"It's a bloody big ship"

It's something I've been pondering for a little while, and it's something that didn't sit that well with me upon each of my viewings of Skyfall. The quote in the title you will no doubt remember from the Q scene. Despite Craig's impeccable delivery of the line, does anyone else feel as though it's out of character for Bond. I feel as though, despite Bond always being quite the cynic, that Fleming's Bond would have appreciated the art and dwelled on the notion of the "inevitability of time" - perhaps the author giving OO7 an internal monologue on the subject. Was it that he was playing one upsmanship with Q, and was supposed to be affected by the notion of time? If so, I don't recall it being present in Bond.

What are you thoughts? Perhaps you could shed some light on how you interpreted it.

I interpreted it as Bond thinking some young puff was trying to pick him up. He was pretty polite in the circumstances.

The National Gallery is a fabulous pickup joint. Met one of my non-wives there - she worked at an embassy across the way.

Erica Ambler wrote:

I interpreted it as Bond thinking some young puff was trying to pick him up. He was pretty polite in the circumstances.

Pretty much how I saw it too. Bond wasn't going to give the time of day to some strange kid when he's waiting for a rendezvous, until the kid says "007" and Bond realizes that that little shit happens to be from Q branch "you must be joking." Most importantly, Bond usually keeps his thoughts to himself, even from those he might consider a friend.

Erica Ambler wrote:

I interpreted it as Bond thinking some young puff was trying to pick him up. He was pretty polite in the circumstances.

Reminds of the scene between Richard Burton and Michael Hordern in THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, where Alec Leamas has been released from jail. Fine bit of writing from GOLDFINGER scribe Paul Dehn.

Quote :

Ashe: [Approaching Leamas who is sitting on a bench] Do you like birds? The ones with the white collars are wild. The others are domesticated. With people it's the other way around.

Leamas: [He snickers]

Ashe: Bird-watching's one of my hobbies. I often come here.

Leamas: Do you also often come to Wormwood Scrubs Prison at eight o'clock in the morning to watch birds?

Ashe: Yes, jailbirds. They're my other hobby.

Leamas: Only the young ones, surely!

Wow okay. Never thought of that... That works then.

That's my interpretation too... Bond is waiting for his quartermaster and small talk with Ben Whishaw about art is the last thing he needs.

Craig employs the word "bloody" more than any other Bond. Certainly a stark contrast to his immediate predecessor, who was as kid-friendly as can be.

It's a way-down-the-scale swearword, but yes ... thinking back, I'm struggling to remember Brozzer even saying 'Damn'.

Brozzer said "hell", but that's pretty much it.

I think "damn" or "damned" was the literary Bond's most common curse (as mild as it is). Though he did "spit out a four-letter word" on an occasion or two.

Book Bond tells Goldfinger to 'go _ himself'. Given that Goldfinger's response is to say that it's physically impossible, not tricky to work out what the missing word is (even with the restrictions of the time that led to its exclusion).