Great points Calvin! Here is my ranking: 5. Spectre - The only Bond film that seems to get worse with every viewing. It has its moments, but some weak dialogue, slow pacing, and terrible plot decisions bring it down for me. 4. Quantum of Solace - Seems to get a little better with each viewing. The editing is hard to follow and the villain isn’t compelling, but seeing this through Bond’s emotional state gives it a whole new meaning. 3. No Time to Die - Shocked by the ending at first, but I’ve really come to terms with it as probably the most fitting end to Craig’s run. An emotional roller coaster and the action scenes are terrific. 2. Skyfall - A celebration of all things Bond. Silva is one of the best villains ever and his obsession with M makes for a fascinating film. 1. Casino Royale - About as perfect of a Bond film as we’ll ever get. Totally agree with your points on Daniel and Eva’s chemistry. This might be my favorite FILM, not just my favorite Bond film. Vesper’s death gets me every time.
"Shocked by the ending at first, but I’ve really come to terms with it as probably the most fitting end to Craig’s run" I agree on that very much. What better way to give a fitting ending to the worst, most pretentious and utterly amateurishly written garbage ever given the questionable label of "Bond movies"? Make the most bizarrely convoluted, dumb and disrespectful ending ever with the cheap death of a character whose entire MO is that he doesn't get killed. Add to that the sullying of an old classic "We Have All the Time in the World" used for some random (supposed) "relationship" he has with an annoying and pointless block of wood character from the previous pretentious junkpile of a movie. Ever since Casino Royale got my hopes up for Craig, it's felt as if he might as well just sit there staring into the camera and repeating over and over and over again that he is James Bond, because Craig seems to be the only actor who has had to constantly strain to try and appear like James Bond. He has no natural charisma, charm, elegance nothing. Even his Chester/Scouse accent comes through quite often and makes me cringe. He looks like a goblin, has no eyebrows, no body hair to speak of, is very short for a James Bond (5'10" when every other Bond has been 6'1" to 6'3", and it even shows on film). He walks like a chav desperately trying to look cool but just coming off utterly stiff and awkward and he can't even stand still without looking really weird and stiff. Add to that Purvis and Wade who should have been fired after TWINE let alone DAD, and you've got the worst, most depressing, dismal, pretentious and hack-written Netflix series of Bond movies ever.
That's my ranking as well. I really enjoyed No Time to Die and I find it so odd that people were so shocked by the ending - it felt fitting given the themes of loss that permeated through the Craig era (as did the inclusion of OHMSS elements, as a kind of thematic meditation). Honestly looking back on the four films, Spectre is the only one that I consider to be truly bad and even that has some interesting visual elements (even if the story is boring nonsense and the Blofeld revelation is pointless). The fan narrative that the post-Casino Royale Craig films are a missed opportunity or a failure is very strange to me. I think Skyfall and No Time to Die are going to age very well in the years to come, much like the two Dalton films did. Quantum has already been reassessed.
My breakdown too... No Time to Die was actually pretty good when looked at in totality good. The settings and action were easily some of the best in the series, and the themes were much more mature. The one dissapointment was the villian wasn't bad but could've been played a bit better. Strangely if he'd done straight Elliot from Mr. Robot it might have been perfect. So why the hate for No Time??? This is an interesting example of the woke-hating crowd hating a good movie. Generally the negativity becomes more founded because the woke themes seem to hedge against piss-poor screenwriting, plot, and dialogue. In this case, the story and action were great! There were a lot of interesting locations, characters, and character arcs than played against the central theme well, but people watched a trailer and were so afraid of woke that they pre-hated something that was quite good and appropriate. Then there's the death... sure it's sad, but it's certainly not cheap. The dude called fire down on himself to save the world. The death too is keeping with the themes... he's old and worn, like the other movies, but it doesn't stop there... he's asking himself about what it was all for. One-by-one he sees his legacy, whatever secretive legacy there is, through the eyes of other characters. He meets his at-the-time replacement who sees whatever legacy he has as some sort of obstacle, kinda cold like he was... and is looking to move on from that legacy... in kinda a throwback scene, he meets an agent in Cuba who is a total fan-girl of him (in this case his legacy), he watches Felix-the one guy he trusts, die, setting the value of his formed relationships back to near zero, he even watches Blofeld die, which if it meant anything to him at the very least was another nail in the coffin of people who held him as important or extant, he then meets with Swann, who he learned to love but couldn't trust because of his trauma with betrayal, then suspects that he leaves an actual living legacy in a daughter that Swann cared for despite his trauma-induced rejection of her. Remember her age and the timing of their split can't be faked. In the end, he goes to save the world by saving her and and her daughter... because he's saved the world many times, but now he has a real personal reason... his world... the lasting physical manifestation of his life is now his world and his reason. In the end, he dies, not just to protect his daughter but to eradicate his infection from harming the world. He's also leaving his daughter better off than he and Swann were... not as an orphan. Even the title No Time to Die has various levels of meaning in keeping with this theme. His point for going on with real meaning corresponds with his need to die to protect that meaning. Skyfall still ranks higher given the perfect and memorable delivery of the villian, though, and Casino Royale was a perfect little thing and a great way to restart and reboot an aging franchise.
I'm 100% STUNNED that not one single position on this list matches my own, yet I can completely identify in every way! :) Great list Calvin! Well done!
Interesting that Skyfall, the most standalone of the Craig films (no Quantum/Spectre) often the highest rated, despite Daniel Craig and others saying how there was a need for continuation and an arc between films. Casino also has a solid basis in the Fleming book. They both also have arguably the better title songs and titles...and least connected to previous entries.
It was a massive hit at the time and I think the fact casual viewers could watch it and enjoy it as a stand alone helped though I don't think the ending with M would have had the same impact without the other films.
@@jamesatkinsonja good points, keeping in mind Judi Dench's M dates back to 1995 Goldeneye. Seems Craig films feel the need a good death at the end of them, Vesper, M and of course the death at the end of ironically-titled No Time to Die. Skyfall and Casino also have the best Craig villians and plots.
My ranking would have to be: Skyfall, Casino Royale, No Time To Die, Spectre, & Quantum of Solace. Casino and Skyfall are basically perfect films to me and I feel like I need to rewatch NTTD some more times to really see if it's up there with Casino and Skyfall or not.
My ranking is Casino Royale, No Time To Die, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Spectre. The ending for me works, not in that I like it, but the emotional impact hits. Maybe it’s because I have kids, that I understand how Bond feels and why he makes the decision he does. Even if a cure could be found, anyone who Bond could come into contact with could somehow indirectly infect Madeleine and Matilde. Bond chose to destroy the virus to protect his daughter. I’d make the same decision in his shoes. And feeling anger and despaired his death is probably how you are supposed to feel. Death isn’t fair and you aren’t supposed to feel happy that he dies.
My list: 1 Casino Royale 2 Skyfall 3 No Time to Die 4 Quantum of Solace 5 Spectre Quantum went up a notch for me when watching it immediately after CR.
@@rhodriwilliams2599 I was never a fan of Craig's Bond he tried to feminize Bond too much . I thought after Skyfall his rendition would achieve true Bond status it just kept going downhill , they brought him in to reduce the gadget heavy impact of the previous movies minus Dalton's who I thought was an excellent Bond and instead turned Bond into a Soap Opera . definite 2 ,👎👎for me . If they don't reverse course I'm done with Bond . Let the DC Brunch eaters throw their money away and try to keep it afloat the rest of us fans want the real thing .
This matches my own theory: Casino Royale = doing the right thing excellently Quantum of Solace = doing the right thing badly Skyfall = doing the wrong thing well Spectre = doing the wrong thing badly No Time To Die = really trying to do the right thing, but stuck with too many wrong things from the previous film
Overall, Daniel Craig was great as James Bond and his movies were just as enjoyable, for the most part. As a new bond fan, I have to thank Craig for peaking my interest in the series as I did not grow up watching bond movies. Below is both my ranking of Craig’s bond movies and the title songs. Movie Ranking 1: Skyfall 2: Casino Royale 3: Quantum of Solace 4: No Time to Die 5: Spectre Title Song Ranking 1: Skyfall 2: No Time to Die 3: You Know my Name 4: Writing’s on the Wall 5: Another Way to Die
Definitely a fair ranking, well done good sir. Skyfall is definitely the best one since it is an improvement over its predecessors ( casino royale an quantum of solace ), best villain and a great send off for Judi Dench. Casino Royale is also of the same quality as Skyfall but its villain anti-climaticaly killed off but it works for its story, its action sequences are almost perfect. Quantum had a lot missed potential but it tried its best at what it showed, its villain is a bit underwhelming but he is quite a good character who fits his role and personality. No time to die was a bit disappointing, its villain was hyped up so much in the trailers he had barely any screen time. Also his plans are a bit too cliche of previous bond films, when I saw him he seems to be a Mr Silva (skyfall) wannabe, the films run time is a bit too long and there are way too many action sequences. Spectre is the worst of the series ( I have preferred die another day over this even though according to the fan community its worse ) it brought back most of the cliches it went away with in casino royale, it brought back blofeld with a completely non superior version of the character and the bond girl falls quite flat compared to her predecessors. Overall the Craig era is questionable it has two excellent films, one average film and two disappointments. By the way this is my opinion on the Craig era .
@@the300thunscspartan8 Thank you for sharing your opinion Spartan and I mostly agree with everything you think. I just thought I shared my opinions on NTTD with you. For me, I enjoyed the various action sequences of NTTD but where the movie fails for me is pretty much everything else. The villain served his purpose as a madman, but lacked screen time and was wasted potential and on a great actor. Once Bond’s child was revealed, the movie went from varying quality to downward quality. It felt like the writers were trying to create more stakes and do something new but instead it served as an off-putting distraction. Then there was bond death, which I felt was done poorly. I was personally fine if Bond died in this movie but seeing him give up and having a bunny tucked in his pants doesn’t exactly want to make me take this seriously. I would have preferred if he died whilst in action, such as opening the doors for the missiles to enter in last second, which would at least fit for both a character that loves his family and someone dedicated to serving his country. The sad part is NTTD was doomed from the minute it was announced as it had to be a sequel to Spectre. Spectre tarnished Craig’s previous movies and was such a silly direction to take the character. I would have preferred if the owners of this franchise waited to use Spectre for a new bond and focus on Quantum again. I’m happy for the people who enjoyed seeing Craig in a throwback bond movie, but I honestly could not get invested. Ignoring some of the humour, the train fight sequence, torture device and the Spectre meeting scene, the rest of the movie feels dull and I didn’t feel any stakes throughout. The reason Quantum can be defended is at least it was a sequel to Casino Royale, a pretty great gritty reboot and Quantum tried to serve as a good sequel to it and I think for the most part it worked. NTTD feels butchered on arrival because it had to deal with plot points from Spectre, but at least NTTD had twice as much more enjoyability comparatively. Lastly, I agree with you that Die Another Day is better than Spectre because I would rather watch a movie that is a ridiculous early 2000’s spectacle compared to a lifeless failure. I don’t hate any bond movie and the same feeling goes towards Spectre, but Spectre is one of the few bond movies where I would rather watch clips rather than the full movie.
Casino Royale is by far the best Bond movie. The movie flows so well and it's magnificent how the movie connects you, it's like you were in the movie experiencing it all.
5.) Spectre: The opportunities that Spectre could've presented (Specifically, a standalone adventure) aren't there, the writing and reliance on emotional storytelling are so forced, Bloefeld and Bond should not be related, and I blame it for the problems in NTTD 4.) Quantum of Solace: Because... Quantum of Solace. I'm not going to add anything that hasn't been said before haha. 3.) No Time To Die: I need more rewatches but I can confirm: I love the first half and Ana De Armas is the best thing about it. The ending though... While I think it's better than Spectre and Quantum of Solace, my feelings are very mixed still and I would probably rank it towards the bottom of my Bond ranking list. 2.) Casino Royale: Strong first film for Craig and very promising. Amazing how they ruined it later on... 1.) Skyfall: First Bond film I've watched in theaters and I love it! Overall thoughts on Craig: He's a fantastic Bond and one of my personal favorites but the writing was so bipolar and off that it's really a shame. This is obviously my opinion btw and I wrote this right after I woke up so if it's all over the place... I'll probably end up editing this haha. Great video as usual!
Great ranking, Calvin! My personal ranking for Craig’s era would have to be: • 5: Quantum of Solace: I don’t hate the film, and I think it works as an epilogue to CR - but the editing, theme, and overall story just drag it down a little. • 4: SPECTRE: Again, I quite like this one more than the others. But the brother reveal is lame, and it felt like maybe Mendes used all his tricks in Skyfall. • 3: Skyfall: This is where things get interesting, because, from 3 onwards, I consider these films to be top tier Bond (for me personally). Skyfall is terrific, stylistically - story-wise and Dame Judi gives her best performance. 2: No Time To Die: I know I’ll be criticised for this one, but I have to be honest. Firstly, this film is gorgeous looking and just oozes life in those sequences in Cuba and Jamaica. But it also feels like the perfect Bond recipe I've been looking for - blending the best of Modern Bond with the fantastical classic feel of the old movies. A villain base, worldwide stakes, gadgets, puns & an Aston Martin = ❤️. I hope they continue this going forward. 1: Casino Royale: I rewatched this after NTTD and I think it remains my all-time favourite. Everyone is on point, and Eva Green is utterly sublime as Vesper. What a film. But the beauty of Bond is that these lists and feelings are ever-changing and my thoughts may shift in the future. Either way, it's just fun to watch James Bond!
I know this opinion is always gonna be slightly divisive but i really loved NTTD and i’d easily put it on par with skyfall, not as high as casino though. Unlike some, the emotion of the ending and the controversial direction seriously landed for me personally but don’t get me wrong i can see totally why this film is going to be so polarising across different people, it was great to see your overall opinions though 👍👍
I think both Skyfall and NTTD suffered from subpar second acts in which the villain’s plans started to not make too much sense. Silva seemed a bit too similar to the Joker while Saffin was just a cliche (scared + foreign accent). Almost everything else about both were brilliant though.
I grew up a Connery guy, my favorite 007, and Thunderball is my number one. Love Daniel Craig. I wish Dalton did more films, a precursor to DC. Ranking: 1.Casino, 2.Skyfall, 3.NTTD, 4.QOS, 5.Spectre. Only issue I have with NTTD obviously is the ending. Since decades ago, the day that video was introduced I always watch Bond on a regular basis. Need a 007 fix, pop a movie in the player. But with NTTD, that’s going to be hard because of the ending. I’ve already seen it 5 times and I still get emotional, depressed, and teary eyed.
Agree, for the most part. I would rank Casino Royale ahead of Skyfall personally. Parts of NTTD are spectacular, but the fact that they decided to destroy all the continuing core elements of the whole series, Leiter, SPECTRE, Blofeld and Bond, just blows it for me. Great video Calvin as always. 🍸
For me..... Honestly, no time to die only makes me feel much more likely to watch the whole 5 film series from start to finish to see the entire Daniel Craig era over and over! LOVE THEM ALL!
@@obadiahplainman8897 heck yea! I truly love all of the guYs as well. I love James Bond no matter who plays him.... A love for so far 25 films that for me began with 2006's Casino Royale.
Yea have to say I absolutely agree with you. When you think about all the real true Bond/Fleming elements they literally killed off in this one… It actually gets a little offensive to think about! Lol
Finally got to see NTTD yesterday and I think it is a fantastic thrill ride. Loved every bit of it except his death which almost brought me to tears. Not sure we’re to rank it right now though. The only two things I wished I would have seen in the Craig era is a movie that took place between Quantum and Skyfall to show his prime more and also a ski sequence.
If you're into the Bond games by any chance then you might want to check out Blood Stone. Craig voiced Bond as well as Judi Dench voicing M. It came out in 2010 and fits nicely between Quantum & Skyfall.
Yeah, if only we'd got something more from Craig's Bond. Could've had another film between Spectre and No Time to Die. Could've been introduced to the reboot's version of Goldfinger, get two confirmed most iconic villains in the reboot, Blofeld and Goldfinger. Then if Safin WAS Dr No, we've had all three of the most iconic Bond villains in the reboot.
I think the producers want us to believe that all the other Bond adventures (played by Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan) took place during that time period. Of course, this doesn’t exactly work due to the nature of the time periods they were in plus the cross-pollination of the supporting cast.
Wonderful video Calvin! If anyone is interested, here's my ranking: 5. Quantum of Solace: I like this film, but it's messy and I too find the action editing headache inducing. 4. Spectre: I really don't dislike this movie as much as other people do, but I have issues with it as well. I actually like the Rome Spectre meeting (Blofeld is quite menacing there!) but it all goes a bit off the rails at the end. Also, why is the whole film bathed in a weird brown filter? I didn't notice that until recently! 3: Casino Royale: until the other week, I never understood the hype for it. I enjoyed it but always felt quite detached from the whole affair (I admired it like a great work of art, but never got excited to see it). On a recent rewatch, I find I enjoy it much more, and I hope it continues to improve for me. 2: Skyfall: dethroned only in the last few weeks, but still a stellar outing from Craig. A true classic and brilliant celebration of the franchise. 1: No Time to Die: I loved it completely. I enjoyed everything about it and I'm one of those who actually loved the ending. I think it's haunting and beautiful, and I love that Safin (despite taking a back seat) still stands out because of just how damn creepy he is!
