Discussion Film / Skyfall

"Artistic License - Biology: Komodo Dragons"... Komodo Dragons are not just smart for a lizards, they are nearer the top of of the smart animals list than average. Granted, not nearly primate, dolphin, or even bird smart. But they can count to six, plan a cooperative attack or heist, roll around in dung taken fresh from intestines of prey to make themselves less appetizing to bigger Komodos (documented as a _learned_ behavior), and captive ones are often trained to make interacting with them easier, safer, and less stressful for both parties (they are more trainable than a dog). In the wild, they have an instinct to vigorously bite and and make gaping wounds on prey then wait for it to bleed to death (or at least bleed to to weakness). However, they tend to learn that a vigorous attack isn't necessary. Their mouths are a cesspool where e. coli, staphylococcus, providencia, proteus, and other deadly bacteria live _simultaniously_ (this is a neat trick because bacteria tend to crowd out others until there's only one left, also neat because they are immune). A sneak attack or slow attack that breaks the skin is an attiquate and energy conserving option <http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x181lp6_komodo-hunt-a-buffalo_animals>. A sleeping person may not even realise if they've been bitten during the night, but their death is inevitable. And despite having a mouth full of infections, a Komodo can still smell an infected prey if it managed to get 8 miles away. The infection is actually a tracking method first, _disabling_ the prey with bacteria is simply a backup plan. It can smell uninfected blood nearby. They prey probably won't get 8 miles away, the Komodo's venom, though mild, interferes with blood clotting (Komodo bites don't stop bleeding), lowers blood pressure, inhibits muscle movement, induces hypothermia, causes shock, and eventually will even cause loss of consciousness (a couple of days maybe, but faster than an infection). All of this will interfere with planing and execution of escape. Captive Komodos don't have cesspool mouths as the necessary conditions and diet to introduce and maintain the bacteria are not provided. Rotten meat is occasionally fed to them but this is in suffcient amounts to create a cesspool. Captive born Komodos are not given the conditions to train themselves out of thinking vigorous bites are the way to get food. Even if they envenomate live prey (a hapless handler perhaps) they never get to track it down and see it get weaker and then experience the reward of eating it after these conditions. Tamed Komodos, again with clean mouths now, learned that a stealthy little bite just means the prey gets away or that the zoo keeper still comes back to annoy them again (thus only a vigorous attack is worth their time). Now, in the wild, its true that the Komodo usually waits hidden to spring an ambush. When the moment comes, ideally, it strikes like a snake when the prey is very close. But it may decide to attack when the prey is a bit farther away leading with a charge and ending with a bite or _tackle_ and bite, or use sweep the prey off its feet and bite (likely if it waits to for the prey walk past its head). A tail swipe after the prey has just walked past is the most likely knock down method/. All very much like an alligator or crocodile ambush. All that said, this has been documented, Komodos can charge a deer from a considerable distance, grab hold and rip out its throat or even break its neck. A an _extremely_ rare occurrence but documented.

