Question: In the opening action scene, while Bond is fighting the terrorist on the top of the train, Moneypenny says "I do not have a clean shot." She has already been communicating with him on radio, why doesn't she just tell him to get out of the bloody way?
Answer: Because Bond is fighting to the death with a man who's trying to throw him off a train. He can't exactly step out of the way.
Question: Why did M send Bond back out into the field if he didn't pass all the tests? She stated he wasn't allowed unless he passed every test, so why did she say he could when the tests stated he's not fit enough?
Chosen answer: Because she believes that people are more than just the sum of their test results. Regardless of what the tests show, she still believes that Bond is the best person for the task ahead, that his skill, experience and tenacity will allow him to rise above a few bad test scores and get the job done anyway.
Question: Why would M betray Silva like that? What was so bad about hacking the Chinese? If what he did was really that bad, why couldn't she just fire him or even sue him? Why would she try to have him killed? Everyone always talks about how horrible Silva is and how sad is is that M died, but why is there no mention of how despicable M's actions were?
Chosen answer: MI6 agents operate in a very grey area legally speaking. Plenty of the things Bond has done over the years could even be classed as acts of war against foreign powers if they were discovered. For this reason, all agents know that if they are caught or captured their government will disavow all knowledge of them or their actions, meaning they're on their own. That's why we learn in Die Another Day that Bond had a cyanide capsule to commit suicide if caught (which he threw away years ago). M was Silva's mentor, meaning he took it very personally when she followed protocol and cut him loose after he hacked the Chinese and was discovered.
Question: What relationship does Silva have with M? M claims he was a former agent, whilst Silva refers to M as "mother" or something along this lines.
Chosen answer: He's an agent who worked for her when she was section chief in Hong Kong. They are not related - Silva refers to her as "mother" or "mummy" as a nod to the fact that recruited agents are frequently orphans and thus their superiors often take on something of a parental role - a noted theme in this particular movie.
Question: During the 'interrogation' scene, where Bond plays the word association game, the interviewer says the word "Skyfall," which elicits a fairly negative response from Bond. At this point, the audience still doesn't know exactly what Skyfall is. My question is, now that we know, why did they use this word on Bond? Exactly what kind of reaction were they looking to get?
Answer: The name Skyfall is the name of his parents estate in Scotland. Obviously this would be in his file. Given that the doctor is trying to determine Bond's psychological state, its very likely that he would try to ask about his childhood and the death of his parents. He was trying to see what Bond would do when asked about that part of his life. Bonds reaction to the word is probably the reason why the doctor puts 'unresolved childhood trauma' in his report.
Question: If the Craig movies are a reboot/prequel to all the other Bond movies, how do they explain M dying in Skyfall but the same M being alive in the Brosnan movies?
Chosen answer: It's a reboot, not a prequel. They kept Judi Dench because she's a great actress, but from Casino Royale onwards, the previous Bond movies are ignored.
Not only that but 'Skyfall' COULD potentially sit in the previous Bond film line-ups anyways. This one isn't time-sensitive, doesn't make references to Craig's Bond films before this one therefore can sit nicely in there. And I've always thought this is more like 'Goldeneye' or 'Licence to Kill' in that it is a more conventional Bond movie than Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace.
Question: Has the car Bond uses to drive M to the Skyfall home to hide her from Silva ever been used in any other Bond films?
Chosen answer: Yes, it originally appeared in Goldfinger. Aston Martin DB5s have also appeared in a number of subsequent Bond movies, but have not always been intended to be the same car.
Answer: The DB5 also appears briefly in The World is Not Enough as a thermal image at the end and in a deleted scene. It also appears at the end of Spectre when Bond drives off.
Answer: The Aston Martin DB5 originally starred in Goldfinger then Thunderball in the pre-credit scene, then it appeared again in Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale (but this time it was owned by another character) and then Skyfall in which it gets blown up.
Question: Why didn't M call in reinforcements to help them at Skyfall Lodge? With her being the head of a spy agency, she could have easily requested MI6 or SAS personnel to be quickly flown and parachuted in to their location to assist in the fight.
Answer: It is a major theme of the film that M and Bond must eventually answer for their deeds. Silva's personal vendetta is being taken out on MI6 and puts dozens of agents at risk. Bond and M have decided they are through putting others in peril (Silva's final attack before this decision was on Parliament and put many innocents in danger). Bond seems surprised that Kincade is still around and tries sending him away, but he refuses. It's not really until the helicopter comes in with reinforcements and a heavy machine gun that Bond feels like they might be in over their heads.
Question: When Silver detonates the explosives and causes the subway train to crash through to the lower level shouldn't the lights in the train cars have gone out, as the train was no longer connected to the electric system?
Answer: They probably have emergency battery backup.
Chosen answer: Companion of the Order of Saints Michael and George and Royal Navy.
Captain Defenestrator