Bond: 2002 to the Present

Overview

Pierce Brosnan would make his last appearance as Bond in 2002's Die Another Day, and it would be four years before Daniel Craig starred in 2006's Casino Royale. 

From the beginning, there was controversy surrounding Craig as Bond.  Many people thought he wasn't handsome enough.  Others thought he lacked experience.  I think it's safe to say that he proved them all wrong, and his own series of Bond films has enjoyed both critical and commercial success.

And while I think that Brosnan was better as Bond, it is two of Craig's movies - Skyfall and Casino Royale - that are my favorites.  When all is said and done, there is a tortured aspect to Craig's Bond that really sets those two movies apart.

The remaining Bond movies are: Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2009), Skyfall (2012), and the newest entry, Spectre (2015).

High Points

Which is better, Casino Royale or Skyfall?  I'd have to pick Skyfall.  Javier Bardem's performance is astonishing, and I love the way most of the action devolves back toward M, not Bond.  It creates a sense of suspense that the other 007 films lack.

Not that Casino Royale is a bad movie.  The plot is excellent, the villain is great, and the stakes are very high.  More than anything, there is a freshness to that film that very few other films in the series can match.  That chase scene in Madagascar is like seeing Sean Connery first appear in Dr. No, all over again.

Spectre has problems, but the opening scene in Mexico City is EPIC, and Cristoph Waltz was almost a good villain.  I only wish his character had been written better, and that his character's connection to Bond was less tenuous.

Low Points

Die Another Day is Bond at his silliest.  The first half of this movie is actually pretty good, but by the time the ice hotel is melting and the satellite is burning through the demilitarized zone it has left reality far, far behind.  I'd be hard pressed to say which movie is sillier, this one or Moonraker, but if Moonraker is Star Wars, Die Another Day is Ghost in the Shell.

Quantum of Solace is much better than Die Another Day, but it was still a letdown after the excellent Casino Royale.  Like Brosnan's Tomorrow Never Dies, it retreats back into formula.

I found Spectre a disappointing film.  But perhaps that sense of disappointment is/was partly my fault.  Skyfall was such an amazing movie, and there was no conceivable way they were going to top that.

Theme Songs

Is that Madonna singing the theme to Die Another Day?  Why yes it is, but her voice is so heavily treated that you probably won't notice at first.  She also turns up in the movie itself.

If, sometime in the 90s, you had told me that Chris Cornell would be singing the theme to Bond film, I probably would have thought you were crazy.  Nevertheless, he did sing the theme to Casino Royale, and the results are... underwhelming.  Perhaps it would have been better with more guitar?

Jack White and Alicia Keys' theme for Quantum of Solace is forgettable.

Adele's turn on Skyfall is one of the best Bond themes ever.  I had that playing in my car for months.

Sam Smith sings the theme to Spectre.  It's not great, but it's not bad.  Who is Sam Smith anyway?  I have no idea.

Eva Green

Bond Girls

Halle Berry plays Jinx, an NSA agent who assists Bond in Die Another Day.  She may have won the Academy Award around that time, but she isn't very good in Die Another Day.

Eva Green.  Damn that woman is fine.  I guess the other woman in Casino Royale is also fine, but in the presence of Eva Green I am unable to remember her.  I love that scene where she psychoanalyzes Bond on the train. 

Olga Kurylenko is one of the most memorable things about Quantum of Solace.  Her character in that film is more interesting than James Bond.

None of the women in Skyfall did anything for me, but that movie is so good it doesn't matter.

Spectre is the one case where I was excited about the Bond girl before I saw the movie.  I have been a fan of Monica Bellucci for a long, long time.  Unfortunately she was wasted on that film.

Where Does Bond Go?

Starting with Casino Royale and ending with Spectre, Bond goes from Madagascar, to London, to the Bahamas, to the USA, to the Bahamas (again), to Montenegro, to Italy, to London (again), to Austria, to Italy (again), to Bolivia, to Russia, to Turkey, to London (again), to Shanghai, to Macau, to London (again), to Scotland, to London (again), to Mexico City, to London (again), to Italy (again), to Austria (again), to Morocco, and back to London (again).

