S.Peelman said: Casino Royale has also been my favourite. Coincidentally they're showing the Craig movies on tv here, which means (because I physically have all the other ones) that I could've participated in this from the beginning. If only I knew.

More than welcome to join in, even if its only for a few films. The delay for latest film means theres plenty of time to catch up!

I did a double feature last weekend.

Casino Royale:

This one starts great, with film noir sensibilities and dutch angles. While the first third is a little overlong and heavy on action scenes, the second third in the casino and the final third--the love story--make this the first great Bond movie since 1969, according to my scores. The slow burn action at the hold 'em table and the sparkling chemistry between Craig and Green elevate a rather conventional spy caper. The supporting cast is great, particularly Giancarlo Giannini as a weathered intelligence agent.

The only other con, apart from a drawn-out first act? Some egregious product placement.

8/10

Quantum of Solace:

I've always liked the idea of QoS: a coda of sorts to a previous Bond movie. And it starts strong, with a visceral car chase and an acrobatic airborne fight scene. Once in Haiti the wheels start to come off a bit. The villain's a bit bland and the supporting case doesn't leave much of an impression. There's also an unbelievable plane/parachute sequence that seems at odds with a mostly grounded, realistic movie. Still, Craig maintains his steely sexiness, Dench is a treasure (her rant comparing QUANTUM to florists is hilarious), and there is some good practical action.

6/10

Also: scores updated to this poin!

So, full disclosure: I never liked the idea of a reboot of the Bond franchise. Yes, Die Another Day was a disaster, but I felt it wrong to write off the past twenty films because of one horrible entry. It seemed like a simplistic ploy to “reinvigorate” the franchise and get people excited for Bond again. Having said that, Casino Royale is one of the best films of the franchise and in lesser hands it could have been a mess, but bringing back Martin Campbell after GoldenEye was a genius move. His stylish, and grounded, direction does reinvigorate the character, and, even though I feel they abandoned the idea of the reboot rather quickly in subsequent entries, as a stand-alone film, Casino Royale is quite masterful.

I remember seeing this in the theatre, and trying to keep an open mind, but was still miffed that MY Bond was being done away with and some poseur was taking his place. I was pretty won over by the end of the opening credits. The opening in black and white is a great throwback to espionage films of the 60s like The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and the fight sequence had a visceral, brutal quality to it. I wasn’t so much a fan of the grainier cinematography of the bathroom brawl, but I’ve always favored hand to hand combat to excessive gunplay. Any lingering doubts were gone after the title sequence. Not only did it manage to deliver a great theme tune by Chris Cornell in the vein of the late 80s themes that had always been my favorite, it was a musical reassurance that this was Bond. The animated title sequence was a loving homage to Dr. No’s title sequence and even managed to incorporate a failed idea from DAD: plot elements that propel the story forward, in this case, Bond’s designation as 007.

I will say that four films in, Daniel Craig still does not FEEL like Bond to me. This could be due to the fact that his era of films did such a great job at setting up that he was NOT the Bond we had watched for the past forty years, but the man who grew into that Bond. I’ll touch on this in his later films. Here however, Craig absolutely shines in the role. He has that twinkle that reminds me of early Connery, where he can be deadly serious but also disarmingly charming. The only real scene where I didn’t buy his performance was the torture scene. It seemed too out of character in the midst of that sequence to make a joke about Le Chiffre scratching his balls, and more likely an addition to the script to lighten the mood of the scene.

Craig also has crackling chemistry with Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. I wish I had not read the novel in this case because unfortunately you know the twist that is coming even if the film tried hard to point you in a different direction. But even if you don’t get the gut punch of her betrayal, the relationship that has built up between the two is still strong enough that you’re hoping perhaps this story will take a different track rather than towards the inevitable conclusion. His comforting her in the shower, her saving him from poisoning and the consummation of their relationship during his recovery all work because of how well these actors play off one another. From their antagonistic yet flirty introduction all the way to him being forced to watch her sacrifice herself to save him. The elimination of Tracy Bond from his timeline had been one of the biggest contentions I had with a reboot but this relationship serves as a great successor as the pain that drives him forward in the franchise.

