Spoiler Space is a dedicated discussion area for people who have already seen a movie and want to talk about plot details we'd rather not reveal in our review. While we don’t promise spoilers for every film, here’s where you can discuss them to your hearts’ content.
Wikipedia and other sources have already spoiled the twists, but here goes again: Dench dies, passing the mantle of M to Ralph Fiennes. Harris’ fetching agent, to whom Craig says he’s never been properly introduced, turns out to be the new Miss Moneypenny. I like both Fiennes and Harris a lot, both here and elsewhere. And I like the way Skyfall brings the series full circle in the final scene, with Bond greeting Moneypenny and going to see M. But part of me thinks both developments also set back the role of women in the series quite a bit. Moneypenny, previously seen as an excellent agent in spite of one misstep, gives up field work to sit behind a desk. Dench gets replaced by a man. And on a related note, Marlohe dies a Bond Girl’s martyr’s death before we really get to know her. It almost seems like Skyfall wants to turn back the clock in terms of the roles played by women, too. We’ll see what happens next.
Other stuff: So Skyfall turns out to be Bond’s family home in Scotland, a nice nod to Sean Connery’s role in the series. And it seems like Bond and Dench’s M have a history going back to his childhood. Were his parents spies? Will we ever find out? Could Albert Finney be any scruffier as Skyfall’s caretaker? (The answer to the last one, at least, is a clear “no.”) I like Ben Whishaw as Q. It makes sense he would be a cool nerd in 2012, one who spends as much time hacking as coming up with gadgets. Oh, and I didn’t mention Adele’s theme song, or the opening title sequence, both among the all-time greats in the series. At this point, I think the film as a whole is, too.