Resetera Rewatches: James Bond 007 - The Craig Films in prep for No Time To Die

[NTGYK]

The final Daniel Craig film releases on April 2nd in the UK and on April 10th 2020 worldwide. In the lead-up to it, I thought it might be fun for 007 fans (and people unfamiliar with Bond joining in for the first time to watch the films from beginning to end). The Daniel Craig films are unique as there's an overarching plot to the series and it's clearly the same character going through this shit over time whereas the previous films had a more "adventure of the week" style flavoring to their plotting. It's also a good point to start as Casino Royale was a hard reboot of the franchise and it's a good entry point for new viewers who may not care for the series' super spy tropes in the previous films. Let's rewatch and relive the films before NTTD's grand finale for Craig's run on the character.

To make it easy for people, we'll do one film a week and people can check it out during the week whenever they have time. Anyone can jump in at any time, with Casino Royale's watch starting next week and Specter's watch finishing a couple weeks before NTTD's release. Here's the schedule and film information:

1) Casino Royale (2006) - February 17 - 24 - "This may be hard for a blunt instrument to understand, but arrogance and self awareness seldom go hand-in-hand"

After receiving a license to kill, British Secret Service agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organizations. Learning that Le Chiffre plans to raise money in a high-stakes poker game, MI6 sends Bond to play against him, gambling that their newest "00" operative will topple the man's organization.

Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, and Judi Dench. Directed by Martin Campbell.

2) Quantum of Solace (2008) - February 24 - March 2 - "I don't think the dead care about vengeance."

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An investigation leads Bond on the trail of Dominic Greene, a world-renowned developer of green technology. When Dominic assists a coup in Bolivia to fulfil his own intentions, Bond must save the day.

Starring Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, and Judi Dench. Directed by Marc Foster.

3) Skyfall (2012) - March 2 - 9 - "Old dog. New tricks."

When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents around the world are exposed, and MI6 is attacked, forcing M (Judi Dench) to relocate the agency. With MI6 now compromised inside and out, M turns to the one man she can trust: Bond. Aided only by a field agent (Naomie Harris), Bond takes to the shadows and follows a trail to Silva (Javier Bardem), a man from M's past who wants to settle an old score.

Starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Bérénice Lim Marlohe, Albert Finney, and Judi Dench. Directed by Sam Mendes.

4) Specter (2015) - March 9 - 16 - "You're a kite, dancing in a hurricane."

A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy (Christoph Waltz) he seeks.

Starring Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci, and Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Sam Mendes.

5) No Time To Die - April 2 - 10 - "History isn't kind to men who play God."

Recruited to rescue a kidnapped scientist, globe-trotting spy James Bond finds himself hot on the trail of a mysterious villain, who's armed with a dangerous new technology.

Starring Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Ana de Armas, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga

Who's in?

 

[ClivePwned]

Time to rewatch them again and dread watching Quantum of Solace remembering it as crap but once again realise it's really okay, just not great like Casino royale and Skyfall.

Spectre's not terrible either, just disappointing after Skyfall (assuming you like Skyfall). None are on the disaster level of Die Another Day.

 

[EvilChameleon]

If I hadn't just watched all four of these again for my yearly rewatch in December, I would join.

Hell, I might join anyway. Get it out of the way early this year.

 

[J_Viper]

Price drop on the 4K set pls

 

[TheZynster]

I'll join in

I like all the craig bond movies

 

[Border]

Are these available on any subscription streaming services?

I stared with Skyfall. I've actually never seen Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace. I don't remember anything from Spectre besides the helicopter chase at the beginning, since I was really blitzed when I saw it.

So I'll pretty much be watching 3 of these for the very first time.

 

[TheZynster]

Are these available on any subscription streaming services?

I stared with Skyfall. I've actually never seen Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace. I don't remember anything from Spectre besides the helicopter chase at the beginning, since I was really blitzed when I saw it.

So I'll pretty much be watching 3 of these for the very first time.

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Casino Royale and quantum of solace are on hbo go.

Sky fall you have to buy I think

Spectre is on your cable subscription most likely as it shows all cable providers when I click it.



