Fan Favorite - Casino Royale (2006)
After the disappointing end of Die Another Day (worst ranked film among users on RT and IMDb), I thought this series is done for. I knew I was. What I thought was cool, tongue in cheek Pierce Brosnan from GoldenEye simply became tired and weird toward the end of his run. They decided to give a reset to Bond, doing what essentially is a prequel to our favorite spy.
This film had competition because during the summer, The Bourne Identity released and was a smash hit. An action spy thriller that took itself more seriously, it was now the first great spy film in the 21st century. If they were to fail this reboot, I don't believe this franchise would recover.
It hit on all the right cylinders. Casting Daniel Craig (who at that time, people knew from either Layer Cake or Road to Perdition) was relatively risky but paid off. He is the opposite of what Brosnan was, more serious, more stoic and hit those one-liners with more seriousness than comedic. Martin Campbell came back to direct (GoldenEye) and his visual flair was on display, especially the opening parkour action set piece. Also with the rise of Texas Hold'Em Poker, this story was ripe for people to see how Bond would be showing down with his chief rival Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).
What puts Casino Royale over the top as a fan favorite was, for this new generation, we found a Bond Girl that wasn't more than a sexual conquest. Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) was the perfect foil for Bond. She's wise-cracking yet serious, focused yet vulnerable, she's anything but weak. Her emotional bond (no pun intended) to James was what fundamentally shaped him as the series continued. It's been a really long time since there was a woman that captured Bond's heart since...
Did We Get This Wrong - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
It's amazing how time can help age a film, for better or worse. I can only imagine how much pressure there was on George Lazenby to follow up Sean Connery after five films. The box office didn't react so well, grossing $573 million (adjusted for inflation), which is well below the mark for every Connery film except Dr. No.
The world wasn't ready for Lazenby's take on Bond. "His lines carry about as much conviction as an insecticide salesman at a flea circus" said Donald Zec, a critic for the Daily Mirror in 1969. Ian Chrisitie, film critic of the Daily Express, says: “I don’t believe for a moment this chap George Lazenby is James Bond." I agree wholeheartedly.
Yet retrospective reviews put OHMSS among the upper echelon of Bond films. And I can see why. The film dresses down the mystique of Bond and makes more human. We feel the uneasiness that comes with the job and we feel the vulnerability he has when around Countess Tracy di Vicenzo, played magnificently by Diana Rigg. For my money, she is the best Bond woman in the history of the series.
Filmmakers of this current era have stated that OHMSS is influential to them. Christopher Nolan has described his film Inception to being his Bond film. Nolan says, "What I liked about it that we’ve tried to emulate in this film is there’s a tremendous balance of action, scale, and romanticism and tragedy and emotion. Of all the Bond films, it’s by far the most emotional. There’s a love story and Inception is kind of a love story as well as anything else."
Critical Darling - From Russia with Love (1964)
Dr. No was the start but From Russia with Love is the film that showed what the future can hold for Bond and the franchise. We got to see some of the Bond tropes, like the cold opening, the car Bond will be using, our Bond woman and gadgets he would be using (introducing Desmond Llewelyn as Q for the first time).
The film was short and concise in storytelling yet felt larger than life. The final fight scene between Bond and Grand (Robert Shaw) still holds up to this day. We get to see the muscles of what SPECTRE are capable of.
Critics love the film, having Connery catapulted to a different stratosphere from where Dr. No was. Looking at various best ranked Bond films, From Russia with Love averages among the top three out of all the Bond films there. It has the third highest ranking among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and second on Metacritic. As online film critic James Berardinelli succinctly writes, "By combining solid storylines, tightly-paced action sequences, memorable villains, and Sean Connery in top form, Russia [...] mark the cinematic apex for Ian Fleming's 007."
Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence - Goldfinger (1965)
Goldfinger is the gold standard for Bond films. It is the template to which every subsequent film thereafter follows. We get the bombastic action sequences. We get the over the top villain. We get the cool henchman Bond has to overcome. We get the killer song and opening title credits. We the Bond woman that will be his foe or ally. We get all this, times ten.
The film is second highest grossing in Bond history (adjusted for inflation), it's the number one ranked film according to Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes critic scores. It's number two among IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes user scores. Not only did it do well during it's time, it still stands among the best as time passes on.
Personal Favorite - Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall could've fallen under any of these categories but I claim it for myself as my personal favorite. I remember watching for the first time in theaters and thinking what a great return for Bond. The action was more coherent than Quantum of Solace, Craig was having more fun yet maintained his seriousness and the story finally put characters that we've been accustomed to into the forefront of the story, making them active rather than expository.
The second time I viewed it, I was astounded at how great of a film it was on its own. I noticed things I couldn't formulate into words before, like the beautiful cinematography of Roger Deakins to the nuisance score of Thomas Newman. Director Sam Mendes grew up loving James Bond and he took particular care of it, being the first Academy Award winner to helm behind the camera. Yet I didn't realize how much homage he did until three weeks ago.
Cooped at home during a Stay-At-Home order, longing for the last Craig outing in No Time to Die and recently invited to join Greg from Movie Date Night for his James Bond Fantasy Draft (where you can start listening here), I decided to marathon all of the 007 films. All of the knowledge I absorbed during that marathon I started seeing throughout Skyfall.
Mendes used the Bond formula, inserted easter eggs that sometimes only the die hard aficionados would geek over, and elevated it into a film that transcends just being "Bond." Not only do I have it as a top ten film of the 2010s, but it is also the best Bond has offered thus far.
Sean Connery....best ever!
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