..and I have omitted Bond's travels in Die Another Day from the above list.  Why?  Because Casino Royale rebooted the franchise.

You know, if you removed the U.K., the U.S.A., and the Bahamas from Bond's travels, he hasn't been to all that many countries!

And in Conclusion... 

It's here!  Read on in Bond: The Conclusion! 

Other Bond Entries:

Bond: The 1960s
Bond: The 1970s
Bond: The 1980s
Bond: The 1990s
Bond: The Conclusion!

Movies I've Seen Lately

None of the movies listed below are especially new.  The biggest reason for this is the fact that I live in Taiwan, and there is a considerable gap between when lower-budget movies are released in the States and when they are released over here.  Big budget movies like "The Avengers" come out - give or take a day - the same time worldwide, but smaller movies like "Argo" often appear in Taiwan weeks or even months after their release date in the US.  Some movies, like "The Master," are never even released here.

1. Argo

Ben Affleck directed and starred in this movie about a hostage situation in Iran.  This film also won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  I thought it was a great movie, and it deserved the award.  A bit strange, however, that Affleck wasn't nominated for Best Director as well.

2. Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino won the Academy Award for the screenplay.  Why?  I thought it was a terrible movie, and it didn't even make any sense towards the end.  Yes, Christopher Waltz, DiCaprio, and Foxx were all great, but the story was a mess.  I still can't figure out why Django and his partner didn't just sneak into the plantation and steal his wife back.

I am a big fan of Tarantino's movies up to and including "Kill Bill," but I really don't understand the hype this film and "Inglorious Basterds" have generated.  Both movies featured novel concepts and great performances, but both were also long on style and very, very short on logic.

3. Lincoln

This is the most boringest movie ever.  Really it is.

4. Silver Linings Playbook

Not only is Jennifer Lawrence smokin' hot, but she deserved the Oscar for Best Actress.  I thought this movie was quite good, even if I didn't buy the ending.  As a coworker pointed out, the two halves presented here wouldn't necessarily make a whole.

5. Searching for Sugar man

A documentary about Rodriquez, the Detroit musician relegated to a life of obscurity until his "rediscovery" by a South African years later.  This film won the Oscar for Best Documentary, and since I haven't seen any of the other films nominated, I can't comment on the Academy's choice.  I like Rodriguez's music a lot, but this documentary seemed a bit misleading.

6. Skyfall

Daniel Craig returns for his third Bond film, with Sam Mendes directing.  Adele's "Skyfall" won the Oscar for Best Song.  Javier Bardem was all over this movie, and the minute he showed up I could have cared less about Craig's performance (not that it wasn't good).  If there was an Oscar for "Best Evil Dude" they'd have to give it to Bardem.

7. The Matrix Revolutions

Yes, I know this movie is old as fuck, but I watched The Matrix Reloaded a week ago and started wondering if the third one was really as bad as everyone said it was.  I thought it was OK, and I sympathize with the Wachowskis in this matter.  The Matrix Trilogy was never going to be an easy thing to complete.

8. Promised Land

Matt Damon stars as a scout for a natural gas company, trying to lease land in a small farming community.  Gus Van Sant directed, and I don't think it was nominated for any Oscars.  Maybe it is too recent?  The film has a nice twist at the end, and Frances McDormand is great as his coworker.  Then again, she's great in everything.

9. The Master

A veiled look at Scientology's early years.  Philip Seymour Hoffman plays "L. Ron Hubbard," and Joaquin Phoenix plays his would-be protege.  I believe Phoenix was nominated for Best Actor, and he should have won.  The performance he gives in this movie is amazing.  Of all the movies here, this one has to be my favorite.

Now if someone would just make a movie with Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Affleck, and Javier Bardem it would probably sweep next year's Academy Awards.  That's my opinion, anyway.