Casino Royale would be top for me, I just get so much joy out of every part of that movie and I'd argue it's the best Bond movie in general. It hits all the Fleming notes I want from a movie, and also rejuvenates the series at a time when it really needed it. NTTD would rank second for me at the moment; while the ending does feel rushed, the two hours preceding it are just so much fun for me and I really enjoy the rollercoaster this movie took me on. Skyfall ranks third, I think it's a great film and I always enjoy it, but I don't really have much else to say about it - I think Silva is fantastic, but the action sequences are mostly quite bland and the movie isn't having as much fun as it perhaps ought to be doing. Fighting for the last spot is obviously between Spectre and Quantum, I really can't decide which would be the weakest here because there's moments I love of both, but a lot of moments that just fall flat for me and they're not movies I feel the need to revisit too often. At a push I'd perhaps say Spectre comes out on top for its beautiful cinematography. Of course, this ranking is subjective and based entirely on the enjoyment I get out of watching these movies as opposed to an objective view of how tight the plot points are etc. I also have only seen NTTD once, so my placing may shift dramatically on subsequent viewings. Ultimately, I want a fun and thrilling experience with a Bond movie - and a great Bond movie should make me excited to rewatch it again and I came out of the cinema for both CR and NTTD excited to revisit them and explore them, while the others I simply enjoyed and then went home. Despite the ups and downs in the movies themselves, Daniel Craig is the one consistent element that is always brilliant.
I guessed your ranking and wasn't surprised. You are absolute right with the end of nttd. Not because bond dies this time instead of Tracy.. Ähm, I mean Madeleine. But because the main baddy hadn't enought screen time to get his 'why' it speaks a lot, when the henchman Primo had better scenes then the main baddy. By the way, I think the Fandom gives primo too less love. My ranking would be Casino Royal NTTD Skyfall Spectre Quantum I will watch the video again later - wasn't yet prepared to start cooking. 😜
I think the main baddie had plenty of screen time for that- they just didn't use it properly. Safin has plenty of OPPORTUNITIES to explain what he is up to and why (and the other characters have plenty of opportunities to discuss it amongst themselves), but instead he'd rather talk about how he and Bond are "not so different", what Madeline means to both of them, naval gazing about loss and pain etc Basically, it's more like the writers just didn't CARE about his evil plot- it's just an excuse to put Bond in a situation where he gets a dramatic death.
My ranking 1. Casino Royale - Martin Campbell saves the day again. Great film. 2. Skyfall - Craig's peak. 3. Quantum of Solace (Olga Kurylenko played her role very well, gets better with each viewing) 4. No Time To Die. One of those films which everything was overshadowed by the ending. Which is what people will remember most. 5. Spectre - Craig had mentally checked out by this point "Bored, James Bored" was one headline I remember. He even blasted the franchise publically after this.
1. Skyfall 2. Spectre 3. Casino Royale 4. Quantum of Solace 5. No Time to Die I will also say I now view the Brosnan era in a much better light now. Also, we would love another ranking of the entire series video.
What's funny is even though we disagree on the ending of No Time To Die, our ranking of the Craig era is exactly the same. Daniel Craig is my personal favorite james bond, and his run as the character has meant a lot to me. On a second viewing of No Time to Die, knowing the issues going into it, I still left the theater very satisfied and moved by the ending personally. Both Craig and Lea Seydoux were freaking amazing in that final scene, and their performances helped me look past the issues with the script. I also just appreciate the film as a spiritual successor to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, one of my favorite Bond films, so I didn't mind those callbacks. Our rankings of the ENTIRE Bond filmography would be very different though, Haha. All five Craig films probably sit in my top 15 of the entire series. For context, my favorite non Craig Bond films are From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, License to Kill, Goldeneye, and Tomorrow Never Dies, which would all rank pretty high for me.
I've seen No Time To Die only once and I believe in my mind it may rank as the best of Craig's era, with Skyfall being next. Craig has his most visually pleasing and well balanced acting performance as Bond in No Time To Die. You can tell he was comfortable and enjoyed playing the role and whilst it its sad his Bond died he brought an incredible ending to an actos tenure playing the infamous James Bond. I truly do believe James Bond will return...
No way its the best Skyfall and Casino Royale are superior but I respect your opinion however of course James Bond will return its going to be another reboot which will be interesting to see if they continue a more grounded Bond or they go back to Pierce Brosnan era
I raise a dry martini (shaken, not stirred) for Daniel Craig’s Bond era. Though not the best era of James Bond, there were still some good gems in Casino Royale and Skyfall. We were happy to be there for it. Goodbye 007, we won’t forget you.
5. No Time To Die Starts off phenomenally with the Craig era finally embracing the Bond epic escapist tropes of yesteryear, before stumbling into an underdeveloped sluggish paced bore of a film. How could the Craig era go all stumbling into the dead of night?!?! Well it did. Yes, it all looks great to start with, but not only doesn’t play it well, but IMO it all goes pear shaped. 4. Spectre Craig started off as being the revisionist Bond, bringing Fleming's character into the modern era. With Skyfall Craig started to slip comfortably from tortured cynical hero into the suave globe trotting spy of old, and SPECTRE continues this. Very much angling towards the Bond epics of yesteryear whilst trying to keep its feet firmly on the ground, SPECTRE nearly succeeds. The film is filled with lush cinematography and it is well paced. Where the problem lies is with character and story, with the latter being an uninspiring mess. As for character... who the hell is Blofeld? He isn't Bond's stepbrother! And as for Madaleine Swann? WTF cares about her. Granted Christoph Waltz and Lea Seydoux try their very best in their roles, but in the grand scheme of things who gives a damn. Craig is no better as he really is doing things half hearted here. The set pieces just about save this film, but SPECTRE should certainly not be for one of the best Bond films... and don't get me started on the song. A truly great song, but Sam Smith's vocals are just wrong for it. 3. Quantum of Solace I describe this film as a bullet that reaches its target... but leaves a bloody mess behind. QoS is a mixed bag of a film, aesthetically the film is a complete mess, the editing is filled with so many jump cuts that I didn't know what the hell was going on in some scenes. The cinematography is may have a nice a pallete, but its handheld Bourne-esque trappings certainly leave a bit to desired. Pacing wise the film is so fast that you don't know what the hell is going on half the time, which leads me onto the plot. On paper it sounds promising, but in execution it is uninspiring, with a half cooked script (as a result of the WGA strike of 07/08) QoS suffers heavily. The gorgeous Olga Kuriylenko is just forgettable as the leading lady, the talented Matieau Almaric is equally forgettable as the villian, and the less said about the 'henchman' the better. However credit should be given to Craig, Dench and Giannini, they try to infuse their characters with as much interest as possible and overall they just just about succeed, plus the set piece set in the opera house is fantastically executed as is the pre-credits car chase creating a memorable opening. However this is not enough to save this brave stab of a film from the mess that it is. As for the song?! Worst song of the series to date, a cat strangler is not a singer! 2. Skyfall Craig's third Bond film was a gamble, after a four year hiatus Bond was back in 2012 and in good time to for his fifteeth anniversary. Aesthetically this is the best made Bond film to date, Roger Deakins' cinematography is absolutely jaw dropping with shots that are spell binding and beautiful. The editing and pacing of the film IMO is similar to that of a Fleming novel, after the pre-credits opening, there really isn't another major action scene till Bond reaches London at the end of the second act. Instead we have character, plot and gorgeous cinematography and production design, the CGI mind you is a tad poor. Sam Mendes direction is superb and it was only the second time in the series' history where EON were working with a name director. Craig is brilliant as he starts to slip into escpaist Bond with his performance. He is clearly having fun with the role and he doesn't disappoint. Javier Bardem as Silva, is one of the most memorable villians of recent memory, whilst Judi Dench finally gets a story where she shines as M. Ralph Fiennes meanwhile is the perfect replacement for M (I mean who do you get to be the new M, a former candidate for Bond, of course) Whilst Ben Whishaw's Q is the breakout star, his interpretation of Q is fantastic and I really do hope he continues with the role after Craig departs. However there are negatives, the whole third act in Skyfall seems a bit slow, whilst Naomie Harris' rebooted Moneypenny is absolutely dire and annoying. IMO she is the worst thing about the rebooted Bond so far. Also Adele's title song... IMO the best Bond song to date. 1. Casino Royale Daniel Craig's first outing as Bond is still his best. Rebooting James Bond?! What could have gone onto become a grave mistake, instead became, at first, the saviour of the series Taking over where Dalton prematurely left off, Craig's performance as Bond is straight out of Fleming, he is a blunt instrument who is learning the ins and outs of the world he has found himself in. A fantastic film that goes back to Fleming and nicely updates the great mans first novel. Craig, Eva Green and Mads Mikkleson are fantastic, with Green's Vesper Lynd making a major impact and rightly considered one of the best Bond ladies to date.
Oh yass! Yass! Yaahaaahaaahaaaaas! Exactly! Exactly my opinion but with a slight change: NTTD is the worst of all Bond films (even Never say never again is more entertaining than this garbage)
Calvin's ranking matches my own, and I have no problem with No Time to Die's ending other than the sluggish bloat prior to the verrry end, and Safin's motivations being weird.
I just realized something. When Daniel Craig first played Bond, he was often asked how his film compares to the _other_ Casino Royale. The one where David Niven's Bond dies. Suddenly, Casino Royale will no longer be remembered as "the one where Bond dies."
Thanks to your channel (and other channels like your one), I had a better enjoyment and appreciation of No Time to Die. Without it, I would have missed a lot of references, and some aspects of the film would not have resonated as strongly for me. Thank you for that.
Lazenby - 1 movie Dalton - 2 movies Brosnan - 4 movies Craig - 5 movies Connery - 6 movies Moore - 7 movies If the next bond actor doesn't have 3 bond movies in their final filmography my OCD will be triggered into oblivion
My ranking: 5: Spectre While there are some fun bits (no Bond film is unwatchable, after all) I find it just kinda dull and lethargic. The stakes are never raised particularly high and the whole Bro-feld thing - perhaps the most inane attempt to write a personal motivation for the villain since Jaws 4 (the moral? 4th entries suck - stop at 3, or, if you must keep making more, skip ahead to 5). To be fair I haven’t rewatched this one in a long while, but I just never feel the desire to do so unless I’m watching the whole Craig run. Highlight: That one-shot intro - so cool! Lowlight: The Blofeld reveal. Hooray, it means absolutely nothing! 4: Quantum of Solace I don’t hate this one like I used to anymore. On my last viewing, I actually kinda liked it. Its flaws are still very apparent (namely the editing) but I think Spectre’s lethargy has made me appreciate QoS’s pace more. It is perhaps too fast and needs to slow down (it really should’ve been 2 hours over 1&½) and the script is clearly unfinished but at least it’s exciting. Camille is very cool - I think Craig and Olga Kruylenko work well together. David Arnold’s score is also top-notch. And hey, who could forget Sweeping Guy? Highlight: The opera scene. Lowlight: They go the entire film without explaining what the “Quantum of Solace” actually is. Couldn’t they have given Mathis a bit of Fleming to read out? Also I’m not a big fan of Mathis revealing “Mathis” is his codename as it means absolutely nothing and raises more questions that it doesn’t bother to answer, but, hey, it’s a minor moment. 3: Skyfall When it first came out I thought it was one of the best Bond films ever. Over time its flaws have become more apparent (a few too many plot contrivances and decisions that don’t make sense) but I still enjoy watching the film. I flip between having it at the bottom of my top 10 and the top of my second-best 10. Craig, Dench and Bardem make this film, three exquisite performances. And, yes, Roger Deakins’ cinematography is great - also, the sky is blue, Mt. Everest is very tall, and a delicatessen without stainless steel is a waste of space. Highlight: I think the Shanghai bit is really cool - more than just the silhouette fight scene, the bits before of Bond tailing Patrice I think are very effective. Lowlight: The way Severine is treated - her death and the way Bond responds (or, rather, the way he doesn’t respond) really makes him look like a callous b’stard. 2: No Time to Die Maybe I’m being kind because I’ve only just seen it and it’s still fresh, but I really enjoyed it. Sure, the ending was a WTF moment the first time I saw it, and left me feeling kinda depressed, but on subsequent viewings (knowing what was coming, and knowing the film ends with “James Bond Will Return”) it’s bothered me less and less. Not sure if I’ll ever like the ending, but I don’t hate it either. Who knows? Maybe I will come to like it - I used to vehemently hate olives, now it’s not a pizza without them. But hey, there is more to the film than its ending, and it has such panache that I’m comfortable putting it at #2. The action scenes in particular are some of the best in the franchise. Linus Sandgren’s cinematography is also exquisite (I love the colours). My only read complaint is that Safin’s plan is a little under-baked - initially he wants to simply wipe out SPECTRE, but once he does that, then he expands his scope to the entire world for, uh, some reason. Is it everyone he wants to kill or just a specific group? Who knows? Maybe he simply wants to use his nanobots to make all women insanely beautiful and wipe out all men above 4’6”… Also, minor point, but I just love the way Craig’s eyes look in NTTD - they really managed to make his irises pop. Not literally of course, that’d be disgusting. Highlight: The pre-titles sequence. All of it. Lowlight: The tonal whiplash of going from MI6 mourning Bond (love the Fleming YOLT callback, by-the-by) to Madeline and Mathilde driving off to Louis Armstrong’s We Have All The Time in the World. 1: Casino Royale Yep. Highlight: That bit that begins with a lion roaring and ends with a list of names scrolling up the screen. Lowlight: Set our expectations for what was to follow too high.
I honestly wanted to walk out of Skyfall the last time I saw it. The way they treat Severine is appalling. It might be one of the most distasteful and mean spirited scenes in modern film. Skyfall’s protagonist is a terrible protagonist. He’s lack of agency and stupid decisions are appalling. Skyfall is a messy, bad and distasteful film hidden behind pretty pictures.
Agreed on the ending. And I don’t think you are supposed to like it. It’s supposed to make you feel angry and sad. I don’t think there would ever be a way to kill a character like James Bond and have it be perfect.
@@thebadfella5296 Are you sure? 1.) M's Death is contrived as hell. And she gets killed because of the stupid Home Alone plan. Why would an MI6 agent take the most important member of MI6 to a abandoned house, that is barely armed (2 double barrel shotguns and a 22lr pistol)?And they going up against a highly skilled terrorist group. What happens next? M gets shot by some random goon. The film wanted the payoff, however set-up is important. A dumb plan isn't a good setup. 2.) Severine's death is super distasteful. She was a victim of sex trafficking from a very young age. For most of her life, she was enslaved. And in her lasts moments, she is tortured, brutalized and than killed. And the main character feels nothing after failing to save her, despite him promising to in a previous scene. Instead the dickhead says a really tone deaf line. This is why its distasteful. 3.) Additionally, the movie is super pretentious. It has the main theme, the old ways are better, which is what Bond symbolizes. The writers run their main theme over with their script and infuriating protagonists. The old ways were not better in this film. The old ways made M desperate in the train scene, and Bond got accidentally shot because of it, failing the mission. Resulting in MI6 HQ being destroyed and several agents killed. The old ways drove M to become desperate. The old ways could not protect M (the most important figure in British security). The old ways put false hope in a person who was enslaved all her life. How are the old ways better in this movie?
Always a pleasure, even when we disagree. My rankings: 5) NTTD at the bottom. Poor villain (Saffin disappears for 75 minutes!), unsurprising twists (daughter), and I didn't even like the action scenes, which fell short of previous entires. 4) Quantum. Undistinguished, but at least it was short and didn't kill Bond at the end. 3) SEPCTRE. I actually LIKED the SPECTRE board room scene and thought Monica Bellucci was great. 2) Skyfall, Beautifully shot. Great villain. 1) Casino. Bond at his coolest. Gorgeously photographed. Last 10 seconds made the audience applaud and cheer.
Calvin you are definitely the funniest Bond commentator! Those skits crack me up! It's interesting that your number 3 would be my number 1 and your number 1 would be my 3! I hope hope hope you learn to love NTTD because I think it's the perfect Craig Bond film!
The bit in No Time To Die that sold me on the death was when M clinked his glass against Bond’s. It was out of nowhere. I was like “wow this ending is silly”, and then that happened and suddenly I was balling
You’re my favourite TH-camr, Calvin! I think my ranking is the same. NTTD’s ending really bothered me but the rest of it was great. I would’ve stayed to see the ‘James Bond Will Return’ line had I not been with my brother and father in the middle of the night who were keen to get home. I’ll never forget when I saw SPECTRE in IMAX and a guy in the back had a seizure!
4:25 having watched every Pitch Meeting, I can confirm that that is never how it goes. It’s always just the producer pointing out every plot hole and then not doing anything about them. Why? Because. That works!
Calvin, you definitely need a video where you rank all of the series’ pre-title sequences! I don’t think I’m the only fan of your content who’d like to see that video!
My personal rankings are... Casino Royale No Time to Die Skyfall Quantum of Solace SPECTRE The toughest spot for me is the bottom slot. Is SPECTRE a technically better film than Quantum of Solace? I would say so. However, when I think about which one I would like to pop in and watch, I can't help but feel that Quantum skips just a beat above Craig's next-to-final outing.
Here’s how I’d rank them: 1. Skyfall 10/10, a damn near perfect film, balanced a great story with the serious and fun elements 2. No Time To Die 8/10 this could be due to how recent it is, but I had so much fun with it, the ending is very contrived though 3. Casino Royale 8/10, objectively it’s a brilliantly crafted film, but not one I massively enjoy 4. Spectre 3/10, it’s got a great performance from Craig and great direction, but the rest is terrible 5. Quantum Of Solace 2/10, my least favourite bond film ever
Casino, quantum, nttd, spectre, skyfall. Its interesting how you clearly prefer spectacle while I would want an as grounded as possible bond with hints of fantasy.
Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are just one long film. I think you'll appreciate the ending of No Time to Die more after you have kids. Spectre was the weakest film in Craig's Bond era, but it was still not bad...
