"Daniel Craig and the Future of James Bond"

"DANIEL CRAIG AND THE FUTURE OF JAMES BOND"

There has been a great deal of talk about how EON Productions will take the James Bond character in future movies. Many have also speculated on how Daniel Craig will approach the character – especially in the upcoming BOND 23. I have no idea how the Bond character will be treated in future movies, but I do a few things to say about Daniel Craig as Bond.

First of all, I do not believe that "CASINO ROYALE" and "QUANTUM OF SOLACE" were unique in being the only Bond films that seemed like a slightly realistic spy thriller. Before Craig's two movies, there was "FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE", "ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE", "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" and "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS". We also had movies like "THUNDERBALL" and "OCTOPUSSY" with plots that seemed very probable in the real world (nuclear threats in the name of extortion or/and political manipulation). And there was "LICENSE TO KILL" that was gritty, but seemed more like a revenge story than a spy thriller. But I do believe that "CASINO ROYALE" was one of the best movies in the franchise. I also believe that "QUANTUM OF SOLACE" was an exciting and gritty thriller, although not as well done as "CASINO ROYALE" In fact, I feel that both movies were well-written thrillers with complex and three-dimensional characters.

As for Daniel Craig, many have criticized his Bond for acting like a professional and experienced agent at the beginning of "CASINO ROYALE", despite being a novice. I have to point out that in this version of "CASINO ROYALE", Bond WAS NOT a novice spy at the beginning of the story. He already had experience as an intelligence operative for the Royal Navy and as an agent for MI-6. At the beginning of the movie, he had simply been promoted to the "00 Section". He had already been serving with MI6 for some time.

Although I have enjoyed the performances of all six (or should I say eight?) actors who have portrayed Bond, Daniel Craig's performance has appealed to me a lot stronger than the others. I am not saying that I believe that his Bond is the best. I simply prefer his Bond a lot stronger than I do the others. So far, Craig's Bond has not been tinged by Connery's lack of humanity, Lazenby's inexperienced background, Moore's cheeky humor, Dalton's heavy angst factor or Brosnan's mediocre scripts. This latest manifestation of Bond is a ruthless and athletic man with a sardonic sense of humor, a taste for good living, a penchant for taking chances and allowing his ego to go uncheck. But knowing EON Productions' reputation for sometimes screwing up a good thing, who knows what will happen?

I have heard comments that Craig's Bond had fully become the iconic figure of the last 44 or 45 years by the end of "CASINO ROYALE". But others have pointed out that the character who had shot Mr. White at the end of the movie had become the same man who had chased Mollaka in Madagascar. I am more inclined to believe the latter. As his next film, "QUANTUM OF SOLACE" seemed to have attest, I believe that Bond's character had slightly regressed, due to the heartache he had suffered over Vesper's betrayal and death. Somewhat. After all, Bond did manage to bring down Mr. White without allowing his emotions, ego or trigger finger to get the best of him. He barely managed to keep his thirst for revenge in check. Although his refusal to face his feelings for Vesper formed a cloud over him. Hopefully, EON Productions will allow the audience to see Bond develop beyond the cold-blooded and brutal man that used women to avoid emotional attachments. I hope that by the time Craig shoots his last Bond film, his character will develop into a somewhat mature man who has learned to balance any emotional attachments he may have formed with the ruthless agent he has to be in order to do his job.