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James Bond Film Skyfall Inspired By Stuxnet Virus

Velcroman1 writes "No smartphones. No exploding pens. No ejector seats. No rocket-powered submarines. 'It's a brave new world,' gadget-maker Q tells James Bond in the new film Skyfall. The new film, released on the 50th anniversary of the storied franchise, presents a gadget-free Bond fighting with both brains and brawn against a high-tech villain with computer prowess Bill Gates would be envious of. What inspired such a villain? 'Stuxnet,' producer Michael G. Wilson said. 'There is a cyberwar that has been going on for some time, and we thought we'd bring that into the fore and let people see how it could be going on.'"

52 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. Poison? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is it really necessary to prove it's possible to ruin a James Bond movie by taking all of the fun out of it?

    1. Re:Poison? by jandersen · · Score: 2

      Is it really necessary to prove it's possible to ruin a James Bond movie by taking all of the fun out of it?

      On the other hand, this is the first Bond movie I have actually enjoyed all the way through. None of the shallow crap from the previous movies about gambling and drinking heavily being 'suave' whatever the hell that means, or a completely unbelieveable storyline. And the actors seem to be genuinely able to act as well.

  2. Re:No wonder it sucks! by Grumpinuts · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You heard wrong. Everyone I know who's seen it say its the best yet, critics generally very favourable too.

  3. Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by MrEricSir · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying this -- there's ~30 minutes of ads before the movie even starts. Not coming attractions, not "go buy some popcorn," but television-style ads for products.

    Seems MI6 has been hit hard by austerity!

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    1. Re:Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by fm6 · · Score: 2

      Well, you can always come 20 minutes after the announced showtime. When you rent it on disc, you'll get the same half hour of ads, and they'll disable fast-forward to make you watch it.

      A clever person can get around this crap, but the sheer arrogance of an industry that wants to treat you like Alex being brainwashed makes me crazy.

    2. Re:Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Those ads are the cinema's, not the film studios. They show them from a separate reel.

    3. Re:Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      That's not exactly new ... car commercials, coca cola, banks, cell phone companies ... all sorts of extra ads and crap has been shown before movies for quite some time.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    4. Re:Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by mcgrew · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Downloading from The Pirate Bay doesn't take a lot of smarts. Pay to watch ads, or see the movie for free without them? The industry is brain-dead, this is the kind of crap that drives people to the very piracy the industry hates and was the sort of thing DeCSS was written for.

    5. Re:Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 2

      Or if you want to support the artists (or, to be more correct, the god damn middlemen) you can buy this disk AND download it.

    6. Re:Exploding pens have been replaced with ads by aztrailerpunk · · Score: 2

      It's funny, you're still sticking with this argument. We're in the post-piracy era. People have realized that being a self-centered shithead means everyone loses.

      I don't expect you'll pick up on that, though. You've made it perfectly clear just how much of a self-centered shithead you are over the last several years.

      Post-piracy era? Maybe for music but definitely not for movies. As for being a "self-centered shithead", I believe that piracy is a form of civil disobedience. The mafiaas have paid for laws that have robbed from us and try to artificially enforce their broken business model. The people fight back by not playing by their rules.

      --
      Foot placed squarely in mouth since 1983.
  4. BIND movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    The name is BIND, James BIND

    1. Re:BIND movies by NotTheNickIWanted · · Score: 5, Funny

      Agent BIND, it is imperative that you contact MX immediately. It would seem that the DNSSEC has been found dead.

      --

      unsigned int question = 0x2B | ~(0x2B)
    2. Re:BIND movies by TemporalBeing · · Score: 4, Funny

      Agent BIND, it is imperative that you contact MX immediately. It would seem that the DNSSEC has been found dead.

      Did someone use to many AAAA records on him? Or will we have to wait for the CNAME resolution to find out?

      Hopefully we'll get our answer before the MPAA assaults the NAME CACHE to once again lock down the world with their RIAA allies...those fiends.

      --
      Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
    3. Re:BIND movies by zlives · · Score: 2

      Need I remind you, ::1, that you have a license to Resolve, not to break the traffic laws.

  5. huh? by schlachter · · Score: 2

    The "brave new world" is "smartphones" (and tablets, wifi, etc.)

    --
    My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
  6. It has a PCI bus. by concealment · · Score: 4, Funny

    Can't wait for another stunning Hollywood interpretation of computer science. Maybe this time when he flies up to the spaceship and hacks it with his MacBook, it will show a virus check on screen and tell us that it's the Matrix.