Also Jesus fucking Christ at all the camera cuts in quantum of solace, I never realize how annoying that is. The opening scene alone must have like 500 quick cuts

 

[SJRB]

I watch the Craig series like every six months. They're awesome marathon movies.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Sure, I'm in. I wanted to watch them again anyway, might as well sync it with the others and discuss it with people. I only watched the various movies once each tbh, Casino Royale was by far my favourite. I'll see how they hold up on a rewatch.

 

[Disco]

Planning on rewatching these soon too. I enjoyed all of them quite a bit aside from Spectre. But even that snoozefest looks great at least and has its whole budget on screen with the location shots and cars and clothes.

 

[Jeffolation]

I'll do it. I like them all outside of Quantum, and that one at least has a brisk pace.

 

[luca]

I did my rewatch in prepartion for NTTD five months ago, but I might join in. I love Casino Royale more on each rewatch. And Quantum of Solace is still a top 5 Bond movie for me.

 

[FunkyStudent]

Rewatched Casino and Quantum recently. Quantum is certainly boring, but I think it holds up better than Specter. Casino is incredible though, and probably the best of the past 30 years.

Also, was there any further explanation of why they went with Sam Smith over Radiohead for the Specter credit song?

 

[Kyuuji]

100% in on this.

 

[SindbadtheSailor]

Neat. I wast literally just doing this myself right now. I'm about three fourths of the way through Skyfall with only Spectre left. Thus far, my ranking's haven't changed.

1. Casino Royal
2. Quantum of Solace
3. Skyfall/Spectre

 

[Siggy-P]

Not gonna lie, the dates you've added are a nice touch to the usual movie re-watch thread.

Are these available on any subscription streaming services?

I stared with Skyfall. I've actually never seen Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace. I don't remember anything from Spectre besides the helicopter chase at the beginning, since I was really blitzed when I saw it.

So I'll pretty much be watching 3 of these for the very first time.

Click to shrink...

I don't know if you live in the UK or not but I got Casino, Quantum and Skyfall from Poundworld

 

[iHeartGameDev]

I've only watched the first two one time in theaters. Remember really enjoying the first one and remember nothing of the second. By the sound of things, looks like I may be in for a treat.

 

[TheRightDeal]

Oh man, I actually just finished a rewatch. I prefer the tone of Casino/Quantum to Skyfall/Spectre but at the very least they're all decent. I think you can draw a lot of comparisons to the Brosnan era where the first outing is the high point and the wheels slowly come off as the franchise continues. I'd still take any Craig movie over a Brosnan one, though. The first 10 minutes of Casino are absolutely incredible and I'll never forget going to see it with my dad and realizing through the opening credits it was going to be something really special.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Just rewatched Casino Royale myself. Still the GOAT, though some clunkier dialogue that spells out some character stuff that didn't need to be (like Vesper telling Bond that now Le Chiffre knows he's reckless, when that was super clear) stuck out to me this time. A minor quibble though for what is easily the best written of the franchise. I particularly love the male ego dueling with Le Chiffre, which makes him such a good villain for the film. There's a coherent theme that runs through the whole thing.

The action is so crisply directed too, almost feeling like Fury Road at times with the precision of stunts and editing rhythm , and McTiernan-esque knack for wide angled camera shots that sweep through the geography (which also lets the huge budget shine, since everything is there to see). The crane chase is the obvious highlight, blending perfectly escalating (literally!) stakes with great stunt work and it tells you everything you need to know about this iteration of Bond without any dialogue at all.

I know people complain about the poker scenes, and though there are a lot and the hands are absurd, I still think the casino stretch of the film is better than the more action packed first hour. The subtle ego stoking duel between Le Chiffre and Bond, on and off the poker table, and the excellent character dynamics between Bond, Vesper, Matthias, and Felix, really elevate it all.

I don't want all my Bond films to be this stripped down, emotional, and gritty, but it would be nice if we got another one like this before too long.

 

[NTGYK]

Not gonna lie, the dates you've added are a nice touch to the usual movie re-watch thread.




