Skyfall

[TipCap]

Just watched the new James Bond film "Skyfall" and just wondered where they got the Merlin (EH101) from in the final sequence

TC

[paco]

Don't tell me it flies into a tunnel.......

phil

[Arm out the window]

... probably with the disc tilted forward 45 degrees or so to chop up the baddies, while inching along in a walking pace hover?

[Ian Corrigible]

The 101 demonstrator was supplied directly by Yeovil. More here (http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/James-Bond-battles-AgustaWestland-Merlin/story-17110410-detail/story.html).

I/C

[Duncan Bouquet]

'The demonstration aircraft was supplied by the Yeovil manufacturer for the $150 million production'

It would appear that the film cost less money than the Merlin.

sigh.

[TipCap]

Thanks Guys. I have to say it is one of the better Bond films and certainly worth seeing :ok:

TC

[DonQuixote23]

It is, and the helicopter scene is not too alien either :)

[tegwin]

Vid here of it being shot

Uq6pIjP73UE

[before landing check list]

He was shot twice and only one scar and it changes sides on his chest several times. Other than that it was a good movie.

[misterbonkers]

Before landing checks - the scar doesn't change sides - he was looking in a mirror!

I thought it was a great film - back to how it used to be - a storyline instead a none stop adrenhaline. A silhouette of a girl in the title sequence, an amusing bad guy, a good twist in the tale and plenty of British humour, stubbornness and resilience. Just a shame the gamekeeper doesn't have the usually scottish gamekeepers accent - but then I guess no one would have understood him!

[Agaricus bisporus]

Just a shame the gamekeeper doesn't have the usually scottish gamekeepers accent

They probably didn't want to showcase to the rest of the world an ungrateful and unemployable drunken ingrate with heart disease who wants to declare UDI without letting anyone else have a say, scoff all the other peoples' pies, expect permanent welfare and petulantly chuck out their mutual security so he can pretend to revert to a gormless hollywood myth of ancient heroism (ie painted savagery) instead of buckling down and pulling together with the stiff upper lip types from south of that big old wall...

;)

Well, Bond is all about stereotypes, isn't it?

[Savoia]

AB: Well done and most amusing!

From and 'outsiders' point of view I can say that I would personally find it somewhat sad if the UK were to cede Scotland - sadder still if that is what the people of Scotland truly want but .. they have the right decide .. I suppose!

[cockney steve]

Naa It's only what they THINK they want......Poor old Haggis -munchers got conned by their lords and masters into paying a fortune for a crandiose palace for their parliament.
Did they wake up and smell the coffee?- did they bo11ocxs! Thick sods will swallow all the talk, vote in devolution and then whine as their fat-cat masters carve up the spoils among themselves.
Britain will be expected to pick up the empty shell and refill it when jockistan wants to rejoin and OUR politicians will probably go along with it too.


We were talking stereotypes, weren't we?

[kannad405]

Loving the stereotypes! I shall refrain from joining in, however, you may or may not be surprised to hear that the vast majority of Scots I know (myself included) do not want independence. I personally can't think of a worse idea!
So, back on topic, general consensus is that the film's worth a watch?

[DonQuixote23]

It is ****E being Scottish! We are ruled by effete arseh*les ;)

****e being Scottish - YouTube

[paco]

"Poor old Haggis -munchers got conned by their lords and masters into paying a fortune for a crandiose palace for their parliament."

Yeah, they built that monstrosity when there was that lovely old co-op building next to the kingston bridge.

phil

[paco]

It's been recommended by people round here - first on the list for the weekend!

phil

[TipCap]

FS

What I personally like was that it went back to the original Bond Genre. I agree that there has been too much S.E (not single engine) which is the hollywood effect.

TC

[Thomas coupling]

Not for me I'm afraid - far too cheesy and OTT. 4/10.
Bourne Legacy is far far far superior a film a definite cliffhangar.

[smallfry]

I thought it was a great film. Bond at its best. One scene lets just say 'underground' could have been cut out, but thats 20 seconds in a film. Enjoy it! :-)

[JulieAndrews]

.......so are we going to sell Scotland back to them after we bailed them out after their disastrous overseas adventure?

