It’s hard to remember now, but people were genuinely furious when Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond.
The year was 2005. The internet—primitive as it was—erupted with "Craig Not Bond" protests. He was too short. He was "James Blond." He looked more like a villain’s henchman than the suave, tuxedo-clad legend. Honestly, the vitriol was intense. But then Casino Royale hit theaters in 2006, and everything changed in about ten minutes.
The Daniel Craig 007 films didn’t just continue a franchise; they tore it down and rebuilt it.
Before Craig, the series had drifted into "invisible car" territory with Die Another Day. It was campy, bloated, and felt like a relic. Craig brought something we hadn't seen since the early Sean Connery days: a Bond who could actually get hurt. A Bond who bled. A Bond who felt like he might actually lose.
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The Five-Film Arc: A Bond Who Actually Grows Up
Unlike previous iterations where the actor changed but the character stayed frozen in time, the Daniel Craig 007 films tell a single, serialized story. It’s basically a five-act tragedy. You can't just jump into the middle and expect to get the full emotional weight of what's happening.
- Casino Royale (2006): The origin story. Bond gets his 00 status, falls for Vesper Lynd, and has his heart shattered. This is arguably the best of the bunch.
- Quantum of Solace (2008): A direct sequel—literally starting minutes after the first film. It’s short, fast, and was famously hampered by a writers' strike.
- Skyfall (2012): The billion-dollar powerhouse. It deals with Bond's past and the death of M (Judi Dench). It feels like a masterpiece, though some fans argue it shifted the tone too far back toward "classic" Bond.
- Spectre (2015): This is where things got a bit messy. It tried to retcon everything, making the villains of the previous movies part of one big conspiracy led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
- No Time to Die (2021): The grand finale. It did something no other Bond film dared to do: it gave the character a definitive ending.
Basically, Craig's Bond starts as a "blunt instrument" and ends as a man who chooses legacy over duty. It’s a lot more "human" than what we got in the '70s and '80s.
Why Skyfall Changed Everything (For Better and Worse)
If you ask a casual fan, they’ll tell you Skyfall is the peak. It’s gorgeous. Roger Deakins’ cinematography makes every frame look like a painting. But if you talk to the hardcore Bond nerds? They’ll point out that Skyfall is where the "gritty realism" started to bleed back into "super-villain territory."
Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is a fantastic villain, but his plan is incredibly convoluted. It relies on him being captured on purpose, which was a huge trope in the 2010s (think The Avengers or The Dark Knight).
Also, the movie introduces a weird timeline problem. Bond is treated like an "old dog" who’s past his prime, even though he only just became a 00 agent two movies ago. It’s a bit jarring. You go from a rookie in Quantum to a retiree-in-waiting in Skyfall. Still, it made over $1.1 billion worldwide, so clearly, the general public didn't mind the leap.
The Spectre Problem: Was Serializing a Mistake?
The biggest criticism of the later Daniel Craig 007 films is the forced connection between them.
In Spectre, we’re told that every villain Bond faced—Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene, Raoul Silva—was actually working for Blofeld. It felt a bit like the producers were trying to copy the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) style of world-building.
The "step-brother" twist between Bond and Blofeld? Most people hated that. It turned a global spy epic into a weird family squabble. It’s a shame, because Christoph Waltz is a brilliant actor, but the script just didn't give him enough room to be truly menacing without being a cliché.
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The Reality of the "Bond Who Bleeds"
One thing you’ve gotta respect about Craig is the physicality. He did a lot of his own stunts, and it took a toll. By the time No Time to Die rolled around, he’d broken bones, torn muscles, and famously said he’d rather "slash his wrists" than do another one (though he later walked that back).
That exhaustion shows on screen.
In the older movies, Roger Moore could have a full-blown fistfight and not have a hair out of place. Craig’s Bond looks like he’s been through a car wash by the end of every scene. That vulnerability is what made these films resonate. We live in a world that feels increasingly out of our control, and seeing a hero who struggles, fails, and keeps going anyway? That’s powerful stuff.
What Most People Get Wrong About Quantum of Solace
Look, Quantum gets a bad rap. It’s often called the "worst" Craig film. But if you watch it immediately after Casino Royale, it actually works as a lean, mean revenge thriller.
The editing is "shaky cam" heavy, which was the style at the time because of the Bourne movies. But it captures the raw, unhinged anger Bond feels after Vesper’s death. It’s not a "fun" movie, but it is a necessary chapter in the character's development. It’s the moment Bond realizes that being a spy means you never really get to "win"—you just survive.
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Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into the Daniel Craig 007 films, don’t just pick them at random.
- Watch the "Vesper Trilogy" first: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and No Time to Die form the core emotional arc. Vesper is the ghost that haunts the entire era.
- Pay attention to the color palettes: Notice how the films move from the high-contrast, saturated look of Casino to the cold, clinical blues of Skyfall, and finally the warm, Mediterranean hues of the finale.
- Listen to the evolution of the theme: The classic Bond theme is withheld for most of Casino Royale, only blasting out at the very end. The music throughout the era mirrors Bond's growing acceptance of his own myth.
Where Does the Franchise Go From Here?
Now that the Craig era is officially over, the Bond producers (Eon Productions) are in a tough spot. You can't really go back to the campy, episodic style of the '90s. The audience has seen Bond die. They've seen him have a daughter. They've seen him be a real person.
The next Bond will likely be a "soft reboot." We probably won't get another origin story right away.
Instead, expect a return to "standalone" missions, but with the emotional weight that Craig made mandatory. Whether the next actor is Aaron Taylor-Johnson or someone we haven’t even thought of yet, they’ll be living in the shadow of what Daniel Craig built. He didn't just play Bond; he defined what an action hero looks like in the 21st century.
For those looking to explore the legacy further, start by ranking the films yourself based on how they handle Bond's internal conflict rather than just the action beats. You'll find that the "worst" films often have some of the most interesting character work.