Pierce Brosnan was my Bond for a long time due to my love of GoldenEye (both movie and game), but by the end of his tenure I was ambivalent towards the franchise. He fizzled out with Die Another Day (a movie I’ve warmed up to now), and I enjoyed the Austin Powers franchise more than Bond. When both series ended, I didn’t think much about Bond. Then Casino Royale came out.
Casino Royale was like no other Bond movie I had ever seen, and it remains my favorite Bond film of all time. Craig, a relative unknown at the time, retained the classic feel of Bond (rebellious, drunk, womanizing) while also being modern. This was a new Bond, and it was what I had always wanted from the franchise.
Over his five films, Craig got to slowly piece together every element of James Bond. Casino was his introduction, Quantum…happened, Skyfall brought in Moneypenny, Q, and a new M, Spectre brought back Blofeld, and No Time to Die gave him a definitive end. There are definitely some ups and downs along the way (I don’t care for Quantum, and Spectre and No Time to Die are very divisive among fans), but one thing cannot be argued: Daniel Craig got to portray James Bond in a complete story arc from his first moments as a 00 agent to his final mission.
I truly wasn’t sure who my favorite Bond would be when I started this rewatch. But after watching all of the Craig Bonds at the beginning and then watching them again at the end, the answer is clear: Daniel Craig is my James Bond.
1. Casino Royale
For whatever reason, I don’t want this to be my number one, but it’s one of the few Bond movies that I regularly return to year after year. Hell, it inspired this whole series of articles. I rewatched Casino because the Rewatchables podcast covered it a couple months ago, and it made me want to revisit all the Craig Bond movies, and that led me to finally watch every single Bond movie. If this movie made me do that, how can it not be my personal favorite? No fucking way this happens if I start with Live and Let Die.
It’s a great introduction for Daniel Craig, who is the first Bond to get the reboot treatment to the point that we start with him getting 00 status. Even Connery was already established in Dr. No. That, and an attempt to make Bond more of a human (which they tried with the last few minutes of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), made this resonate with me, even if a lot of the “traditional” Bond stuff is missing or only being established.
The establishment of the mainstays of the franchise is also what I love about this whole series of films. It takes three movies for Craig’s Bond to finally have his new M, Q, Moneypenny, and all the things that come with those characters. This is why I have a soft spot for Spectre, since I consider that Craig’s only movie that attempted to be like a classic Bond movie, even though the rest of his run was an attempt to do something new with the franchise.
But specifically back to Casino, there is so much to this movie that makes it an enjoyable standalone story. Craig is a natural as Bond, and he gets an all-time villain with Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, though I would argue the casting is better than the character in that department. Just like with GoldenEye, director Martin Campbell is able to orchestrate great action set pieces that are easy to follow. And the filmmakers found a way to make poker interesting by adding in some crazy fighting between hands. Oh, and the title song by Chris Cornell is easily one of the best of the series.
Everything works with this movie, and it only gets better when viewed among the entire series. Coming back to it after watching every other movie, I found Casino just as entertaining as when I first watched it years ago when I was mostly ignorant of the overall franchise (I had only seen the Brosnan movies and a couple Connerys). And it remains one of the only movies in the series that I plan on watching at least once a year.
Random Thoughts
Really dig this introduction of a new Bond. And damn sure better than that "other fellow" nonsense from Lazenby. Though Craig is just straight up staring into the camera at the end of the title sequence…
My favorite part of the parkour sequence was when the jumpy man jumped through a tiny window and Craig just fucking Kool-Aid Mans through it.
Keeping Judi Dench while rebooting the series was a good move. I just love how exacerbated she constantly is with Bond in this. "How does he keep doing these things?"
Mads Mikkelsen is the Darth Maul of this series. He's so perfect as a Bond Villain, yet we only get him for one movie. But they keep bringing back that boring ass Mr. White?
Does Dimitrios have the worst night in cinematic history? He loses his car to a man who also takes his wife, he gets scolded by his nefarious boss, then the dude who took his car and wife stabs him to death at the airport.
It's not much of a contest, but Jeffrey Wright is far and away the best Felix Leiter. I like how he seems to whisper every line. And I'm still waiting for an opportunity to place a drink order like his: "My man, bring me one, as well. Keep the fruit."
That was quite the tip Bond gave the dealer at the end.
Do you think the blonde lady that's with them when they take Bond to the derelict ship for some ball torture is regretting her life choices in that moment? I mean, there are certainly some glamorous aspects of being Le Chiffre's girlfriend, but is it worth surviving machete attacks from African warlords and having to tag along for the ball torture of a British spy?
I like typing "ball torture."
The ball torture scene is certainly hardcore, especially for a Bond film, but at least he cracks a few jokes during it to lighten the mood.
Bond is truly a rookie in this one. Only having sex with one lady and falling in love with her? What is this, amateur hour?
