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I am not a huge fan of Daniel Craig’s James Bond—I prefer Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton—though with “Skyfall” not only will he gain busloads of fans but those that count themselves among the true believers will be ecstatic.
I have always had an on-off relationship with James Bond. The Sean Connery Bond films were OK, but his typically British reserve generally left me a bit cold. I tended to enjoy Roger Moore’s Bond more, if only because he didn’t tend to take things too seriously (though this was countered by the fact that he was in the role much longer than he should have been, and it eventually showed).
I think that Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan’s interpretations were two of the best, mainly because they attempted to humanize the character, and in their hands Bond became less a walking personification of libido than something approaching three-dimensionality.
Daniel Craig replaced Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in 2006’s “Casino Royale” followed by 2008’s “Quantum Of Solace.” The problem with the two films, despite being well received at the box office–though ’Solace’ underperformed domestically–was that neither film was truly memorable, a point made clear when I tried to recall details about either film during a conversation I had before “Skyfall” began.
I drew a blank in the case of both films, though I could easily remember details and characters from earlier movies. Part of this is because a hallmark of past James Bond films were the villains and neither ‘Royale’ or ’Solace’ had any worth remembering.
Some are also calling “Skyfall” the best Bond ever. I assume that that’s more than a little bit of hyperbole because some of the 007 films that I enjoyed most were not necessarily the best in the series. For instance, of the Sean Connery Bond films, was never a huge fan of “Dr. No,” “From Russia, With Love,” or “Thunderball,” though I was particularly fond of “Diamonds Are Forever.” and “You Only Live Twice.”
George Lazenby, for me was always an afterthought as Bond, mainly because by the time I became aware of him I was already well-versed in the exploits of Connery and Moore.
Sam Mendes‘ “Skyfall” teaser is up, and while I like my Bond with more gizmos than this current incarnation (for my money, Pierce Brosnan‘s Bond struck an almost perfect balance between technology and testosterone, with the exception of “Die Another Day,” which almost played like a parody of a James Bond film), there is something to be said for brutal efficiency.