[stilton]

I liked you in the sound of music Julie..

[Jock MacHaggis]

Fantastic Film!

My favourite film is still Braveheart,

[Impress to inflate]

Go and see Argo, best film I've seen in years. Bond.......James Bond not released here for another few weeks

[chopper2004]

And....don't forget the trio of CGI Wildcat coming to the rescue on the island :)

Nice to see AW products being marketed heavily with the Olympics and in Bond as previously its all been Eurocopter products such as the Tiger in Goldeneye, and one of the first EC135 in Tomorrow Never Dies (parked on the ramp at 'Hamburg Airport' where Bond was trying out his remote BMW but in reality it was filmed at Inflite's hangar at Stansted :) ) not forgetting its NOTAR in Die Another Day and Casino Royale :)

Cheers

[heli-cal]

My favourite film is still Braveheart,

Apology accepted...

[Jock MacHaggis]

........back to the other thread for a minute.............

As a fellow Scot I agree with kannad 405 in that Scottish Independence would be a bad idea. I mean, just who would teach all the other pilots how to fly properly? We all know that the Scots or 'Jocks' are far superior to all other pilots :D

[Thud_and_Blunder]

chopper2004, like what you did there with the EC NOTAR + smiley.

Mind you, twasn't always EC y'know - I distinctly remember G-HUEY in one of the late-80's iterations, and ISTR a few Brantly's coming off worse against Little Nellie.

[chopper2004]

Hi Thud

Ah forgot about Living Daylights G-HUEY But You Only Live Twice :) was Sato's Brantly flown by Miss Brandt later got a dose of piranha and it was Bell 47s that came off worse by Little Nellie :)

Cheers

[Brilliant Stuff]

I thought Skyfall was BRILLIANT it had me laughing throughout. Proper British Stuff!!! Have to watch it again to savour it all.

Excellent actors as well.

[diginagain]

Not a patch on the 'Johnny English" franchise.

[500 Fan]

I went to see Skyfall during the week. I am a life-long Bond fan but I have to say that I don't think this film is one of the better ones. I really liked "The Quantum of Solace" even though it didn't meet with great reviews. This new film is quite different and doesn't seem to flow as well as QOS. It seems to be an attempt to go back to some of the basics of the old Bond films but I'm not sure it works.

Maybe part of the problem for the modern Bond film is that during the hiatus in the release of Bond films between 2002 and 2006, the Bourne films arrived on the scene and really raised the bar when it came to great spy films. I thought QOS had the grittiness of a Bourne film but this latest movie lacks that. Skyfall is still a good film and well worth going to see but if you loved QOS, you might not be so impressed by this latest chapter in the series.

500 Fan.

[jayteeto]

When I walked out of the cinema, I wasnt sure if I actually liked it or not. Next day, I decided that it was a really good film. The reason? It wasnt what I expected at the time.
The film had a few 'stolen ideas' from other blockbusters. A bit of Batman Begins, A\Team and Bourne. The scene at Skyfall was straight out of the A Team, dont you think? :ok:

[[email protected]]

The trouble is that everyone has their own favourite 'style' of bond film - the cheesy jokes and wooden acting of Roger Moore, the shag-em and shoot-em Sean Connery, the CGI-rich Dalton and Brosnan or the gritty QOS Bourne-look-a -like.

Personally I think Daniel Craig is an excellent Bond but I much preferred Skyfall to QOS - the Bourne-esque grittiness relies on filming styles that are not easy on the eye (maybe I am just getting old).

Sam Mendes achieved a lot with Skyfall - the plot was relevant, it had an excellent baddie, there was more than enough action (the stunt riders in the opening sequence did all that with no crash helmets and few options if it went wrong) and Bond was both hard-man and damaged hero with the links to his past and his affection for M. And, of course, the ladies were very easy on the eye:)

Can't wait to see what he does next.