I don't know if you live in the UK or not but I got Casino, Quantum and Skyfall from Poundworld

Click to shrink...

Poundworld aka James Bond's nickname for his apartment

 

[NiallGGlynn]

Poundworld aka James Bond's nickname for his apartment

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In for a Moneypenny... in for a Poundland

 

[SpecX]

I'm in, enjoyed these movies and haven't seen them in some time.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

Just rewatched these a few months ago. May do so again.

My rankings are the same as before (best to worst) :
Casino Royale
Quantum of Solace
Skyfall
Spectre

Quantum, if you can get past the shake cam and quick cuts, has some of the best character work in the Craig era.

 

[Travo]

Love the Craig Bonds even the weaker ones. We rewatched Casino today.

 

[Moppeh]

I've only seen the two good ones but this sounds like fun. Gives me an excuse to rewatch Casino Royale.

 

[NTGYK]

This week is Casino Royale!

 

[Fallout-NL]

Also Jesus fucking Christ at all the camera cuts in quantum of solace, I never realize how annoying that is. The opening scene alone must have like 500 quick cuts

Click to shrink...

Yeah, horrendous.

 

[Veelk]

Jesus, how Craig really been Bond for 15+ years?

How long do Bonds usually last?

 

[Spiderman]

This week is Casino Royale!

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That trailer is excellent. Only saw this one on release so might rewatch it.

 

[gforguava]

I don't think I'll do all of them but I will probably tune in for QoS which is secretly, no lie, not a joke, the best Craig Bond film.

Quantum, if you can get past the shake cam and quick cuts, has some of the best character work in the Craig era.

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Hey, nice to see someone else appreciate the film. Truly a rare sight.

 

[Dommo]

Also Jesus fucking Christ at all the camera cuts in quantum of solace, I never realize how annoying that is. The opening scene alone must have like 500 quick cuts

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And there are some pretty interesting shots in there as well that literally don't parse through your brain because they flash so quickly. Seems like they filmed a hell of a lot stuff. There's also no real sense of camera geography so it's constantly disorienting and the actual storytelling of the sequence is lost. Like for example, I wonder how many people realise there's a mini goal/challenge/plot going on toward the end of the chase where Bond is bumping up against the enemy car, and he's trying to reach for the SMG but he keeps getting denied it because the other car is laying suppressing fire so Bond has to lay low. There's finally an oncoming car that splits Bond's car and the enemy's car away from each other for just a moment, enough time for Bond to grab the SMG and when the two cars meet again he can blow them away. I swear I didn't even realise this until I saw it for like the third time, for what should have been fairly rudimentary storytelling.

I think there's probably a really good chase in there with a revised edit. I will still say that the scene has a great energy and rush to it, in part due to the edit, so I suppose it's doing something right? And the opening shots, cutting back and forth between the tracking lake shot and the silhouettes of guns being loaded, cars being revved, Bond's eyes shimmering, the inhale and exhale before the storm - that's all fantastic.

Quantum, if you can get past the shake cam and quick cuts, has some of the best character work in the Craig era.

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And by virtue, some of the best character work in the entire series. Maybe I'll write a more in depth post during QOS week. Don't want to steal CR's thunder.

Jesus, how Craig really been Bond for 15+ years?

How long do Bonds usually last?

Click to shrink...

Craig is now the longest serving Bond if you can believe it. Between Federer, LeBron and Craig I swear my cultural icons have locked me in a weird permanent time capsule that I can't move on from. It kind of feels like 2006 was yesterday.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Watching Quantum Royale with my fiancé again in the weekend. She never saw the other movies so they'll be new for her.

 

[FeD]

Love CR and grown to like QoS very much. Skyfall is still very beautiful to look at. But Spectre, I just cannot bother to rewatch that again. Even with van Hoytema as the DP it really showed how much Deakins is on another level. And I love how Interstellar looked.

 

[kyorii]

Already did this when the "No Time to Die" Trailer hit lol. I liked Skyfall more now, and CR/QoS continue to be great pairing.

