History Fridge / Skyfall

** '''''"Made weak by time"''''' Creator/RogerMoore already considered the idea of quitting after his fifth film, feeling that he was getting too old to play Bond convincingly. However, he stuck around for [[{{Film/Octopussy}} two]] [[Film/AViewToAKill more]] films, which ended up being the worst in his entire run.
** '''''"and fate,"''''' Creator/TimothyDalton only got to do [[Film/TheLivingDaylights two]] [[Film/LicenceToKill movies]], as a lawsuit grounded the franchise for 6 years, resulting in Dalton himself resigning from the role.
** '''''"but strong in will"''''' Creator/PierceBrosnan saved the franchise with his [[{{Film/Goldeneye}} first turn as Bond]], and when his films became mediocre (getting fired from the role after ''Die Another Day''), Creator/DanielCraig took over the role and his films steered the franchise in a new direction.

* Parts of M's speech isn't just about the importance of MI6 and the 00 program, it's also referring to the previous Bond actors over the franchise's history, which is rather fitting as this film is the 50th anniversary celebration.
** '''''"One equal temper of heroic hearts"''''' Creator/SeanConnery gave a more heroic portrayal compared to Ian Fleming's [[SociopathicHero depiction]] in the novels, and Creator/GeorgeLazenby gave a previously unseen, very human side of Bond at the end of his [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService only film.]]
** '''''"Made weak by time"''''' Creator/RogerMoore planned to quit after his fifth film, feeling that he was getting too old to play Bond convincingly. However, he stuck to the role for [[{{Film/Octopussy}} two]] [[Film/AViewToAKill more]] films, which ended up being the worst in his entire run.

* M's speech isn't just about the importance of MI6, it could also very well be referring to the previous Bond actors.
** ''"One equal temper of heroic hearts"'' Creator/SeanConnery gave a more heroic portrayal compared to Ian Fleming's depiction in the novels, and Creator/GeorgeLazenby gave a previously unseen, very human side of Bond at the end of his [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService only film.]]
** ''"Made weak by time"'' Creator/RogerMoore planned to quit after his fifth film, feeling that he was getting too old for the role. However, he was forced to do [[Film/Octopussy two]] [[Film/AViewToAKill more]], which ended up being the worst in his entire run.
** ''"and fate,"'' Creator/TimothyDalton only got to do [[Film/TheLivingDaylights two]] [[Film/LicenceToKill movies]] as Bond because the lawsuit grounded the franchise for 6 years, resulting in Dalton himself resigning from the role.
** ''"but strong in will"'' Creator/PierceBrosnan saved the franchise with his [[Film/Goldeneye first turn as Bond]], and when his films became mediocre (getting fired from the role after ''Die Another Day''), Creator/DanielCraig took over the role and his films steered the franchise in a new direction.

** ''One equal temper of heroic hearts'' Creator/SeanConnery gave a more heroic portrayal compared to Ian Fleming's depiction in the novels, and Creator/GeorgeLazenby gave a previously unseen, very human side of Bond at the end of his [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService only film.]]
** ''Made weak by time'' Creator/RogerMoore planned to quit after his fifth film, feeling that he was getting too old for the role. However, he was forced to do [[Film/Octopussy two]] [[Film/AViewToAKill more]], which ended up being the worst in his entire run.
** ''and fate,'' Creator/TimothyDalton only got to do [[Film/TheLivingDaylights two]] [[Film/LicenceToKill movies]] as Bond because the lawsuit grounded the franchise for 6 years, resulting in Dalton himself resigning from the role.
** ''but strong in will'' Creator/PierceBrosnan saved the franchise with his [[Film/Goldeneye first turn as Bond]], and when his films became mediocre (getting fired from the role after ''Die Another Day''), Creator/DanielCraig took over the role and steered the franchise in a new direction.

* Much of the dialogue involving Kincade [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall becomes very meta]] when one recalls they originally wanted to have SeanConnery play him. Case in point, his introductory scene:

** Arguably going back to Q's roots too. During Desmond Llewelyn's first appearance as Q in "From Russia With Love" he just gave bond the attache case with a built in knife, gun, money, and gas bomb. Spartan in comparison to the goodies he would later give to 007.

