Once again, it’s time to fire up the Aston Martin, don your Walther PPK and shake (but don’t stir) that vodka martini. Production on Bond number 25 has been confirmed to start in December this year, with Daniel Craig returning as 007 and BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar-winning Danny Boyle signed on to direct.
We know more-or-less nothing about the next instalment in what’s possibly the world’s most famous film franchise, beyond assuming it’ll pick up where Spectre left off – with Bond and Madeleine Swann riding off into the sunset. So while we wait for more details, let’s have a look at Daniel Craig’s Bond outings to date.
4. Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace is by far Daniel Craig’s weakest offering, considered by even the vast majority of hard-core Bond fans to be an utterly forgettable experience. It has its high points, including one of the best car chases ever seen in a Bond film, but with a bland villain in the form of Dominic Greene and confusing story, it never quite gets going in the same way that any of Craig’s other films do.
3. Spectre
Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes’ second foray into the Bond universe, after the massively popular Skyfall, there’s a lot to like in Spectre. Craig is on fine form and it’s beautifully filmed. It just doesn’t quite have the same edge as the other Craig films though, with a safe and pretty predictable story. What’s more, while bringing the Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz on board as Blofeld was amazing, he deserved a lot more screen-time than he was given.
2. Skyfall
Bond films don’t get much better than Skyfall. It pays its dues to everything that we’ve come to love about the franchise, with an Aston Martin DB5, vodka martinis galore and even a shot of Craig standing in front of a fluttering union flag, while taking the series forward in a powerful new direction. It’s a deeply personal film, drawing us closer to Bond’s troubled psyche and shadowy past than ever before, and Javier Bardem’s disturbed villain, Silva, is one of the most formidable Bond has ever faced.
1. Casino Royale
The film that introduced Daniel Craig to the world, Casino Royal changed the game. Gone were the gadgets, the cheesy one-liners and the volcano-dwelling villains of Bond’s yester-years. Instead, Craig gave us the most brutal, yet charming and seductive Bond to date. Coupled with a very relevant plot that focuses on modern terrorism and Mads Mikkelsen’s sadistic villain, Le Chiffre, many would argue that Casino Royale is the pinnacle of the Bond series.