    1. Re:It has a PCI bus. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For what it's worth, ID4 does establish (in the second act, I believe?) that our technology is replicated from the alien designs. From a storytelling perspective, it's not much of a stretch, then, to make a "virus". Something that simply moves along byte by byte making copies of itself wouldn't be that difficult a thing to figure out, if you had access to one of their computers on the ground (Which they do, in Area 51) and it's further not much of a stretch to imagine that their admins might have left access a little *too* open.

      Sure, he's shown using his PowerBook running MacOS, but it's probably just a terminal window of sorts into the guts of the alien computer, because the PowerBook is designed for a human, and the alien systems are not.

      Most movie portrayals of computing are pretty far fetched, but this is one I'm actually willing to forgive. It doesn't seem implausible in the least to me that someone faced with impending annihilation would figure out how to do this. Hell, I bet the guys at Area 51 might have even had a compiler for the damn thing, they have had it for a few decades.

    2. Re:It has a PCI bus. by jgtg32a · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I actually had this conversation with a violinist. String instruments in movies annoyed her because she could see how they were being played and the sound wouldn't match up at all.

    3. Re:It has a PCI bus. by Psyborgue · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Depends. If you're civilization that's millions of years old that has encountered little, if any, resistance out of the countless conquered planets, you might actually become a bit overconfident and neglect to patch things on a timely basis.

    4. Re:It has a PCI bus. by TemporalBeing · · Score: 2

      Depends. If you're civilization that's millions of years old that has encountered little, if any, resistance out of the countless conquered planets, you might actually become a bit overconfident and neglect to patch things on a timely basis.

      More like they'd be mired in the red tape than overconfident...

      --
      Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
    5. Re:It has a PCI bus. by tragedy · · Score: 2

      But you think they'd have closed that security hole in 50 years time. It's not like they were Microsoft....

      They were a telepathic species. It's quite possible that, in their society, there were no private thoughts. Given that, it's quite possible that they didn't even have any computer security to speak of.

      That's the justification I use anyway.

    6. Re:It has a PCI bus. by wienerschnizzel · · Score: 2

      To be fair, the fact that the way the characters are hitting the keyboard does not match with what's going on on the screen, is the least of all problems that annoy me about the representation of IT in the movies.

      If music was to be butchered by a blockbuster the way hacking is, it would probably include:

      - grotesquely disfigured instruments (exploding when played wrong)
      - musico-babble: "I've got an idea - let's transpose the C Minor Major scale into the Midichlorian mode and play it allegro al dente!"
      - musical prodigies identifying Yankee Doodle as Rachmaninov's prelude no. 221
      - musical notation represented as large colorful rotating symbols
      - etc.

  7. Re:No wonder it sucks! by acid_andy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...and it's fun unless you expect a James Bond movie.

    FTFY.

    To give an explanation, I think Craig is so far from the Fleming character and when introducting him they shouldn't have thrown out the good bits of the existing film canon.

    --
    Your ad here.
  8. They do the same with physics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How often do we see someone being shot where they get thrown back and yet the shooter goes nowhere?

    Or where the bad-ass good guy walks away from an explosion that should have turned him into jelly?

    Or fighting on a floating piece of rock in a lava stream? AND they don't burst into flames themselves?

    Or spacecraft maneuvering like airplanes?

    And lastly, sound in space.

    1. Re:They do the same with physics by Psyborgue · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There's a good one in Skyfall too, if a bit cliche. Towards the end of the movie a helicopter crashes into fairly large building made of stone and blows it completely apart.

    2. Re:They do the same with physics by RaceProUK · · Score: 2

      ejection seat, of the helicopter.

      The Kamov Ka-50 has an ejector seat.

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
  9. Re:No wonder it sucks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes it is so boring and not even funny. Whatever, it should not be funny.
    The IT stuff are so laughable.
    - Q (with all the Geek-chic aparel) : "Oh my god, we have been hacked !" (And splash !, a animated 3D representation of the "thing" in your face.
            Ok, go back to school, assholes)
    - James Bond (Looking at the hex representation) : "Ok, Let's try that password" (Yes, every "Virus" have a password to decypher it)
    - Q : How, what is it ?
    - JB : It's map !

    There not a single gram of Ian Fleming novel' spirit in that movie, such a shame. This is just a giant advertising for Omega® and Sony® for zombie audience eating pop-corn.

    You can leave it.

  10. "Computer prowess that Bill Gates would envy" by Dystopian+Rebel · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh, so the villain in this movie goes *further* than creating a monopoly, using its power to force suppliers to put competitors out of business, using a file-system hack to implement long filenames, having Notepad write a BOM to UTF-8 files, and, finally, choosing Ballmer to run the business into the ground?

    How will Bond ever defeat a villain with such technical skill?

