The sixth 007, Daniel Craig, returns Bond to his roots with a back to basics approach. Bond must earn his OO status and then earn M's respect in Casino Royale. Having acquired the rights in 2000 to Fleming's first novel the producers decided it was time for a reinvention of the character. Whilst phenomenally successful, Die Another Day, much like the Moonraker of its day, had strayed beyond the possibilites of even super spy James Bond. Skiing off a giant cliff face wave and invisible cars proved to be Bond's failure and now in an attempt to pare down Bond, vis a vis For Your Eyes Only, Casino Royale introduces an aggressive, uncontrollable Bond; earning his status and facing heartache for the first time in the film series since George Lazenby's Bond held his dead wife in his arms in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Daniel Craig Marks the Return of Back to Basics, Gritty Bond
The director of Goldeneye, Brosnan's Bond debut, would be called upon to direct Bond's 21st (or chronologically 1st) outing. More successful than any of Brosnan's Bond films, it was clear that audiences fully accepted this new Bond and the new grittier approach to the character and the story telling, in the vein of the successful Bourne films. Quantum of Solace, the first direct Bond sequel in the series, picks up immediately where Casino Royale left off. Having announced on screen 'The name's Bond...James Bond' to an exhilarated audience and simultaneously alarmed Mr White, Quantum picks up the pace and delivers almost entirely wall to wall action.
Craig's Bond is Becoming Appreciated as Part of the Series' Legacy
Craig's Bond, very much like Brosnan in his second outing in the role, appears visibly more comfortable this time around in the hands of visionary director Marc Forster. Bond extends his sadistic streak with suitable nods to both Goldfinger and The Spy Who Loved Me brought into the mix, and he displays more of his no-nonsense, hard edged persona. Perhaps the only absent thing in Craig's Bonds to date is a sense of humour, as well as the sparing use of the signature Bond theme in David Arnold's scroes but these will surely be rectified in Craig's coming films as he is now becoming well established as the character we all know.
He Never Left and he WILL Return
Bond is a fantasy figure and yet Craig's Bond, damaged by the loss of Vesper, is clearly wounded and insecure. His protest to M's 'I need you back' ... 'I never left' and the discarding of Vesper's Algerian love knot in the snow at the film's close indicates that maybe we'll be seeing a lighter, more secure Bond in the coming films. For Bond will return and with the latest characterisation proving so successful with audiences, Bond 23 evidently cannot come along soon enough.