* M's real name, Olivia Mansfield, is actually a practically a traditional Bond Girl name, only [[MeaningfulName meaningful]] instead of [[PunnyName absurd.]] Fitting, as in many ways the film is actually about her.

* At the very end of the movie, Bond says to Eve, "You know, we've never been formally introduced. At which point, she reveals her name is "Eve. Eve Moneypenny". I realize TPTB where keeping the reveal that she was Moneypenny a surprise, but that still means that she and Bond worked together on at least two missions (the one in the opening sequence and the one in Macau), possibly sleeping together during the second one and he ''never'' learned her name? How is that possible? Quite glaring considers she calls him by ''his'' name quite frequently. One can HandWave that he may have never learned her ''last'' name, but to not know her full name at all seems ridiculous and virtually impossible.

* When Bond first meets Silva, he reads out the psychological profile on Bond, which indicates "unresolved childhood trauma". At the end of the film, Bond is of sound mind and ready to return to duty. Why? He resolved his childhood trauma, by burning Skyfall to the ground.

* The introductory scene with Q could be seen as an [[TakeThatAudience attack]] at the people who have been criticizing the Craig films for not having Q's sparkly little gadgets that have become tradition with every passing Bond movie before ''Film/CasinoRoyale''. Beginning with when we find out who Q really is; a young and rather hipstery looking man who doesn't look like he spends much of his time near a piece of technology (and even throws in the obligatory tea reference). And then we find out that the most high-tech gadget in the whole movie is... [[TheUnreveal Bond's gun]] and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a radio]]. Bond's reaction to this seems to mirror the audience's reaction upon seeing the scene in the trailer: "It's not exactly Christmas, is it?!", to which Q correctly points out that the audience has gotten too used to the rather generic action movie feel that the series has taken on since Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice: "Well, what do you expect, an exploding pen?". Essentially, the writers are telling the audience, "You didn't like the gadget-filled ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', yet you're begging for Q and the gadgets. Here you go, here's your stupid quartermaster." And hilariously enough, when the audience sees just how cleverly both gadgets are used, they realize Bond really is a high-tech gadget in and of himself, realizing just how far Bond managed to go in the previous two films.

**** Which in turn is why Bond & M rabbiting out to Skyfall actually worked (sort of). It was one place where Silva couldn't possibly have any contingency plans in place; even then Silva was able to rustle up two strike teams and a helicopter.

*** My impression was that he was just [[CrazyPrepared]]. He didn't expect to be captured but he had a plan just in case; he didn't know M would be in that hearing but he had a network of agents in London in case circumstances brought him there, etc.

** It's mentioned in the news brief that three out of the five undercover agents have been killed, probably brutally. Silva's trying to rub salt in the wound by forcing M and MI6 to confront publicly fucking over other agents like they fucked him over.

** No, Kincaide mentions that the house and most of the guns were sold off, which is why they have to do the Home Alone thing

* Kind of lapsing into WMG territory, but no one ever explicitly states that Silva was a ''field'' agent. We know from Agent Fields in Quantum of Solace that even people in MI6 office jobs can be called "agents". He can fire a gun and lob some grenades, but he's got mooks to do the really hardcore dirty work, and he even says to Bond that he finds "all this running around, it's ''exhasuting''." It's entirely possible that the 11 years he spent at MI6 were entirely spent in front of a computer. If this is the case, then M sent a man with ''little to no counter-torture training directly into the hands of the Chinese.''

** If you think about it a little bit longer, it becomes even more brillant: The bartender was preparing the martini right in front of Bond, and it is implied he even kept Severine waiting to watch the procedure. What happened the last time Bond was in a casino? Bonds drink was poisoned. Clearly, the man learns from his mistakes.

* It is explicitly stated that the explosion at MI6 headquarters, done by remotely tampering with various systems including the natural gas lines (not entirely unlike how the narrator's apartment is destroyed in ''FightClub''), ''should'' have been impossible for a variety of reasons. Silva must have had an in on some major work to either build or renovate the headquarters at some point, specifically rigging it so that EverythingIsOnline, even things that had no reason to be. Easiest way to find the back door to a security system? Install it yourself.