[SilsoeSid]

Skyfall certainly tickled my fancy and I think it is the best so far. Particularly liked the appearance of the DB5, threatened use of ejector seat and (as he was clearly to close for missiles), the use of the DB's guns. Also liked the nice relationship formed with new 'Q' and especially 'M''s reply as the female MP kept trying to get one over on her ref 'shadows'.

Nice one for the crew of the 145, did you get a mention in the credits? ;)

[chopper2004]

Sid,

Are you talking about the news footage that Bond is watching, of the Met EC145 hovering by the smoke trailing from the SIS Hq? :)

cheers

[SilsoeSid]

Are you talking about the news footage that Bond is watching, of the Met EC145 hovering by the smoke trailing from the SIS Hq?

No, the one at the end with the cannon shooting up Skyfall :rolleyes:

[dangermouse]

and I believe AW staff are in the credits

DM

[SilsoeSid]

Umm...that was an AW101

Outstanding :ugh:

[Wycombe]

Saw it the other day.

A bit cheesy at times, but isn't that what Bond is supposed to be!

Great action bits/stunts (although somewhat agree with earlier comments re. the "tube" scene) and great to see M get such a leading role.

Apologies if already mentioned, but I understand that the scenes around "Skyfall" itself were filmed on Hankley Common, Surrey (about 500 miles from the Scottish Highlands!)

[diginagain]

Outstanding :ugh: You did your best, Sid.

[SilsoeSid]

Surprised that I haven't seen anything about why the Gamekeeper, Mr Kincade, assumed that M's name was Emma. Polite assumption I guess, a nice touch of old fashioned courtesy and respect.

Unless of course they 'had history' :E

I reckon she'll be back in 'Die Another Dame' :ok:

[toptobottom]

A good film, but not great IMO. A concoction of scenes from various films: Bourne, Batman, I even had 'Home Alone' and 'Hagrid' flashbacks during the Skyfall scenes and the 'Silence of the Lambs' glass cell would have worked if it was a bit more tongue in cheek :8

Maybe I'm getting old too, but going from dusk to midnight in 3 seconds? And why didn't Bond shoot the baddies with his machine gun as they walked from the Merlin towards Skyfall? Why did Kincaid and M use a zillion candle power torch to get to the chapel when they knew Silva was after them?!

Anyway, Craig is the best Bond since Connery (apparently, he's already signed up for two more) and although I miss the gadgets (only a PLB?!) and the corny seduction scenes, I'd still recommend it. Maybe more helicopters in the next one :E

[Torquetalk]

why didn't Bond shoot the baddies with his machine gun as they walked from the Merlin towards Skyfall?

Likely for the same reason that the baddies always hold Bond captive then think of some convoluted and fiendish way to kill him which, of course, fails.

Personally think Craig is better than Connery was, but I won't put that in print as it's heresy. Everyone knows Roger Moore was the best Bond anyway.

TC, if you found the Bourne film better, you would really like the first one of the Bourne "trilogy": It's the same film but with the original actors.


TT

[TipCap]

TC, if you found the Bourne film better, you would really like the first one of the Bourne "trilogy": It's the same film but with the original actors.


Havent actually seen any of the Bourne films yet TT though I have read some of the books. Will have to get the films and have a look

TC

[Vertical751]

Well... let´s see the facts:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/525559_10151214807329060_34370923_n.jpg


So, Daniel is a drunk, Pierce is a serial killer and Sean and Roger are on a epic struggle to see wich one gets more ladies. Makes sense!


Cheers,

[toptobottom]

And considering Lazenby only did one film, his conquest and drinking scores are fairly impressive :E

[Vertical751]

True true!

That´s why he didn´t filmed another one. He would run out the stock of Vodka and Martini. :O

[500 Fan]

and ladies! ;)

500 Fan.

[rotorrookie]

best line in the film, (JB about M) "she never tied me to a chair"
Raoul Silva reply "well her loss" :ok:

[SilsoeSid]

Surely the best line was from 'M' after JB said he would have to stay the night in a hotel; ......

....."Well you're not staying here!"

[verticalspin]

OxnFX-Z8nyc

some close flying done by the camera ship.