The rest of the supporting cast is quite excellent as well. Dame Judi Dench is still a delight as M, the only holdover from the previous timeline. Here, her character is portrayed differently from the Brosnan era, but it works in the context of a younger, inexperienced Bond. Now she is the hardened veteran versus the bureaucrat from the earlier films. My only contention is that Bond should be even less likely to push her in ways he never did his male superiors. He breaks into her home and uses her credentials to sift through intelligence. It just seems out of place and more as if the writers want them to be on equal footing rather than with a clear chain of command.

Giancarlo Gianni is a delight as Mathis, a character from the novels making his film debut. With a Bond early in his career, it was nice to see a older mentor watching Bond’s back on this mission. He also plays the role with an affability that’s impossible not to like. Jeffrey Wright also makes his debut as Felix Leiter, the first we have seen him since Licence to Kill. Leiter makes a welcome return to the franchise and I wish more time had been spent building that relationship. Finally, Mads Mikkelsen is sufficiently menacing as Le Chiffre. He isn’t given much to do given how the plot shakes out, but Mikkelsen gives a strong performance that makes him memorable and whose influence will be felt going forward.

The music is fantastic and the action sequences such as the parkour chase and stairwell fight are beautifully choreographed and shot. There’s not too much cutting so you can actually see what is going on and have a sense of space. The image of Craig’s Bond as a blunt instrument can best be summed up in the former when he literally bursts through a wall during the chase after his quarry deftly slides through a narrow window. The end sequence with the sinking villa in Venice was also excellent. An interesting location for the final action sequence, it was a reminder that smaller set pieces can still carry the requisite tension and captivate the audience versus Bond just mowing down dozens of lackeys with automatic weapons.

I’m going to give Casino Royale an 8/10. It was a bold move to do a reboot and I’m glad that the writers, director and actors gave it their all rather than just relying on a cheap gimmick to drum up interest in the franchise. Craig proves himself more than capable to lead Bond into this new era and with the film ending on the promise that he is not finished with Mr. White’s organization, we get a serialized storyline that up until this point had been exceedingly rare in the franchise. Sadly, the promise didn’t seem to be held up very well in the succeeding films, but you can’t fault this film for their failings.

Current Rankings:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia with Love
3) Casino Royale
4) Goldfinger
5) For Your Eyes Only
6) The Living Daylights
7) The Spy Who Loved Me
8) GoldenEye
9) Thunderball
10) Dr. No
11) Licence to Kill
12) Octopussy
13) Live and Let Die
14) Tomorrow Never Dies
15) You Only Live Twice
16) The World is Not Enough
17) The Man with the Golden Gun
18) A View to a Kill
19) Moonraker
20) Diamonds are Forever
21) Die Another Day

With them being more recent I'll be keeping my Craig reviews short.

Casino Royale
A brilliant opening scene shot in black and white, followed by a wonderful credits sequence accompanied by a fantastic track by Cornell.
The first quarter is enjoyable enough but it really gets going once in Montenegro. From here it's difficult to take your eyes off, no Bond film has had this kind of suspense before.
I like what Craig brings to the role and his more sarcastic humour than playing up to the camera of the previous Bonds is good.
The rest of the cast is brilliant: Green, Mikkelsen, Wright, Giannini.
Absolutely love it 10/10.

Forgot my ranking--again!

1) From Russia With Love
2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3) Casino Royale
4) Goldfinger
5) For Your Eyes Only
6) The Spy Who Loved Me
7) GoldenEye
8) Licence to Kill
9) Dr. No
10) Tomorrow Never Dies
11) The Living Daylights
12) Thunderball
13) Quantum of Solace
14) The Man With The Golden Gun
15) The World is Not Enough
16) Octopussy
17) Live and Let Die
18) You Only Live Twice
19) Moonraker
20) A View to a Kill
21) Diamonds Are Forever
22) Die Another Day

I just saw Skyfall.

