Sam Mendes On The Shocking Conclusion To SKYFALL

Sam Mendes On The Shocking Conclusion To SKYFALL

The 23rd Bond movie alters the status quo in a way rarely (if ever) seen in the 007 franchise so far. In a recent interview director Sam Mendes discusses the decision to do so, and his surprise at it even being allowed to happen. Major SPOILER ahead..

By MarkCassidy - Nov 12, 2012 07:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Action
Source: comingsoon.net

The following quotes from Sam Mendes relate to a character's death at the end of Skyfall, so obviously if you haven't seen the movie yet and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now..

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER




Okay, so as anyone who has seen the movie will know, Dame Judie Dench's M is killed off in Skyfall. Many fans were shocked by this as Dench has played Bond's handler now since 1995's GoldenEye. But the decision was made to shake things up a bit and kill off a principal, recurring character - something pretty much unheard of in the franchise. In an interview with Coming Soon, the movie's director Sam Mendes is asked about the decision of off M, and how the idea came about..

"That was an idea that was floating around when I came onto the project and it was in an early treatment written by Peter Morgan, but it was not done, I thought in the right circumstances and in the right way, but the fact of it is there. It was one of the things that we were most interested - it was the only thing that we kept from the Peter Morgan treatment was that one idea. I was amazed that they would allow it to happen, and when they said yes, I thought, ‘Right, that's something that needs to then be built into the story from the very beginning. So, let's go back and work that through.' That's what we did, you know? That's where we were headed the whole time."


What did you guys think about M's demise? Will Ralph Fiennes make a suitable replacement? For the full interview click the link below.









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Genaro
Genaro - 11/12/2012, 7:26 AM
It was time to killer off she is old.
SmellofDuty
SmellofDuty - 11/12/2012, 7:27 AM
I LOVED it. And i'm excited for Fiennes!
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 11/12/2012, 7:30 AM
I love judi drench as m but it was time to move on. Fiennes is a great actor and a great replacement, I look forward to seeing how him and Craig's Bond interact with each other
Hawkeyefan
Hawkeyefan - 11/12/2012, 7:31 AM
That was the only complaint i had with the movie, because she was the best part of the movie. So it will be probably the last great James Bond movie. The next two will not have the same awesomeness that the last seven movies had. Judi Dench was the greatest M there is. Fiennes will not do as well has Judi Dench did.

Judi Dench was awesome as M.
sameoldthing
sameoldthing - 11/12/2012, 7:43 AM
It was a great role for her but people close to Bond die..it's the way it is.

Still prefer Bond films to be R-rated so there can be more shown of the Bond girls..they are too sexy not to be seen naked.

Judi Dench naked..not so much.
MCMLXXXII
MCMLXXXII - 11/12/2012, 7:44 AM
i thought it was overdue anyway.. felt like the dynamic between m and bond was getting stale.. fiennes will do great.. but i'd prefer if they'd write his m as a darker character, one who doesnt have a problem doing more "questionable" deeds sometimes and that will put him at odds with bond..
Superman1974
Superman1974 - 11/12/2012, 7:45 AM
I`m not a James Bond fan but This was one of the better movies of this year and The Best BOND flick so far...
thetrojan
thetrojan - 11/12/2012, 7:48 AM
oh no
that means he is a sleeper and will be the baddie in about two movies time.
MCMLXXXII
MCMLXXXII - 11/12/2012, 7:51 AM
i wish also that they'd write a bond story that has arcs that span more than 1 film.. if they can lock down the actor for several movies, or even if they don't a longer story arc would be awesome.. they should introduce a recurring villain, a "moriarty" to bond's holmes if you will..
bestintheworld
bestintheworld - 11/12/2012, 7:53 AM
I'm a huge Bond fan, thought the movie and ending were fantastic. The nods to the older movies were awesome, and we got the return of the gun barrel at the end. Javier Bardem legitimately creeped me out. The next one looks like it will be a return to the Connery era style Bond movies. Can't wait.
MCMLXXXII
MCMLXXXII - 11/12/2012, 7:54 AM
@thetrojan.. exactly, that would be awesome they could develop stories and dynamic relationships better in slightly serialized bond films..
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 11/12/2012, 7:59 AM
Dench is going blind and had to leave the role anyway so this was definitely great way to do it.

Fiennes rules! Cant wait to see him fighting to keep Bond under control. :)

ckal@ That definitely would have made it more dramatic. Too bad they didnt do it.
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 11/12/2012, 8:04 AM
Oldman as the next villain. And i want to finally see the end of Mr. White (The guy who killed Le Chiffre)
djkpat
djkpat - 11/12/2012, 8:05 AM
Yea Fiennes is top class, so i'm all for him being the new M. Judie Dench was a great M for the run that she had, it is unfortunate that she had to suffer through some of the worst bond movies, but at least she got a good run with daniel craigs version of Bond. Looking forward to the new M/Q combination for upcoming bond movies.
IgnurRant
IgnurRant - 11/12/2012, 8:10 AM
She had a great run as M. Glad they kept her when switching from Bronsman to Craig.

@AlexDeLardge: Yes sir! I do want the Quantum story to get tied up in the next Bond films. Mr White must die!
Darkknight23
Darkknight23 - 11/12/2012, 8:16 AM
I would've loved to see Connery play M
bestintheworld
bestintheworld - 11/12/2012, 8:23 AM
Dench had some good moments. Her opening dialogue with Bond in Goldeneye, the tower jail scenes in World is not Enough, debriefing scene on the boat in Die Another Day, all of Skyfall....she had a great run.
Aeyan
Aeyan - 11/12/2012, 8:23 AM
Fact is Judie Dench in an interview she was considering retirement; claiming that her eye sight was getting to be pretty bad and needed an assistant to read the script to her. She would then memorize sections of the script for each shoot session. She was hesitant to come back for Bond 23, but they talked her into it. Maybe taking retirement into consideration, killing off M was satisfying and showed as a last hurrah of sorts.
Jolt17
Jolt17 - 11/12/2012, 8:34 AM
Who doesn't love Dame Dench as M? But, Ralph Fiennes' "Mallory" has a potential to be a more badass M, I think...a very good replacement.

