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James Bond has been a staple in pop culture for more than 70 years, dating back to the publication of author Ian Fleming’s original novel, “Casino Royale.” 007 eventually became a much bigger fixture, culturally speaking, when these novels were adapted into feature films, beginning with the landmark box office hit that was “Dr. No” in 1962. But it was Fleming’s first novel that would go on to serve as the inspiration for Daniel Craig’s first turn as Bond, James Bond, in 2006’s “Casino Royale” widely considered as a high point for the series. But what is Craig’s favorite Bond movie? The actor actually has three.
Craig’s run as 007 extended for a total of five films — “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall,” “Spectre,” and “No Time to Die.” The actor was a controversial pick to play James Bond at first, but he quickly dispelled any doubters once his first entry hit theaters. During the press tour for “Casino Royale,” in a 2006 interview with Chud.com, Craig was asked about his favorite “James Bond” movie. At the time, he listed two:
“Dr. No and From Russia With Love. They’re great, just the best, they’re two of my favorite movies. Sean Connery being physical, scary, complicated, bad, all those things about that character. Besides whether it’s Bond, it’s a great character, it’s something that he created that’s lasted this long. Those two are very special.”
Later, in a 2021 interview with GQ, Craig once again addressed the topic. When confronting the question again, he again cited two classic Sean Connery Bond films as personal favorites, but added a different one into the mix:
“Goldfinger, I think, is my favourite James Bond movie. I love Dr. No, but it was sort of where Sean Connery became the James Bond that we know and love.”
Daniel Craig didn’t pick his own James Bond movies – but he easily could have
What’s interesting is that, taken as a whole, Craig selected the first three entries in Connery’s run as Bond. Those are, all things considered, damn fine choices if you were to ask most fans of the franchise. “Dr. No” helped set the whole enterprise up, while “From Russia With Love” still ranks as one of the greatest “Bond” movies ever made. As for “Goldfinger,” it is still pretty much the archetype for what a “James Bond” movie should be, from the villain to the gadgets and yes, the Bond girls. It’s all there.
While Craig didn’t highlight Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby, or Timothy Dalton, who have also put their stamps on the character over the years, that’s not to take anything away from what they accomplished. Most interesting of all, though, is that Craig exercised restraint in later interviews by not selecting his own films, which he would have been well within his rights to do.
Save for “Quantum of Solace” and “Spectre,” Craig’s other entries are anywhere from good to as good as movies get. “Casino Royale” is still held up as perhaps the greatest “Bond” movie ever made. As for “Skyfall,” it remains the biggest box office hit in the history of Bond, with $1.1 billion to its name. (It’s also, not for nothing, an absolute banger.) Would it be a bit self-serving to name those films as the actor who made them? Maybe, but it’d be hard to argue against.
Yet, Craig kept it classy and showed love to Connery, the actor who started it all. It makes sense, too, given that Craig is now firmly in his 50s. He was a young boy when Connery was doing his thing as 007, and those were surely formative films for him, much in the same way that ’90s kids have an affinity for Brosnan’s “GoldenEye.” That’s the nature of fandom for this franchise.
You can grab “The James Bond Collection” on Blu-ray from Amazon.
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