 

[matrix-cat]

I saw a Twitter thread earlier in the week about the absolutely filthy chemistry between Eva Green and Daniel Craig that made me want to rewatch Casino Royale, so I'll post my thoughts here when I get around to it. I haven't seen it in years and I can't really remember it that well as an overall movie, I just remember particular scenes. The parkour opening of course, Vesper eviscerating Bond on the train ("Skewered. One sympathises."), that fight scene in the stairwell where Vesper keeps trying to get out of their way and they keep falling right on top of her, and obviously the ballbag chair :P

I'm looking forward to rewatching Quantum of Solace, too, if nothing else then just to see that wonderful aeroplane chase again. One of my favourite action sequences in the whole series.

 

[NTGYK]

Jesus, how Craig really been Bond for 15+ years?

How long do Bonds usually last?

Click to shrink...

They usually have a short life expectancy

 

[Yerffej]

I saw a Twitter thread earlier in the week about the absolutely filthy chemistry between Eva Green and Daniel Craig that made me want to rewatch Casino Royale, so I'll post my thoughts here when I get around to it. I haven't seen it in years and I can't really remember it that well as an overall movie, I just remember particular scenes. The parkour opening of course, Vesper eviscerating Bond on the train ("Skewered. One sympathises."), that fight scene in the stairwell where Vesper keeps trying to get out of their way and they keep falling right on top of her, and obviously the ballbag chair :P

I'm looking forward to rewatching Quantum of Solace, too, if nothing else then just to see that wonderful aeroplane chase again. One of my favourite action sequences in the whole series.

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Can you link to that Twitter thread?

 

[Deleted member 2254]

They usually have a short life expectancy

Click to shrink...

Craig is sticking around longer because he's got No Time To Die.

 

[Kromeo]

QoS was never awful, it just doesn't have a villain you end up hating, or even care about at all

 

[Solo]

Jesus, how Craig really been Bond for 15+ years?

How long do Bonds usually last?

Click to shrink...

Craig is now the longest tenured, time-wise (Moore and Connery both trump him in number of movies). He has been Bond since October 2005. Damn. By comparison Moore did 7 movies over 13 years and Connery did 5 movies over 6 years in addition to returning for one more after.

Also, since the discussion is about the sublime CR, which I've waxed poetically on millions of times since 2006, for now all I want to say is that the Bond/Vesper train scene is quite possibly the best scene in the entire franchise.

 

[Solo]

It's also crazy to think but EON would already have a shortlist of actors they want to approach to succeed Craig.

 

[Gray]

Sure, I'm up for this. Haven't seen the early Craig Bond movies in a couple of years.

 

[bevishead]

I watched Quantum of Solace in the theaters when it came out. I didn't like it along with most other people. I tried watching it again about a month ago on cable and fell asleep about 10 mins in. I guess I'm due for another rewatch of Quantum. I saw Spectre on cable about 4 days ago and its growing on me a bit.

 

[matrix-cat]

Can you link to that Twitter thread?

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On second look I oversold it a bit by calling it a thread, it's really just a couple of Tweets:



The train scene and the bits in the hotel room between Vesper and Bond just crackle. Bond being visibly annoyed at how incredible he looks in the dinner jacket is wonderful; "I sized you up the moment we met".

 

[Yerffej]

On second look I oversold it a bit by calling it a thread, it's really just a couple of Tweets:



The train scene and the bits in the hotel room between Vesper and Bond just crackle. Bond being visibly annoyed at how incredible he looks in the dinner jacket is wonderful; "I sized you up the moment we met".

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Just one of the many reasons it's the best Bond.

 

[matrix-cat]

Just finished rewatching Casino Royale, let's get into it.

OK, so right off the bat, Vesper x Bond is the #1 Bond OTP, without question, literally never even speak to me if you disagree. Daniel Craig and Eva Green are absolutely incredible together, every scene they share is electric. Between Craig always finding some excuse to either sweatily tear his shirt open or just be shirtless (and sweaty) to begin with, and Vesper in danger of falling out of all her dresses, this movie is so goddamn sexy it's out of control. The scene where he finds her freaking out in the shower and, without hesitation, strides in fully-clothed to comfort her? Positively obscene. When the water soaks his white shirt transparent and he starts gently sucking on her fingertips the movie hits CRITICAL LEVELS OF EROTICISM.