[Exo.]

No, surely the best line was JB replying to the villain "How do you know it's my first time?"

[r44raven]

Marc Wolff - simply the best!

[Ascend Charlie]

Why, oh why, do the sound people insist on using the sound track of a Huey over the real sound of a multi-blade helicopter???

The original Bond was the best. Followed closely by Brosnan. Craig plays a good action man, almost as good as Jason Statham.

Roger Moore was always the Saint to me, never James Bond. Lazenby - well, the less said the better.

[r44raven]

In quite a few movies the sound people use a eurocopter fenestron scream over visuals of jetbangers etc - suppose they just sound better. And remember anything that flies in a Bond movie makes a noise like a VNE dive. Also, in OHMSS, they managed to get tyre squeal from an Aston Martin - on a beach!:confused:

[Lonewolf_50]

Helicopter comment:

I was puzzled as to why the helicpter dove into the building, and can only guess from the vary spliced together film work that the pilot had been hit and the convulsions/pain?? resulted in his inadvertent "forward cyclic" response. I guess the co-pilot was hit as well. Very unclear.

Most movie goers won't care, but we helicopter pilots ... well, we see it with a more critical eye! :ok:

Why did Kincaid and M use a zillion candle power torch to get to the chapel when they knew Silva was after them?!
I was asking myself that during the film.

That aside, what a hell of a cast. Finney, Fiennes, Dench ... some real all stars in supporting roles, and yes, M being more in the film was goodness.
Craig is the best Bond since Connery
Yes. He's had some better scripts to work with, however, compared to Brosnan, who did well but had some turkey stories/scripts to work with.

As to Moore, who I never liked due to being a Connery fan ... I had heard that he had been first considered when the original film came out ... but I'd have to look that up.

Two issues that annoyed me in this film:

First off, we don't quite get the "how did Bond survive that fall and near drowning" (Was he wearing a bullet proof vest?) in the opener.

Secondly: the mad bad guy, while standard fare, was out of context. In sharp contrast to the rest of the film,he was just a bit too much of a cartoon. (Also disagree with that jail cell thing. Silly, given the setting. )

I agree with him trying to recruit Bond as a plot line. He's a guy who likes to think outside the box. He knows Bond is good, and that things are changing. Worth an effort.

His "omniscience" factor via the computer is a bit much, as is Q's visual display' of the geeks messing with his "enigma within a puzzle" code and virus/trojan. That is straight out of a bad Dan Brown book. :p

Given his origins, they could have made him less cartoon like, and more 'real,' and thus made this Bond film as good a film as From Russia With Love. (That was a low tech film with some very good acting, also set in Istanbul, at least in part).
On that score, the script writers really didn't do their work.

They also disappointed me with the junior agent, who was helping Bond early on. Her final disposition was a big disappointment, given that she showed some decent field craft.

Just a few too "deus ex machina" moments in a film, otherwise pretty well done from a color, shade, mood, and plot standpoint.

My son's remark: too cheesey, too many plot holes, and the Bourne films are far better, at least the first two.
I see how he comes to that conclusion, given what he grew up with.

Would like to have seen the ending be Bond and a hot lass, which is standard Bond fare. Oh well, they are trying to "change from within" and I suppose those of us who are Bond fans must grin and bear it. Too bad.

But a bloody waste of good whiskey, that was :mad: as well as the waste of a great hottie :mad: who could have made that last scene "just right" for an old Bond fan.

[chopper2004]

Lonewolf

Exactly, a fitting end with a fitting lady what was needed.....though looks like its gone back to Dr No....

introduced to a new Quartermaster

and to Miss Moneypenny

And wasn't sure about Fiennes's character at the beginning and even thought hmmm he could be one of the bad guys even :) though M should still be a naval admiral rather than former SAS colonel.

Also this is the first time, in the trilogy of Daniel Craig as Bond, where Bond is recognised as a naval officer during the old 'M' writing his obituary. If you recall, in Casino Royale, Vesper makes assumptions, on their initial meeting, that he's an SAS type (then again if you watch Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies as he exits the MH-53M Pave Low at RAF Lakenheath (meant to be substituted for Kadena) he has SF airborne wings on his uniform.