Wow. This was amazing. After watching the hit and miss that Quantum of Solace was, this feels like they fixed everything wrong, and made everything good even better. I feel like there's no real bad sides to this flick, from beginning to end it's an amazing movie. The action is stellar, taking Bond's invulnerability by wounding him for half of the movie actually makes everything more exciting, plus some very creative set pieces. The locations are mesmerizing, they did not pull their punches with their budget, all look great and all move the story along. Craig as Bond is at the top of his game here, this is his best performance yet. The fact that we continue with the character study of Bond in his movies keeps everything grounded and relateable, which could be a problem for previous incarnations of the role: we actually know there's a character behind the façade. Bardem as Silva is also an excellent actor. He takes the "renegade agent thought dead" from Goldeneye and kicks it into overdrive: he has a much more simple yet terrifying plan, revenge at all costs. And he does terrible things to get it. He will attack the MI6, kill innocent civilians, blow up the cover of other agents and getting them killed, fucking drop a train on top of Bond... All to get to M, who used him as a barganing chip in the past. His demeanor is terrifying even to the unflappable M, and that also plays in the theme of what has to be done for the greater good. What Silva had to go through is absolutely horrible, yet it doesn't stop you for a minute to think what he does might be right for his crusade. And all that leaves the best performance in the movie: M. Judi Dench does the performance of a lifetime here, being as prominent on a Bond movie as the character's ever been. She is able to transmit both her strenght as the head of intelligence while also selling her fear of being chased down by a fucking maniac, doing both at once must have been terribly difficult, and she pulled it off with flying colours. And all of that ends up with a Home Alone standoff of all things in Bond's family home in Scotland. They fight hordes of henchmen with barely a couple of guns and their own smarts, and that's always very entertaining to see.

If I had to critizise something, the movie sadly takes a while to really get going. They dwell on Bond's wounds too much, we know he's going to go into the assignement, so why waste time here? Also, the last fight is too dark, a lighter illumination would've been ideal. But this is just nitpick. This is the best serious Bond movie of the series. 9/10

Quantum of Solace fails to live up to the promise of Casino Royale however I will try to view the film as an its own entity as much as I can. It would be a lie to say however that it wasn’t a huge disappointment. Casino Royale proved that you could do a reboot well and inject fresh, new energy into the franchise and hint at a more serialized storyline. QoS feels like an afterthought. There are some lingering vestiges of the prior film, but the plot pays these little more than face value as it pushes its own story forward. This would be fine if the story was engaging and interesting but it all feels lackluster and rote similar in vein to The World is Not Enough.

The film is trying to serve two stories so it has plenty of material to cover yet so much feels like filler given it has the shortest runtime in the franchise. Bond is recovering from Vesper’s betrayal and seeking revenge for those who led to her death and there is a super-secret criminal organization out there operating on a global scale. The opening interrogation scene with Mr. White sets the stage for this mysterious and influential shadow organization. But on reflection you realize, none of this makes sense. They have people everywhere including the personal bodyguard of the MI6, they do work for hire across the globe for any number or terrorists or would be dictators, yet no one has even an inkling that they exist, even as the CIA is dealing with them face to face. Also, every member we meet keeps talking up their organization and its abilities.

The other strand is Bond’s revenge plot and I don’t know what happened here. The film spends so much time telling us that Bond is running around in a frenzy killing everyone he comes across because he’s full of anger. Yet, that’s not what we see on screen. It’s debatable if he purposefully murders every lead he comes across as each lead requires yet another perfunctory action sequence that results in death for the bad guy. The action was used sparingly in CR but here it’s almost on a timer for when a new action scene is needed. Couple that with the frenetic editing where it’s unclear what is happening in the scene or where each person is in relation to one another, and it gets old really fast. The CGI is also a lot more blatant in these scenes which takes you out of the moment no matter how unique the sequence might be. I’m thinking of the aerial combat scene in Italy as an example.

Craig performs decent enough here but the twinkle that made him interesting to watch in his debut is gone. And while you could attribute that to what has happened to him, his whole performance seems more mechanical as he appears to be going through the motions. He mourns Vesper so deeply yet jumps into bed with the first woman he meets because Bond gotta bang. He comforts his dying friend(?) Mathis just to then drop him without a thought in a dumpster. I don’t blame Craig for this entirely as the script seems unsure if it wants Bond to be overwhelmed by this sense of loss or just a thoughtless killing machine. So Craig plays it somewhere in the middle where we get almost no emotion sand a lot of the deaths are results of circumstance and not intentional so you don’t buy the “Bond on a rampage” they keep telling us is happening.