Looking forward to this. Btw I really love Daniel Kleinman's title sequence for No Time To Die, probs my second favourite of Craig's (Casino Royale being 1st). How about you Calvin?
Wow. My ranking is exactly the same as yours- Even though QOS and spectre are my 2 least favourite of the Craig films, I still personally enjoyed them! Just not as much as NTTD, SF and CR! Great video as usual, Calvin!
For me, the Craig era as a whole can be summed up with the word "disappointment". - Casino Royale and Skyfall are both masterpieces of cinema but Casino's story gives it the edge to #1 (and #1 OVERALL, not just in Craig's films), the script and dialogue are so well-written and tight; not a single scene is wasted, ALL of the characters are well-acted and Eva Green is...Well, she's just prefect. It's rare I feel pain with a character's death in movies but Vesper's does it for me. And as a side note, hearing the first few notes of her theme in No Time To Die and Bond simply saying "I miss you" just wrecked me... - Quantum we both agree is an absolute dumpster fire and it's a damn shame Casino had to be followed by that. - I'm not nearly as hard on SPECTRE but it and No Time both suffer from the same issues; great intentions, poor execution. I don't understand how two films in a row can go from being so great to being so "Meh" in the third act. Hopefully, the next actor in the role will have a little bit of consistency...and not f*cking kill James Bond...stupid decision... 1. Casino Royale 2. Skyfall 3. SPECTRE 4. No Time To Die 5. Quantum of Solace
Sorry bro, Skyfall is not a masterpiece. It’s one of the most overrated pieces of modern cinema. The main protagonist sucks, the theme, the old ways are better, is pretentious and gets run over by its own script and ineffective protagonists, Silva is discount Heath Ledger’s Joker and Sean Bean, Ms death is contrived as hell, and the death of Severine is exceptionally mean spirited. The writing in Skyfall is messy, bad and in the case of Severine, f’cking atrocious. Skyfall is a messy, bad and distasteful film hidden behind some pretty cinematography. Technical aspects enhance stories, they don’t make them. Skyfall failed where it mattered the most, in it’s writing.
@@outlaw5015 I strongly disagree with that. I think Skyfall is very well made and the script is great as well. I really love the plot of it and I think the villain is great.
@@samharrison5058 I respect your opinion, however you are gonna have to explain. I’m not sure how the writing in this movie is good. I’m not sure how M sending a Bond( who failed basic accuracy and fitness tests) on a super dangerous mission to capture someone who destroyed MI6 HQ and killed several agents is good writing? I’m not sure how the appalling treatment of Severine is good writing? I’m not sure how Bond’s dumb home alone plan is good writing when it gets the most important person in MI6 and British security killed? Idea is only as good as execution. This movie’s execution is terrible.
@@outlaw5015 sorry I disagree. I think the movie is executed really well. I wouldn’t say that the traps he sets are completely like Home Alone. He’s defending his house and trying to protect M so I don’t get why that’s a problem. Also M didn’t know that she was sending Bond to find Silva until he was arrested by Mi6 and she saw him. I personally love Skyfall and don’t really get your criticisms.
1) Casino Royale, you pretty much nailed how it makes me feel every time and for that reason it is at the top, I don’t really rewatch movies, but that one I will. Always. Just fills me with a sense of joy, adventure, and hits the coords of what I just love about Bond films. 2) Skyfall, just a decent all round Bond film, it felt like the first actual sequel. Which I know it can be argued that Quantum of Solace is a continuation of Royale meaning technically Skfyall is… but regardless if we are speaking of tone if Royale is the start of his career then Skyfall is his peak, even if he loses part of himself but I think that is interesting in a sense, an agent who fights so hard to become something to then lose it in a matter of seconds and to have to battle many fronts to regain it. 3) No Time to Die, if there was only CR, SF, and this I would feel it is a good trilogy (although undeniably this film would not work without spectre), however as far as tone goes it just fits in perfectly. Ending is tragic but in a way seems to sell how high risk ventures often times have high risk consequences, die young or become a villain type vibe. I have problems with the whole nanotechnology thing being the fatal blow but on the whole if there was only 3 films it would work rather well, and does work in general. 4) Spectre, I feel that Spectre could have been split in half and parts put into Skyfall and No Time to Die. Although that would likely compromise what made them good. It isn’t as bland as Quantum of Solace but when I think about it, it just makes me feel shades of ‘meh’. I think it is pacing could have been a little shorter or quicker in some places and invested a little more time in other places like romance maybe. 5) Quantum of Solace, if someone needed me to summarise action films of that period and why they made me feel bored and blank then this would be used in tandem with Die Hard 4, it is that bland that even my mother knows to avoid it. Royale was always going to be a tough act to follow although Skyfall did it (but one can argue hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to making a sequel to a average sequel). If anything perhaps the film after Royale could have established some of Spectres overarching beats, in the 5 instalment model. But unlike the others it really does not contribute anything at all, very discardable.
My ranking of Craig's Bond Films: 2. Casino Royale Great reboot, great action, great characters and story. 10/10 film 12. Skyfall Good film, good action. I become less interested in the story after Silva is captured. A big negative is how Silvas escapes and that he planned all of this. We get a new Q, Moneypenny and we get Ralph Fiennes as m! "Can't wait to see EON go back to the classic formula" I thought after seeing the great final scene in the cinema. But instead we get Spectre... 23. Quantum of Solace The plot could be better, but we at least get Bond going after a bad guy that is not a foster brother! Mr. White is great and underated in the Bond fandom. The action is okay. The song is terrible. I can enjoy watching this film. 24. No Time To Die I like the great action, Cuba and Paloma. I still dont like Swann and Blofeld, they are the reason i was not hyped about NTTD. 25. Spectre I only like the Pre-title sequence in Mexio! This film is boring. The action, plot, characters, everything is bad. Bond and Blofeld are brothers, the worst creative decision in the series. This is how they (EON) get rid of Mr. White? Giving him a small scene and making him good? Worst EON bond film by far. They try to connect all Craig films, but they fail. Honesty I could come up with better way to connect MOST Craig films in 2 minutes! (Mr. White's real name is Blofeld and he got promoted to number 1 after QOS. That name reveal in the cinema would be amazing! Think about it! It would not be obvious like Christoph Waltz was. Quantum becomes SPECTRE. The bad guy of the first Bond film after Skyfall is not nr 1, number 2? 5? We only see Blofeld briefly like we did in Thunderball, then a film where Blofeld and Bond meet and fight. This could be Craigs final film.)
@@bondjamesbondsandiego0075 GoldenEye! I like the plot, 007 vs 006, ALL characters are great. The action is 10/10 (especially from the interrogation scene to tank scene).
We actually have the same ranking, but the difference is I actually like Spectre. I’ve also only seen No Time to Die once but I think with time it may jump over Casino Royale for me. I share the same feelings you have with Judi Dench but for Daniel Craig, as he has been Bond for most of my life, and his films have helped me a lot in challenging times, so in a weird sentimental way it’s like I’m losing a friend.
I think that ITV afternoon comment could apply to No Time To Die as well since I was just thinking it wouldn't really fit that slot either. I'm hoping the next bond will be less serious to fill that void but I have a feeling it won't in the pursuit of bigger better things.
I really don’t think time will be kind to NTTD. In 10 years time - when we’re well into the next era of Bond - we will look back on the ending and just see it as a gimmick that ultimately had no consequences because, well, James Bond did return and the series carried on.
I think the opposite; Craig's era will be seen as an interesting and emotionally engaging experiment in self-contained continuity. In 10 years we'll have a new Bond, and be back to the episodic standalones. The Craig films will stand out, and stand apart. And that's OK.
The fact that Bond has returned might make be able to respect what they were trying to do with the ending though. Until that next film I do just see Bond as dead which makes it harder to like that ending for me
It will be seen as an interesting experiment, tying 5 films into a continuing story arc. I pray they drop this, and give us fun Bond movies in the future! Craig’s Bond just seemed so grim and miserable! True, this is probably more realistic for a character who was basically an assassin, but we never watched Bond films for “reality”! It was ALWAYS action/fantasy!!
@@Klijpo we both think alike! My response was almost exactly the same, but I didn’t even see yours until I made my post!! Hopefully, it won’t take ten years for a new Bond to get underway!!
@@Geezer-yf8hv I think Fleming might have liked this whole 5 part sequence. If he'd lived a bit longer, he'd likely have killed Bond off himself. I think him dying in this instance is more in character than him doing the school run in the Aston...
I love the skits in these videos Calvin this might be my favourite one yet!!! I actually thought the ending pretty good. I actually think the idea of bond dying is interesting and surprising but after seeing NTTD twice now I just don't love the way it happens. I can't really explain why but I just dont fully love it like the rest of the movie. Worst to best My ranking is 5.Quantum of Solace 4.Spectre 3. Casino Royale (don't hate me I still love it) 2.No Time To Die 1. Skyfall
I'm not a huge fan of Daniel Craig's Bond films and I need to rewatch most of them, but this is my ranking that could change after rewatching all of these movies: 1. Casino Royale; 2. No Time To Die; 3. Spectre; 4. Skyfall; 5. Quantum Of Solace.
Finally saw NTTD yesterday and absolutely loved the ending. I thought it was beautifully made and I was in tears. Craig's Bond was really the only where they could have pulled this off and it being the 25th Bond movie, I thought it was quite fitting.
“You can understand a film without enjoying it.” I love that. Perfect. I love Quantum of Solace. And I appreciate you being so nice to us fans of it in your criticism :)
No Time To Die is Daniel Craig's version of End of Time- the final episode for Tennant's Dr Who. That one also gets some flack for being a little contrived in how it kills its protagonist, some people don't think it's right for the franchise. But I think it nails its emotional beats and was a very fitting ending for this take on the character.
The difference is that the Doctor wasn't killed off, he carried on afterwards, as the 11th Doctor onwards all have the memories of the previous ones. Plus Tennant's Doctor returned in the 50th anniversary special. Craig's Bond is permanently dead, and the series will now have to be rebooted...again.
@@Rocket1377 Well regeneration for the first time was treated like a death, plus Dr Who is a time travel show so it can do that while Bond can't. But what I mean is that it's similarly seen as somewhat controversial, and is a bit contrived (the radiation chamber that kills 10 is nonsense) but emotionally and thematically it works IMO.
Calvin, love your channel! My ranking of Craig's performance would be #1 Skyfall, #2 Spectre, #3 Casino Royale, #4 No Time to Die, #5 Quantum of Solace. I actually loved Spectre! Totally agree with you on Quantum of Solace - at the bottom of my Bond movie rankings. Agree about needing time for No Time to Die to soak in. Might change my rating after some time.
I saw NTTD a second time and watched it through the eyes of a Fleming reader rather than a Bond movie fanatic and I enjoyed it more. This same perspective is what ultimately won me over with Quantum. But my views of the NTTD ending echo yours. I wish the writers had been more faithful to the novels instead of blatantly killing Bond right in front of our eyes. My ranking: 1. Casino Royale 2. Skyfall 3. Quantun of Solace. 4. No Time To Die 5. Spectre Excellent work as always, Calvin.
There is a lot of Fleming [especially from You Only Live Twice] in NTTD. But I must point out that Fleming suddenly had Bond poisoned in From Russia With Love and 'collapse to the floor'. If he'd not got more inspiration, he would have left Bond as presumed killed and the series would have ended there.
@@jamesatkinsonja I'm with you 100%. Another point that bugs me is "James Bond Will Return" at the end of the credits. I'm not a fan of a Craig based alternate timeline. Obviously time will tell as to how they pull it off, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
For my money: 5 - QOS (Sorry, I just can't get on with it) 4 - SPECTRE (looks nice, but a bit boring!) 3 - NTTD. Love it all the way up to the third act. 2 - Skyfall. 1- Casino Royale. It's perfect.
I think I'm like Tom over at JBR - hard to really list them now as NTTD is too fresh. I'll pretend though and say Casino, Skyfall, NTTD, Quantum, Spectre. Overall the Craig era has been overrated to me and while so many love gritty and real, I think after 15 years of it, it's enough. I want to go back to fun. Not dumb, not overly silly, but fun. There has to be a middle ground that can make compelling spy action and have some humor and fun in it. I disliked them retconning and tying all of the films together. Cubby would be so disappointed Barbara's crush on Craig put him over the subjectmatter. Bond doesn't die, Bond doesn't ride around with children in car seats, Bond's friend Felix doesn't die, Bond's enemy Blofeld doesn't die, or get arrested. Too much mopey Bond, too much crabby Bond, not enough Bond who likes being Bond for me. I hope the next actor's films are stand alone missions, an occasional Easter egg nod to something in the past (he was married, etc.) but not all linked together. It makes the films unnecessarily complicated and no doubt will only turn off younger fans, if we're to pretend they want that demo. Amazon had better get back to an every 2-3 year schedule as well or that too will turn off fans, especially and younger ones Eon hoped to snap up. Make the films on a more frequent cadence, get back into the video game business, and celebrate Bond, the best spy in the world. We don't need to focus on our hero dying, upset about his parents, his "brother", and only choosing the wrong women every time out. Great video, as always. I am a bit miffed, as you can tell, how NTTD, which like you said, outside of some clunky writing choices, breezes along for 2 hours. Unlike Spectre, they have a 3rd act, just not one any fan really wanted to see.
Agreed, I feel like NTTD actually achieved that middle ground really nicely in places but loses it as the film goes on. I hope we can have a whole film that really captures that spirit.
I agree for the most part. Casino Royale may be my favourite Bond film, but that’s only really nostalgia. Aside from that, my top ten is typically dominated by films like Thunderball, Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the more fun and energetic films of the 1960s. I think they mostly hit the right balance of seriousness as well as the typical sixties campiness that isn’t hard to find in many films of the era, even non-Bond films. Though, I will say that I think the grittier approach to Casino Royale was exactly what the series needed to survive after Die Another Day and to bring into the less-optimistic time of the oughts and to compete with the aforementioned Jason Bourne. But yeah, ultimately I don’t think these films need a lot of emotional resonance or personal stakes. We can have sad and heartfelt moments, but we hardly need every film to be an epic ‘this time it’s personal’ drama. That gets old. And not all the films need to be a huge, epic story told across multiple movies, Bond can just be sent on a mission to do stuff. That’s how the series has been for decades.
If they want to do a series, they need to plan the whole series in the beginning. The reason Graig's tenure has been so messy is that they tried making continuations of film that were never planned to continue.
@@tomlock5484 yeah. One of the worst things about Spectre was probably it’s half-hearted attempt to tie all the films together. And they didn’t even try that hard with it. They just said: ‘Hey, remember that super huge and mysterious organisation? Well behind it was a more huger and mysteriouser organisation. And that guy from the last film is involved even though that was never even implied… And it’s Bond’s brother. Because stealing from a thirteen-year-old Austin Powers movie is the best idea for our serious spy film.’
Personally I'd rank them: 1. Skyfall. The amazing opening sequence/song is a moment of cinematic masterpiece in my opinion 2. Casino Royale 3. Spectre 4. Quantum of Solace BIG GAP 5. No Time to Die (That ending alone makes me not want to acknowledge it ever existed)
5. QoS 6/10 4. Spectre 6/10 3. Skyfall 7/10 (would have been 8/10 if it weren't for silva's escape plan that made no sense) 2. Casino Royale 8/10 1. NTTD (dont kill me please) 8/10
1 ) Casino Royale (as perfect a Bond film as we ever got, it is not only my favourite Craig film, but my favourite Bond film, period) 2) Skyfall (I agree on it being the most beautifully shot entry in the series, it also has a great story, wonderful dialogues, tremendous acting, and I could go on and on... my only gripes are the whole Silva escape plan, which has way too many plotholes, and a self-serious tone that is hit and miss to me, although mostly hit!) 3) No Time to Die (very hard to rank this one, even from Craig's standpoint only, let alone the whole series. I'm fairly indifferent to the ending, I find it butchered and a lazy product of our times, but I don't hate it as much as Spectre's. But the highs of this film are not that high either, I like the Cuba scenes fine, my favorite sequences being the meeting in M's office and pretty much everything in Norway. Overall, an enjoyable ride for the most part, if a bit melodramatic at times) 4) Quantum of Solace (I'm one of these people who has warmed up to QoS, thanks in no small parts to David Zaristky's passionate defence! I used to flat-out hate it and don't get me wrong, it's still bottom 5 overall, but once I can get past all its idiosynchracies, there's actually a decent flick, with great acting and understated emotions, unlike NTTD, that I can watch once in a while. But it's not really a Bond film in my eyes, more like a Bourne wannabe) 5) Spectre (sigh... I loved this film on first viewing. Still loved it for a while, minus the last 30 minutes, which are the most atrocious segment of any Bond film, as far as I'm concerned. Nowadays I just find it all very boring and lifeless, I can only watch it as part of some marathon. Interstingly, I think Craig's acting is actually a big part of the problem, I just find him to be sleepwalking through the whole thing. I would go so far as to say that his performance is worse than Connery's in YOLT)
For me I feel that the interconnected nature of all five films in the Craig era means that the character's death ultimately makes sense. From purely a continuity perspective, it would be incredibly inconsistent for another actor to carry on the same saga after Craig's departure. Would we feel the same sense of lose for vesper or Judi Dench’s M in a later film if (for instance) it was Tom Hardy. He doesn’t have that emotional connection Craig has. While other movies, which have not had to consider a wider overarching story to the same degree, have been able to replace bond with little or no explanation, the clear thread that runs throughout Craig's films requires specific consideration. As a result, killing the character not only provides a satisfying conclusion but also connects to this Bond chapter's ongoing themes of loss, grief, and death.