Me watching this entire movie:

I think Casino Royale does a wonderful job at introducing an all-new Bond. The opening twenty minutes or so is pitch-perfect, with the black and white flashback to Bond earning his Double O flowing into everyone's favourite parkour chase (an all-timer for Bond action scenes). He's rough and tough, and cleverly resourceful in a way that makes for wonderfully fun action scenes. But they also give us a peek behind the curtain of Bond-ness; he isn't quite so impossibly cool as to be unrelatable, and they aren't afraid to show him making mistakes. It isn't the deepest character study ever, but it was a much-needed reset after the increasingly absurd and shallow gadget-'em-ups of the Brosnan's era.

The writing just sings. The opening ("Yes. Considerably."), every one of Judi Dench's scenes ("In the old days if an agent did something that embarrassing he'd have the good sense to defect."), Bond and Vesper on the train ("Skewered. One sympathizes."), Bond and Vesper in the hotel room ("I sized you up the moment we met."); even all the little quips and one-liners land well. There's an occasional clunker, unfortunately most of them coming out of Le Chiffre's mouth, but for the most part they really nail the tone of classic Bond repartee. It's a delicate balance, something that's very easy to overdo (one of my main complaints with Skyfall at the time was that it tried too hard to be witty, but we'll see if I still feel that way on the rewatch), but I think Casino Royale walks the line perfectly.

I know the Poker scenes are the major complaint, and I do get it. There's a good stretch of the movie which goes Poker -> action scene -> repeat. But I think the tense battle of egos between Bond and Le Chiffre (and the sexual tension between Bond and Vesper throwing smouldering looks at eachother) carry those scenes. My biggest complaint is with the whole Airport bombing action section, which I really wish they'd trimmed down, if not cut entirely. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly well put-together sequence, but it's just too much. Its place in the plot is to have Bond thwart Le Chiffre's scheme to game the stock market with a terrorist attack, but it feels like the movie just gets put on hold for twenty minutes so we can watch this big dumb action scene. Because of it the movie takes a full hour before it even introduces the Casino Royale poker game and Vesper and the plates really start spinning. I've always felt the movie is too long for its own good, and if I had my way we'd be making some liberal cuts to that airport scene to pare that runtime back a little.

Anyway, Casino Royale is top notch James Bond, all the same. Y'know what? Screw it. It's the best one. 10/10.

 

[frankenstrat]

Having rewatched them all, the only one I wouldn't really like to go back to is Quantum. I really do not like the editing at all and knowing that half the script was left undone because of the writers' strike did not help.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Rewatched Casino Royale last night. Amazing movie. Just a continous escalation of luxurious yet raw action setpieces, with some excellent chemistry between Daniel Craig and Eva Green in the mix. The poker sequence is incredibly tense and well-made even when you know what happens beforehand. The ending remains a punch to the gut to this day. Such a great movie all around.

 

[BAD]

I'm late to finding this but I'm about to start. Casino Royale has been my all time favorite film, not just in Bond, since shortly after I saw it in 2006. So it's kept a long running at number 1.

I think people give Quantum a hard time because it doesn't stand as well on its own. But if watched as it ended up written, as an epilogue to Casino Royale, it's excellent. I have a soft spot for it and think it does a lot of things well. It was forced into its route because they essentially got a complicated bag of an unresolved secret society in Casino Royale and a writers' strike that made them go for a more physical and more brisk conflict. If you take it for the movie that shows Bond's post-Vesper grief and discord instead of a contained whole plot of its own, there's plenty to get out of it.

EDIT: Also FYI, the 4K masters were done a while back and in the USA were released exclusively to iTunes for the whole franchise. Since then, the Craig films got put on 4K disc with additional HDR. The iTunes versions of his films now have the HDR as well. The rest of the franchise remains basic 4K for now.

 

[Jeffolation]

Rewatched Casino Royale, it's a From Russia with Love S tier Bond.