Looking back on Daniel Craig’s Bond films
Recently, Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as James Bond had its premiere. But what will be the legacy of Craig’s Bond? Let’s for a moment not talk about the hair colour, the (lack of) gun barrel logo, Craig’s attitude, or his abs.
Let’s instead look at the Craig Bonds from a storytelling standpoint.
Major spoilers for No Time To Die.
A caveat
Even though it’s apparently a common misconception, the Bond actors don’t control the films. Craig is in fact the first Bond actor to become a producer. The actors only have a some input into the writing and direction of the films. Traditionally, the larger trends in the films have already been decided before the actor becomes involved. It wasn’t, for instance, Pierce Brosnan’s decision that they would use CGI in Die Another Day. Those kinds of decisions are often reflected on the respective Bond actor’s legacy, but should really rest with the producers, screenwriters and directors (in film language that team is often called “above the line”). For a deeper look into the creation process of a Bond film, I recommend Mark Edlitz’ books. However, I will, for brevity’s sake use Craig as a divider here, as the producers have often used the introduction of a new Bond actor to take the series in a new direction, much like the producers of Dr Who have used…