I’d rank them Casino Royale ( The story, You Know My Name, The Aston Martin, The Walther P99 and the muscled up bond. This to me was the best Craig Film. Martin Campbell is 2/2!) No Time To Die (this movie was nice! Now had they ended it a different way it would be #1) SkyFall (Pretty solid movie, it was just a bit meh for me in places, also I didn’t care for Thomas Newman’s score). Quantum of Solace (considering what was going on in production it was still a solid film.) Spectre (I’m sorry this just movie bored and disappointed me. Especially the reusing music from SkyFall).
I think the biggest problem with the Craig Bond era are the posters. The older Bond films contain a lot of creativity but the Craig ones... CR is pretty good, Quantum, Skyfall, and Spectre are just Bond standing there with a gun. And No Time To Die is basically the formulaic poster we have today of cramming in so many characters on screen.
My personal ranking of Craig's tenure, from favorite to least-favorite: 1.) Skyfall. I LOVE this movie. Felt like both an analysis AND celebration of James Bond as a character & franchise. Was surprised how much I loved it, after not seeing it for a while. Loved seeing the classic 007 conventions make their comebacks here (ie. Q, the gadgets), but with a much more grounded approach; loved seeing Bond have to build himself back up; Javier Bardem's Silva made for the most memorable villain; and finally Judi Dench's finale as M was an amazing arc. Culminating in Bond (and the franchise) suiting up for another 50 years, it's SUCH a satisfying film, and arguably the best 007 movie of all time. 2. Casino Royale. Great debut for Craig's tenure, and at the time of release, a MUCH-NEEDED back-to-basics approach, in going back to the original Ian Fleming novel for tone and source material. 3. No Time to Die. A little too convoluted for its own good, but I found it to be a great conclusion to the Daniel Craig era. Gotta give it props for having balls to really take Bond to a place where he (or the franchise) hadn't been before. I love the dynamic of all the characters, the homages to a particular previous Bond film, and the ACTION, which I feel is the strongest of any of Craig's films. While it's in the middle of the pack for me, it's very much a "high-middle", if that makes any sense. 4. Spectre. Definitely a let-down for me, after how much I enjoyed Skyfall. After spending the previous movies kind of up-ending the standard Bond conventions, this one adhered to them, but unfortunately played out in a very "been there, done that" feel. Not helping things was the unnecessary attempt to connect EVERY other of the previous movie's to Blofeld. 5. Quantum of Solace. Another let-down after the solid debut that was Casino Royale. Moves at a very hectic place, with very little time to let the story or drama really settle. For a movie that movie that moves at a bit of a hectic pace, there really doesn't feel like there's a sense of urgency. The whole motivation of Bond wanting to avenge Vesper even gets lost.
Lovely to hear someone make a distinction between personal favourites and objective qualities! I’m not sure about my personal ranking for Craig’s tenure, but I am in complete agreement about the ending of ‘No time to die’. I’m a lot more invested in seeing how the films carry on from this point than I was in Bond’s death - knowing this isn’t the last film in the series robs that moment of its impact for me.
I LOVED that opening - just brilliant and expresses sentiments that I’m sure MANY of us share!! Seen NTTD 3 times now and I agree - I STILL absolutely hate that ending! In fact - its actually getting WORSE with each viewing lol! (I keep hoping there is some kind of alternate cut coming on the Blu- Ray!) Agree with most of your rankings too. I really like Quantum, but even after many viewings I still don’t really understand the whole plot and still can barely understand much of the action! Still enjoy it though - fast and exciting with the most hard bad ass portrayal of Bond we’ve ever seen in the series. Spectre - to me - really has been dramatically improved by NTTD in every way. As you said - It has lots of true CLASSIC Bond elements and even though it falls short on certain things it’s ambition shines through. Plus it gets extra bonus points because it attempts to end Craig’s run WITHOUT BLOWING HIM UP. NTTD comes in third here and may very well have been at the very top - if they had not ruined the whole thing by killing him! Skyfall is Brilliant and hits every single beat perfectly in every way. You summed it all up perfectly with each of your points! The only negative part of it for me is the idea that Bond FAILS at too many moments throughout. But it still is just a truly GREAT Bond film in every other way. To me Casino represents the absolute peak of the series and has actually nudged out Goldfinger as my all time favorite. And it also gets my vote as simply the best James Bond film of all time. So overall - when you look at these last five films together - Craig’s run has been pretty darn spectacular and it has definitely set an INCREDIBLY high bar for the next chapter of the series to reach.
Thanks, John! I'm really hoping there's some deleted scenes on the blu ray... I'm positive there was a good chunk cut out of NTTD and I'd be fascinated to see what might have been...
@@calvindyson Yea - you could tell there is definitely a lot of gaps throughout the film that were likely in the script but cut for time and pacing. I would guess the original cut is probably over 3 hours. Sadly though - I suspect there is probably NOT an alternate cut of that awful ending!! (But I am still hoping!👍👍)
Skyfall hits every single beat perfectly? I don’t know, when your main “hero” is terrible at their job, gets the most important person in British security killed because of a stupid Home Alone plan, and promises to save a victim of sex trafficking from a young age, yet when he fails shows no remorse or introspection. And acts to late, despite being at the same tactical position before and after he misses his shot. You kinda contradicted yourself with “BOND” fails at too many moments. Having a sh’tty protagonist is a fundamental flaw of any movie. And I didn’t even tackle the other problems in this film. I respect your viewpoint but Skyfall is far far away from brilliant, closer to garbage.
@@outlaw5015 Yea I hear you there - your points are inarguable and all right on the money! But I meant the film overall. Despite all those flaws - I think it’s still a brilliant film. The idea that he fails so much throughout the film from start to finish does always bug me when I watch - and it’s incredibly noticeable to me when most people I watch it with do not ever even notice it because of how well directed it is and how the characters and the story flows. It just shows that we Bond fans probably pick up on things in the films most general audiences do not. So even though you are exactly correct about each of those points (even the stupid “Home Alone” plan that ends up killing his Boss!) Skyfall still really works for me!
Watching Quantum again I like the fact it wasn't 2 hrs 30 mins long and focused on Bond for the most part after QOS there's too much time given to MI6 staff and Bond moping around. The water supply plot may have been great if they went full camp on it instead it never truly reaches it's potential but i prefer it over Spectre and No time to die.
I do hope you grow to love No Time To Die a little more as time goes by. I thought it was excellent, with any flaws being overridden by exceptionally good performances and direction. Agree with many of your points here, although I've never quite understood the fuss with Skyfall. Maybe the next viewing will bring more for me! My personal ranking is: 01 Casino Royale 02 No Time To Die 03 Skyfall 04 Quantum Of Solace 05 Spectre
The main problem with the ending is that it ends a story arc that began on a pretty dark note (Vesper dying), ends on an even darker note (Bond dying). What is the point of seeing one man go through so many trials and tribulations and learning lessons along the way only to see him get killed? Especially when that one man is James Bond of all people.
@@LeonWick526 risking his life to save the world as he does every film, but this time he lost his life saving the world. This time he couldnt save himself
@@mariogv4083 There isn't any point to that ending. Normally for something like that you'd watch a Japanese anime series which can include badass but tragically flawed characters who sacrifice themselves. Anyone who has grown up with Bond knows that he always saves himself or someone saves him. That's how Ian Fleming wrote him: as a symbol of fortitude (Bond doesn't die in the last novel written by Fleming).
Personally I like that the Craig films form a story arc with a definite beginning, middle and end. I’d love to see a behind the scenes retrospective on the Craig movies where they talk about the decision to do this - was it the plan right from the start or did they make the decision somewhere in between? Moving forward I wonder if each Bond’s series of films is going to have its own continuity - like the different sets of Batman or Spiderman movies. Anyway, if I had to rank the Craig movies: 5) QoS 4) Spectre - I can’t believe how wasted Christophe Waltz is in this movie 2/3 - NttD and Skyfall 1 - Casino Royale
I think they were always planning a series for Craig [they apparantly wanted Blofeld in Quantum but the legal issue wasn't resolved by then] but it's definitely been fleshed out 'on the go''. I think that's what they will do. In fairness Brosnan's era was a 'soft reboot' anyway [with only Q retained from the old cast] and other than Die another Day, only subtle references to past films [like the Bernard Lee Portrait in World] as this is a rare era that Tracy is not referred to. I think each new Bond will get there own storyline/series, say maybe a trilogy, then they can do whatever they want writing wise.
Before watching this, I made my list just to see if we matched. We did 100%. Calvin, keep doing what you do. Nobody analyzes these films and shares it with the public like you.
I'm just gonna say it: I find the scenes between Bond and Vesper following the death of Le Chiffre to be incredibly corny and filled with trite and stilted lines ("I have no armor left, you've stripped it from me", ugh). Vesper's death is handled beautifully, however, and everything up until Le Chiffre's death is great. It's just the scenes of Bond and Vesper actually being an item that catapult me out of the movie, but everyone else seems to love it :D
@@AsadKhan-lm6yr I agree with that. The actors have good chemistry and they're doing well with the material, I just find the writing to be painfully melodramatic; which is why I always find it so weird when these scenes are elevated to the heavens. 😅 But, hey, if people like it then I'm not here to take that away from anyone
I cried like a b*tch at the ending of No Time to Die mostly because it hurt me as a husband and father. In that situation at that moment I could understand Bond's decision and it broke my heart. Great ranking though, really enjoy your content!
For me No time to Die is the greatest bond film of all time, I completely bought into the ending and made me emotional that Craig’s bond has come to the end. I can see why some people will hate it but for me watching Craig’s first scene in casino royale getting his 00 status to then see him as a father with a family in NTTD was beautiful.
@@calvindyson thanks Calvin, I really hope in years to come when you have digested everything and watch it a few more times you’ll have the same feeling! Cheers
@@mikezinza9699 he did that at the end of spectre, driving off with Madeleine in the DB5, if they had done the same thing again it wouldn’t have had the same impact as it would just be repeating what happened before. That last line when Madeleine says to Mathilde let me tell you about a man named Bond, James Bond. Wow that was just perfect, for me.
Well I hated the ending and the movie. I think it's the worst bond movie of all time number 25 of 25. I enjoyed the 10 minutes in Cuba and loved Paloma I hope she is in bond 26 with Henry Cavill. I'm so happy the Craig era is over. It's time to close his book and get back to bond being bond. I'm happy you enjoyed this movie but it left me shaking my head leaving the theatre. I agree with Calvin ok great joke now show us the real ending.
Good stuff as always, Mr Dyson. I think I might be alone in my final ranking of the Craig Bond films, possibly because I had different hopes and expectations for this series than most fans: 1. Casino Royale - My favourite Bond film by far and one of my favourite films of all time. The writing, directing, acting, and music are all top notch. It was a great reboot to the franchise that respected what came before, added something new, and it still feels timeless. But what I loved most about it was how it made James Bond feel like a three dimensional human being, rather than an invincible action hero. It gave me a Bond I could be emotionally invested in and I really wanted to see where his story went next. It set up my expectations for a satisfying character arc...expectations which may have been a bit too high. 2. Quantum of Solace & 3. No Time To Die - despite them being deeply flawed movies I really appreciate what QoS and NTTD tried to do: tell a sincere, continuing story about the James Bond we met in Casino Royale. They don't ignore or retcon what came before, and they attempt to give the character a satisfying emotional arc. The results may have been mixed, but their hearts were in the right place. The odds were stacked against these two films (the writers' strike and rushed production/the mess left over from Spectre) but I think if the scripts had got a couple more rewrites they could have been really good. They just needed more time. If only they'd had more time... 4. Skyfall - *in Jack Sparrow But Why Is The Rum Gone? voice*: What happened to the Quantum organization? How does Bond feel about Vesper now? Why is he old? How does he have Sean Connery's DB5? Why is he landed gentry now when the Bond in Casino Royale didn't come from money? Why are we getting obvious metacommentary on the entire James Bond franchise? What happened to the story they were telling in the first two films? On the plus side, Skyfall further confirms my theory that if a film features Javier Bardem, then Javier Bardem will be the best thing in it. 5. Spectre - Ah Spectre. A film so bafflingly, embarrassingly terrible that I still have occasional traumatic flashbacks! It truly gets exponentially worse with each viewing! I could forgive it if it was just a bad film in itself, but it retroactively damaged the films that came before it with stupid retconning, undermined the character of Bond by giving him a preposterous backstory with an evil stepbrother, made the worldbuilding unnecessarily convoluted, saddled Bond with a dud love interest played by an actress who has zero chemistry with Craig, and left No Time To Die with a hell of a mess to clean up. Spectre turned Craig's run into a joke and wrecked any chance of a satisfying overall story. This movie is truly the author of all my pain. Finish it!
I love the fact that No Time to Die rattled so many cages with bold franchise decisions. That’s ultimately how any long-running franchise stays fresh. NTTD has arguably some of the best individual moments in the Bond series, even if it isn’t up to the standards of Royale or Skyfall as a film.
Why does so many people like Skyfall???KIt was just a new villain that they pulled out of there ass and the tube train scenes were unbelievable,never a conductor in the last carriage and when another train crashed no one was in it??????!!!!!!
The reason Skyfall works so well is because it works well on its own with out seeing any others, and it earns every single one of its emotional moments, something No Time to Die fails on.
The biggest fault of the Craig era is the "arc" idea. I don't want my Bond to have an arc, or too much personal baggage or to be an adopted brother of the worlds leading super villain or still be banging on about a love from four films ago or slap you in the face with references from better films. Almost every step the films took after the "With pleasure M, with pleasure" at the end of Skyfall were a mistake. The last two have had moments of brilliance (tracking shot in Spectre and the chilling Norway scene in NTTD being my highlights). The plus point is the next actor has a clean slate and can be given a mission, a simple mission at the start of the next film. The film makers should follow M's advice- "Don't cock it up" . .
Great points Calvin! Here is my ranking:
5. Spectre - The only Bond film that seems to get worse with every viewing. It has its moments, but some weak dialogue, slow pacing, and terrible plot decisions bring it down for me.
4. Quantum of Solace - Seems to get a little better with each viewing. The editing is hard to follow and the villain isn’t compelling, but seeing this through Bond’s emotional state gives it a whole new meaning.
3. No Time to Die - Shocked by the ending at first, but I’ve really come to terms with it as probably the most fitting end to Craig’s run. An emotional roller coaster and the action scenes are terrific.
2. Skyfall - A celebration of all things Bond. Silva is one of the best villains ever and his obsession with M makes for a fascinating film.
1. Casino Royale - About as perfect of a Bond film as we’ll ever get. Totally agree with your points on Daniel and Eva’s chemistry. This might be my favorite FILM, not just my favorite Bond film. Vesper’s death gets me every time.
"Shocked by the ending at first, but I’ve really come to terms with it as probably the most fitting end to Craig’s run"
I agree on that very much. What better way to give a fitting ending to the worst, most pretentious and utterly amateurishly written garbage ever given the questionable label of "Bond movies"? Make the most bizarrely convoluted, dumb and disrespectful ending ever with the cheap death of a character whose entire MO is that he doesn't get killed. Add to that the sullying of an old classic "We Have All the Time in the World" used for some random (supposed) "relationship" he has with an annoying and pointless block of wood character from the previous pretentious junkpile of a movie. Ever since Casino Royale got my hopes up for Craig, it's felt as if he might as well just sit there staring into the camera and repeating over and over and over again that he is James Bond, because Craig seems to be the only actor who has had to constantly strain to try and appear like James Bond. He has no natural charisma, charm, elegance nothing. Even his Chester/Scouse accent comes through quite often and makes me cringe. He looks like a goblin, has no eyebrows, no body hair to speak of, is very short for a James Bond (5'10" when every other Bond has been 6'1" to 6'3", and it even shows on film). He walks like a chav desperately trying to look cool but just coming off utterly stiff and awkward and he can't even stand still without looking really weird and stiff. Add to that Purvis and Wade who should have been fired after TWINE let alone DAD, and you've got the worst, most depressing, dismal, pretentious and hack-written Netflix series of Bond movies ever.
That's my ranking as well. I really enjoyed No Time to Die and I find it so odd that people were so shocked by the ending - it felt fitting given the themes of loss that permeated through the Craig era (as did the inclusion of OHMSS elements, as a kind of thematic meditation).
Honestly looking back on the four films, Spectre is the only one that I consider to be truly bad and even that has some interesting visual elements (even if the story is boring nonsense and the Blofeld revelation is pointless). The fan narrative that the post-Casino Royale Craig films are a missed opportunity or a failure is very strange to me. I think Skyfall and No Time to Die are going to age very well in the years to come, much like the two Dalton films did. Quantum has already been reassessed.
My ranking is exactly the same!
@@DM-kv9kj All those words and you're still wrong.
My breakdown too... No Time to Die was actually pretty good when looked at in totality good. The settings and action were easily some of the best in the series, and the themes were much more mature. The one dissapointment was the villian wasn't bad but could've been played a bit better. Strangely if he'd done straight Elliot from Mr. Robot it might have been perfect.
So why the hate for No Time??? This is an interesting example of the woke-hating crowd hating a good movie. Generally the negativity becomes more founded because the woke themes seem to hedge against piss-poor screenwriting, plot, and dialogue. In this case, the story and action were great! There were a lot of interesting locations, characters, and character arcs than played against the central theme well, but people watched a trailer and were so afraid of woke that they pre-hated something that was quite good and appropriate.
Then there's the death... sure it's sad, but it's certainly not cheap. The dude called fire down on himself to save the world. The death too is keeping with the themes... he's old and worn, like the other movies, but it doesn't stop there... he's asking himself about what it was all for.