I think he has FAA wings on his sleeve and if you read Win Lose or Die by John Gardner, who took Bond into the 70s, 80s and 90s post Ian Fleming, Bond goes back into the RN as a captain and ends up as doing refresher courses, qualifying as a Sea Jet pilot on top of being in charge of tracking down a terrorist conspiracy to destroy Glasnost and Perestroika aboard Invincible. Also in Cold, which on the front cover has a AH-1W flown by Bond being chased by two Mil-8, it says when the damsel in distress / agent assisting Bond escape the first time from the renegade General, asks if he can fly from his camp in the US north west. This is as the first thing he eyes is the AH-1W SuperCobra parked outside and Bond's response is he flew the Junglie Commando.

Cheers

[Lonewolf_50]

I was head faked on Fiennes' character (having been in IRA hands for 3 months) as a possible mole. That would have made for a superb tale of "who trusts whom" but would have left open the question of who gets to be M, and how M is chosen. The other "who trusts whom" on that plot line would have been a marvelous attempt at an internal coup, being the mole/minister who deposes M and then takes over MI 6, only to be found out and foiled by Bond and his junioro agent assistant due to something the mad villain lets slip, or does, that clues them up. Or Q picks up on something and the three of them figure out that they've nearly made a mole into head of MI 6, etcetera.

Oh well, they didn't take that line.

I'd actually rather that M in the next film be a surprise. When M a la Judy Dench first showed up, you got a surprise ... and for my money, a good one.

[pitpilot]

Poorly thought out. Weak plot. Terrible characters. Budget feel. Big disappointment after such hype.

[SilsoeSid]

... And you still gave it a 3!
Was your guide dog eating the popcorn off your lap again?

[paco]

Finally got round to seeing it - worth watching, with maybe some continuity points to watch.

But who gave the villain's pilot a Merlin type rating? Surely it must have taken months to do the paperwork? :) Did he have to queue up at the Belgrano like everyone else?

phil

[flyinkiwi]

In quite a few movies the sound people use a eurocopter fenestron scream over visuals of jetbangers etc - suppose they just sound better. And remember anything that flies in a Bond movie makes a noise like a VNE dive. Also, in OHMSS, they managed to get tyre squeal from an Aston Martin - on a beach!http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/confused.gif

I remember cringing in Goldeneye when the EC Tiger lands and we get to hear the unmistakeable sound of a RR Pegasus throttling down.

0f1xCiNaswk

[chopper2004]

be cringing in Goldeneye if said pilot of Tiger used her calves around you ::cool:

[toptobottom]

RR Pegasus throttling down
...shutting down when he's still 10' off the ground! :eek:

[nomorehelosforme]

Just saw it again on Sky, who had the pleasure of flying the AW in the making of the film? Guess might be on a previous thread?

[apb]

I don't know if your question was answered before but there are two threads were you can find info about it:

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/470397-helicopters-movies-aerial-filming-techniques-2.html#post7121232

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/499086-skyfall.html

[Anthony Supplebottom]

The movie raked in the bucks because of a truck load of hype (ie. crass advertising) and the movie itself was total ****e. :yuk:

[nomorehelosforme]

Steady tiger lol! I'm not a film critic, merely asked about the AW.

Actually thought the film was ok, it is a Bond film after all!

[Commando Cody]

Anthony,

Plenty of hype can get you a realy good opening weekend, but the film has to have "legs" to make the kind of money it did (far more than anyone, even those who made it, expected).

There are lots of cases of heavily promoted films that opened big then collapsed.

Then, there's "Fast and Furious (insert number here). [sigh]

[Thomas coupling]

Dreadful film, massively over the top and beyond the wildest imagination. Just an excuse to go CAD/CGI mad! Dreadful dreadful film.

[MightyGem]

massively over the top and beyond the wildest imagination.
Well, you can say that for all Bond films. Still enjoyable though.