    --
    Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
  11. Re:Bill Gates? by Empiric · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He could code (and in multiple languages), in contrast to, say, Steve Jobs.

    From what I've read of the experiences of other coders/designers/architects, he had the in-depth technical acumen to make a one-on-one development review a very detailed and rather harrowing experience, as well.

    --
    ~ Whence do you come, slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
  12. Re:Stupid Gadgets by timeOday · · Score: 2
    You know, for all the old nostalgia about old movies and all the crap we give new ones, I think this is a golden age. Even 5 or 10 years ago I never had access to so many unique films from around the globe. There are more people making smarter, better-acted movies than ever.

    And since we're on James Bond, I'll even speak up for today's blockbusters; the huge sums spent on making films today *does* create a bigger stage. I re-watched Avatar the other night. I know the plot bothers people but, man, I just think the visual spectacle, and the detail in the world they created for that film is amazing. It was never possible before. I sit through a Bond film and think, "yeah, I can tell they spent $1 million per minute on this."

  13. New Bond? by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is Vladimir Putin still playing James Bond?

    We need a Bond that looks more like Bond and less like a Bond Villian.

    1. Re:New Bond? by WankersRevenge · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I had the pleasure of reading through all the Ian Flemming books last summer. They were really fun reads that hold up nicely (well, some of them do). I think it was The Spy Who Loved Me that really drives home the point about Bond And it's this -

      Bond is a villain. The only difference with him is that he's our villain.

      In such light, I think Daniel Craig looks perfect for the part. Just my two cents.

  14. Re:Bill Gates? by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 5, Informative

    Last time I checked, Bill Gates wasn't a computer genius at all, unlike Steve Wozniak.

    Check again.

    From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates

    In his sophomore year, Gates devised an algorithm for pancake sorting as a solution to one of a series of unsolved problems presented in a combinatorics class by Harry Lewis, one of his professors. Gates's solution held the record as the fastest version for over thirty years; its successor is faster by only one percent. His solution was later formalized in a published paper in collaboration with Harvard computer scientist Christos Papadimitriou.

    and

    During Microsoft's early years, all employees had broad responsibility for the company's business. Gates oversaw the business details, but continued to write code as well. In the first five years, Gates personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often rewrote parts of it as he saw fit

  15. Re:No wonder it sucks! by CodeheadUK · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't forget:

    Q: "We're under attack! Strip the headers and find the source!"

    Bad Guy: "Good luck, I'm behind seven proxies!".

  16. Re:No wonder it sucks! by steviesteveo12 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I for one always take my movie reviews from anonymous people who apparently live on continents where the movie hasn't yet been released.

  17. Didn't they do this already? by Antipater · · Score: 3, Informative
    I seem to remember Bruce Willis doing this five years ago, against a Timothy Olyphant "who hacked the Pentagon with just a laptop!"

    I also seem to remember Jeff Goldblum disabling an entire civilization's computer system with a computer virus so that it could be destroyed by nuclear weapons, about sixteen years ago.

    A computer virus is a brave new world for filmmaking now?

    --
    Everything is better with chainsaws.
  18. Re:No wonder it sucks! by Lorens · · Score: 2

    Yeah. It actually /is/ good. Except if you happen to know something about computers, unfortunately.

  19. remember when we had by nimbius · · Score: 2

    state sponsored torture prisons? it was hollywoods job to normalize and flavor it for consumption by the american public using shows like 24.

    now we're getting to the point where "cyber" is the new war, and so it must be sold accordingly.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  20. Re:No wonder it sucks! by egamma · · Score: 2

    It has been released in most of Europe, and from what I hear, it sucks big time.

    I think I know what you are trying to do

  21. Re:No wonder it sucks! by HPHatecraft · · Score: 5, Informative

    There not a single gram of Ian Fleming novel' spirit in that movie, such a shame. This is just a giant advertising for Omega® and Sony® for zombie audience eating pop-corn.

    You can leave it.

    I'd be curious to know if you think any of the Bond movies have featured a portrayal of 007 that is true to the novels. Outside of Sean Connery, Daniel Craig's Bond is fairly close to the source material. Where Craig excels is in his physical portrayal of Bond: not only does he have the physique, but he moves like Bond: an operator, an athletic pugilist, with just a hint of the street; he looks and acts like a hard case.

    The fact is, the Bond portrayed in the books is a thug, and at least initially, he lacks sophistication. He is provincial, and somewhat racist (though not consistently so, and actually irrelevant). So if you think that earlier portrayals of Bond (Connery excluded, of course) are somehow more accurate... I don't know what to tell you. Methinks you protest too much (and that you don't know of what you speak).

  22. Re:Stupid Gadgets by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 2

    I'd strongly disagree on Avatar.

