CommanderBond.net

"M" Back In Action?

Dame Judi Dench hints "M" may be back in the field in 'Bond 22'

"M" Takes Off To Panama

Dame Judi Dench confirms 'Bond 22' location

Dame Judi In
The Dark Over 'Bond 22'

Also; Tobias Menzies says Villiers won't be returning

Personally I think she should carry PPK in her purse too.

It's about time we had a darker, grittier M with a the physicality of Bernard Lee and the cat-like reflexes of Robert Brown.


As long as field M is handled in much the same way as CR...and not...say TWINE where she was credited as M/Bond Girl 3...I'm fine with 'getting away again'.

Well, I think there's only been about three Bond films where M doesn't turn up in the field, so that's no big surprise.

Its more than 3: DN, FRWL, GF, TB, YOLT, OHMSS, DAF, LALD, FYEO, TLD, GE, TND.

In GF he visits the treasury (or wherever the lecture is given); in TB he goes to that briefing room (is that in SIS? I can't remember); in YOLT he's on a submarine off Hong Kong; in OHMSS he's in Portugal at Bond's wedding; in DAF he's at the diamond expert's office; in LALD he's in Bond's flat; in FYEO he doesn't appear(!); in TLD he's at the safehouse and concert in Vienna; in TND she's at the Ministry of Defence and the streets of London.

I'd count those as being out-and-about.

...and an aeroplane over Gibraltar.

Good one, yes- forgot about that.

So what does that leave us with? DN, FRWL, GE and (maybe) TB. So: three or four.

Depends if it's really plausible, I suppose. Things like briefing rooms, or the Ministry of Defence, or an expert's office, or, I suppose, Bond's flat, are more or less acceptable places for an MI6 chief to be. And I'd probably consider those to be more "out of the office" than "out in the field".

Obviously underwater off the coast of Hong Kong is another story.

Not sure "M" had to show up in the field in Casino Royale; hopefully they'd give her a real reason to be there if she's out and about in Bond 22.

Same thing as far as Judi's concerned I'd imagine. It's just location or studio to her. In those terms she's only been out of the studio to central London, Swindon and the Bahamas with Bond. And Prague, of course, for the studio of CR.



Well Bond could have flown back to London, but we got the drama of Solange's body, a helicopter to look at and a lovely beach to be in the background as they walked around. If one has to choose between that and them sitting in front of a laminate wall of an office set, I know which I'd choose.

Hopefully all she will be doing is briefing Bond in the field like in CR. I have no issues with that. Now I really don't want to see her be an unofficial Bond girl like in TWINE.

I do not like M out in the field exposed that much. I like the mysteriousness of M staying in his/her office. I could take a briefing in a unique location setting, ala like TMWTGG, etc.

So, we should expect to see M briefing Bond in a capsized ship in the film, then?

Would be nice to have something like it. I like the aspect of having a top secret headquarters right under people's noses, but in the most bizzare places. It is playing the spy aspect to the hilt and it is unique.

Not really unique, is it? Every spy spoof does it, from the Avengers to UNCLE etc.