Skyfall & The Fighting Temeraire

William Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire is the key to Skyfall and a fine visual way of acknowledging Bond’s cinematic longevity.

Turner's most famous painting shows HMS Temeraire, blooded at Trafalgar but now useless and obsolete, being towed ignominiously to the breakers yard. The implications are obvious.

There are lots of references to ‘old ways are best’ scattered throughout Skyfall, from cutthroat razors to traditional spycraft and fieldwork. Personally, I particularly enjoyed the reassurance of Severine’s full pubic hair.

How many ‘old way’s references did you spot?

What did Bond's reference to "you still have spots" mean? Is "spots" British term for pimples or acne?

Yes.

I thought the combination of 50 year old Macallan, Charles Trenet's "Boum!" from 1938, and 19th century flintlock pistols was very effective.