Skyfall - Opening 2 Minutes Analysis

At the beginning of the opening scene we can hear a sound motif. This lets the viewer know that the film will follow the same pattern as the rest of the films on the James Bond franchise. Seeing the silhouette of the character in the distance of the shot creates a sense of mysteriousness, as the viewer begins t wonder if the character will turn out to be James Bond. As soon as the character is close to the camera, he stops, and his face is illuminated. He then draws his gun up quickly and aims it around, suggesting that there are going to be people trying to stop him.

James walks past two bodies on the ground, and then sees a colleague bleeding out on the chair right in fron of him. The person James is speaking to does not seem to care about the man's injuries, and asks James to look for the hard drive. This shows the audience that the person speaking to James is very ruthless, and heartless.

James briefly searches for the hard drive, but cannot find it. He then goes to help his injured colleague, this would make the audience empathise with him as he is doing the right thing. James helps to stop the bleeding, but then carries on his mission, this could indicate the seriousness of the mission he is on to the audience.

James stops to look at his injured friend and thinks for a minute, obviously not sure if he is doing the right thing, and then rushes off, maybe deciding that it was for the best. This shot of James looking back at his injured friend really helps the audience to form a connection with him - as it shows he is human.

Background music then begins to play and James steps out onto a busy street. This is a huge contrast to the quiet scene we have just been shown. James' expression as he leaves the building almost makes it appear that he does not feel phased by the things he has just seen, and that he is used to it.