One-by-one he sees his legacy, whatever secretive legacy there is, through the eyes of other characters. He meets his at-the-time replacement who sees whatever legacy he has as some sort of obstacle, kinda cold like he was... and is looking to move on from that legacy... in kinda a throwback scene, he meets an agent in Cuba who is a total fan-girl of him (in this case his legacy), he watches Felix-the one guy he trusts, die, setting the value of his formed relationships back to near zero, he even watches Blofeld die, which if it meant anything to him at the very least was another nail in the coffin of people who held him as important or extant, he then meets with Swann, who he learned to love but couldn't trust because of his trauma with betrayal, then suspects that he leaves an actual living legacy in a daughter that Swann cared for despite his trauma-induced rejection of her. Remember her age and the timing of their split can't be faked. In the end, he goes to save the world by saving her and and her daughter... because he's saved the world many times, but now he has a real personal reason... his world... the lasting physical manifestation of his life is now his world and his reason. In the end, he dies, not just to protect his daughter but to eradicate his infection from harming the world. He's also leaving his daughter better off than he and Swann were... not as an orphan. Even the title No Time to Die has various levels of meaning in keeping with this theme. His point for going on with real meaning corresponds with his need to die to protect that meaning.
Skyfall still ranks higher given the perfect and memorable delivery of the villian, though, and Casino Royale was a perfect little thing and a great way to restart and reboot an aging franchise.
I'm 100% STUNNED that not one single position on this list matches my own, yet I can completely identify in every way! :) Great list Calvin! Well done!
I love all of you awesome guys from the James Bond TH-cam community!
I’m guessing yours is spectre quantum skyfall no time to die casino?
Bet I know your list Joe
Casino
NTTD
Skyfall
Quantum
Spectre!
And yep - not one matched Calvin lol!
@@johnrigs6540 haha I already wrote that same guess. Great minds..
@@Jackmarmar
Haha yep
Interesting that Skyfall, the most standalone of the Craig films (no Quantum/Spectre) often the highest rated, despite Daniel Craig and others saying how there was a need for continuation and an arc between films. Casino also has a solid basis in the Fleming book. They both also have arguably the better title songs and titles...and least connected to previous entries.
It was a massive hit at the time and I think the fact casual viewers could watch it and enjoy it as a stand alone helped though I don't think the ending with M would have had the same impact without the other films.
@@jamesatkinsonja good points, keeping in mind Judi Dench's M dates back to 1995 Goldeneye. Seems Craig films feel the need a good death at the end of them, Vesper, M and of course the death at the end of ironically-titled No Time to Die. Skyfall and Casino also have the best Craig villians and plots.
Skyfall is my fav
@@jamesatkinsonja I love Skyfall
They all were a continuation but yes Skyfall is the most standalone
My ranking would have to be: Skyfall, Casino Royale, No Time To Die, Spectre, & Quantum of Solace. Casino and Skyfall are basically perfect films to me and I feel like I need to rewatch NTTD some more times to really see if it's up there with Casino and Skyfall or not.
I liked Casino a bit more than Skyfall but fair enough
My rankings exactly
My ranking is Casino Royale, No Time To Die, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Spectre. The ending for me works, not in that I like it, but the emotional impact hits. Maybe it’s because I have kids, that I understand how Bond feels and why he makes the decision he does. Even if a cure could be found, anyone who Bond could come into contact with could somehow indirectly infect Madeleine and Matilde. Bond chose to destroy the virus to protect his daughter. I’d make the same decision in his shoes. And feeling anger and despaired his death is probably how you are supposed to feel. Death isn’t fair and you aren’t supposed to feel happy that he dies.
feel exactly the same, well said
Nah. Ending is trash
Exactly the same as mine.
couldn't have said it better myself
No time to die over Skyfall wow
My list: 1 Casino Royale
2 Skyfall
3 No Time to Die
4 Quantum of Solace
5 Spectre
Quantum went up a notch for me when watching it immediately after CR.
Agree!
I think I’ve worked out what the difference between quantum of solace and spectre. Quantum is bond done badly,
Spectre is bond done wrong.
That's so true! Excellently put!
So was NT2D
@@dictorfeelgood I actually really enjoyed NTTD, I think it did a lot right.
@@rhodriwilliams2599 I was never a fan of Craig's Bond he tried to feminize Bond too much . I thought after Skyfall his rendition would achieve true Bond status it just kept going downhill , they brought him in to reduce the gadget heavy impact of the previous movies minus Dalton's who I thought was an excellent Bond and instead turned Bond into a Soap Opera . definite 2 ,👎👎for me . If they don't reverse course I'm done with Bond . Let the DC Brunch eaters throw their money away and try to keep it afloat the rest of us fans want the real thing .
This matches my own theory:
Casino Royale = doing the right thing excellently
Quantum of Solace = doing the right thing badly
Skyfall = doing the wrong thing well
Spectre = doing the wrong thing badly
No Time To Die = really trying to do the right thing, but stuck with too many wrong things from the previous film
Overall, Daniel Craig was great as James Bond and his movies were just as enjoyable, for the most part. As a new bond fan, I have to thank Craig for peaking my interest in the series as I did not grow up watching bond movies. Below is both my ranking of Craig’s bond movies and the title songs.
Movie Ranking
1: Skyfall
2: Casino Royale
3: Quantum of Solace
4: No Time to Die
5: Spectre
Title Song Ranking
1: Skyfall
2: No Time to Die
3: You Know my Name
4: Writing’s on the Wall
5: Another Way to Die
Definitely a fair ranking, well done good sir. Skyfall is definitely the best one since it is an improvement over its predecessors ( casino royale an quantum of solace ), best villain and a great send off for Judi Dench. Casino Royale is also of the same quality as Skyfall but its villain anti-climaticaly killed off but it works for its story, its action sequences are almost perfect. Quantum had a lot missed potential but it tried its best at what it showed, its villain is a bit underwhelming but he is quite a good character who fits his role and personality. No time to die was a bit disappointing, its villain was hyped up so much in the trailers he had barely any screen time. Also his plans are a bit too cliche of previous bond films, when I saw him he seems to be a Mr Silva (skyfall) wannabe, the films run time is a bit too long and there are way too many action sequences. Spectre is the worst of the series ( I have preferred die another day over this even though according to the fan community its worse ) it brought back most of the cliches it went away with in casino royale, it brought back blofeld with a completely non superior version of the character and the bond girl falls quite flat compared to her predecessors. Overall the Craig era is questionable it has two excellent films, one average film and two disappointments.
By the way this is my opinion on the Craig era .
@@the300thunscspartan8 Thank you for sharing your opinion Spartan and I mostly agree with everything you think. I just thought I shared my opinions on NTTD with you. For me, I enjoyed the various action sequences of NTTD but where the movie fails for me is pretty much everything else. The villain served his purpose as a madman, but lacked screen time and was wasted potential and on a great actor. Once Bond’s child was revealed, the movie went from varying quality to downward quality. It felt like the writers were trying to create more stakes and do something new but instead it served as an off-putting distraction. Then there was bond death, which I felt was done poorly. I was personally fine if Bond died in this movie but seeing him give up and having a bunny tucked in his pants doesn’t exactly want to make me take this seriously. I would have preferred if he died whilst in action, such as opening the doors for the missiles to enter in last second, which would at least fit for both a character that loves his family and someone dedicated to serving his country. The sad part is NTTD was doomed from the minute it was announced as it had to be a sequel to Spectre. Spectre tarnished Craig’s previous movies and was such a silly direction to take the character. I would have preferred if the owners of this franchise waited to use Spectre for a new bond and focus on Quantum again. I’m happy for the people who enjoyed seeing Craig in a throwback bond movie, but I honestly could not get invested. Ignoring some of the humour, the train fight sequence, torture device and the Spectre meeting scene, the rest of the movie feels dull and I didn’t feel any stakes throughout. The reason Quantum can be defended is at least it was a sequel to Casino Royale, a pretty great gritty reboot and Quantum tried to serve as a good sequel to it and I think for the most part it worked. NTTD feels butchered on arrival because it had to deal with plot points from Spectre, but at least NTTD had twice as much more enjoyability comparatively. Lastly, I agree with you that Die Another Day is better than Spectre because I would rather watch a movie that is a ridiculous early 2000’s spectacle compared to a lifeless failure. I don’t hate any bond movie and the same feeling goes towards Spectre, but Spectre is one of the few bond movies where I would rather watch clips rather than the full movie.
Casino Royale is by far the best Bond movie. The movie flows so well and it's magnificent how the movie connects you, it's like you were in the movie experiencing it all.
5.) Spectre: The opportunities that Spectre could've presented (Specifically, a standalone adventure) aren't there, the writing and reliance on emotional storytelling are so forced, Bloefeld and Bond should not be related, and I blame it for the problems in NTTD
4.) Quantum of Solace: Because... Quantum of Solace. I'm not going to add anything that hasn't been said before haha.
3.) No Time To Die: I need more rewatches but I can confirm: I love the first half and Ana De Armas is the best thing about it. The ending though... While I think it's better than Spectre and Quantum of Solace, my feelings are very mixed still and I would probably rank it towards the bottom of my Bond ranking list.
2.) Casino Royale: Strong first film for Craig and very promising. Amazing how they ruined it later on...
1.) Skyfall: First Bond film I've watched in theaters and I love it!
Overall thoughts on Craig: He's a fantastic Bond and one of my personal favorites but the writing was so bipolar and off that it's really a shame.
This is obviously my opinion btw and I wrote this right after I woke up so if it's all over the place... I'll probably end up editing this haha. Great video as usual!
Evan Frew. I definitely agree with you. Bond and Blofeld shouldn't have been brothers in Spectre.
Great ranking, Calvin!
My personal ranking for Craig’s era would have to be:
• 5: Quantum of Solace: I don’t hate the film, and I think it works as an epilogue to CR - but the editing, theme, and overall story just drag it down a little.
• 4: SPECTRE: Again, I quite like this one more than the others. But the brother reveal is lame, and it felt like maybe Mendes used all his tricks in Skyfall.
• 3: Skyfall: This is where things get interesting, because, from 3 onwards, I consider these films to be top tier Bond (for me personally). Skyfall is terrific, stylistically - story-wise and Dame Judi gives her best performance.
2: No Time To Die: I know I’ll be criticised for this one, but I have to be honest. Firstly, this film is gorgeous looking and just oozes life in those sequences in Cuba and Jamaica. But it also feels like the perfect Bond recipe I've been looking for - blending the best of Modern Bond with the fantastical classic feel of the old movies. A villain base, worldwide stakes, gadgets, puns & an Aston Martin = ❤️. I hope they continue this going forward.
1: Casino Royale: I rewatched this after NTTD and I think it remains my all-time favourite. Everyone is on point, and Eva Green is utterly sublime as Vesper. What a film.
But the beauty of Bond is that these lists and feelings are ever-changing and my thoughts may shift in the future. Either way, it's just fun to watch James Bond!
Thanks for sharing, Charlie. Looks like we're very close in our rankings!
Don't apologise for liking No Time To Die! Plenty of Bond fans loved it:)
@@calvindyson I Have to Talk To You Via Text You Have to Be in Our Bond Theory Group Page!!! Been trying to Reach You for the Longest!!
Great list, this is my exact same ranking as well!
I know this opinion is always gonna be slightly divisive but i really loved NTTD and i’d easily put it on par with skyfall, not as high as casino though. Unlike some, the emotion of the ending and the controversial direction seriously landed for me personally but don’t get me wrong i can see totally why this film is going to be so polarising across different people, it was great to see your overall opinions though 👍👍
I agree NTTD is better than skyfall and I love skyfall.
Casino royale
No time to die
Skyfall
Quantum of solace
Specter
@@omarmacias4755 yeh i pretty much agree w all of that
Agreed Freddie. Same goes for me as well 👊🏻
I think both Skyfall and NTTD suffered from subpar second acts in which the villain’s plans started to not make too much sense. Silva seemed a bit too similar to the Joker while Saffin was just a cliche (scared + foreign accent). Almost everything else about both were brilliant though.
@@steviewang4102 interesting parallel, good point tbh
If I was independently wealthy, I would absolutely finance a film with you as Sheriff J.W. Pepper. Thanks for all the great videos!
I grew up a Connery guy, my favorite 007, and Thunderball is my number one. Love Daniel Craig. I wish Dalton did more films, a precursor to DC. Ranking: 1.Casino, 2.Skyfall, 3.NTTD, 4.QOS, 5.Spectre. Only issue I have with NTTD obviously is the ending. Since decades ago, the day that video was introduced I always watch Bond on a regular basis. Need a 007 fix, pop a movie in the player. But with NTTD, that’s going to be hard because of the ending. I’ve already seen it 5 times and I still get emotional, depressed, and teary eyed.
Thunderball is such a great movie. The boat scene at the end is jarring but I’ll excuse 60 y/o special effects
I know what you mean-l wish Timothy Dalton had done more Bond films.
Agree, for the most part. I would rank Casino Royale ahead of Skyfall personally. Parts of NTTD are spectacular, but the fact that they decided to destroy all the continuing core elements of the whole series, Leiter, SPECTRE, Blofeld and Bond, just blows it for me. Great video Calvin as always. 🍸
For me..... Honestly, no time to die only makes me feel much more likely to watch the whole 5 film series from start to finish to see the entire Daniel Craig era over and over! LOVE THEM ALL!
He probably had the best overall run, as far as quality
@@obadiahplainman8897 heck yea! I truly love all of the guYs as well. I love James Bond no matter who plays him.... A love for so far 25 films that for me began with 2006's Casino Royale.
Yea have to say I absolutely agree with you.
When you think about all the real true Bond/Fleming elements they literally killed off in this one…
It actually gets a little offensive to think about! Lol
@@randallrutherford1384 certainly. Glad we didn’t end on Spectre
Finally got to see NTTD yesterday and I think it is a fantastic thrill ride. Loved every bit of it except his death which almost brought me to tears. Not sure we’re to rank it right now though. The only two things I wished I would have seen in the Craig era is a movie that took place between Quantum and Skyfall to show his prime more and also a ski sequence.
If you're into the Bond games by any chance then you might want to check out Blood Stone. Craig voiced Bond as well as Judi Dench voicing M. It came out in 2010 and fits nicely between Quantum & Skyfall.
Yes! Skiing! And a great underwater sequence too. (The "underwater" scenes in 'Skyfall' don't count.)
@@paulclemens7953 skyfall didn't have any underwater sequences except when he gets shot and falls in the river
Yeah, if only we'd got something more from Craig's Bond. Could've had another film between Spectre and No Time to Die. Could've been introduced to the reboot's version of Goldfinger, get two confirmed most iconic villains in the reboot, Blofeld and Goldfinger. Then if Safin WAS Dr No, we've had all three of the most iconic Bond villains in the reboot.
I think the producers want us to believe that all the other Bond adventures (played by Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan) took place during that time period. Of course, this doesn’t exactly work due to the nature of the time periods they were in plus the cross-pollination of the supporting cast.
I just realised: yours is the only channel I watch pretty much every video from. Keep going Mr. Dyson! 👍
Hey Duncan, have you been cast as the new bond yet?
Wonderful video Calvin! If anyone is interested, here's my ranking:
5. Quantum of Solace: I like this film, but it's messy and I too find the action editing headache inducing.
4. Spectre: I really don't dislike this movie as much as other people do, but I have issues with it as well. I actually like the Rome Spectre meeting (Blofeld is quite menacing there!) but it all goes a bit off the rails at the end. Also, why is the whole film bathed in a weird brown filter? I didn't notice that until recently!
3: Casino Royale: until the other week, I never understood the hype for it. I enjoyed it but always felt quite detached from the whole affair (I admired it like a great work of art, but never got excited to see it). On a recent rewatch, I find I enjoy it much more, and I hope it continues to improve for me.
2: Skyfall: dethroned only in the last few weeks, but still a stellar outing from Craig. A true classic and brilliant celebration of the franchise.
1: No Time to Die: I loved it completely. I enjoyed everything about it and I'm one of those who actually loved the ending. I think it's haunting and beautiful, and I love that Safin (despite taking a back seat) still stands out because of just how damn creepy he is!
Casino Royale would be top for me, I just get so much joy out of every part of that movie and I'd argue it's the best Bond movie in general. It hits all the Fleming notes I want from a movie, and also rejuvenates the series at a time when it really needed it. NTTD would rank second for me at the moment; while the ending does feel rushed, the two hours preceding it are just so much fun for me and I really enjoy the rollercoaster this movie took me on. Skyfall ranks third, I think it's a great film and I always enjoy it, but I don't really have much else to say about it - I think Silva is fantastic, but the action sequences are mostly quite bland and the movie isn't having as much fun as it perhaps ought to be doing. Fighting for the last spot is obviously between Spectre and Quantum, I really can't decide which would be the weakest here because there's moments I love of both, but a lot of moments that just fall flat for me and they're not movies I feel the need to revisit too often. At a push I'd perhaps say Spectre comes out on top for its beautiful cinematography.
Of course, this ranking is subjective and based entirely on the enjoyment I get out of watching these movies as opposed to an objective view of how tight the plot points are etc. I also have only seen NTTD once, so my placing may shift dramatically on subsequent viewings. Ultimately, I want a fun and thrilling experience with a Bond movie - and a great Bond movie should make me excited to rewatch it again and I came out of the cinema for both CR and NTTD excited to revisit them and explore them, while the others I simply enjoyed and then went home. Despite the ups and downs in the movies themselves, Daniel Craig is the one consistent element that is always brilliant.
I totally agree with all of this; this is exactly how I feel about and would rank the Craig era films.
