Skyfall (2012) is the twenty-third (out of twenty-four) James Bond film produced by Eon Productions. It features Daniel Craig in his third performance as James Bond, and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the film's villain. It was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, and features an Academy Award-winning theme, sung by Adele. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Columbia Pictures.
The story centres on Bond investigating an attack on MI6; the attack is part of a plot by former MI6 agent Raoul Silva to humiliate, discredit and kill M as revenge against her for betraying him. The film sees the return of two recurring characters to the series after an absence of two films: Q, played by Ben Whishaw, and Miss Moneypenny, played by Naomie Harris. Skyfall is the last film of the series for Judi Dench, who played M, a role that she had played in the previous six films. The position is subsequently filled by Ralph Fiennes' character, Gareth Mallory.
Mendes was approached to direct the film after the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008. Development was suspended when MGM encountered financial troubles and did not resume until December 2010; during this time, Mendes remained attached to the project as a consultant. The original screenwriter, Peter Morgan, left the project during the suspension. When production resumed, Logan, Purvis, and Wade continued writing what became the final version of the script. Filming began in November 2011 and primarily took place in the United Kingdom, with smaller portions shot in China and Turkey.
Skyfall premiered in London at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2012 and was released in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2012 and the United States on 9 November 2012. It was the first James Bond film to be screened in IMAX venues, although it was not filmed with IMAX cameras. The film's release coincided with the 50th anniversary of the series, which began with Dr. No in 1962. Skyfall was positively received by critics, being praised for its acting—particularly that of Craig, Bardem and Dench—writing and script, cinematography, Mendes' direction, Thomas Newman's score, and the action scenes. It was the 14th film to gross over $1 billion worldwide, and the first Bond film to do so. It became the seventh-highest-grossing film at the time, the highest-grossing film in the UK, the highest-grossing film in the series, the highest-grossing film worldwide for both Sony Pictures and MGM, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2012. The film won several accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, two Academy Awards and two Grammys.
In Istanbul, MI6 agents James Bond and Eve chase a mercenary, Patrice, who has stolen a computer hard drive containing details of undercover agents placed in terrorist organisations by NATO states. Patrice wounds Bond in the shoulder; and, as the two men fight atop a train, M, the head of MI6, orders Eve to fire a distant shot with a rifle at Patrice; Eve misses and inadvertently shoots Bond, allowing Patrice to escape. Bond falls into a river and goes missing, presumed to be dead.
In the aftermath of the operation, M comes under political pressure from Gareth Mallory, the Intelligence and Security Committee Chairman, to retire. On her return from the meeting, MI6's servers are hacked, and M receives a taunting message via computer moments before the SIS Building explodes, killing a number of employees. MI6 relocates to its emergency offices underground. Bond, in hiding somewhere unspecified, learns of the attack and returns to London. Although he fails a series of physical and psychological examinations, M approves his return to the field. Shrapnel taken from Bond's shoulder wound helps identify Patrice; and intelligence places him in Shanghai, where he is planning an assassination. Bond is ordered to identify Patrice's employer, recover the stolen hard drive, and kill Patrice. He receives technological support from Q, MI6's quartermaster.
In Shanghai, Bond follows Patrice into a skyscraper, from which the latter shoots his target. He and Bond fight, but Patrice falls to his death before Bond can learn of his employer's identity. Searching Patrice's equipment, Bond finds a gambling chip intended as payment for the assassination, which leads him to a casino in Macau. Bond is approached by Séverine, whom he witnessed as an accomplice in the assassination, and asks to meet the person for whom she and Patrice work. She warns him that he is about to be killed by her bodyguards but promises to help Bond if he will kill her employer. Bond defeats his attackers and joins Séverine on her yacht. They travel to an abandoned island off the coast of Macau, where they are taken prisoner by the crew and delivered to Séverine's employer, Raoul Silva. A former MI6 officer who had previously worked under M, Silva has turned to cyberterrorism, orchestrating the attacks on MI6. Silva kills Séverine, but Bond overpowers his guards and captures Silva for removal to Britain.
At MI6's underground headquarters, Q attempts to decrypt Silva's laptop but inadvertently enables it to access the MI6 systems, allowing Silva to escape from MI6 custody. Bond realises that Silva wanted to be captured as part of a plan to confront and kill M, whom he resents for leaving him to die after being captured years earlier. Bond gives chase through the tunnel network under London. Silva attacks M during a public inquiry into her handling of the stolen hard drive. Bond arrives in time to join Mallory and Eve in repelling Silva's attack, and M is hurried from the building by her aide, Bill Tanner.
After Bond drives M away in her car and switches the car with his 1964 Aston Martin DB5, he drives M to Skyfall, his family estate and childhood home in Scotland. Laying a trap, he instructs Q to leave an electronic trail for Silva to follow, a decision Mallory supports. Bond and M are met by Kincade, the Skyfall gamekeeper. The trio are only lightly armed, but they set up a series of booby traps throughout the house. When Silva's men arrive, Bond uses the machine gun of his car to kill some of them, but the car is subsequently destroyed. Bond, M and Kincade manage to kill the rest of Silva's men, but M is wounded. Silva arrives by helicopter with a second party and much heavier weapons so Bond sends M and Kincade off through a secret tunnel at the back of a priest hole to a chapel on the grounds. Bond detonates gas canisters with a stick of dynamite and retreats down the same tunnel as M and Kincade. The resulting blast causes the helicopter to crash, destroying the house and killing most of Silva's men.
Silva survives and, spotting Kincade's torch beam, follows Kincade and M to the chapel. He forces his gun into M's hand, begging her to kill them both. Bond, having been delayed fighting Silva's henchman, arrives and kills Silva by throwing a knife into his back. M, however, succumbs to her earlier wound and dies. Following M's funeral, Eve—formally introducing herself to Bond as Miss Moneypenny—retires from field work to become secretary for the new head of MI6, Mallory, who assumes the title of M.
