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Yes, I'm sure that the record-breaking millions of pounds he gets paid as a Bond actor has nothing to do with it!
"I don't like him. He's too blond. He's too short."
Is this a Bond forum, or Tinder?
I can't see anyone on this thread criticising his hair colour, in fact it was you who mentioned it first ;-)
I do find Craig to be on the shorter side of what I want to see of a Bond actor, but that's not my main issue with him. I just don't like his interpretation that much.
You are mistaken that was the website Graigisnotbond website which got a lot of attention with stuff that was too silly for words but gave me a lot of laughs.
For me Craig is a fine actor and I like CR, can tolerate QoB and find the Mendes vehicles so bloody overrated that it makes the the Mission Impossible titles superiour to the recent EON output. I do however hope that Craig gets his deserved swansong and buggers of a wealthy man. That said he does make Connery's argument that he got badly paid a good one, because Connery is James Bond 007 and made him a household name. Craig had no such difficulty.
By he way I prefer Boyles 007 outing for the olympics better than anything Mendes did. ;)
I was excited when he was cast. I'd seen him in Our Friends in the North and Layer Cake, so I knew he was a really good actor. And I did enjoy CR when it came out and can completely understand why it's at the top of so many fans' lists.
But for me, it's always been a film I appreciated more than I actually enjoyed watching. It's a bit bloated imo and I really struggled with the whole reboot thing at first. I didn't think it was really necessary. Craig was good, but I think my opinion of him was coloured a bit by Dalton and Brosnan. Dalton is my Bond, the first one I saw and still my all time favourite, and I suppose it rubbed me the wrong way a bit to see Craig getting so much praise for what he'd largely done 20 years earlier (nowadays I can tell the differences between them and even appreciate strengths Craig has that Dalton didn't). It also felt like public opinion on Brosnan went down after Craig took over, which again rubbed me the wrong way a bit because I felt Pierce wasn't getting the credit and didn't get the exit he deserved. Still though, I did think CR was a strong start. A bit lacking in the old school classic Bond stuff for my liking but I thought Craig showed real promise and I was really excited by the Bond, James Bond ending. Origin story over. Time to see how he is as a more seasoned, "classic" 007.
But then QoS happened. I hated it to be honest and it's still my least favourite. I thought it was a pretentious mess that was so busy trying and failing to do so many things in its short runtime that it forgot to actually be a Bond film. I still thought Craig was good in it but I could only warm to him so much when I hated the movie around him.
Then SF happened and it won me back around completely. I left the cinema buzzing. I hadn't enjoyed a Bond film that much since Goldeneye and Craig was absoloutely brilliant. Everything good that he bought to the role was still there, the depth, the realism, but now under Mendes he was getting a chance to introduce more of "the old irony", as he put it. I'm not as keen on SF as I was when I first saw it but that was the film that really won me over and made me appreciate how good Craig actually was. SP imo was an even better refined version of what SF bought to the table. Carried on in that direction without any of the pretentiousness that plagued QoS and, to a lesser degree, SF, and finally shed the origin story baggage and let Craig play Bond in his prime (while still giving him a nice character arc). It was everything I wanted from the follow up to CR. Bond still felt like a real person, there was still depth there, it still felt grounded and it still subverted and played with the formula. But at the same time, he's brawling with a massive henchman on an implausibly classy train and using the built in flamethrower and ejector seat to escape bad guys in his bespoke Aston Martin. Loved it, and now Craig is probably my second favourite Bond. I am excited for the next fresh start but I'll still be sad when he's gone.
Even though I personally love QoS and am not a big SP fan, I appreciate this post and differing opinion. I’m glad you did get your appreciation for Craig eventually, even if it came later on.
Personally ever since I saw the first few seconds of CR, I loved Daniel Craig’s Bond. CR to date is still my #1 Bond film, while QoS and SF are also among my favorites. I loved SP when I first saw it in the theater, but it’s declined more and more until now it’s among my least favorites. Just can’t get into that third act, and I don’t like the retconning and villain story. But on the whole I have a very positive view of the Craig era and consider it only second to Connery’s/Lazenby’s (the first 6) run.
If there are issues with Bond 25, I don't believe I would have them with Craig! (And seeing how good he looks now, I would happily see him sign on for Bond 26!)
I find that he’s missing that refined, gentlemanly, slightly snobbish quality that should set Bond apart from other more generic (action) heroes.
At least, in the Mendes films, he had that 'heroic' quality that was missing in his first two. I remember when he strangled that guy on the balcony in QOS, I thought this is the first James Bond film I've ever seen where I don't like James Bond.
At least in Skyfall, when he was running down the street, you felt like cheering him in the way you did Moore on his aqua-bike in TSWLM or Connery knocking them down at the docks in YOLT.
What fills me with dread alongside the awful names suggested is more that that fans (even on here) actually take some of these names seriously. If Craig were to sign on for both 26 and 27 I would prefer that than continuously seeing some of the potential replacements over and over again.
Suddenly we have a Bond with emotions and feelings.
The films used to be pure escapism. Big adventures, gadgets, fun...
Now one leaves the cinema depressed after seeing one of Craig's Bond movies. He doesn't look the part either. He's convincing as a villain, not as a super hero.
