Istanbul, London, Shanghai, Macau, Scotland, 2012

Around the World in 80 Minutes

The Bond franchise has always been about seeing glamorous parts of the world, and Skyfall is no different in this respect. We see the crowded city streets of Istanbul, the towering neon skyscrapers of Shanghai, and a gorgeous casino in Macau for high rollers only. The only way most of us would see many of these places is through the eyes of James Bond.

But Skyfall does one thing a little differently—it brings the action and danger into the heart of London. MI6 is bombed. The Tube is terrorized. And gunfire erupts inside Parliament. Silva has it out for England just as much as he does for M. 

SILVA: England. The Empire! MI6! You're living in a ruin as well, you just don't know it yet. At least here there are no old ladies giving orders and no little...Bip! Gadgets from those fools in Q-Branch.

The dark side to the globetrotting aspect of the Bond franchise is that Bond has always been a bit of an imperialist. He travels to these other countries and does whatever he wants, all in the name of Her Majesty's Secret Service. Silva taunts Bond with the reality that England isn't the empire it used to be. Silva also turns England's technology against England itself, showing the English that even with their high-tech tools, they can still be threatened.

Of course, Bond saves the day—but he also realizes that the fight is never over. Without constant vigilance, tea and crumpets will never be safe.