Now to the scene: Of course the Komodos would be kept warm. This would keep them active and interesting to the patrons. These komodos are not trained; if they were, they'd simply wait for food from their keepers (they wouldn't know Bond and the villain were anything else), or their bath, or they'd keep away from the keepers for the annoyance of being cadged for transport. They are old, as can be discerned from their size (which is possibly the most unlikely Komodo aspect of the scene, see chart blogsDOTscientificamericanDOTcomSLASHtetrapod-zoologySLASHfilesSLASH2012SLASH05SLASHbig-monitor-lizards-compared-Conty-wikipedia-May-2012-tiny.jpg and compare if the bigger Komodo in the move is exceptionally larger than average). They are experienced through age. They actually assess the situation briefly and approach the person from behind, _slowly_. The attack is cooperative, same as wild Komodo do. It knocks its prey flat to the ground with a vigorous pull. Not a common way for a Komodo unfoot prey, but wild Komodo use various means to unfoot their prey if they are in an impatient mood and a reverse yank is a documented method (Komodos will do many thing backwards, they escape away from fights by backing up rather than turning around and running). The one who latches onto the human's leg first expects the other observing Komodo to latch on as soon also, and it does, they mean to tear their prey apart (and they easily can) into 2 to 6 pieces depending on how pressed for time they are. Also it drags the pray away from the other of its kind. It has learned from past experience humans are cooperative also. They use very little caution to protect themselves against the humans. The naturally do not fear humans and they have never been harmed beyond annoyance by their keepers either. The one goes about its business of joining the attack when used as a stepping stool. Yes, they _are_ that sturdy. Its much too concerned with the attack to care. It probably would not care too much anyhow, Bond's step is no more threatening, annoying or distracting to it than a fly in the face. This is like alligators who have been documented to occasionally not react to being stepped or sat on by people, or poked repeatedly with a stick. Komotos are much more thoughtful, more difficult to provoke, and concerned about humans (even wild ones) than a gator. So, the Komodos made a series of choices that while technically realistically possible are extremely unlikely behavior for them? I don't think so, I think this behavior closer to likely than that because, they know that humans don't spend a lot of time there. If they want to make a meal of one, the don't have time for patients. They've got to make the quick choices before the human escapes or is rescued. That leaves me to wonder why no one it coming to the rescue of the henchman. Perhaps they fear the Komodos. Perhaps they don't like the henchman. Perhaps they are all up for a promotion once he's completely disposed of. All of the above I think.

Edited by 75.111.92.243

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Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours Hide / Show Replies

Can the Cain and Abel trope be used to describe Raoul Silva and James Bond's relationship with each other? I assume that both of them were apprentices of M, their mentor.

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• Ancestral Weapon: James uses the hunting rifle of his father Andrew Bond to fight off Silva's mooks in the climax. However, as soon as he can get his hands on the better modern weapons the mooks bring with them, he trades up.

I don't know what Ashlay has against this second sentence (emphasis added). It's a subversion of the usual use of the trope. He doesn't fight the battle with his father's rifle; he uses it when it's all he's got, but drops it as soon as something better comes along.

Edited by johnnye Hide / Show Replies

Weird little thought, but remember Silva's weird virus animation thingies? Was I the only one in the theater who immediately thought "huh, the villain is also To The Ark from Marble Hornets"? The font he used, the use of repeated visual motifs, photo-manipulation, ominous white text on black...

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So is M's name actually Emma, or are people just taking Kincade's misheard use of her codename as canon? It's getting thrown around as fact but nobody's sourcing it.

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Regarding "All There in the Manual", isn't Silvers full name stated by M towards Bond after she visits him in his cell? I'm not sure, else I'd take it out myself.

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I don't know exactly what this fits under (maybe Doing It For The Art? It's subtly funny and an arcing thing too, though): http://imgur.com/a/V8Ihe

The scene where Q and Bond are talking in the art gallery involves them looking at a painting of the ship being towed away, in which Q's voices his melancholy towards the painting's story of an old glourious ship that fought so hard being simply hauled off because of it's age, reflecting how "young and sharp" he looks compared to Bond who is portrayed as aging. At the end of the film, after Bond has been just as badass as always for a few hours, there's a painting in the background of the new M's office of a big, fierce ship in it's prime. The pictures in the link describe it better than I ever could.

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Is it possible the opening scene was an Actor Allusion to Daniel Craig in Tintin? Specifically, The Oner and the ending fight with Mr. Sahkrine.

Edited by GovernorExplosion “Dude, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something!” - Jake the Dog Hide / Show Replies

What about the screw-up of Eve in the beginning? Why is M taking the blame when Eve wasted an opportunity for perfectly good second shot? She does not get chastised enough for failing a critical mission and killing a fellow agent whereas M gets the blame for story convenience. Should Eve be listed as Karma Houdini for that? Or do we have something along the line of "We could have avoided this plot" if Eve took the second shot as one would expect from a trained field agent?

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What's the best trope to describe the way that this film resets a lot of the Bond formula that the last two films left out in order to Shoo Out the Clowns? It's like a reverse Retool.

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