Fall from the sky was Daniel Craig’s billion-dollar revenue James Bond film where M (Judi Dench) emerged as the true Bond Girl who became 007’s protection mission. Directed by Sam Mendes, Fall from the sky was a global box office hit in 2012 that took Daniel Craig’s James Bond back to basics. Royal Casino rebooted 007 with Craig and updated several aspects of his James Bond. Fall from the sky fused Craig’s new Bond style with some more traditional tropes, and one of them was replacing Judi Dench’s M with a male supervisor, Mallory (Ralph Fiennes).
007’s Bond Girls have traditionally been romantic foils, and sometimes enemies, to James Bond. Traditionally, a Bond Girl is a beautiful woman who 007 must protect or bond with and become his love interest during the film. Sometimes Bond Girls can be a villain trying to kill 007, like May Day (Grace Jones) in 1985 A vision for a death or Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) in 1995 GoldenEye. Judi Dench’s M is certainly not a love interest for James Bondbut there is mutual trust and even affection, as 007 protected M in Fall from the sky.
M was Daniel Craig’s real Bond Girl in Skyfall
Protecting M was 007’s true mission
Fall from the sky introduced Eve Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) to Daniel Craig’s James Bond timeline, and there was a more traditional Bond Girl named Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe) who 007 also briefly dated. But Judi Dench’s M was the real Bond Girl in Fall from the sky because it became James’ true mission. Skyfall’s villain, Raoil Silva (Javier Bardem), was a former MI6 agent who was loyal to M and directed her to “think of your sins.” Silva was a mirror reflection of James Bond wanting to kill “mother” for betraying and abandoning him.
With M facing investigation and the potential end of his career, Silva’s attack put his life in danger. The third act of Fall from the sky involves James Bond fleeing with M to his ancestral home in Scotland, where they make their last stand against Silva and his armed forces. Despite your best efforts, James was unable to save M de Silva, and he killed the villain too late. M died in Bond’s arms, severing the most important relationship 007 had with the British Secret Service.
Why M Was So Important to Daniel Craig’s James Bond
M was more than Bond’s immediate superior
M was James Bond’s boss in Royal Casino, Quantum of Solaceand fall from the sky, but their relationship goes much deeper. Although the Bond films do not elaborate on the reasons behind M’s deep interest in James, she showed considerable favor towards 007 during her tenure as head of MI6. M showed Bond some tough lovebut the key word is ‘love.” Daniel Craig’s James Bond was, in turn, receptive to M’s guidance and ultimately sought her approval even when they disagreed.
Daniel Craig’s James Bond was more emotionally vulnerable than the versions of 007 played by his predecessors. M understood what motivated James and knew how to motivate him even during his dark times. Even after his death in fall from the sky, James Bond still followed M’s marching orders. SpectrumThe plot of M was based on M leaving Bond a posthumous video message instructing him to complete an investigation into a far-reaching global conspiracy, which turned out to be the existence of Specter run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).
Spectrum revealed the story of James Bond as an orphan who was adopted by Hannes Oberhauser and raised alongside his son, Franz, who grew up to become Blofeld. M likely knew this information and, in turn, had a greater understanding of James Bond’s psyche. M subtly used this knowledge to push James’ buttons. Yet There was more than professional respect between James Bond and Mand she was as important to him as the two important Bond girls in his life, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux).
M and Vesper Lynd are two of Daniel Craig’s biggest James Bond regrets
Two women that James Bond couldn’t save
Daniel Craig’s James Bond always wins and fulfills his mission, but he doesn’t always manage to save the girl, even if it’s M. In Fall from the skyM has taken its place as the second of James Bond’s biggest regrets after he failed to save Vesper Lynd in Royal Casino. Vesper was Craig’s first great 007 love, but she betrayed him to Quantum. Even furious, Bond tried to save Vesper from drowning in Venice, but failed. In a way, M benefited from Vesper’s duplicity because it turned Bond into a colder, more effective killer.
When James Bond sacrificed his life in No Time To Die, he was at peace with Vesper and M.
It took until There’s no time to dieand Madeleine Swann’s insistence that James Bond overcome his anger and regret over Vesper. Bond, however, managed to reconcile M’s death at the end of Fall from the sky when he chose to return to work, with Mallory taking over as the new M. With M presenting the puzzle Bond solved in Spectrum, 007 also managed to honor M by apprehending Blofeld at the end, which marked the beginning of the end for Specter as an organization. When James Bond sacrificed his life in There’s no time to diehe was at peace with Vesper and M.
Judi Dench played two different ladies in James Bond films
M in Pierce Brosnan’s films was not the same as Daniel Craig’s
Judi Dench was the bridge between the original James Bond continuity and the new rebooted universe that began with Royal Casinobut as there are two different timelines, Dench did not portray the same version of M in both. When Dench first became M GoldenEye, she was introduced as “the evil queen of numbers” who was not a great admirer of James Bond (Pierce Brosnan). M referred to 007 as a “sexist and misogynistic dinosaur… a relic of the Cold War” but she gradually came to respect and regard Bond as her chief agent.
Judi Dench’s James Bond films as M |
Director |
Year |
---|---|---|
GoldenEye |
Martin Campbell |
1995 |
Tomorrow never dies |
Roger Spottiswoode |
1997 |
The world is not enough |
Michael Apted |
1999 |
Die another day |
Lee Tamahori |
2002 |
Royal Casino |
Martin Campbell |
2006 |
Quantum of Solace |
Marc Forster |
2008 |
Fall from the sky |
Sam Mendes |
2012 |
Spectrum |
Sam Mendes |
2015 |
Interestingly, Judi Dench’s M was also a damsel in distress in 1999 The world is not enough. M was targeted by the diabolical Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), and she was even kidnapped and held hostage – a first for M in any James Bond film. M’s situation in The world is not enough foreshadowed how she would be victimized by Silva in Fall from the skyrebooted the 007 canon, only this time, Daniel Craig’s James Bond couldn’t save M the way Pierce Brosnan did.
It’s clear that M is the most important woman in Skyfall and the film’s true Bond Girl.
After M’s death in fall from the sky, her real name was revealed to be Olivia Mansfield, while in Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond continuity, it was suggested that M’s identity was Barbara Mawdsley. M’s status as James Bond’s superior, as well as Judi Dench’s stature as an actress, did not make her an obvious Bond Girl. However, both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig James Bond films turned M into a woman who needed to be saved by 007, and Craig’s Bond also explored a deeper relationship, where 007 saw M as a surrogate mother figure. It is clear that M is the most important woman in the world. fall from the sky, and she is the true Bond Girl of the film.