    They used a lot of resources creating a world, and forgot to make it interesting or have a story. For all the CG effort on that movie, they still didn't come up with anything that isn't roundly trounced by many real world locations in terms of spectacle. Technically impressive yes - but ultimately pretty dull.

  23. Re:No wonder it sucks! by SB9876 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Millions of people also think the Bach Brandenburg concertos, Firefly, Aliens, Terminator2, the Curiosity rover, seasons 3-10 of the Simpsons and Raiders of the lost Ark were pretty awesome. Your point?

  24. Re:the love interst by plover · · Score: 2

    I can't wait to see Bond and his 'modern' love interest, a mysterious blond PHD computer scientist named Kitty Scripter, code up some GUIs in visual basic to save the day

    I would pay full price at an IMAX theater to see that movie!

    --
    John
  25. An exercise in suspending disbelief.. by Trevelyan · · Score: 2

    To enjoy the film, which I did, I had to actively ignore anything that was said in relational to IT. Something that I find hard to do.

    The concept behind the plot, while at the most extreme of technical possibility, was a valid idea to explore in a piece of fiction. The Iranians would likely have never detected stuxnet if its 'herders' had kept a better control on its spreading. Imagine something like that in a western government (as the victim). No, what annoyed me most is that they didn't even bother. Simply swapping some of the IT buzzwords in the script for ones that actually meant something in the given context, would have greatly improved its palatability. However that would mean employing someone with real IT knowledge on the writing team. Such a person might have gone insane or have made the script 'boring' with too much attention to accuracy, who knows.

    One theory I had when leaving the film, was that maybe the makers didn't want to give the general public any ideas or tips in how someone would go about achieving any of the anarchy portrayed in the film. The more misinformed about computer 'hacking' the safer we'll all be...

    1. Re:An exercise in suspending disbelief.. by GrahamCox · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's a long known observation that the more you know about something, the more errors you will see in someone else's version of that thing, e.g. news stories about something that happened to you or a friend.

      Accurate technical detail is usually too boring or irrelevant to most of the audience - look at Top Gear's version of The Sweeney car-chase with Clarkson's insistence on getting the technical detail correct that the Jag's traction control needed to be disabled and that in turn required holding down a button for 10 seconds. By showing what a movie would be like if they stuck to such facts, the showed (in an amusing way) why it is a very, very bad idea.

  26. Re:No wonder it sucks! by Type44Q · · Score: 2

    Why does that remind of this?

    In A.D. 2101

    War was beginning...

  27. RISC architecture is gonna change everything! by partyguerrilla · · Score: 2

    If the author did indeed know better, it would require a conscious effort from him to mess up the technical aspects. That idiot did not know better; he was pretending to know better in hindsight. The public in general only hear white noise when the technical stuff comes up, so why not get it right if you can? It is of no consequence whatsoever, and a nice nod to technical people.

  28. Re:No wonder it sucks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It was very boring for a Bond movie. I fell asleep twice trying to watch it. No one liked bond because he simply completed his mission. They like bond because he did it using innovative technology and gadgets. The same reason Batman movies work, take away his gadgets and he is just a rich 1%'er with mental issues and some anger.

  29. Re:No wonder it sucks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    ...and it's fun unless you expect a James Bond movie.

    FTFY.

    To give an explanation, I think Craig is so far from the Fleming character and when introducting him they shouldn't have thrown out the good bits of the existing film canon.

    The Fleming Bond is a brutal psychotic nut. In that way, Craig is much closer than the dandies that previously played him.

  30. Gadget-free Bond can suck my b*lls! by m1ndcrash · · Score: 2

    Seriously, Craig is the worst James Bond ever. They might as well call it "James Bourne: The Spy with feelings" or something. There are other movies that provide entertainment as "cool_modern_realistic" action. I don't want that, many of my friends do not want that. There is no Bond cheese left. There are no cool villains. They played freaking poker in Casino Royal for 40 min. NO. James Bond comes to a casino, wins against the villain, takes his girl home. She dies in the morning. Die Hard 4 was more "hacker-friendly" movie.

  31. Re:No wonder it sucks! by loufoque · · Score: 2

    Is Bond as sexist in the novel as in this film?

    Bond wasn't even looking at the first girl that saved him while having his Heineken® on the bed, and he left without even telling her anything. He appeared like a creep behind the second girl while she was showering and just fucked her.
    Women were just sex objects. Despite the film being very long they didn't get any character development at all.

  32. Re:No wonder it sucks! by someonestolecc · · Score: 2

    Totally agree.. and yes they did thank god.. No more bourne-supremecy-meth'ed out shots that stop you focusing on the scene before it changes...