M’s role in ‘Skyfall’
As ‘Skyfall’ draws closer, CBn takes a look at M’s role in the highly anticipated 23rd James Bond film. Massive Spoilers Ahead, so read at your own risk.
It is no secret in the world of Bond fans, that M will have a very prominent role in ‘Skyfall’. CBn takes a look at just what this might be.
In ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’, M’s relationship with Bond was very frosty. At end of ‘Quantum of Solace’, we finally saw this develop into a middle grounded relationship, with both party’s showing mutual respect for one another. With ‘Skyfall’ however, it looks like trust issues will arise between the pair again. Although not with Bond this time, but with M herself.
In the synopsis released for the highly anticipated movie, it states that…
Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
So, what exactly as M done? Has she been a bad girl? All rumours indicate that she has, very much so, and CBn tries to unravel the mystery of what ‘Skyfall’ actually means. As the production of ‘Skyfall’ has been very secretive, we don’t actually have that much to go on, but one thing we do know, is that the arrival of Ralph Fiennes in the role of Gareth Mallory, could prove a very difficult time for M. There is a massive amount of secrecy concerning Gareth Mallory. We’ve gathered that he’s a person higher up than M in the Government, but some rumours have surfaced that ‘Skyfall’ may very well be Judi Denchs’ last Bond film, and Mallory could very well be her replacement. With Dench now at 77, and Fiennes recently finishing his role as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, it’s really not that hard to believe. One thing we do know though, is that Mallory is a person even higher ranked than M herself, and to quote Fiennes, has been “brought in to give M a hard time.”
However, if you were expecting office tension, then you were extremely wrong. Reports indicate that a terrorist attack on MI6 actually banishes M from the country, forcing her and Bond to go on the run. Over at CBn, we’re willing to bet our entire Bond collection that this has something to do with a piece of dark history which has come to light regarding M’s past. Just what this is though, still remains to be seen, but we have a feeling that ‘Skyfall’ may very well be an operation that M has kept secret during the cold war. What causes it to come to light now? Could it have something to do with Javier Bardems character, Silva? Did M promise him immunity over something he’s done, and betray him? Making him seek revenge by blowing up MI6?
Something else we know is that Bond and M will be heading to ‘Skyfall’ lodge later on in the movie. A manor house located in the Scottish Highlands, which is rumoured to be Bonds ancestrial home. Was the ‘Skyfall’ operation concieved there? Did Bonds parents have something to do with it? We know that Bond will be paying visit to his parents’ graves during the film, as pictures were leaked a while ago showing two tomb stones complete with the names ‘Andrew Bond’ and ‘Monique Bond’. The grave yard is apparently located at the Lodge as well. What if M was reponsible for his parents’ deaths? I’m sure that would make Bond test his loyalty to her.
The fun doesn’t stop there either, as a few months ago, it surfaced that a member of the ‘Skyfall’ production team accidently let slip that M will be killed off! “We’ve just filmed M’s death scene. Judi Dench is leaving the franchise.” they said. When asked to confirm the rumour, Sony Pictures stated ‘No comment.’ As they remain tight lipped on the subject, we don’t really see any other way for M to bow out, apart from being forced to retire. Considering the synopsis about M’s past coming back to haunt her, many of us think that now really does seem the appropriate time for Judi Dench to leave the franchise. Since ‘Skyfall’ is M heavy, this does seem to be building up to something big. We feel that a truly explosive exit for Judi Dench is more than appropriate, as she has proved to be more involved in the series than Bernard Lee and Robert Brown, who both had limited screentime in the earlier Bond films. Judi Dench has been in the role of M for 17 years. Playing opposite Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Dench was also given an extensive appearance in ‘The World Is Not Enough’, which turned out to be Pierce Brosnans’ penultimate adventure as James Bond.
So, it looks like ‘Skyfall’ will mark a very dramatic event in Bond history. Lets hope it doesn’t dissapoint! Skyfall is released October 26th.