1) His fights. Daniel Craig has the best Bond fights, with the possible exception of Connery versus Shaw in FRWL. His fights are realistic and brutal. With all of the other Bonds, they have one or two fights that could be considered "Top Ten" material. But with Craig, every single one of his fights are completely worthy of "Top Ten". He does most of his own stunts, and it shows.
His fights are the best. Period. They are the way Bond should fight.
2) His acting. Craig is an excellent actor, and he delivers the wit immeasurably well. He does it very convincingly.
His chemistry with his co-stars is amazing. He and Eva Green play the best and most realistic romance in the entire series. (Sorry OHMSS fans, but it's true.)
I wish to point you to an excellent scene from Quantum of Solace. It's the one and only time Bond gets bitterly drunk. He can't bring himself to call the drink a "Vesper". You really feel Bond's pain. Give credit to Craig for that.
Here are some fine examples of wit from Casino Royale, excellently delivered by Craig:
-Vesper Lynd: It doesn't bother you? Killing all those people?
James Bond: Well I wouldn't be very good at my job if it did.
-Vesper Lynd: [introducing herself to Bond] I'm the money.
James Bond: Every penny of it.
-Vesper Lynd: [after discussing poker skills on the train] What else can you surmise, Mr. Bond?
James Bond: About you, Miss Lynd? Well, your beauty's a problem. You worry you won't be taken seriously.
Vesper Lynd: Which one can say of any attractive woman with half a brain.
James Bond: True. But this one overcompensates by wearing slightly masculine clothing. Being more aggressive than her female colleagues. Which gives her a somewhat *prickly* demeanor, and ironically enough, makes it less likely for her to be accepted and promoted by her male superiors, who mistake her insecurities for arrogance. Now, I'd have normally gone with "only child," but by the way you ignored the quip about your parents... I'm going to have to go with "orphan."
Vesper Lynd: All right... by the cut of your suit, you went to Oxford or wherever. Naturally you think human beings dress like that. But you wear it with such disdain, my guess is you didn't come from money, and your school friends never let you forget it. Which means that you were at that school by the grace of someone else's charity: hence that chip on your shoulder. And since you’re first thought about me ran to "orphan," that's what I'd say you are.
[he smiles but says nothing]
Vesper Lynd: Oh, you are? I like this poker thing. And that makes perfect sense! Since MI6 looks for maladjusted young men, who give little thought to sacrificing others in order to protect queen and country. You know... former SAS types with easy smiles and expensive watches.
[Glances at his wrist]
Vesper Lynd: Rolex?
James Bond: Omega.
Vesper Lynd: Beautiful. Now, having just met you, I wouldn't go as far as calling you a cold-hearted bastard...
James Bond: No, of course not.
Vesper Lynd: But it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine. You think of women as disposable pleasures, rather than meaningful pursuits. So as charming as you are, Mr. Bond, I will be keeping my eye on our government's money - and off your perfectly-formed
. James Bond: You noticed?
Vesper Lynd: Even accountants have imagination. How was your lamb?
James Bond: Skewered. One sympathizes.
Vesper Lynd: Good evening, Mr. Bond.
James Bond: Good evening, Ms. Lynd.
-Dryden: [pointing a gun at Bond] Shame, we barely got to know each other.
[Pulls the trigger, and the gun doesn't fire]
James Bond: [holding up the magazine he'd removed from Dryden's gun] I know where you keep your gun. 'Suppose that's something.
-Vesper Lynd: Am I going to have a problem with you, Mr. Bond?
James Bond: No, don't worry, you're not my type.
Vesper Lynd: Smart?
James Bond: Single.
-Vesper Lynd: You love me?
James Bond: Enough to travel the world with you until one of us has to take an honest job... which I think is going to have to be you, because I have no idea what an honest job is.
-James Bond: I think I'll call it a Vesper.
Vesper Lynd: Because of the bitter aftertaste?
James Bond: No, because once you've tasted it, that's all you want to drink.
-Dryden: How did he die?
James Bond: Your contact? Not well.
Dryden: Made you feel it, did he? Well, you needn't worry. The second is...
[Bond shoots Dryden]
James Bond: Yes... considerably.
-James Bond: [after Bond has just lost his 10 million in the game, to the bartender] Vodka-martini.
Bartender: Shaken or stirred?
James Bond: Do I look like I give a damn?
From all this, it seems that I only like Casino Royale, but that’s not true. Quantum of Solace is the second best Bond movie ever made, after CR.
Here's a previous post on QoS:
I was watching Quantum of Solace (my new #2 movie, if you hadn't read one of my previous posts) and it is such an awesome movie, second only to Casino Royale. It features another excellent performance by Craig, and the two Bond girls, Camille and agent Fields, portrayed by Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton respectively, are also great. Also giving excellent performances are Judi Dench as M, Jeffery Wright as Felix Leiter (My favorite M and Leiter respectively), and Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene, an excellent and realistic villain.
I'll list the things that make it awesome, in what I hope is chronological order:
- The PTS. It's the best Craig chase, and the best chase since the Tomorrow Never Dies BMW 750IL chase. It's gritty and realistic, and I really love that when the black cars crash, the don't explode (!). I also love how Bond coolly dispatches the second black car's driver. Classic Bond.
- The chase after and fight with Mitchell. Right after the excellent Mr.White interrogation scene is this: One of the best foot chases (I like it better that the chase after Mollaka, since that's a little to long) in the series. The stunts are amazing, and though out the whole chase, I can only see one CGI effect. (And it's good CGI, unlike the Die Another Day CGI.) Once again, I love how Bond dispatches his adversary. Quickly as he can, he twists upwards and shoots a single shot. More classic Bond.
-The opera scene. Great stuff as Bond tricks the members of Quantum into leaving, and proceeds to identify them. (Of course Mr. White is smart enough not to fall for that.) Then the great fight/chase through out the building, intercut with scenes of death during the opera.
-The fight between Bond and Greene. It's a brutal and realistic fight, and I love it. It shows a man terribly outmatched (Greene) and an experienced fighter (Bond) slugging it out. The fight between Camile and Medrano is also excellent.
-Best part? The ending. Bond finally meeting the man who caused Vesper to betray him is one of the most powerful moments in the series. Bond's dialog with M is classic and also powerful. The ending line "I never left." accompanied with Bond leaving Vesper's necklace in the snow with Vesper's theme playing, put together, equals the best ending in the entire series. It is so unexpected and moving. It is one of the best scenes ever, let alone endings.
Watch Quantum of Solace. It's fantastic. It is truly an example of what a perfect Bond movie should be.
So, there you go. Daniel Craig IS James Bond.
Edited by 007FANATIC, 05 May 2009 - 01:00 PM.