Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper’s (Eva Green) budding relationship hits a snag in this scene from Casino Royale (2006) when they arrive at their hotel. Bond snarkily blows his own cover to the receptionist when checking in, angering a by-the-book Vesper who doesn’t want to make any mistakes.
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*THIS* is how you end a James Bond movie!
The ending of Casino Royale (2006) is nearly flawless. It’s a perfect finale to a new actor’s first James Bond movie – it’s in a beautiful setting (Lake Como in Italy – ooooh!), has the element of surprise, Bond has a badass, big machine gun (umm silencer anyone??), the traditional “Bond. James Bond.” intro (finally!) And then the piece de resistance: the blaring James Bond theme, which I will happily listen to throughout mindless scrolling end credits in a heartbeat.
It felt like an absolute triumph in the theater and I left with a pep in my step. So awesome!
James Bond (Daniel Craig) introduces himself at the end of Casino Royale (2006)
Although short, this little scene from Casino Royale (2006) was a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Any changes wouldn’t be super significant, but it puzzled me as to why the writers didn’t inject a little more humor or sex appeal for Daniel Craig’s Bond in this interaction.
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I’ve always enjoyed this two scene sequence from Casino Royale (2006), a few issues notwithstanding.
Starting off at a celebratory meal between James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), they continue from previous scenes in flirtatiously building a friendly rapport. Bond is so satisfied with his poker win that he can hardly stop smiling. His tried-and-true shaken, not stirred vodka martini tastes so good he also decides to call it a Vesper in honor of his company.
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After Bond saves the Skyfleet S570 airliner from destruction in Casino Royale (2006), revenge is paid to the person that tipped him off to the terrorist plot.
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I love the way that Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) bets “300 grand” in Casino Royale (2006).
Sure, splashing the pot is poor poker etiquette, but who can blame our brother from Langley? The way the chips gracefully exit his hand and spin perfectly to the pot…man, he looks cool!
Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) bets 300 grand in Casino Royale (2006)
In the above scene from Casino Royale (2006), Judi Dench’s M and Daniel Craig’s James Bond have a heated exchange at her abode about his disastrous, headline-grabbing mission at the start of the movie. His sloppy parkour chase ended with an unarmed man (albeit an international terrorist bombmaker) killed and a headache for MI6.
After grilling him for a bit, M is also perplexed as to how Bond found out where she lived. To which Bond replies that it was just as easy as finding out what the M actually stood for. M quickly interjected her disdain and threat of murder (!). I remember this exchange piquing a lot of interest in Bond fans when Casino Royale came out, but much to our chagrin her name was never referenced again for the remainder of the movie.
In later Craig Bond movies, however, her name is referenced a few other times, albeit in different circumstances and still leading to more questions than answers.
Most notably:
- “Mum” – In Skyfall (2012), Bond oddly (affectionately?) refers to her as ‘mum’ on several occasions. Maybe this is an MI6 inside joke/reference to her being a woman M, so “mum”? Or just British slang or a drawl?
- Emma/Em – Also later in Skyfall, Kincaid brazenly refers to her as “Emma” – leaving the question open as to whether that’s her actual given name, or just another English play on words of the letter M? Or does he think Bond is shortening “Emma” to “Em” and doesn’t know that M is her MI6 code name
But, all is not so. As seen in the below screenshot, Dench’s M’s real name is actually revealed at the end of Skyfall (2012), where Moneypenny hands Bond a box containing the dreaded figurine of Jack, the Union Jack bulldog.
The real name of M (Judi Dench) is revealed in Skyfall (2012) as Olivia Mansfield
It’s a single frame, but you can clearly see M’s full name Olivia Mansfield visible and the package recipient’s name, James Bond (here it is zoomed in):
The real name of M (Judi Dench) is revealed in Skyfall (2012) as Olivia Mansfield
As Olivia Mansfield was deemed as canon by EON Productions, the name speculation is put to bed. Some fans have gone a bit further though, and deemed the name a play on words of the male-dominated field of espionage and the head of MI6 (code named “C” in real life actually) as a “man’s” “field.” It would have been interesting to have heard Dench’s M finally referred to as Mansfield for once, but oh well.
Regardless, if the above revelation didn’t happen, I still like to guess what name Dench’s M could have possibly have been. Here are my top 007 “M” guesses (all of which according to Google were the most popular girls names in the 1930s, the decade when Judi Dench was born):
- Margaret
- Mary
- Marilyn
- Martha
- Marie
- Mildred
- Marjorie