The franchise is getting better.
GrayMatter
GrayMatter - 11/12/2012, 8:38 AM
My problem with her death was that the whole scene felt contrived. I mean, she gets shot in the hip, and basically seems to be doing okay, other than limping around. But then as soon as Bond shows up she just suddenly dies.

I agree with @ckal above. If she'd just got shot in the head during the courtroom scene, it would have been a major shocker. Plus it would have lent weight to the whole "we still need human field agents" plot
reverendendge
reverendendge - 11/12/2012, 8:40 AM
It was obvious thy fiennes was taking over as m either way, but awesome 007 flick
reverendendge
reverendendge - 11/12/2012, 8:41 AM
That not thy^
RedSkull667
RedSkull667 - 11/12/2012, 8:51 AM
I thought Silva was a former 007.
bestintheworld
bestintheworld - 11/12/2012, 8:51 AM
If she died in the courtroom scene, there would have been no point in going to "Skyfall", completely re-imagining that final act.
ironpool007
ironpool007 - 11/12/2012, 9:11 AM
It was really a beautiful scene. You could really see M's death affected Bond, and Craig played Bond's sadness perfectly. I loved Dame Judi Dench as M, and her interactions with Brosnan and Craig were awesome. I felt M's relationship with Bond from Casino Royale through Skyfall really took on a more intimate role. There was love and respect there.
LAWLZY96
LAWLZY96 - 11/12/2012, 9:19 AM
It was perfect, she went out tastefully, with a bang, and at just the right time. It was a perfect time to return to the classic James Bond-M relationship and I think Ralph Fiennes fits the role of the male M perfectly. Excited to see where the series goes from here now that it has been kind of reset to the place it was during the Connery years. I'm hoping Quantum is revealed to be Spectre and we get a new Blofield.
evilness
evilness - 11/12/2012, 9:25 AM
dench was good and will be missed. but fiennes is a fine actor. he'll be a great replacement
thejon93rd
thejon93rd - 11/12/2012, 9:43 AM
While I did love the movie, much like The Dark Knight (which it was inspired by), it did have a somewhat weak final act. Unlike The Dark Knight's, the more I think about it, the more I appreciate that it still kept me invested till the end. The ending is fantastic as well, made me smile, but I wish that they would have revealed Bond's next villain (since Craig's coming back for one or two more). Still, all-in-all, this film is a great Bond movie and it's one that I'd probably love even more the second time than I did the first (much like The Dark Knight Rises). Overall, it's a 4.5/5 easily (though that could improve in the future of course). Casino Royale is my favourite Bond film.
jimpinto24
jimpinto24 - 11/12/2012, 9:44 AM
I was sad. Judi Dench is a great actress & had a great run as M. Ralph Fiennes will do a good job as the new M. He reminds me of a young Bernard Lee. (The original M)
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 11/12/2012, 10:12 AM
Quantum should comeback as Spectre. That would be great. They change their name cause Bond got close to them in Quantum of Solace. If anyone remembers that scene where Bond spied the organization in Opera.

Gary Oldman would make one hell of a leader for the organization.
Happy11
Happy11 - 11/12/2012, 10:15 AM
With a new M and Naomi Harris as Ms Moneypenny the last scene brought back the best of bond.
AC1
AC1 - 11/12/2012, 10:20 AM
@MCMLXXXII Bond did have a 'Moriarty' - Blofeld. He could've been an awesome villain, but was underused and eventually thrown away thanks to that court case with Kevin McClory. I'd love them to reintroduce Blofeld for this new Bond. Tom Hardy would own the role.
AC1
AC1 - 11/12/2012, 10:25 AM
@ToDandy... Judi Dench became M in Pierce Brosnan's first Bond film Goldeneye... a decade after Moore's last Bond film. Timothy Dalton was Bond in two films during that time.

@AlexDeLarge I also think Quantum should be this Bond's answer to SPECTRE, but I hate the actual name SPECTRE (it stands for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) it's one of the worst acronyms ever for an organisation. If they could change the acronym, fair enough, but I'd rather the organisation remain as Quantum rather than use a heavily cliched and silly name.
DoctorDoak
DoctorDoak - 11/12/2012, 10:29 AM
@ToDandy: Judy Dench's first Bond film was GoldenEye, when Brosnan was Bond.

Fiennes is gonna be a great M. I love how they've been slowly building up to the classic Bond set-up -- next film he'll be completely old-school new Bond.
HavocPrime
HavocPrime - 11/12/2012, 10:37 AM
Skyfall was the best Bond film I have seen in a long time, I love how it created the classic set up, now all they got to do is keep the [frick]ing, crazy as shit gadgets that dominated the Pierce Brosnan era.
elsocarras
elsocarras - 11/12/2012, 10:48 AM
Skyfall is a good movie and I really like Craig's rendering of Bond but as an operative this Bond is just a disaster.

Recover the disk: fail
Get info from thug: fail
Save the girl (and keep his promise by the way): fail
Protect M: fail

The guy did not get one right and everything he touched was blown to pieces rambo style. Sometimes it just felt like a serious parody of "Get Smart".
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