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Still, how this "acting" can be seen as not Grey's Anatomy-ish escapes me.
The only reason I can think of is because Dench is so great and it covers up Craig's performance.
I almost completely agree with your statement, apart from TWINE. I thought her motherly involvement in that film was more disgraceful than her obvious incompetence in SF, quite frankly. She should have been sacked at the end of TWINE and replaced with a new M, imho.
I like Dench as much as the next fella, but she really did outstay her welcome, and shouldn't have been in the films post-reboot. That was one of the errors they made. DC was a charismatic enough Bond, as were Green/Giannini/Mikkelsen etc. to carry the show. They did not need to have Dench tagging along and spoiling the timeline, national treasure or not.
Her character's death in SF was one of the more comforting moments in the franchise for me, I'm sorry to say. I had tears, but they were of joy.
And what boy on an adventure wouldn't want his mum
With him. ;)
Although I did like her performance in CR if I forget how ridiculous it was to start with having her back in a reboot!
Only if you adopt my idea to have that Dyson vacuum cleaner guy play Q.
I find it ironic how often performers in the series get flack from this community because they gave meager performances and then proceed to condemn a great actor in Judi Dench solely on the direction her character was written.
Well, I for one think her character was written eloquently. She is Bond's boss and Bond is a government sanctioned assassin. While she is his superior, she has superiors of her own, which means her entire livelihood is at stake every time Bond goes out on a mission. A level of oversight beyond being a room fixture is required. That's something the producers understand as is evident by the direction they are taking with the character of Mallory in SPECTRE (based on the officially revealed video blogs and trailers). It would be anarchy if governments sanctioned killings without ongoing supervision. A character as big as Bond needs an equally large superior that is not a wallflower.
The M of the Craig era is different than the M of the Brosnan era. Brosnan is part of the same lineage as the original Bond franchise, which is largely why M acts reminiscent of her predecessors. When the reboot occurs in Casino Royale, she is a different character and so is Bond. Dench is brilliant in her approach with how she maintains some qualities of her previous M's incarnation while introducing some necessary new folds to the character that are appropriate for both the script and her character's depiction. Bond hasn't been an agent for an indefinite period of time, he's raw and new. The motherly approach M takes is perfect not only because Bond grew up without that figure in his life, but also because his inexperience is a liability to the institution. Craig and Dench provide truly genuine moments both professionally and emotionally as their characters develop, which is at an apex in Skyfall. Her character has gone full circle from distrusting Bond in Casino Royale to affirming her belief in him in Quantum Of Solace enough to reinstating him without meeting protocol standards in Skyfall.
Skyfall is not just an honor to Dench for her contributions to the franchise, but also the closure of her character. It's wonderful.
I'm not sure...it felt more like an unworthy useless death, she was wasted really or get rid off.
She should have saved James' live at least and then died a hero. Or get her retirement with grace.
Sadly the writer's had no respect whatsoever for her character.
Bernard Lee and Robert Brown were guilty of the same thing. In fact, Lee was the first "M" who appeared in the field . . . in "You Only Live Twice". He went on to do the same in "The Man With the Golden Gun", "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker". Robert Brown did this in "Octopussy", "The Living Daylights" and especially "License to Kill".
I never understood why "M" partially blamed Bond for that scientist's death in Hong Kong in "The Man With the Golden Gun". Bond simply had the bad luck to be there. The relationship between "M" and Bond in the Dalton films struck me as particularly contentious. And "M" managed to piss off Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
Why is it that Judi Dench as "M" has attracted so much negativity from Bond fans? Is it because she is a woman? And the idea of Bond having a female boss is that repulsive to fans? I think it is. I think the bashing of Dench as "M" has a lot to do with sexism. It's funny. People cheered when Ralph Fiennes finally replaced her as "M". Yet, judging from clips I have seen from "SPECTRE", Craig's Bond will clash with him. I wonder how fans will take it. Will they merely dismiss it or bash Fiennes' "M"?
I don't think she particularly has attracted a lot of negativity from Bond fans. She was very popular throughout her tenure. I'm not sure how long you have been a fan but you might remember how fans felt about Robert Brown as M in the late 80s? Now he attracted negativity.
I see your line of thought, but I honestly think it would have been cliche to give her such an end to be remembered. It's more consistent with her character to have an unfitting conclusion. As is the case with her motherly observance of Bond, she didn't gain any greater grandeur by assuming that role.
In my eyes, she is a true hero archetypal character. The every day or true hero is one that may not be glorified or remembered for their acts. Her character embodies that trait.
You have some nice thoughts @DRush76. I don't necessarily agree with the last statement, but it is a factor in her reception among fans.
Dench should have been replaced for CR. End of.
Why? Because it was a reboot?
[cough]LeeTamahori[cough]
Haha. For the win.
Skyfall played up the perception that her time was limited. You could make a case she was ineffective, but then what would an effective M had done throughout the picture without changing the back story that was presented in the film. Bond had been shot and she was supposed to just expect he would have put Patrice down in hand to hand combat when the guy didn't have any injuries. The most out of place thing there is how Craig could get shot and still manage to do all he did with the amount he was bleeding. The whole point of Skyfall as it stands in the larger picture is that M defended her agencies existence and nurtured her agents development like Bond (and presumably others since Tanner, Moneypenny, Silva, etc. called her "mum"). Bond faced repeated betrayal and hardship throughout the 3 films and she was the rock that propelled his development since his job was the only thing he could count on at the end of the day. That's a legacy that will carry on into SPECTRE and beyond, in both Bond's response to his field duty and the new M's approach to maintaining MI6.
I'll admit we got off on the wrong foot with GE, as I did not appreciate her M's telling off of Bond in that film. I happen to like his womanizing tendencies and dislike accountants (I have a finance background and have had to deal with quite a few by the book short sighted 'bean counters' without vision in my time). I took her character's remarks to heart, particularly at a time (starting with the Dalton era) when EON was deliberately trying to tone down Bond's philandering ways, to my chagrin.
My problem with Ralph Fiennes as the new "M" is that he is too young to be Daniel Craig's boss. They're only 5 to 6 years apart. This is why I had a problem with Brown portraying "M" toward the end of Roger Moore's tenure. If Fiennes is to be a credible "M", he needs to work opposite a younger actor portraying Bond.
Why? She was in a cell. What did you expect her to do? Use telekinesis?
Regarding Fiennes as M, he is the right to be in such position and he will stay after Craig, so will mentor a younger Bond eventually.