I don’t have much else to say. The whole film felt like a slog and even the parts I could have used to elevate my opinion of it are squashed pretty handily. Mathis makes a welcome return and I actually really liked the scene between him and Bond on the plane. I wish they kept him around for longer because I liked the idea of this older spy who could serve as a mentor to Bond even while there is this hint of distrust between them. But no, not only does that scene have to end with some weird editing, he’s summarily killed in the next sequence. Speaking of, the editing was noticeable throughout the film and not in a good way. The multiple scenes of cross cutting were distracting but even in the quiet moments the camera cannot just be still and jumps from one shot to the next.

Camille was a serviceable Bond Girl and Olga Kurylenko does well with the material she is given. She’s just not given much to do. She disappears after her introduction and only reappears again because the plot requires her to. So I was fine that the film didn’t end with them in bed. It makes sense given he’s in mourning and they spend almost no time together. The scene where he comforts her in the burning hotel room was really well done. There was a more intimate connection there than you would get in a sex scene. This further highlights why the Fields sex scene was so out of place for this film but Bond gotta bang.

I’m going to give Quantum of Solace a 5/10. As I stated, it wasn’t just un-engaging but it almost works hard to rub you the wrong way. The script has its intentions clear but the building blocks to fulfill those intentions are either half-assed or completely contrary to what is actually happening on the screen. They took so much of what felt fresh from Craig’s first film and either dulled it down or eliminated it completely. I still think the theme song is one of the most laughable of the franchise. It’s not the song is horrible, it’s just so out of place. Shoutout to the Stana Katic cameo at the end!

Current Rankings:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia with Love
3) Casino Royale
4) Goldfinger
5) For Your Eyes Only
6) The Living Daylights
7) The Spy Who Loved Me
8) GoldenEye
9) Thunderball
10) Dr. No
11) Licence to Kill
12) Octopussy
13) Live and Let Die
14) Tomorrow Never Dies
15) You Only Live Twice
16) Quantum of Solace
17) The World is Not Enough
18) The Man with the Golden Gun
19) A View to a Kill
20) Moonraker
21) Diamonds are Forever
22) Die Another Day

From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Casino Royale all scoring the highest sounds about right. So does Living Daylights, License to Kill, Goldeneye, Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, and For Your Eyes Only holding the secondary tier. Although, for my tastes, the Timothy Dalton pair and Skyfall (maybe GE007, it's certainly at least next in line) would be my second tier.

I'd rank them like this (for my tastes):

S+ Tier: From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Casino Royale
S Tier: The Living Daylights, License to Kill, Skyfall
A+ Tier: Goldeneye
A Tier: Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, Tomorrow Never Dies
B Tier: Dr. No, Goldfinger
C Tier: Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me
D Tier: The rest.

Skyfall is an interesting entry in the Craig era of the franchise. It seeks to both be a separate storyline from its two predecessors while also seemingly closing the reboot arc by having all the major Bond elements in place that were removed from this new era. In lesser hands, it could have been as messy and unfocused as Quantum of Solace, but Sam Mendes is able to re-inject some of the vigor and energy from Casino Royale and Craig seems to be enjoying the role once again after a lackluster performance in QoS. The result is this film which is a thrilling story well served by some of the most gorgeous cinematography in the franchise.

The plot to Skyfall is a little thin and a lot of the mechanics don’t make much sense. Why doesn’t Silva just go to M’s apartment and kill her? How did he know that she would be at that hearing on the day he was captured and need a train crash to make his escape? I’ll say right from the start you can nitpick the plot to death. And granted, some are large plot holes and not mere nitpicks. But where this film succeeds where other flimsy Bond plots have failed is in its direction and character arcs. The relationship between Bond and M is central to the story. There is no real Bond Girl in the usual sense and the list of spy identities is a total McGuffin that disappears halfway through the story.

