Maybe the writers know how computers work but the way computers work is considered insufficiently exciting. Cars certainly don't work in movies the way they work in real life, and writers have had over a century to learn about them.
There was nothing wrong with the premise of the last Die Hard. Except that it had "Die Hard" in the title. Of course "With a Vengeance" had already corrupted the series' premise, so I guess it was merely another bad Bruce Willis movie.
While inappropriate for an extension of the first two Die Hards, the premise seems perfect for a Bond flick. Execution is another matter.
That's true, but there comes a point were the hacking just becomes plain ridiculous. Even movie cars are kept within certain restrictions, in that they don't start talking or flying...at least, not in a serious movie. Hollywood hacking has no such restrictions, and hackers can do anything. It's like issuing Bond with Herbie; it undermines the serious, grounded tone they were going for.
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"It's like issuing Bond with Herbie"
He did have a Lotus that was also a submarine and more or less had a flying car in "Octopussy." But I get your point.
The magic computer idea goes beyond screenwriters, by the way. Check out news stories on the Craigslist killer or "sexting" and tell me they don't ascribe otherwordly powers to relatively new technology.
"more or less had a flying car in "Octopussy."
That was in The Man with the Golden Gun.
I believe the villain had the flying car in "The Man With the Golden Gun." I was referring to the little jet in "Octopussy" which probably isn't technically a car but looked enough like one.
Yeah, I remember. I think that film was going for quite a different tone though.
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"Remember when Bond films used to be fun?"
In 2006, although Quantum of Solace wasn't that bad either. Even though I saw From Russia with Love and Goldfinger relatively young, I found them surprisingly boring, the last time I saw them and there have been better spy films in the same decade. Movies can be fun without being campy.
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Half bad
Remember when Bond films used to be fun? Skyfall is nostalgic for those times, but its script reminds me, more than anything else, of Die Hard 4. It's the story of an "old fashioned" hero (Skyfall uses that term a hundred times or so) who has to take on a modern day Hollywood hacker with a grudge. In other words, it's another ham fisted attempt to depict the contemporary computer age, by writers who don't seem to know how computers work, for an audience which doesn't even care.
I might as well get the other bad things out of the way first. The writing is clunky, with melodrama and jokes being cringe worthy, even by Bond standards: "What were you expecting, Bond? An exploding pen?" says Q, with an embarrassingly tacky nod and a wink. Naomie Harris' character does nothing for almost the entire movie except hang around like a fart in a bus shelter, and the plot holes - oh the plot holes.
This review is titled "half bad". The other half of the movie is good. Specifically, the second half of the movie. After they finally introduce the villain, the movie starts to have a bit more fun. There are hints of the Joker in Javier Bardem's maniacal, tortured and impossibly well prepared villain, and though he could have done without the cornball Oedipal elements, it works for the most part. The action is punchy, grandiose, and excellent - especially during the climax, with the hacking elements getting left by the wayside and the movie going all Home Alone. I liked that a lot. And I also liked watching Bérénice Marlohe's Dragon Lady smoke cigarettes - but I think Skyfall might get in trouble for that.
After Quantum of Solace, I can forgive Skyfall for quite a lot. It no way lives up to the hyperbolic "Best Bond Ever" quotes you hear after every Bond movie released, but then, when have they? Ironically, they probably never said such a thing during Goldfinger's release. Ultimately, Skyfall is probably going to end up being a forgettable Bond movie in the long run, but in the mean time I recommend you give it a watch.