M - Judi Dench
The
announcement that Bond's new superior would be played by a woman made fans sceptical
that the decision was merely a nod to political correctness. After all, how
could Bond - the great seducer of otherwise stong-willed women - take orders
from a member of the fair sex? With her first scene in 'GoldenEye', Judi Dench
quieted the cynics with a dynamic, no-nonsense approach to the role. There is
real tension between her and Bond, especially in the superb sequence in which
he admits he regards her as a number-crunching bureaucrat, while she responds
that he is a 'sexist, misogynist dinosaur - a relic of the Cold War.' In recent
years, the Bond/M sequences had become pale shadows of those wonderful scenes
with Bernard Lee from the early films. With Dench in the role, the relationship
takes on a whole new mystique. There is still mutual respect between the two
but it is understated and therefore all the more meaningful.
Other Allies in GoldenEye
Jack Wade
Valentin Zukovsky
Dimitri Mishkin
Miss Moneypenny
Q
Bill Tanner