There is one thing from this video that surprised me, Calvin:
Your acceptance is officially organized with thought and confidence.
here is my ranking: 1. CR 2. NTTD and Skyfall 4. Spectre 5. QOS
"As time is of the essence I propose to play the part of Sheriff J.W. Pepper myself." This is why you're my favourite Bond channel. ❤
i grew up with daniel graigs bond so i was truely upset after seeing no time to die it was the first bond film i'd seen in the cinema and i love it
I guessed your ranking and wasn't surprised. You are absolute right with the end of nttd. Not because bond dies this time instead of Tracy.. Ähm, I mean Madeleine. But because the main baddy hadn't enought screen time to get his 'why' it speaks a lot, when the henchman Primo had better scenes then the main baddy. By the way, I think the Fandom gives primo too less love. My ranking would be
Casino Royal
NTTD
Skyfall
Spectre
Quantum
I will watch the video again later - wasn't yet prepared to start cooking. 😜
I think the main baddie had plenty of screen time for that- they just didn't use it properly. Safin has plenty of OPPORTUNITIES to explain what he is up to and why (and the other characters have plenty of opportunities to discuss it amongst themselves), but instead he'd rather talk about how he and Bond are "not so different", what Madeline means to both of them, naval gazing about loss and pain etc
Basically, it's more like the writers just didn't CARE about his evil plot- it's just an excuse to put Bond in a situation where he gets a dramatic death.
I actually liked Quantum. Camille was one of the better Bond girls and it showed Bond's more human side
My ranking is exactly the same as yours lol
My ranking
1. Casino Royale - Martin Campbell saves the day again. Great film.
2. Skyfall - Craig's peak.
3. Quantum of Solace (Olga Kurylenko played her role very well, gets better with each viewing)
4. No Time To Die. One of those films which everything was overshadowed by the ending. Which is what people will remember most.
5. Spectre - Craig had mentally checked out by this point "Bored, James Bored" was one headline I remember. He even blasted the franchise publically after this.
1. Skyfall
2. Spectre
3. Casino Royale
4. Quantum of Solace
5. No Time to Die
I will also say I now view the Brosnan era in a much better light now. Also, we would love another ranking of the entire series video.
Same with me. Have a far greater appreciation for the Brosnan era now.
What's funny is even though we disagree on the ending of No Time To Die, our ranking of the Craig era is exactly the same. Daniel Craig is my personal favorite james bond, and his run as the character has meant a lot to me. On a second viewing of No Time to Die, knowing the issues going into it, I still left the theater very satisfied and moved by the ending personally. Both Craig and Lea Seydoux were freaking amazing in that final scene, and their performances helped me look past the issues with the script. I also just appreciate the film as a spiritual successor to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, one of my favorite Bond films, so I didn't mind those callbacks. Our rankings of the ENTIRE Bond filmography would be very different though, Haha. All five Craig films probably sit in my top 15 of the entire series. For context, my favorite non Craig Bond films are From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, License to Kill, Goldeneye, and Tomorrow Never Dies, which would all rank pretty high for me.
"Personal favorite"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
@@yrooxrksvi7142 what's up
@@christopherfoster1950 Do I know you ?
@@yrooxrksvi7142 What exactly is your problem?
I've seen No Time To Die only once and I believe in my mind it may rank as the best of Craig's era, with Skyfall being next. Craig has his most visually pleasing and well balanced acting performance as Bond in No Time To Die. You can tell he was comfortable and enjoyed playing the role and whilst it its sad his Bond died he brought an incredible ending to an actos tenure playing the infamous James Bond. I truly do believe James Bond will return...
No way its the best Skyfall and Casino Royale are superior but I respect your opinion however of course James Bond will return its going to be another reboot which will be interesting to see if they continue a more grounded Bond or they go back to Pierce Brosnan era
I loved the Bargaining phase! Well done!
I raise a dry martini (shaken, not stirred) for Daniel Craig’s Bond era. Though not the best era of James Bond, there were still some good gems in Casino Royale and Skyfall. We were happy to be there for it. Goodbye 007, we won’t forget you.
I was half expecting Calvin to throw that log at the ducks during the Anger stage
CALVIN! IM SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS! BEEN WAITING ON THIS SINCE YOUR FIRST COUPLE OF NO TIME TO DIE VIDEOS!
5. No Time To Die
Starts off phenomenally with the Craig era finally embracing the Bond epic escapist tropes of yesteryear, before stumbling into an underdeveloped sluggish paced bore of a film. How could the Craig era go all stumbling into the dead of night?!?! Well it did. Yes, it all looks great to start with, but not only doesn’t play it well, but IMO it all goes pear shaped.
4. Spectre
Craig started off as being the revisionist Bond, bringing Fleming's character into the modern era. With Skyfall Craig started to slip comfortably from tortured cynical hero into the suave globe trotting spy of old, and SPECTRE continues this. Very much angling towards the Bond epics of yesteryear whilst trying to keep its feet firmly on the ground, SPECTRE nearly succeeds. The film is filled with lush cinematography and it is well paced. Where the problem lies is with character and story, with the latter being an uninspiring mess. As for character... who the hell is Blofeld? He isn't Bond's stepbrother! And as for Madaleine Swann? WTF cares about her. Granted Christoph Waltz and Lea Seydoux try their very best in their roles, but in the grand scheme of things who gives a damn. Craig is no better as he really is doing things half hearted here. The set pieces just about save this film, but SPECTRE should certainly not be for one of the best Bond films... and don't get me started on the song. A truly great song, but Sam Smith's vocals are just wrong for it.
3. Quantum of Solace
I describe this film as a bullet that reaches its target... but leaves a bloody mess behind. QoS is a mixed bag of a film, aesthetically the film is a complete mess, the editing is filled with so many jump cuts that I didn't know what the hell was going on in some scenes. The cinematography is may have a nice a pallete, but its handheld Bourne-esque trappings certainly leave a bit to desired. Pacing wise the film is so fast that you don't know what the hell is going on half the time, which leads me onto the plot. On paper it sounds promising, but in execution it is uninspiring, with a half cooked script (as a result of the WGA strike of 07/08) QoS suffers heavily. The gorgeous Olga Kuriylenko is just forgettable as the leading lady, the talented Matieau Almaric is equally forgettable as the villian, and the less said about the 'henchman' the better. However credit should be given to Craig, Dench and Giannini, they try to infuse their characters with as much interest as possible and overall they just just about succeed, plus the set piece set in the opera house is fantastically executed as is the pre-credits car chase creating a memorable opening. However this is not enough to save this brave stab of a film from the mess that it is.
As for the song?! Worst song of the series to date, a cat strangler is not a singer!
2. Skyfall
Craig's third Bond film was a gamble, after a four year hiatus Bond was back in 2012 and in good time to for his fifteeth anniversary. Aesthetically this is the best made Bond film to date, Roger Deakins' cinematography is absolutely jaw dropping with shots that are spell binding and beautiful. The editing and pacing of the film IMO is similar to that of a Fleming novel, after the pre-credits opening, there really isn't another major action scene till Bond reaches London at the end of the second act. Instead we have character, plot and gorgeous cinematography and production design, the CGI mind you is a tad poor. Sam Mendes direction is superb and it was only the second time in the series' history where EON were working with a name director. Craig is brilliant as he starts to slip into escpaist Bond with his performance. He is clearly having fun with the role and he doesn't disappoint. Javier Bardem as Silva, is one of the most memorable villians of recent memory, whilst Judi Dench finally gets a story where she shines as M. Ralph Fiennes meanwhile is the perfect replacement for M (I mean who do you get to be the new M, a former candidate for Bond, of course) Whilst Ben Whishaw's Q is the breakout star, his interpretation of Q is fantastic and I really do hope he continues with the role after Craig departs.
However there are negatives, the whole third act in Skyfall seems a bit slow, whilst Naomie Harris' rebooted Moneypenny is absolutely dire and annoying. IMO she is the worst thing about the rebooted Bond so far.
Also Adele's title song... IMO the best Bond song to date.
1. Casino Royale
Daniel Craig's first outing as Bond is still his best. Rebooting James Bond?! What could have gone onto become a grave mistake, instead became, at first, the saviour of the series Taking over where Dalton prematurely left off, Craig's performance as Bond is straight out of Fleming, he is a blunt instrument who is learning the ins and outs of the world he has found himself in.
A fantastic film that goes back to Fleming and nicely updates the great mans first novel. Craig, Eva Green and Mads Mikkleson are fantastic, with Green's Vesper Lynd making a major impact and rightly considered one of the best Bond ladies to date.
This was a great read, spaceodds! Thanks for sharing this!
Matches my exact FEELINGS.
@@calvindyson Thanks👍
Oh yass! Yass! Yaahaaahaaahaaaaas! Exactly! Exactly my opinion but with a slight change: NTTD is the worst of all Bond films (even Never say never again is more entertaining than this garbage)
@@calvindyson calvin will you be ranking all the 007 movies again sometime?
Calvin's ranking matches my own, and I have no problem with No Time to Die's ending other than the sluggish bloat prior to the verrry end, and Safin's motivations being weird.
Spectre has made Goldmember age really well 🤣
Craig Bond stories list:
7. Spectre
6. Goldeneye
5. Bloodstone
4. QoS
3. NTTD
2. Skyfall
1. Casino Royal
love your channel.
my rankings 1) Casino Royale- love it.
2) QOS -related to how much I love CR and Bond & Vesper, 3) Skyfall, 4) NTTD, 5) Spectre .
Awesome List, for me.
1) Skyfall
2) No Time To Die
3) Casino Royale
4) Spectre
5) Quantum Of Solace
I just realized something. When Daniel Craig first played Bond, he was often asked how his film compares to the _other_ Casino Royale. The one where David Niven's Bond dies. Suddenly, Casino Royale will no longer be remembered as "the one where Bond dies."
Thanks to your channel (and other channels like your one), I had a better enjoyment and appreciation of No Time to Die. Without it, I would have missed a lot of references, and some aspects of the film would not have resonated as strongly for me. Thank you for that.
Thanks, Jeremie! That means a lot. Appreciate the kind words!
Lazenby - 1 movie
Dalton - 2 movies
Brosnan - 4 movies
Craig - 5 movies
Connery - 6 movies
Moore - 7 movies
If the next bond actor doesn't have 3 bond movies in their final filmography my OCD will be triggered into oblivion
I thought I was the only one thinking this lol The problem is, even if we get our wish, what are we going to do when Bond 8 comes around?
@@michaelkopischke8072 ...He has to do 8 movies
My ranking:
5: Spectre
While there are some fun bits (no Bond film is unwatchable, after all) I find it just kinda dull and lethargic. The stakes are never raised particularly high and the whole Bro-feld thing - perhaps the most inane attempt to write a personal motivation for the villain since Jaws 4 (the moral? 4th entries suck - stop at 3, or, if you must keep making more, skip ahead to 5).
To be fair I haven’t rewatched this one in a long while, but I just never feel the desire to do so unless I’m watching the whole Craig run.
Highlight: That one-shot intro - so cool!
Lowlight: The Blofeld reveal. Hooray, it means absolutely nothing!
4: Quantum of Solace
I don’t hate this one like I used to anymore. On my last viewing, I actually kinda liked it. Its flaws are still very apparent (namely the editing) but I think Spectre’s lethargy has made me appreciate QoS’s pace more. It is perhaps too fast and needs to slow down (it really should’ve been 2 hours over 1&½) and the script is clearly unfinished but at least it’s exciting. Camille is very cool - I think Craig and Olga Kruylenko work well together. David Arnold’s score is also top-notch. And hey, who could forget Sweeping Guy?
Highlight: The opera scene.
Lowlight: They go the entire film without explaining what the “Quantum of Solace” actually is. Couldn’t they have given Mathis a bit of Fleming to read out? Also I’m not a big fan of Mathis revealing “Mathis” is his codename as it means absolutely nothing and raises more questions that it doesn’t bother to answer, but, hey, it’s a minor moment.
3: Skyfall
When it first came out I thought it was one of the best Bond films ever. Over time its flaws have become more apparent (a few too many plot contrivances and decisions that don’t make sense) but I still enjoy watching the film. I flip between having it at the bottom of my top 10 and the top of my second-best 10. Craig, Dench and Bardem make this film, three exquisite performances. And, yes, Roger Deakins’ cinematography is great - also, the sky is blue, Mt. Everest is very tall, and a delicatessen without stainless steel is a waste of space.
Highlight: I think the Shanghai bit is really cool - more than just the silhouette fight scene, the bits before of Bond tailing Patrice I think are very effective.
Lowlight: The way Severine is treated - her death and the way Bond responds (or, rather, the way he doesn’t respond) really makes him look like a callous b’stard.
2: No Time to Die
Maybe I’m being kind because I’ve only just seen it and it’s still fresh, but I really enjoyed it. Sure, the ending was a WTF moment the first time I saw it, and left me feeling kinda depressed, but on subsequent viewings (knowing what was coming, and knowing the film ends with “James Bond Will Return”) it’s bothered me less and less. Not sure if I’ll ever like the ending, but I don’t hate it either. Who knows? Maybe I will come to like it - I used to vehemently hate olives, now it’s not a pizza without them. But hey, there is more to the film than its ending, and it has such panache that I’m comfortable putting it at #2. The action scenes in particular are some of the best in the franchise. Linus Sandgren’s cinematography is also exquisite (I love the colours). My only read complaint is that Safin’s plan is a little under-baked - initially he wants to simply wipe out SPECTRE, but once he does that, then he expands his scope to the entire world for, uh, some reason. Is it everyone he wants to kill or just a specific group? Who knows? Maybe he simply wants to use his nanobots to make all women insanely beautiful and wipe out all men above 4’6”…
Also, minor point, but I just love the way Craig’s eyes look in NTTD - they really managed to make his irises pop. Not literally of course, that’d be disgusting.
Highlight: The pre-titles sequence. All of it.
Lowlight: The tonal whiplash of going from MI6 mourning Bond (love the Fleming YOLT callback, by-the-by) to Madeline and Mathilde driving off to Louis Armstrong’s We Have All The Time in the World.
1: Casino Royale
Yep.
Highlight: That bit that begins with a lion roaring and ends with a list of names scrolling up the screen.
Lowlight: Set our expectations for what was to follow too high.
Lovely stuff as always, BenCol! I particularly love that you dropped a mention of Sweeping Guy! Genuinely a highlight of revisiting that film!
I honestly wanted to walk out of Skyfall the last time I saw it. The way they treat Severine is appalling. It might be one of the most distasteful and mean spirited scenes in modern film. Skyfall’s protagonist is a terrible protagonist. He’s lack of agency and stupid decisions are appalling.
Skyfall is a messy, bad and distasteful film hidden behind pretty pictures.
@@outlaw5015 Skyfall isn't messy, bad or distasteful
Agreed on the ending. And I don’t think you are supposed to like it. It’s supposed to make you feel angry and sad. I don’t think there would ever be a way to kill a character like James Bond and have it be perfect.
@@thebadfella5296 Are you sure?
1.) M's Death is contrived as hell. And she gets killed because of the stupid Home Alone plan. Why would an MI6 agent take the most important member of MI6 to a abandoned house, that is barely armed (2 double barrel shotguns and a 22lr pistol)?And they going up against a highly skilled terrorist group. What happens next? M gets shot by some random goon. The film wanted the payoff, however set-up is important. A dumb plan isn't a good setup.
2.) Severine's death is super distasteful. She was a victim of sex trafficking from a very young age. For most of her life, she was enslaved. And in her lasts moments, she is tortured, brutalized and than killed. And the main character feels nothing after failing to save her, despite him promising to in a previous scene. Instead the dickhead says a really tone deaf line. This is why its distasteful.
3.) Additionally, the movie is super pretentious. It has the main theme, the old ways are better, which is what Bond symbolizes. The writers run their main theme over with their script and infuriating protagonists. The old ways were not better in this film. The old ways made M desperate in the train scene, and Bond got accidentally shot because of it, failing the mission. Resulting in MI6 HQ being destroyed and several agents killed. The old ways drove M to become desperate. The old ways could not protect M (the most important figure in British security). The old ways put false hope in a person who was enslaved all her life. How are the old ways better in this movie?
Always a pleasure, even when we disagree. My rankings: 5) NTTD at the bottom. Poor villain (Saffin disappears for 75 minutes!), unsurprising twists (daughter), and I didn't even like the action scenes, which fell short of previous entires. 4) Quantum. Undistinguished, but at least it was short and didn't kill Bond at the end. 3) SEPCTRE. I actually LIKED the SPECTRE board room scene and thought Monica Bellucci was great. 2) Skyfall, Beautifully shot. Great villain. 1) Casino. Bond at his coolest. Gorgeously photographed. Last 10 seconds made the audience applaud and cheer.
Calvin you are definitely the funniest Bond commentator! Those skits crack me up! It's interesting that your number 3 would be my number 1 and your number 1 would be my 3! I hope hope hope you learn to love NTTD because I think it's the perfect Craig Bond film!
Thanks, Fraser! Appreciate it :) I have fun doing these skits so I'm glad you like them!
I agree!! Calvin’s skits are one of the many highlights of his videos
The bit in No Time To Die that sold me on the death was when M clinked his glass against Bond’s. It was out of nowhere. I was like “wow this ending is silly”, and then that happened and suddenly I was balling
You’re my favourite TH-camr, Calvin!
I think my ranking is the same. NTTD’s ending really bothered me but the rest of it was great. I would’ve stayed to see the ‘James Bond Will Return’ line had I not been with my brother and father in the middle of the night who were keen to get home.
I’ll never forget when I saw SPECTRE in IMAX and a guy in the back had a seizure!
Thanks, Tom! That sounds like an unforgettable experience seeing Spectre! Hope the guy was okay.
4:25 having watched every Pitch Meeting, I can confirm that that is never how it goes. It’s always just the producer pointing out every plot hole and then not doing anything about them. Why? Because. That works!
