Best of the Craig Bond Films

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2012)

Daniel Craig is without question in this reviewers opinion a great actor. The roles he has played as James Bond are not his greatest work and the reason can be the the stories and the Bond character are not demanding enough to pull the best out of Craig. Bond has had a formula that must be followed or he fails at being bond. His vodka martinis, his trysts with and treatment of "girls" or beautiful women requires little talent. In fact requires little less than to look, walk and talk in a suave and sexy way. But that's our James Bond so those who play Bond are judged not by their overall acting ability but by the way they play the role to our satisfaction. So we develop the fan clubs for Connery and Moore and even Brosnan for those that managed to play the role for at least three times.
Craig, in Skyfall does his most credible job as Bond and show his overall acting ability to a greater degree, making this film one where Bond is a bit deeper than most others. I can say that the Craig section of the Bond films did release us from the obligatory monster sets and monster king pin "Dr Evil" kind of villains. No kitty cats to pet and no sharks to feed and that is a relief because then the story has to rely on other things to entertain the audience.
Skyfall does take the audience to other spots in the world but the focus of the story is London and Great Britain. Is this good? Perhaps but London herself is no a very sexy city to use as a backdrop or even as a main stage. In spite of many great individual buildings with interesting architecture, it does not have that overall sense of intrigue or sexiness. Perhaps it is simply not different enough for most of us. But the story is an English story this time and the villain targets London for his nastiness.
The villain is the number one best villain as far as character is concerned. Javier Bardem, the super evil killer tank that could not be stopped in No Country for Old Men, the one that had ice cold freon running in his veins has has been out done by Bardem in the role of Silva. So totally ruthless without a drip of conscience for the evil he plans and carries out you are amazed at how much of a connection you make with him. Just as the quote from Goldfinger has become almost universally known James Bond asks "Do you expect me to talk" Goldfinger replies "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." The quote from Skyfall will be Bond:"(dodging an explosion) Was that for me?" and Silva's reply with a laugh is: "No, but that is". If you've seen the film you know what the scene is. If not, you'll still be just as surprised.
Special Effects are not the star in this film as much as the often have been but the stunts still reign supreme. Bond can still do things and survive things that would kill the ordinary man in fit condition. But that is why we like him. He is virtually indestructible. In Skyfall however, his mortality is shown more than any other Bond film to date. This seems to make him even more of a hero. He suffers and yet does not fall, well that's not exactly accurate.
All said, Bond is more human, more sensitive and less a chauvinistic brute wrapped in suave dressing. He is more one of us and for that all the more amazing what he accomplishes without super powers, super gimmicks and super effects. It is a pleasant relief that after 50 years in the field, Bond can still carry the flag.