents the first time Miss Eve Moneypenny is a fully fledged main Bond Girl rather than a supporting character.
- #238
Skyfall includes the phrase "For her eyes only", a variation of the earlier James Bond short story, the compilation novel title and the film title For Your Eyes Only (1981). These were a variation on the real-life espionage term "Eyes Only", meaning restricted viewing for specific personnel. The website "The Free Dictionary" defines "Eyes Only" as "meant to be seen only by the addressee; confidential" and "official classification for documents; meant to be seen by only the person to whom it is directed."
- #255
Bérénice Marlohe said her characterization of Bond girl Sévérine was inspired by two things: "The Chimera" from mythology and Famke Janssen's Bond girl character Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye (1995). This film is Marlohe's first English-language role, making her the sixth French actress to play a Bond girl; the others are Claudine Auger (Thunderball (1965)), Corinne Cléry (Moonraker (1979)), Carole Bouquet (For Your Eyes Only (1981)), Sophie Marceau (The World Is Not Enough (1999)) and Eva Green in Casino Royale (2006). Before this film, Marlohe had once appeared on a program wearing only a red wig and nothing else. Marlohe reportedly had no agent before this film, landed the role on her own and joined the cast quite late. Marlohe was born on 19 May 1979 in Paris, only a few months after Moonraker (1979) finished filming there.
- #316
The James Bond video game 007 Legends (2012) had an extensive storyline inspired by six stories from six different James Bond films. Each story represented one of the six actors who had played Bond in the official film series up to that point: Goldfinger (1964) - Sir Sean Connery; On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - George Lazenby; Moonraker (1979) - Sir Roger Moore; Licence to Kill (1989) - Timothy Dalton; Die Another Day (2002) - Pierce Brosnan; and Skyfall (2012) - Daniel Craig. However, Bond's likeness across all the missions was Craig's.
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