The M-9 was my duty weapon for about 15 years, but I never had a desire to own one. It was very large for the caliber and number of rounds the magazine held. Plus, I've never owned a 9mm, so it would have required another caliber of ammo to stock up on. The only thing I can say in its defense is that I never had a malfunction with it, but I only fired it at the range.
“But guns chosen by the military achieve cult status, used as iconic weapons in James Bond and other action movies, and become highly desirable among civilian gun owners too.”
I think your see M9’s in movies so much because they are popular prop guns. You can use them in Army movies and in normal movies where the script just calls for “a gun” and they have an external hammer that people love to cock for dramatic effect.
I’ll admit to having a Taurus knock off of an M9, even though I never had, or qualified with an M9 in the Army. Weighs a ton but it shoots and runs and didn’t cost much.