What a rare sight, Calvin outside his house!
Calvin, you definitely need a video where you rank all of the series’ pre-title sequences! I don’t think I’m the only fan of your content who’d like to see that video!
My personal rankings are...
Casino Royale
No Time to Die
Skyfall
Quantum of Solace
SPECTRE
The toughest spot for me is the bottom slot. Is SPECTRE a technically better film than Quantum of Solace? I would say so. However, when I think about which one I would like to pop in and watch, I can't help but feel that Quantum skips just a beat above Craig's next-to-final outing.
Here’s how I’d rank them:
1. Skyfall 10/10, a damn near perfect film, balanced a great story with the serious and fun elements
2. No Time To Die 8/10 this could be due to how recent it is, but I had so much fun with it, the ending is very contrived though
3. Casino Royale 8/10, objectively it’s a brilliantly crafted film, but not one I massively enjoy
4. Spectre 3/10, it’s got a great performance from Craig and great direction, but the rest is terrible
5. Quantum Of Solace 2/10, my least favourite bond film ever
Craig films are good bookends for ranking lists. He's made absolutely amazing films, and also absolute shite with no in between.
@@cockshield prett much. Skyfall is in my top 3 of all bond whereas spectre and Qos are in the bottom 3
Casino, quantum, nttd, spectre, skyfall. Its interesting how you clearly prefer spectacle while I would want an as grounded as possible bond with hints of fantasy.
Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are just one long film. I think you'll appreciate the ending of No Time to Die more after you have kids. Spectre was the weakest film in Craig's Bond era, but it was still not bad...
Looking forward to this. Btw I really love Daniel Kleinman's title sequence for No Time To Die, probs my second favourite of Craig's (Casino Royale being 1st). How about you Calvin?
Wow. My ranking is exactly the same as yours- Even though QOS and spectre are my 2 least favourite of the Craig films, I still personally enjoyed them! Just not as much as NTTD, SF and CR! Great video as usual, Calvin!
For me, the Craig era as a whole can be summed up with the word "disappointment".
- Casino Royale and Skyfall are both masterpieces of cinema but Casino's story gives it the edge to #1 (and #1 OVERALL, not just in Craig's films), the script and dialogue are so well-written and tight; not a single scene is wasted, ALL of the characters are well-acted and Eva Green is...Well, she's just prefect. It's rare I feel pain with a character's death in movies but Vesper's does it for me. And as a side note, hearing the first few notes of her theme in No Time To Die and Bond simply saying "I miss you" just wrecked me...
- Quantum we both agree is an absolute dumpster fire and it's a damn shame Casino had to be followed by that.
- I'm not nearly as hard on SPECTRE but it and No Time both suffer from the same issues; great intentions, poor execution. I don't understand how two films in a row can go from being so great to being so "Meh" in the third act. Hopefully, the next actor in the role will have a little bit of consistency...and not f*cking kill James Bond...stupid decision...
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. SPECTRE
4. No Time To Die
5. Quantum of Solace
Sorry bro, Skyfall is not a masterpiece. It’s one of the most overrated pieces of modern cinema. The main protagonist sucks, the theme, the old ways are better, is pretentious and gets run over by its own script and ineffective protagonists, Silva is discount Heath Ledger’s Joker and Sean Bean, Ms death is contrived as hell, and the death of Severine is exceptionally mean spirited. The writing in Skyfall is messy, bad and in the case of Severine, f’cking atrocious.
Skyfall is a messy, bad and distasteful film hidden behind some pretty cinematography. Technical aspects enhance stories, they don’t make them. Skyfall failed where it mattered the most, in it’s writing.
@@outlaw5015 I strongly disagree with that. I think Skyfall is very well made and the script is great as well. I really love the plot of it and I think the villain is great.
@@samharrison5058 I respect your opinion, however you are gonna have to explain. I’m not sure how the writing in this movie is good. I’m not sure how M sending a Bond( who failed basic accuracy and fitness tests) on a super dangerous mission to capture someone who destroyed MI6 HQ and killed several agents is good writing? I’m not sure how the appalling treatment of Severine is good writing? I’m not sure how Bond’s dumb home alone plan is good writing when it gets the most important person in MI6 and British security killed? Idea is only as good as execution. This movie’s execution is terrible.
The Craig era… a disappointment? Yeah, I agree.
@@outlaw5015 sorry I disagree. I think the movie is executed really well. I wouldn’t say that the traps he sets are completely like Home Alone. He’s defending his house and trying to protect M so I don’t get why that’s a problem. Also M didn’t know that she was sending Bond to find Silva until he was arrested by Mi6 and she saw him. I personally love Skyfall and don’t really get your criticisms.
1) Casino Royale, you pretty much nailed how it makes me feel every time and for that reason it is at the top, I don’t really rewatch movies, but that one I will. Always. Just fills me with a sense of joy, adventure, and hits the coords of what I just love about Bond films.
2) Skyfall, just a decent all round Bond film, it felt like the first actual sequel. Which I know it can be argued that Quantum of Solace is a continuation of Royale meaning technically Skfyall is… but regardless if we are speaking of tone if Royale is the start of his career then Skyfall is his peak, even if he loses part of himself but I think that is interesting in a sense, an agent who fights so hard to become something to then lose it in a matter of seconds and to have to battle many fronts to regain it.
3) No Time to Die, if there was only CR, SF, and this I would feel it is a good trilogy (although undeniably this film would not work without spectre), however as far as tone goes it just fits in perfectly. Ending is tragic but in a way seems to sell how high risk ventures often times have high risk consequences, die young or become a villain type vibe. I have problems with the whole nanotechnology thing being the fatal blow but on the whole if there was only 3 films it would work rather well, and does work in general.
4) Spectre, I feel that Spectre could have been split in half and parts put into Skyfall and No Time to Die. Although that would likely compromise what made them good. It isn’t as bland as Quantum of Solace but when I think about it, it just makes me feel shades of ‘meh’. I think it is pacing could have been a little shorter or quicker in some places and invested a little more time in other places like romance maybe.
5) Quantum of Solace, if someone needed me to summarise action films of that period and why they made me feel bored and blank then this would be used in tandem with Die Hard 4, it is that bland that even my mother knows to avoid it. Royale was always going to be a tough act to follow although Skyfall did it (but one can argue hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to making a sequel to a average sequel). If anything perhaps the film after Royale could have established some of Spectres overarching beats, in the 5 instalment model. But unlike the others it really does not contribute anything at all, very discardable.
My ranking of Craig's Bond Films:
2. Casino Royale
Great reboot, great action, great characters and story. 10/10 film
12. Skyfall
Good film, good action. I become less interested in the story after Silva is captured. A big negative is how Silvas escapes and that he planned all of this.
We get a new Q, Moneypenny and we get Ralph Fiennes as m! "Can't wait to see EON go back to the classic formula" I thought after seeing the great final scene in the cinema. But instead we get Spectre...
23. Quantum of Solace
The plot could be better, but we at least get Bond going after a bad guy that is not a foster brother! Mr. White is great and underated in the Bond fandom. The action is okay. The song is terrible. I can enjoy watching this film.
24. No Time To Die
I like the great action, Cuba and Paloma. I still dont like Swann and Blofeld, they are the reason i was not hyped about NTTD.
25. Spectre
I only like the Pre-title sequence in Mexio! This film is boring. The action, plot, characters, everything is bad. Bond and Blofeld are brothers, the worst creative decision in the series.
This is how they (EON) get rid of Mr. White? Giving him a small scene and making him good? Worst EON bond film by far. They try to connect all Craig films, but they fail. Honesty I could come up with better way to connect MOST Craig films in 2 minutes! (Mr. White's real name is Blofeld and he got promoted to number 1 after QOS. That name reveal in the cinema would be amazing! Think about it! It would not be obvious like Christoph Waltz was. Quantum becomes SPECTRE. The bad guy of the first Bond film after Skyfall is not nr 1, number 2? 5? We only see Blofeld briefly like we did in Thunderball, then a film where Blofeld and Bond meet and fight. This could be Craigs final film.)
Thanks, Morten! Great thoughts as always. I shared that same sentiment regarding going back to the classic formula after seeing Skyfall!
Who doesn’t like Paloma? After Vesper, the best leading lady of the Craig era.
@@spaceodds1985 Well best bit part lady in the Craig era [compared to Solange, Strawberry, Severiene or Lucia]
And #1?
@@bondjamesbondsandiego0075 GoldenEye! I like the plot, 007 vs 006, ALL characters are great. The action is 10/10 (especially from the interrogation scene to tank scene).
We actually have the same ranking, but the difference is I actually like Spectre. I’ve also only seen No Time to Die once but I think with time it may jump over Casino Royale for me.
I share the same feelings you have with Judi Dench but for Daniel Craig, as he has been Bond for most of my life, and his films have helped me a lot in challenging times, so in a weird sentimental way it’s like I’m losing a friend.
1) Casino Royale
2) Skyfall
3) No Time to Die
4) Quantum of Solace
5) Spectre
I think that ITV afternoon comment could apply to No Time To Die as well since I was just thinking it wouldn't really fit that slot either. I'm hoping the next bond will be less serious to fill that void but I have a feeling it won't in the pursuit of bigger better things.
I really don’t think time will be kind to NTTD. In 10 years time - when we’re well into the next era of Bond - we will look back on the ending and just see it as a gimmick that ultimately had no consequences because, well, James Bond did return and the series carried on.
I think the opposite; Craig's era will be seen as an interesting and emotionally engaging experiment in self-contained continuity. In 10 years we'll have a new Bond, and be back to the episodic standalones. The Craig films will stand out, and stand apart. And that's OK.
The fact that Bond has returned might make be able to respect what they were trying to do with the ending though. Until that next film I do just see Bond as dead which makes it harder to like that ending for me
It will be seen as an interesting experiment, tying 5 films into a continuing story arc. I pray they drop this, and give us fun Bond movies in the future! Craig’s Bond just seemed so grim and miserable! True, this is probably more realistic for a character who was basically an assassin, but we never watched Bond films for “reality”! It was ALWAYS action/fantasy!!
@@Klijpo we both think alike! My response was almost exactly the same, but I didn’t even see yours until I made my post!!
Hopefully, it won’t take ten years for a new Bond to get underway!!
@@Geezer-yf8hv I think Fleming might have liked this whole 5 part sequence. If he'd lived a bit longer, he'd likely have killed Bond off himself. I think him dying in this instance is more in character than him doing the school run in the Aston...
I love the skits in these videos Calvin this might be my favourite one yet!!! I actually thought the ending pretty good. I actually think the idea of bond dying is interesting and surprising but after seeing NTTD twice now I just don't love the way it happens. I can't really explain why but I just dont fully love it like the rest of the movie. Worst to best My ranking is
5.Quantum of Solace
4.Spectre
3. Casino Royale (don't hate me I still love it)
2.No Time To Die
1. Skyfall
I'm not a huge fan of Daniel Craig's Bond films and I need to rewatch most of them, but this is my ranking that could change after rewatching all of these movies:
1. Casino Royale;
2. No Time To Die;
3. Spectre;
4. Skyfall;
5. Quantum Of Solace.
Great ranking Lorenzo. Very similar to mine!
He’s technically been in 6 adventures. Blood Stone is canon and was an interquel between QoS and Skyfall.
Finally saw NTTD yesterday and absolutely loved the ending. I thought it was beautifully made and I was in tears. Craig's Bond was really the only where they could have pulled this off and it being the 25th Bond movie, I thought it was quite fitting.
“You can understand a film without enjoying it.” I love that. Perfect. I love Quantum of Solace. And I appreciate you being so nice to us fans of it in your criticism :)
No Time To Die is Daniel Craig's version of End of Time- the final episode for Tennant's Dr Who. That one also gets some flack for being a little contrived in how it kills its protagonist, some people don't think it's right for the franchise. But I think it nails its emotional beats and was a very fitting ending for this take on the character.
The difference is that the Doctor wasn't killed off, he carried on afterwards, as the 11th Doctor onwards all have the memories of the previous ones. Plus Tennant's Doctor returned in the 50th anniversary special. Craig's Bond is permanently dead, and the series will now have to be rebooted...again.
@@Rocket1377 Well regeneration for the first time was treated like a death, plus Dr Who is a time travel show so it can do that while Bond can't. But what I mean is that it's similarly seen as somewhat controversial, and is a bit contrived (the radiation chamber that kills 10 is nonsense) but emotionally and thematically it works IMO.
Calvin, love your channel! My ranking of Craig's performance would be #1 Skyfall, #2 Spectre, #3 Casino Royale, #4 No Time to Die, #5 Quantum of Solace. I actually loved Spectre! Totally agree with you on Quantum of Solace - at the bottom of my Bond movie rankings. Agree about needing time for No Time to Die to soak in. Might change my rating after some time.
I saw NTTD a second time and watched it through the eyes of a Fleming reader rather than a Bond movie fanatic and I enjoyed it more. This same perspective is what ultimately won me over with Quantum. But my views of the NTTD ending echo yours. I wish the writers had been more faithful to the novels instead of blatantly killing Bond right in front of our eyes. My ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. Quantun of Solace.
4. No Time To Die
5. Spectre
Excellent work as always, Calvin.
There is a lot of Fleming [especially from You Only Live Twice] in NTTD. But I must point out that Fleming suddenly had Bond poisoned in From Russia With Love and 'collapse to the floor'. If he'd not got more inspiration, he would have left Bond as presumed killed and the series would have ended there.
@@jamesatkinsonja I'm with you 100%. Another point that bugs me is "James Bond Will Return" at the end of the credits. I'm not a fan of a Craig based alternate timeline. Obviously time will tell as to how they pull it off, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
For my money:
5 - QOS (Sorry, I just can't get on with it)
4 - SPECTRE (looks nice, but a bit boring!)
3 - NTTD. Love it all the way up to the third act.
2 - Skyfall.
1- Casino Royale. It's perfect.
I think I'm like Tom over at JBR - hard to really list them now as NTTD is too fresh. I'll pretend though and say Casino, Skyfall, NTTD, Quantum, Spectre.
Overall the Craig era has been overrated to me and while so many love gritty and real, I think after 15 years of it, it's enough. I want to go back to fun. Not dumb, not overly silly, but fun. There has to be a middle ground that can make compelling spy action and have some humor and fun in it.
I disliked them retconning and tying all of the films together. Cubby would be so disappointed Barbara's crush on Craig put him over the subjectmatter. Bond doesn't die, Bond doesn't ride around with children in car seats, Bond's friend Felix doesn't die, Bond's enemy Blofeld doesn't die, or get arrested.
Too much mopey Bond, too much crabby Bond, not enough Bond who likes being Bond for me.
I hope the next actor's films are stand alone missions, an occasional Easter egg nod to something in the past (he was married, etc.) but not all linked together. It makes the films unnecessarily complicated and no doubt will only turn off younger fans, if we're to pretend they want that demo. Amazon had better get back to an every 2-3 year schedule as well or that too will turn off fans, especially and younger ones Eon hoped to snap up. Make the films on a more frequent cadence, get back into the video game business, and celebrate Bond, the best spy in the world. We don't need to focus on our hero dying, upset about his parents, his "brother", and only choosing the wrong women every time out.
Great video, as always. I am a bit miffed, as you can tell, how NTTD, which like you said, outside of some clunky writing choices, breezes along for 2 hours. Unlike Spectre, they have a 3rd act, just not one any fan really wanted to see.
I love Bond to be gritty and violent. But, yes I do agree that the series needs to return to a middle ground with escapism and levity.
Agreed, I feel like NTTD actually achieved that middle ground really nicely in places but loses it as the film goes on. I hope we can have a whole film that really captures that spirit.
I agree for the most part. Casino Royale may be my favourite Bond film, but that’s only really nostalgia. Aside from that, my top ten is typically dominated by films like Thunderball, Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the more fun and energetic films of the 1960s. I think they mostly hit the right balance of seriousness as well as the typical sixties campiness that isn’t hard to find in many films of the era, even non-Bond films.
Though, I will say that I think the grittier approach to Casino Royale was exactly what the series needed to survive after Die Another Day and to bring into the less-optimistic time of the oughts and to compete with the aforementioned Jason Bourne.
But yeah, ultimately I don’t think these films need a lot of emotional resonance or personal stakes. We can have sad and heartfelt moments, but we hardly need every film to be an epic ‘this time it’s personal’ drama. That gets old. And not all the films need to be a huge, epic story told across multiple movies, Bond can just be sent on a mission to do stuff. That’s how the series has been for decades.
If they want to do a series, they need to plan the whole series in the beginning. The reason Graig's tenure has been so messy is that they tried making continuations of film that were never planned to continue.
@@tomlock5484 yeah. One of the worst things about Spectre was probably it’s half-hearted attempt to tie all the films together. And they didn’t even try that hard with it. They just said: ‘Hey, remember that super huge and mysterious organisation? Well behind it was a more huger and mysteriouser organisation. And that guy from the last film is involved even though that was never even implied… And it’s Bond’s brother. Because stealing from a thirteen-year-old Austin Powers movie is the best idea for our serious spy film.’
Personally I'd rank them:
1. Skyfall. The amazing opening sequence/song is a moment of cinematic masterpiece in my opinion
2. Casino Royale
3. Spectre
4. Quantum of Solace
BIG GAP
5. No Time to Die (That ending alone makes me not want to acknowledge it ever existed)
5. QoS 6/10
4. Spectre 6/10
3. Skyfall 7/10 (would have been 8/10 if it weren't for silva's escape plan that made no sense)
2. Casino Royale 8/10
1. NTTD (dont kill me please) 8/10
1 ) Casino Royale (as perfect a Bond film as we ever got, it is not only my favourite Craig film, but my favourite Bond film, period)
2) Skyfall (I agree on it being the most beautifully shot entry in the series, it also has a great story, wonderful dialogues, tremendous acting, and I could go on and on... my only gripes are the whole Silva escape plan, which has way too many plotholes, and a self-serious tone that is hit and miss to me, although mostly hit!)