2. Skyfall
This was the major competition for the number one spot. The only thing that keeps it at number two is that I find Casino Royale an easier rewatch, and Skyfall is a bit on the long side and has that sequence of Bond having to prove he’s physically ready to come back, which I’m not a fan of. Aside from that minor nitpick, this is a damn near perfect Bond movie.
It’s also easily the best looking Bond movie thanks to Roger Deakins. There are just so many moments in this film that are cinematically beautiful, which is a rarity in the franchise.
And this is the film that completes Craig as Bond with Moneypenny, Q, and the new M being introduced. It would honestly have been fine if Craig walked away after this one. He had rebooted the Bond character with all the traditional pieces in place, so it would have been easy for a new actor to just slide in. I like the next two movies more than most, but I can see the argument for ending Craig’s run with a trilogy. That’s how good Skyfall is; it makes you wish Craig would have stopped so he could end on such a high note.
Random Thoughts
Poor Ronson, we hardly knew ye. In fact, we didn't know you at all. You were just there to show us M values the mission over her agents.
I think I love Skyfall for the reverence it gives to M.
This is easily the only Bond film that makes you even think of M as a character, and Judi Dench deserves it, so that's a big reason why I hold this one in high esteem.
The main reason why this doesn't make the top spot is the necessary Bond coming back scenes.
I hope they keep the same Q, M, and Moneypenny when they start back up.
There's so much I love about this movie more than the other Craig movies: the most striking visuals of the franchise, the score, the banter with Q, a villain actor on par with Le Chiffre, a very straightforward plot, etc. But for whatever reason, Casino is the one I will always rewatch before this one, and I think there's more to it than simply being first.
I wish they spent more time on Silva's island. What a cool villain lair.
And that rat story? As far as Bond villain speeches go, it's hard to beat.
And he has a fucked face? And he seems to want to fuck Bond? This guy's the total package!
Speaking of which, why is this the first time a male villain seemed to want to fuck Bond? All these dudes are obsessed with him, and you're telling me Silva's the only one who's possibly getting boned up over it?
The more times I watch this, the more I appreciate Roger Deakins's work.
I know the place is sold, but do you really need to blow a hole through a door to test your sawed off shotgun, Finney?
3. Spectre
This is where I will lose some people because a lot of people hate this one. They feel that the return to the more traditional goofy-type Bond was a complete step backwards from the amazing Skyfall. I love Skyfall, but one thing that I was looking forward to at the end was the next film being a regular Bond film that didn’t require a new element to be introduced.
Spectre is the first movie Craig gets to play Bond with all the traditional pieces in place. It is not nearly as momentous as Skyfall and the Blofeld stuff feels almost shoehorned in, but I had fun with it. With Spectre, I can turn my brain off and enjoy a Craig Bond without caring too much about what’s happening. Why is Bond using a plane to chase down an SUV? Who cares? Why is Dave Bautista trying to kill him on a train when Blofeld wants him alive? Who cares? Why does the movie keep going after Blofeld’s compound blows up? Who cares? I don’t. But others do, and they hate this one.
Oh, and that Mexico City Day of the Dead opening is one of my favorite sequences in the entire series.
Random Thoughts
It only took four movies for Craig to get the traditional gunsight opening.
I love the Day of the Dead setting for the opening set piece.
I knew this was going to be my kind of Bond movie when he fell through the collapsed building and landed on a couch. Finally, some silly shit for Craig.
Not a fan of the Sam Smith song.
How did it take this long to get Monica Belluci in one of these?
Bond thinking he can sneak in to the SPECTRE meeting just with the ring is about as smooth as Bill Harford thinking he can get into the Eyes Wide Shut orgy wearing a rented tux and showing up in a cab.
The SPECTRE meeting was reminiscent of the early films: just a straight up evil board meeting.
Bautista's character name of Hinx sucks, but aside from that he is easily the best henchman of the Craig era, not that there's much competition.
Chasing down a car in a plane is definitely one of the silliest action sequences of these films, and I like it.
Pretty sure Ralph Fiennes was told to look at Andrew Scott as if he was willing to choke him to death at any moment in every scene.
This will be blasphemous to the traditionalists out there, but I like the train fight in Spectre more than the one in From Russia with Love.
Okay, shooting down Blofeld’s helicopter with a handgun from a boat is pretty fucking stupid.
I guess I get the need to finally completely destroy the old MI6 headquarters, but overall it seems like the movie should have ended when Blofeld’s compound was destroyed.
I like that this is Craig's first time having a full traditional Bond movie with all the expected elements, but it seems too late. There were rumors around this time that Craig wanted out, and to just get one more movie after this makes this four movie set up feel pointless. I suppose that's exactly why a lot of people hate this movie. Before Spectre, it seemed like Craig's run was going to be a completely serialized story with a beginning, middle, and end. Then comes Spectre to toss in Blofeld while giving Craig a Connery-type entry. I love it for that because I always wanted to see Craig in a more traditional Bond film, but I get why people dismiss this one. Anyway, I had a lot of fun with it.
