Judi Dench’s M Was The Real Bond Girl Of Daniel Craig’s Billion Dollar 007 Movie

Skyfall was Daniel Craig’s billion-dollar-grossing James Bond film where M (Judi Dench) emerged as the true Bond Girl who became 007’s mission to protect. Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall was a global box office hit in 2012 that took Daniel Craig’s James Bond back to basics. Casino Royale rebooted 007 with Craig and refreshed multiple aspects of his James Bond. Skyfall melded Craig’s new style of Bond 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, of James Bond. Traditionally, a Bond Girl is a beautiful woman who 007 must protect or team up with and becomes his love interest for the duration of a film. Sometimes, Bond Girls can be a villain trying to kill 007, like May Day (Grace Jones) in 1985’s A View to a Kill or Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) in 1995’s GoldenEye. Judi Dench’s M is certainly not a love interest for James Bond, but there is mutual trust and even affection as 007 protected M in Skyfall.

M Was Daniel Craig’s True Bond Girl In Skyfall

Protecting M Was 007’s True Mission

Skyfall introduced Eve Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) to Daniel Craig’s James Bond timeline, and there was a more traditional Bond Girl named Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe) that 007 briefly romanced as well. But Judi Dench’s M was the real Bond Girl in Skyfall because she became James’ true mission. Skyfall’s villain, Raoil Silva (Javier Bardem), was a former MI6 agent who was loyal to M and targeted her to “think on your sins.” Silva was a funhouse mirror reflection of James Bond out to kill “mother” for betraying and abandoning him.

With M facing inquiry and the potential end of her career, Silva’s attack placed her life in danger. The third act of Skyfall 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 his best efforts, James couldn’t save M from 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 Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall, but their relationship goes much deeper. Although the Bond movies don’t elaborate on the reasons behind M’s profound interest in James, she showed considerable favor toward 007 during her tenure as head of MI6. M showed Bond tough love, but the operative word is ‘love.” Daniel Craig’s James Bond was, in turn, receptive to M’s guidance, and he 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 made James tick, and she knew how to motivate him even during his dark periods. Even after her death in Skyfall,James Bond still followed M’s marching orders. Spectre‘s plot was predicated on M leaving Bond a posthumous video message, instructing him to finish an investigation into a far-reaching global conspiracy, which turned out to be the existence of Spectre run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).

M had a bulldog figurine with a Union Jack that became an important keepsake for James Bond.

Spectre revealed James Bond’s history 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 M, and she was as important to him as the two key Bond Girls in his life, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux).

M & Vesper Lynd Are Two Of Daniel Craig’s James Bond’s Biggest Regrets

Two Women James Bond Couldn’t Save

Daniel Craig’s James Bond always wins and accomplishes his mission, but he cannot always save the girl, even if it’s M. In Skyfall, M took her place as the second of James Bond’s biggest regrets after he failed to save Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. Vesper was the first great love of Craig’s 007, but she betrayed him to Quantum. Even in his fury, Bond tried to save Vesper from drowning in Venice but failed. In a way, M benefited from Vesper’s duplicity because it hardened 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 No Time To Die, and Madeleine Swann’s urging, for James Bond to move past his anger and regret over Vesper. Bond, however, was able to reconcile M’s death by the end of Skyfall as he chose to go back to work, with Mallory taking over as the new M. With M presenting the puzzle that Bond solved in Spectre, 007 was also able to honor M by apprehending Blofeld at the end, which marked the beginning of the end of Spectre as an organization. When James Bond sacrificed his life in No Time To Die, he was at peace with Vesper and M.

Judi Dench Played Two Different Ms In James Bond Movies

M In Pierce Brosnan’s Movies Wasn’t 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 Casino Royale, but because they are two different timelines, Dench didn’t portray the same version of M in both. When Dench first became M in GoldenEye, she was introduced as “the evil queen of numbers” who was no great admirer of James Bond (Pierce Brosnan). M referred to 007 as a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur… a relic of the Cold War,” but she gradually came to respect and regard Bond as her top agent.

Interestingly, Judi Dench’s M was also a damsel in distress in 1999’s 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 movie. M’s predicament in The World Is Not Enough foreshadowed how she would be victimized by Silva in Skyfall‘s rebooted 007 canon, only this time, Daniel Craig’s James Bond couldn’t save M the way Pierce Brosnan did.

It’s evident that M is the most important woman in Skyfall, and she is the film’s true Bond Girl.

Upon M’s death in Skyfall, her real name was revealed as Olivia Mansfield, whereas in Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond continuity, it was suggested M’s identity was Barbara Mawdsley. M’s status as James Bond’s superior, as well as Judi Dench’s own stature as an actress, didn’t make her an obvious Bond Girl. Yet both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies turned M into a woman who needed saving by 007, and Craig’s Bond also explored a deeper relationship where 007 saw M as an ersatz mother figure. It’s evident that M is the most important woman in Skyfall, and she is the film’s true Bond Girl.