MovieChat Forums > Licence to Kill (1989) Discussion > Why does M have to be so heartless conce...

Why does M have to be so heartless concerning the Leiters?

posted 2 years ago by TMC-4 (20179)
1 reply | jump to latest

I almost want to slap M in the face for being such a cold, condescending dick.

Why when Bond tries to remind M that Felix's wife was murdered, M just shoots back by saying "Spare me the sentimental rubbish!"? To me, M might as well say that it was Felix's fault that he lost his leg to a shark and his wife was murdered. Felix in M's mind, didn't go a great job at protecting his wife from Franz Sanchez and Della herself, should've "fought back" instead of allowing them to give her a "nice honeymoon".

It's also as if M came short of telling Bond that Felix nor Bond himself should be sticking their noses in other people's (in this case, Sanchez) business if it isn't on the British Secret Service's time. Why else would M say that Felix "knew the risks" after he was kidnapped and tortured by Sanchez?

[–] Ismailov (163) 2 years ago

M is obviously meant to come across as heartless, but to be fair:

* From M's point of view, Bond was supposed to be in a completely different country on a completely different assignment, one that might have concerned something more dangerous (at least from a British or European point of view) than a drug lord.

* He says "this private vendetta of yours could easily compromise Her Majesty's government," and he has a point. A British agent going around killing people on US and Central American soil without any authorization from the relevant authorities could complicate Britain's relations with the US, the Republic of Isthmus, and potentially other states in the Western Hemisphere.

* I assume that "knew the risks" line simply meant Felix knew his job entailed the risk of tragedy to himself or others. It's an (obviously ineffective) attempt by M to encourage Bond to stop thinking of revenge and instead behave in a "professional" manner.