4. No Time to Die
Don’t focus on the spot this falls on in the list; I like this one a lot. It’s just that it always makes me want to rewatch all the other movies first to get the full experience, so the rewatchability is low. There’s a lot of great stuff here, both action and story-wise.
First off, they kill off Bond, which is kind of wild. I’m still interested to see how they handle a new Bond after this. Do they just do the same thing they’ve done throughout the series and just have a new guy? Or do they go with the fan theory fans had with Casino Royale and just have a new person take over the 007 spot (which they actually already did in this movie)? Speaking of which, why is no one even floating the possibility that Lashana Lynch will just continue to be 007 in new movies? It just has to be a man, I guess?
Anyway, my main issue with this one is that it feels like two movies stuffed into one. If Craig was not wanting to leave, I believe two very good movies could have been made of this. The first film could be all the stuff that leads to Blofeld being killed, giving that character and story more time rather than making it feel like an afterthought and making Blofeld end up being one of the weaker villains of this run. And the second film could have been the focus on Safin and Bond having a kid and all that.
But they did what they had to do, and this is what we got. I still like it, but every time I watch it, I can’t help but think what could have been had they had more time. No time to die, indeed (I’m sorry).
Random Thoughts
The beginning is definitely the most creepy the series has ever been.
That motorcycle jump seems simple, but it's one of my favorite stunts in the Craig era.
This is a fairly serious movie, but David Dencik is playing a fucking cartoon character.
Why couldn't we get a spinoff of Bond and Leiter just partying and crushing ass?
But seriously, Leiter was never used enough in these movies.
Ana de Armas should definitely show up in future installments, even with the recasting or rebooting or whatever they do of Bond.
Roger Moore didn't do much better than Craig, but definitely killed Blofeld in a much more entertaining fashion.
I get that it's a family home, but I wouldn't stay in the place that the scarred poison genius super villain once killed my mother and attempted to kill me at, even if the weirdo ended up saving me from the ice.
That foggy forest sequence is great.
David Dencik seriously said, "Run!" to himself before trying to run away. What the fuck is he doing in this movie?
When I first watched this, I thought it was kind of messed up when Nomi killed Dencik. Upon a third watch, I can't think of a better character to kick into a pool of acid.
How do you tell your parents you've taken a job as a henchman on a poison island? "But Dad, you don't get it, I'm one of the guys who stirs the acid pool. You've never supported my dreams!"
I love the indifference with which he kills Safin.
Ultimate Bond move: finds out he has a kid, dies for the first time in franchise history.
5. Quantum of Solace
I hated this the first time I saw it. I still hated it the second time. Finally, after watching every movie, and then revisiting it, I still don’t like it, but I don’t hate it anymore. I’m okay with the overall plot now, but it’s still pretty boring, even if it is realistic. I could see an evil group of powerful people trying to exploit the water of foreign nations, but I don’t dig it in a Bond movie. Or maybe it’s more about the villain. Greene is my least favorite villain by a long shot. He’s easily hateable, but there’s nothing imposing about him at all. He’s just a douchebag Bond has to defeat.
Story aside, this is the most action-packed film out of the five, but it’s not shot well. The writer’s strike at the time was blamed for the story being boring, but why couldn’t they then focus on getting the action right? Instead, it just looks like a Bourne rip off throughout. There’s some great stuff happening, I’m sure, I just couldn’t see it because no action shot lasts more than a couple seconds in this one.
That written, this is still a Daniel Craig Bond movie, and I like all the characters involved. It’s more enjoyable than I give it credit for, but it’s still not a film I ever want to watch again. And nothing of vast importance happens character-wise, so it’s easy to just go from Casino to Skyfall, which is what I wish had happened anyway. Just a forgettable entry in an otherwise awesome run of Bond movies.
Random Thoughts
I guess the car chase is okay at the beginning, though it’s still too Bourne for me.
I do like the reveal that Mr. White was in the trunk the whole time.
I know the title song gets a lot of shit, but I don't mind the music. The singing, on the other hand…
At least M calls out the annoying trope of "We have people everywhere." I just find it lazy when you can just say any character was a double agent the whole time whenever you need something to happen.
This is definitely more action-heavy, which is a shame since the action is just okay.
Sucks that Mathis died, but I'm glad they brought him back and confirmed he was innocent. I liked him in Casino and didn't like that they left it as a possibility that he was a traitor still at the end.
"Do we forgive each other?" What does Bond have to forgive Mathis for? Mathis was proven to be innocent.
I'm assuming the writer's strike is to blame for nearly every conversation being interrupted by gunfire.
They open that chute so late it's pointless. Literally a second before they hit the ground. Come on!
"You and I had a mutual friend!" is pretty weak as far as one-liners before you kill a guy go.
I like how Greene literally has to puppeteer his Simple Jack henchman, and just for the dude to get blown up.
Greene's downfall: hitting himself in the toe with an ax. What a lame dildo of a villain.
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