Daniel Craig as Bond

There are 50 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 6,638 times. The latest Post (October 8, 2025 at 11:56 AM) was by Splinter.

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    Here's a great article about Daniel Craig's five films as James Bond. In fact, I didn't realise he'd done that many and I too was a little skeptical when he was first announced, but as the writer says, he seems to have brought 007 back to life following Brosnan, Dalton and the frankly awful Roger Moore epoc.

    While for many, Sean Connery remains the ultimate Bond, Craig brings him into the 21st century with panache and grit.

    Goodbye, Mr. Bond: An Appreciation of Daniel Craig’s Franchise-Altering Reign
    Height and hair color be damned, Craig was a throwback to Fleming and Connery’s conception of 007. He was cold and brutal, but beneath all the physical and…
    www.esquire.com

    It premiered in the local cinema last Friday...200 pesos a seat which was a bargain. The missus wanted us to go but I told her to wait as it would be flippin' crowded. By all accounts it's supposed to be one of the best.

    I also think Craig is the best Bond since big Sean.

    Some of the best Bond movies were with Roger Moore (The Spy Who Loved Me), some of the worst with Sean Connery (Diamonds Are Forever). Although, the bona fide classics come from the Connery era. The first three are classics of cinema not just the franchise. Moore is underrated but he stuck around too long and was a victim of producers increasingly turning Bond movies into action comedies.

    Dalton was good, wrong place at the wrong time considering the problems with the production company at the time. Brosnan was arguably the most complete Bond, able to do all the things of the previous actors (Moore's silliness, Connery's suave and cold, and Dalton's jaded action Bond. Biggest problem for Brosnan is Goldeneye is one of the best movies in the series, and the rest are mostly garbage. Has the distinction of each subsequent movie being worse than the last... Die Another Day is horrific and almost killed the franchise.

    I agree Craig is one of the best Bond's, but his movies have been patchy at best. Spectre is largely hated amongst the fanbase and is not a good movie. Quantum of Solace is a terrible movie with some of the worst editing ever seen in a major motion picture, and is routinely named amongst the worst Bond movies ever. Skyfall is massively overrated although I like it. Die Another Day is great fun, but leaves a bunch of question marks over the future of the series. Then there is Casino Royale, which is perhaps the best Bond movie ever. Craig is awesome, his movies have not always been.

    Quote from Splinter

    Roger Moore? Seriously?

    Yes, sure. But before continuing I think my wording was wrong. Just to be clear, it is Connery who has the three classics of cinema, movies that are classics of any genre. Moore as some classics within the James Bond franchise.

    I am a member of some Bond communities because I am a massive fan of the movies and I am not straying too far from fan consensus from saying that. We all have our favourite movies, but TSWLM, LALD, and FYEO from Moore's era are regulalry cited amongst the best in the franchise, alongside Goldfinger, FRWL, Dr. No, from Connery's, Casino Royale and Skyfall (which I disagree with) from Craig, and Goldeneye from Brosnan. They are widely considered amongst fans to be the best group of Bond films, some will throw in Living Daylights too, including me.

    There is no doubt that Moore's movies slipped into parody and became poor films, Octopussy and AVTAK being the main culprits. However, it is also a myth that Connery's run was perfect. Thunderball is a tough watch and Diamonds Are Forever is in the bottom 3 worst Bond movies for most fans. By the way, I still think Connery's Bond and era was the best.

    As for the last movie, I enjoyed it a lot but the more distance I have from it the more I think it was a great action movie, but not a great Bond movie. It had a fairly bad screenplay too.

    Must admit I liked Roger Moore.

    I mostly lost interest in the Bond films after he left and didn't get back into them until Craig came along. Even then I'm not sure if I've seen all the ones he's made.

    I was interested to read that Ian Fleming had written “stirred, not shaken.” That makes much more sense, as Bond explained that prevented the gin from being bruised.