3) No Time to Die (very hard to rank this one, even from Craig's standpoint only, let alone the whole series. I'm fairly indifferent to the ending, I find it butchered and a lazy product of our times, but I don't hate it as much as Spectre's. But the highs of this film are not that high either, I like the Cuba scenes fine, my favorite sequences being the meeting in M's office and pretty much everything in Norway. Overall, an enjoyable ride for the most part, if a bit melodramatic at times)
4) Quantum of Solace (I'm one of these people who has warmed up to QoS, thanks in no small parts to David Zaristky's passionate defence! I used to flat-out hate it and don't get me wrong, it's still bottom 5 overall, but once I can get past all its idiosynchracies, there's actually a decent flick, with great acting and understated emotions, unlike NTTD, that I can watch once in a while. But it's not really a Bond film in my eyes, more like a Bourne wannabe)
5) Spectre (sigh... I loved this film on first viewing. Still loved it for a while, minus the last 30 minutes, which are the most atrocious segment of any Bond film, as far as I'm concerned. Nowadays I just find it all very boring and lifeless, I can only watch it as part of some marathon. Interstingly, I think Craig's acting is actually a big part of the problem, I just find him to be sleepwalking through the whole thing. I would go so far as to say that his performance is worse than Connery's in YOLT)
For me I feel that the interconnected nature of all five films in the Craig era means that the character's death ultimately makes sense.
From purely a continuity perspective, it would be incredibly inconsistent for another actor to carry on the same saga after Craig's departure. Would we feel the same sense of lose for vesper or Judi Dench’s M in a later film if (for instance) it was Tom Hardy. He doesn’t have that emotional connection Craig has. While other movies, which have not had to consider a wider overarching story to the same degree, have been able to replace bond with little or no explanation, the clear thread that runs throughout Craig's films requires specific consideration. As a result, killing the character not only provides a satisfying conclusion but also connects to this Bond chapter's ongoing themes of loss, grief, and death.
Hey Calvin!
Great Ranking!
My ranking:
5. Quantum of solace
4. Spectre
3. No Time to die
2. Skyfall
1. Casino Royale
So almost the same ranking…
I’d rank them
Casino Royale ( The story, You Know My Name, The Aston Martin, The Walther P99 and the muscled up bond. This to me was the best Craig Film. Martin Campbell is 2/2!)
No Time To Die (this movie was nice! Now had they ended it a different way it would be #1)
SkyFall (Pretty solid movie, it was just a bit meh for me in places, also I didn’t care for Thomas Newman’s score).
Quantum of Solace (considering what was going on in production it was still a solid film.)
Spectre (I’m sorry this just movie bored and disappointed me. Especially the reusing music from SkyFall).
I think the biggest problem with the Craig Bond era are the posters. The older Bond films contain a lot of creativity but the Craig ones... CR is pretty good, Quantum, Skyfall, and Spectre are just Bond standing there with a gun. And No Time To Die is basically the formulaic poster we have today of cramming in so many characters on screen.
This may be the first time my rankings matched with yours entirely, and I love it. Side note, Martin Campbell should direct the next Bond film
My personal ranking of Craig's tenure, from favorite to least-favorite:
1.) Skyfall. I LOVE this movie. Felt like both an analysis AND celebration of James Bond as a character & franchise. Was surprised how much I loved it, after not seeing it for a while. Loved seeing the classic 007 conventions make their comebacks here (ie. Q, the gadgets), but with a much more grounded approach; loved seeing Bond have to build himself back up; Javier Bardem's Silva made for the most memorable villain; and finally Judi Dench's finale as M was an amazing arc. Culminating in Bond (and the franchise) suiting up for another 50 years, it's SUCH a satisfying film, and arguably the best 007 movie of all time.
2. Casino Royale. Great debut for Craig's tenure, and at the time of release, a MUCH-NEEDED back-to-basics approach, in going back to the original Ian Fleming novel for tone and source material.
3. No Time to Die. A little too convoluted for its own good, but I found it to be a great conclusion to the Daniel Craig era. Gotta give it props for having balls to really take Bond to a place where he (or the franchise) hadn't been before. I love the dynamic of all the characters, the homages to a particular previous Bond film, and the ACTION, which I feel is the strongest of any of Craig's films. While it's in the middle of the pack for me, it's very much a "high-middle", if that makes any sense.
4. Spectre. Definitely a let-down for me, after how much I enjoyed Skyfall. After spending the previous movies kind of up-ending the standard Bond conventions, this one adhered to them, but unfortunately played out in a very "been there, done that" feel. Not helping things was the unnecessary attempt to connect EVERY other of the previous movie's to Blofeld.
5. Quantum of Solace. Another let-down after the solid debut that was Casino Royale. Moves at a very hectic place, with very little time to let the story or drama really settle. For a movie that movie that moves at a bit of a hectic pace, there really doesn't feel like there's a sense of urgency. The whole motivation of Bond wanting to avenge Vesper even gets lost.
Here’s my Ranking
1. Casino Royale 10/10
2. Skyfall 9/10
3. No time to die 8/10
4. Spectre 6/10
5. Quantum of solace 4/10
Lovely to hear someone make a distinction between personal favourites and objective qualities!
I’m not sure about my personal ranking for Craig’s tenure, but I am in complete agreement about the ending of ‘No time to die’. I’m a lot more invested in seeing how the films carry on from this point than I was in Bond’s death - knowing this isn’t the last film in the series robs that moment of its impact for me.
I LOVED that opening - just brilliant and expresses sentiments that I’m sure MANY of us share!!
Seen NTTD 3 times now and I agree - I STILL absolutely hate that ending!
In fact - its actually getting WORSE with each viewing lol!
(I keep hoping there is some kind of alternate cut coming on the Blu- Ray!)
Agree with most of your rankings too.
I really like Quantum, but even after many viewings I still don’t really understand the whole plot and still can barely understand much of the action!
Still enjoy it though - fast and exciting with the most hard bad ass portrayal of Bond we’ve ever seen in the series.
Spectre - to me - really has been dramatically improved by NTTD in every way.
As you said - It has lots of true CLASSIC Bond elements and even though it falls short on certain things it’s ambition shines through.
Plus it gets extra bonus points because it attempts to end Craig’s run WITHOUT BLOWING HIM UP.
NTTD comes in third here and may very well have been at the very top -
if they had not ruined the whole thing by killing him!
Skyfall is Brilliant and hits every single beat perfectly in every way.
You summed it all up perfectly with each of your points!
The only negative part of it for me is the idea that Bond FAILS at too many moments throughout.
But it still is just a truly GREAT Bond film in every other way.
To me Casino represents the absolute peak of the series and has actually nudged out Goldfinger as my all time favorite.
And it also gets my vote as simply the best James Bond film of all time.
So overall - when you look at these last five films together -
Craig’s run has been pretty darn spectacular and it has definitely set an INCREDIBLY high bar for the next chapter of the series to reach.
Seen NTTD and second time I nit only loathed the ending, but I actually didn’t feel anything
Thanks, John! I'm really hoping there's some deleted scenes on the blu ray... I'm positive there was a good chunk cut out of NTTD and I'd be fascinated to see what might have been...
@@calvindyson
Yea - you could tell there is definitely a lot of gaps throughout the film that were likely in the script but cut for time and pacing.
I would guess the original cut is probably over 3 hours.
Sadly though - I suspect there is probably NOT an alternate cut of that awful ending!!
(But I am still hoping!👍👍)
Skyfall hits every single beat perfectly? I don’t know, when your main “hero” is terrible at their job, gets the most important person in British security killed because of a stupid Home Alone plan, and promises to save a victim of sex trafficking from a young age, yet when he fails shows no remorse or introspection. And acts to late, despite being at the same tactical position before and after he misses his shot.
You kinda contradicted yourself with “BOND” fails at too many moments. Having a sh’tty protagonist is a fundamental flaw of any movie.
And I didn’t even tackle the other problems in this film. I respect your viewpoint but Skyfall is far far away from brilliant, closer to garbage.
@@outlaw5015
Yea I hear you there - your points are inarguable and all right on the money!
But I meant the film overall.
Despite all those flaws - I think it’s still a brilliant film.
The idea that he fails so much throughout the film from start to finish does always bug me when I watch - and it’s incredibly noticeable to me when most people I watch it with do not ever even notice it because of how well directed it is and how the characters and the story flows.
It just shows that we Bond fans probably pick up on things in the films most general audiences do not.
So even though you are exactly correct about each of those points
(even the stupid “Home Alone” plan that ends up killing his Boss!)
Skyfall still really works for me!
Yup. You and I mesh exactly on the rankings. Casino Royale and Skyfall could swap spots and I’d have no beef.
Watching Quantum again I like the fact it wasn't 2 hrs 30 mins long and focused on Bond for the most part after QOS there's too much time given to MI6 staff and Bond moping around. The water supply plot may have been great if they went full camp on it instead it never truly reaches it's potential but i prefer it over Spectre and No time to die.
I do hope you grow to love No Time To Die a little more as time goes by. I thought it was excellent, with any flaws being overridden by exceptionally good performances and direction.
Agree with many of your points here, although I've never quite understood the fuss with Skyfall. Maybe the next viewing will bring more for me!
My personal ranking is:
01 Casino Royale
02 No Time To Die
03 Skyfall
04 Quantum Of Solace
05 Spectre
I actually loved NTTD ending. It was emotive af and its the best ending possible to close the Craig’s saga
The main problem with the ending is that it ends a story arc that began on a pretty dark note (Vesper dying), ends on an even darker note (Bond dying). What is the point of seeing one man go through so many trials and tribulations and learning lessons along the way only to see him get killed? Especially when that one man is James Bond of all people.
It was awful
@@LeonWick526 risking his life to save the world as he does every film, but this time he lost his life saving the world. This time he couldnt save himself
@@mariogv4083 There isn't any point to that ending. Normally for something like that you'd watch a Japanese anime series which can include badass but tragically flawed characters who sacrifice themselves. Anyone who has grown up with Bond knows that he always saves himself or someone saves him. That's how Ian Fleming wrote him: as a symbol of fortitude (Bond doesn't die in the last novel written by Fleming).
@@LeonWick526 i know but because he always have lived doesnt mean he cant die. He is human, that is the point of the ending, Bond is human.
You should have pushed your car into that pond in the "anger" part.
Personally I like that the Craig films form a story arc with a definite beginning, middle and end. I’d love to see a behind the scenes retrospective on the Craig movies where they talk about the decision to do this - was it the plan right from the start or did they make the decision somewhere in between? Moving forward I wonder if each Bond’s series of films is going to have its own continuity - like the different sets of Batman or Spiderman movies.
Anyway, if I had to rank the Craig movies:
5) QoS
4) Spectre - I can’t believe how wasted Christophe Waltz is in this movie
2/3 - NttD and Skyfall
1 - Casino Royale
I think they were always planning a series for Craig [they apparantly wanted Blofeld in Quantum but the legal issue wasn't resolved by then] but it's definitely been fleshed out 'on the go''.
I think that's what they will do. In fairness Brosnan's era was a 'soft reboot' anyway [with only Q retained from the old cast] and other than Die another Day, only subtle references to past films [like the Bernard Lee Portrait in World] as this is a rare era that Tracy is not referred to.
I think each new Bond will get there own storyline/series, say maybe a trilogy, then they can do whatever they want writing wise.
Before watching this, I made my list just to see if we matched. We did 100%. Calvin, keep doing what you do. Nobody analyzes these films and shares it with the public like you.
I'm just gonna say it: I find the scenes between Bond and Vesper following the death of Le Chiffre to be incredibly corny and filled with trite and stilted lines ("I have no armor left, you've stripped it from me", ugh). Vesper's death is handled beautifully, however, and everything up until Le Chiffre's death is great. It's just the scenes of Bond and Vesper actually being an item that catapult me out of the movie, but everyone else seems to love it :D
I support your opinion entirely. Those scenes slows the movie hell down and as you said very corny!
There was believable chemistry between the two
I agree. Cringey dialogue. Out of sync with the rest of the film.
@@AsadKhan-lm6yr I agree with that. The actors have good chemistry and they're doing well with the material, I just find the writing to be painfully melodramatic; which is why I always find it so weird when these scenes are elevated to the heavens. 😅 But, hey, if people like it then I'm not here to take that away from anyone
@@MrJakeypakey did you better chemistry between Bond and Swann?
I cried like a b*tch at the ending of No Time to Die mostly because it hurt me as a husband and father. In that situation at that moment I could understand Bond's decision and it broke my heart. Great ranking though, really enjoy your content!
For me No time to Die is the greatest bond film of all time, I completely bought into the ending and made me emotional that Craig’s bond has come to the end. I can see why some people will hate it but for me watching Craig’s first scene in casino royale getting his 00 status to then see him as a father with a family in NTTD was beautiful.
Really happy to hear that, Jonathan! Very glad it worked so well for you.
@@calvindyson thanks Calvin, I really hope in years to come when you have digested everything and watch it a few more times you’ll have the same feeling! Cheers
He should have been in the car at the end driving off with that family to start a new life. I hated the ending and it totally ruined the movie for me
@@mikezinza9699 he did that at the end of spectre, driving off with Madeleine in the DB5, if they had done the same thing again it wouldn’t have had the same impact as it would just be repeating what happened before. That last line when Madeleine says to Mathilde let me tell you about a man named Bond, James Bond. Wow that was just perfect, for me.
Well I hated the ending and the movie. I think it's the worst bond movie of all time number 25 of 25. I enjoyed the 10 minutes in Cuba and loved Paloma I hope she is in bond 26 with Henry Cavill. I'm so happy the Craig era is over. It's time to close his book and get back to bond being bond. I'm happy you enjoyed this movie but it left me shaking my head leaving the theatre. I agree with Calvin ok great joke now show us the real ending.
Good stuff as always, Mr Dyson. I think I might be alone in my final ranking of the Craig Bond films, possibly because I had different hopes and expectations for this series than most fans:
1. Casino Royale - My favourite Bond film by far and one of my favourite films of all time. The writing, directing, acting, and music are all top notch. It was a great reboot to the franchise that respected what came before, added something new, and it still feels timeless. But what I loved most about it was how it made James Bond feel like a three dimensional human being, rather than an invincible action hero. It gave me a Bond I could be emotionally invested in and I really wanted to see where his story went next. It set up my expectations for a satisfying character arc...expectations which may have been a bit too high.
2. Quantum of Solace & 3. No Time To Die - despite them being deeply flawed movies I really appreciate what QoS and NTTD tried to do: tell a sincere, continuing story about the James Bond we met in Casino Royale. They don't ignore or retcon what came before, and they attempt to give the character a satisfying emotional arc. The results may have been mixed, but their hearts were in the right place. The odds were stacked against these two films (the writers' strike and rushed production/the mess left over from Spectre) but I think if the scripts had got a couple more rewrites they could have been really good. They just needed more time. If only they'd had more time...
4. Skyfall - *in Jack Sparrow But Why Is The Rum Gone? voice*: What happened to the Quantum organization? How does Bond feel about Vesper now? Why is he old? How does he have Sean Connery's DB5? Why is he landed gentry now when the Bond in Casino Royale didn't come from money? Why are we getting obvious metacommentary on the entire James Bond franchise? What happened to the story they were telling in the first two films?
On the plus side, Skyfall further confirms my theory that if a film features Javier Bardem, then Javier Bardem will be the best thing in it.
5. Spectre - Ah Spectre. A film so bafflingly, embarrassingly terrible that I still have occasional traumatic flashbacks! It truly gets exponentially worse with each viewing! I could forgive it if it was just a bad film in itself, but it retroactively damaged the films that came before it with stupid retconning, undermined the character of Bond by giving him a preposterous backstory with an evil stepbrother, made the worldbuilding unnecessarily convoluted, saddled Bond with a dud love interest played by an actress who has zero chemistry with Craig, and left No Time To Die with a hell of a mess to clean up. Spectre turned Craig's run into a joke and wrecked any chance of a satisfying overall story. This movie is truly the author of all my pain. Finish it!
I love the fact that No Time to Die rattled so many cages with bold franchise decisions. That’s ultimately how any long-running franchise stays fresh. NTTD has arguably some of the best individual moments in the Bond series, even if it isn’t up to the standards of Royale or Skyfall as a film.
Why does so many people like Skyfall???KIt was just a new villain that they pulled out of there ass and the tube train scenes were unbelievable,never a conductor in the last carriage and when another train crashed no one was in it??????!!!!!!
Unbelievable, we actually agree on the film rankings👏👏. Good for you!
The reason Skyfall works so well is because it works well on its own with out seeing any others, and it earns every single one of its emotional moments, something No Time to Die fails on.
I absolutely agree.
BTW. Thanks for your constant awesome content.
I am a big fan of your channel! 😀
The biggest fault of the Craig era is the "arc" idea. I don't want my Bond to have an arc, or too much personal baggage or to be an adopted brother of the worlds leading super villain or still be banging on about a love from four films ago or slap you in the face with references from better films.
Almost every step the films took after the "With pleasure M, with pleasure" at the end of Skyfall were a mistake. The last two have had moments of brilliance (tracking shot in Spectre and the chilling Norway scene in NTTD being my highlights).
The plus point is the next actor has a clean slate and can be given a mission, a simple mission at the start of the next film.
The film makers should follow M's advice- "Don't cock it up" . .
Damn man, you're such a fun dude! Love watching these videos Calvin!