I think you should perhaps edit your statement: "now one leaves the cinema depressed after seeing one of Craig's Bond movies...".
I'm sure some may agree with your statement.
And I'm sorry you obviously feel this way. The last thirteen years must've been excruciating.
But certainly not the majority think or feel this way-- whether you like the films, or no, when they make the bank they do, that means there are many repeat viewers. They go back time and again, as I did (will do), because they enjoy the Craig era.
And as someone who enjoys this era (three out of four inside my top 10), I haven't left one of these films feeling depressed. Nor melancholy. Nor sad.
I'm pretty sure I left with a smile on my face...
I've never left a Daniel Craig movie like that, even though he's not the archetypical James Bond. I've left QOS frustrated because I wanted to see the movie better and the editing didn't allow it. I've left SP disappointed by the story and that bloody song. But I loved CR and SF. I really did. I hope the 25th is on par with those two. And I hope Craig shows his acting chops in this one.
However the joy I felt after leaving CR in the theaters will never be surpassed in any capacity
And the very first time I felt Daniel Craig should play James Bond was not while seeing Layer Cake. It was during an interview he gave. And that panel he had with Vaughn back in 04. The guy had this low pitch voice and some confidence and strangeness to him. I had been a Bond fan at that point, and to some degree, because I identified with the physical characteristics of the character, but damn, this guy had something, just like McQueen had something. A presence, an intensity, and the eyes of a killer. They have to bring the panther walk, the confidence, the danger behind the eyes back. That's what sold Daniel Craig to me.
So, yes, he's shorter than any Bond actor, he's blonde, and has a funny pouty face, but also lacks the movement and charisma of Sean or Pierce. I'm not saying that Craig is an incapable actor, I'm just saying that I don't see the link between him and James Bond. The most Bond, Craig has ever been, was when he awaits Dryden in the office.
In every film that succeeded 'CR,' I just see a random guy who is trying to look cool like James Bond, but carries himself in a laughable, unnatural way. When I see Pierce being berated by M, I see the cinematic Bond, or when Dalton is threatening Pushkin with a silenced PPK...
That really is quintessential James Bond right there ;)
It really is. Dalton and Craig share a lot of qualities, such as believability, edginess and supressed emotions. Dalton, however, also sells that refined style that Craig so desperately lacks, but which is a quintessential aspect of the Bond character.
Can't argue with that.
Although I wouldn't say Craig lacks refinement. He just does refinement in a different way.
Dear Peter, this thread is called Who Still Has a Difficult Time Getting Into Craig? and as such Visitor1982's statement is his personal vision and totally valid. He should at no moment edit gis statement because you disagree. It is just a valid as your opinion even if he is totally bummed about Craig. If we all agreed this place would be boring as hell.
Actually, this perfectly represent why he doesn't resonate with me as Bond. Watching this, I get the feeling of watching a black-tie wearing thug more than the refined spy he's supposed to be.
I’m actually not in disagreement with him. I’m in disagreement with the statement of one leaving the cinema depressed. It sounds as if he’s speaking generally, rather than specific to himself. Generally speaking I dont think most ppl leave the cinema depressed after seeing one or all of the Craig films. Specific to Visitor82’s personal perception, I can’t disagree with since that’s his experience.
But thanks for the lecture @SaintMark !
Thanks for the response and no lecture intended, I did however recognize the depressed part because after seeing SP I felt like that as well.
And in my original statement, I said some will agree; my point, @SaintMark, was more about the generalization of the statement of one now leaving the cinema depressed after seeing a Craig Bond film. If someone feels that way, there’s no argument on my part, however whether one likes the films or no, I think the WW box office dictates that there were many repeat viewings of these films (and I doubt most went to go and see them time and again just to leave feeling depressed).
However, as a fan of the Craig era (think it’s second to Connery (although I have major issues with SP)), I enjoy threads like this immensely to read what the other side is thinking/feeling. I take no offence (unless someone is purposely going to gaslight a situation).
Cheers and thanks for the clarification.
Both Moore and Brosnan's sophistication felt perhaps a tad self-mocking, lacking the assured delivery of both Connery, Dalton, and dare I say Lazenby, but it was still there front and centre. Craig's Bond appears to want to mask a lot of that. Sure, Craig carries himself very well and has a very assured vocal delivery, which is something very reminiscent of Connery, but there's very little in the way of landed gentry about Craig when he interacts with other characters in his movies. "Mouton Rothschild IS a claret. And, I've smelled that aftershave before, and both times - I've smelled a rat." - "Red wine with fish. Well, that should have told me something." - "I'm not mad about his tailor, are you?" - "Breakfast for one at nine, please. Green figs. Yogurt. Coffee - very black. Thank you." - "Coffee? - Medium sweet." - "My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!" - "Oh, no. I like sake. Especially when it's served at the correct temperature: 98.4 degrees fahrenheit like this is." - the samples are endless so I won't go on and list them all. With Craig's Bond, I don't get that he's much of a man of the world, nor do I get that he's particularly from the upper classes. He comes across more nouveau riche, if anything.
So, yeah. I can relate to that argument @GoldenGun.