In a way, this film would have been better served without the reboot and with the history of the character intact. Bond is portrayed as a spy who has been in the game for a bit too long. He’s ready to call it quits but his loyalty to M brings him back into the fold and he goes to great lengths to save her. This would make more sense for the Bond we have watched for decades and not the man who’s only been in the game for several years and whose relationship with his boss is testy yet civil at best. Perhaps a lot happened in the unknown number of years between QoS and this film but if we rely on what we just see on screen then it doesn’t feel as earned. Luckily both Craig and Dench rise to the challenge and her loss is palpable at the end.

Right from the start I breathed a sigh of relief because the editing is back to normal and Mendes’ great eye for visuals ensures we get a lot of long shots with as little cutting as possible. Both this film and the previous one begin with a car chase, but whereas the last one was frantic and confusing, this one felt like a welcome return to normalcy. The film is no longer peppered with perfunctory action scenes that do little to move the plot forward. Mendes‘ sense of style breathes new life into them such as the silhouette battle in the skyscraper in Shanghai. A nice touch in this scene was the whistling wind after the glass was broken. It adds that sense of realism and places you into the scene instead of trying to make sense of a jumbled mess of quick cuts.

As you may remember I said I was not a big fan of the idea of a reboot so I was excited we got the MI6 supporting players that had been missing the last few films. Moneypenny and Q make welcome returns, or should I say introductions, into the fold. I don’t really buy the idea that she gave up the field just to become an assistant. She also shows up in Shanghai for no reason other than to give them a possible romantic interlude but Harris is good in the role and her and Craig have some delightful banter. Whishaw is delightful as the younger Q and I like this dynamic with Bond in the older mentor role. Even Fiennes does well as the new M who can be both imposing yet willing to pick up a gun and join the fray. I felt a strong sense of nostalgia at the end as everyone takes their places to move forward as if nothing has changed.

The film is full of bits to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film franchise so there was quite a bit of nostalgia throughout. I loved that Bond’s Scottish ancestry is now canon for the films. Craig is in no way Scottish but sure. The return of the classic Aston Martin DB5 was perfection right down to the joke about the ejector seat and its use of the machine guns. When it’s unnecessarily destroyed by the villain, you feel the same sense of rage as Bond did. I even liked that the film spends a significant amount of time in London with Bond chasing Silva through the underground tunnels and train stations. It gives Bond a sense of operating in the real world and not just exotic locales many people never get to see.

Speaking of Silva, Bardem does a good enough job making Silva seem on the edge of sanity but I never bought him as an actual character. He moves the plot forward. He’s dangerous and unpredictable but also cunning and methodical. But those qualities never really coalesce into an actual person. It would have helped if he didn’t show up until the film was half over or we saw more of him in action instead of being told what he’s like or what his history is. But when you look back on Skyfall he seems also secondary to everything else memorable about the film. He was a necessity but could have been fleshed out more.

I’m going to give Skyfall 7/10. It’s a good entry that would have been better serviced without the reboot but it stands on its own quite well. The story moves along briskly enough and focuses on the characters so it’s easier to overlook some of its flaws. The only real time I couldn’t was the very end. It just makes no sense to go to Scotland with no backup and no supplies. I get isolating Silva but you could have planned it better. Sadly Mendes returns for the next film which weirdly decides to dive back into the reboot storyline and try to make this one fit into it as well. It’d have been better to drop the mic after this one.

Current Rankings:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia with Love
3) Casino Royale
4) Goldfinger
5) For Your Eyes Only
6) The Living Daylights
7) Skyfall
8) The Spy Who Loved Me
9) GoldenEye
10) Thunderball
11) Dr. No
12) Licence to Kill
13) Octopussy
14) Live and Let Die
15) Tomorrow Never Dies
16) You Only Live Twice
17) Quantum of Solace
18) The World is Not Enough
19) The Man with the Golden Gun
20) A View to a Kill
21) Moonraker
22) Diamonds are Forever
23) Die Another Day

Quantum of Solace
Naff song, generic opening sequence.
Found this very short, I did like the continuation of the storyline from Casino Royale but its a very bland film with a weak villain. Olga is a good Bond girl.
Being generous with 6/10

Skyfall
Liked the song, opening sequence brilliant.
New Moneypenny and Q are welcome additions.
Bardem is brilliant as the villian. A lovely swansong for Dench and introduction to Fiennes
Really enjoyed this one, up with the best.
9/10