3,000 words
Casino Royale, Daniel Craig’s first outing as James Bond, turns 20 in November. Casino Royale was stylishly directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell, who also helmed another excellent Bond reboot, 1995’s Goldeneye, the first and best of the Pierce Brosnan films.
Casino Royale rapidly became one of my favorite Bond films, and although I have always claimed that Sean Connery is James Bond, my revealed preferences over the past two decades have been rather different. I find myself returning again and again to Casino Royale and Craig’s other Bond films.
Along with Casino Royale, Skyfall and No Time to Die are among my very favorite Bond films, and even flawed efforts like Quantum of Bollocks and Spectre have their moments. (My other favorites are Doctor No, Goldfinger, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I also have sentimental attachments to Octopussy, License to Kill, and Goldeneye.)
Craig isn’t the best-looking man to play Bond, and as an actor, he’s only marginally better than the rest. But he moves better than any other Bond actor. He has a fluid, panther-like manner—both graceful and believably lethal. He looks like he could do all his own stunts. Craig’s Bond is also genuinely charming with women: Solange Dimitrios and Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, Sévérine in Skyfall, Madeleine Swann in Spectre and No Time to Die, even Judi Dench’s M. Beyond that, Craig conveys intelligence: he really seems to be reading people and situations, not just scripts.
