Raoul Silva

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Raoul Silva
Cyberterrorist
AffiliationSpectre (former MI6 agent)
ClassificationVillain
HenchmenPatrice
Sévérine

Raoul Silva (also known as Tiago Rodriguez) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. He is portrayed by Javier Bardem. A former MI6 agent, he turns to cyberterrorism and begins targeting the agency he used to work for as part of a plan to get revenge against M, against whom he holds a homicidal grudge.

Bardem received critical acclaim for his performance, and Silva is regularly ranked among the greatest villains in the Bond film series.[1][2][3]

Backstory

Skyfall establishes that Silva's real name is Tiago Rodriguez, and that he once specialized in

hacked into the Chinese government's top secret files, M (Judi Dench), who was the head of Station H at the time, allowed them to take him prisoner in exchange for the return of six previously captured agents and a peaceful handover. He was tortured for five months, until finally he attempted suicide by swallowing a cyanide
capsule hidden in a false tooth. He survived, but was left disfigured with a misshapen jaw, rotted teeth and a sunken left eye socket. He wears a dental prosthetic to conceal his disfigurements. At some point he escaped from Chinese custody and reinvented himself as Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist for hire, and began forming a plan to get revenge against M.

Skyfall

One of Silva's henchmen, Patrice (

Royal Navy helicopters arrive to take Silva into custody, having been signaled by an emergency distress radio given to Bond by Q (Ben Whishaw
).

At MI6's underground headquarters in London, M confronts Silva, who taunts her that his plan is already in motion. Q attempts to decrypt Silva's laptop, but inadvertently gives it access to the MI6 systems, allowing Silva to escape from MI6 custody. Q realizes that Silva wanted to be captured as part of a plan to kill M.

Silva flees into the London Underground, with Bond in pursuit. Silva diverts through London's sewers. When Bond finally catches up to him, Silva detonates an explosive charge that sends a runaway underground train coming straight for Bond, who narrowly escapes. Silva, along with several accomplices, barge into a government inquiry where M is giving a deposition, but fails to kill her. Bond barges in and a gunfight ensues, in which Silva's plans are disrupted and Bond manages to flee, taking M with him.

Silva follows Bond and M to "Skyfall", Bond's childhood home in Scotland, where his men open fire, mortally wounding M. He pursues her to a chapel at the side of the house, and begs her to kill them both by firing a bullet through her head and into his. At that moment, however, Bond appears and throws a knife into Silva's back, killing him. M dies in Bond's arms shortly afterward.

In other films

In the following Bond film,

Dominic Greene, the villains of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace
, respectively.

Sexuality

The scene in which Silva and Bond first met attracted commentary among critics and fans alike for its

homoerotic
subtext. In the scene Silva strokes Bond's thighs and chest while interrogating the secret agent, who is tied to a chair.

Silva: Ooh, see what she's done to you.
Bond: Yes, well, she never tied me to a chair.
Silva: Her loss. [begins tracing along Bond's chest with his finger]
Bond: Are you sure this is about M?
Silva: It's about her, and you, and me. You see we are the last two rats, we can either eat each other... [lascivious grin] ...or we can eat everyone else. Ah, you're trying to think back to your training. What's the regulation to cover this? Oh well... [strokes Bond's thighs] ... there's a first time for everything.
Bond: What makes you think this is my first time?
Silva: Oh, Mr. Bond!

The scene ignited speculation that screenwriter

The Huffington Post, saying, "Some people claim it's because I'm, in fact, gay but not true at all. [Director Sam Mendes] and I were discussing, there were so many scenes in which Bond goes mano-a-mano with the villain, whether it's Dr. No or Goldfinger or whatever, and there's been so many ways to a cat-and-mouse and intimidate Bond, and we thought, what would make the audience truly uncomfortable is sexual intimidation; playing the homoerotic card that is sort of always there subtextually with characters like Scaramanga in 'Man With the Golden Gun' or Dr. No. So we just decided we would play the card and enjoy it."[5]

Barbara Broccoli later admitted there was some pressure to remove this scene from the movie, but she insisted on keeping it in the final release.[6]

References

  1. ^ Gilbey, Ryan (27 October 2012). "Javier Bardem: is he the best ever Bond baddie?". The Guardian. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Crow, David (November 10, 2015). "007: Ranking the 24 James Bond Villains From Best to Worst". Den of Geek. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Nashawatty, Chris (November 5, 2015). "Ranking All 24 James Bond Movies". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  4. ^ DiGiacomo, Frank (October 15, 2012). "Is Bond Bi? Daniel Craig And Javier Bardem Weigh In Separately On Their Flirtatious Scene Together". Movieline. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  5. Huffington Post Media Group
    . Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  6. ^ Guerrario, Jason (September 10, 2021). "James Bond producer says she 'resisted' against studio wanting to cut homoerotic scene in 'Skyfall'". Business Insider. New York City: Axel Springer SE. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
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