1. The M Factor
I've seen every Bond film at least three times, even 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' excluding the unofficial 'Thunderball' remake, 'Never Say Never Again,' which I saw once and said, "Never again." I've owned the VHS collection, the DVD collection, and I'm slowly piecing together collection on Blu-Ray. But the first film I saw in theaters was 'Goldeneye.' I was, presumably, the only 6-year-old who expressed concern when it was revealed that M was a lady. The prolific take on the character played by Bernard Lee was cut short just before filming of 'Licence to Kill,' so he wasn't featured in that film. At the time, casting Dame Judi Dench was a bold move. It served the Brosnan series well, and I was glad to see her reincorporated into the new series of films. But she's largely served the purpose that Bernard Lee's M did an ever-watchful guiding hand in Bond's exploits and (in the new series) his development, but ultimately a character with no dramatic consequence. Though, she's served a more maternal role in the new films a cold, but caring, mentor to Craig's naive, unpolished and occasionally feckless Bond but her role in 'Skyfall' as MI-6's matriarch carries much more dramatic weight. As noted, the plot centers around her indiscretions Bond is nearly killed by her overzealous need to get the job done and she sells out Silva to the Chinese, which serves as the catalyst to the drama in 'Skyfall.' She's accountable. She's vulnerable. She's more than a figurehead. And while 2003's 'The World is Not Enough' addressed M's previous discrepancies to an extent, she was largely above the fray and out danger throughout the film. In 'Skyfall' she's very much in real danger, of both administrative and physical varieties. Most importantly, she's embattled, but Dench's performance is wittily acerbic, nerve-gratingly cold, and, for once, quite heartwarming. As the world crumbles around her, she asks Bond, "Did I f*** it all up?" In that question lay two firsts for a Bond film. It's the first time the word "f**k" has been uttered in the series, and it's the first time that we see a truly introspective, almost existential, M. Bond responds with even-keeled honesty: "You did your job." M's final act concludes heartbreakingly so, in a move that ushers in a new M in Ralph Fiennes' Mallory, a seemingly one-sided bureaucrat who Bond questions from the get-go. And, yes, upon his appearance, I figured,
Oh, he's going to be the new M. I resisted, though. Dench's role has been a mainstay, for me, in the Bond films. She was the bridge between the Brosnan and Craig films. It was a role that she owned but never fully grew into until the twilight of her tenure. When she finally did, I wanted more. She shrugged of the unflinchingly authoritative facade and confided in Bond in a rare moment of tenderness. How's Ralph Fiennes going to top that? I don't know, but I'm sure he'll think of something. The role of Dench's M was deconstructed, then reconstructed through the reversion to a male M in Fiennes' Mallory (or M, I guess I should now call him). It's the traditional Bond model, but Fiennes justified his commitment to both 007 and MI-6 in the film, slowly, assertively breaking down my resistance throughout the film. In the final moments of the film we see Bond walk into an office, putting his coat on the rack, greeting Eve who we now know as the Moneypenny and walking through the classic couch-cushioned doors of the old Bernard Lee days. It was both a reinvention and a reversion, but it's all earned. We've seen the establishment of the perennial sexual tension between Bond and Moneypenny, and we've seen why M demands and deserves the respect of Bond, and vice versa. It's all there and, instead of being implied or unsaid, we've experienced it. The previous two films were a proto-Bond. Say what you will about both of them, they served a purpose. They built up to the Bond we know and love, shirking off the camp without seeming overtly "gritty" as is the case with many remakes and revamps. Sam Mendes embraced the typical conventions and Daniel Craig perfected his own distinctive incarnation of the much-loved character, all the while rebuilding the all to familiar lore around a compelling narrative.