Why Daniel Craig could be remembered as the best Bond

With No Time to Die’s release date pushed back yet again, Daniel Craig remains halfway through the out door in one of the most drawn-out farewells in movie history. That is through no fault of his, of course, and it would be unfair to allow this painfully long wait to detract from what has been a memorable tenure as 007.

But just how good has Craig been, and where will he stand in comparison to those who sat behind the wheel of the Aston Martin and strapped on the Walther PPK before him? Traditionalists, and especially those of Scottish heritage, will gasp in horror, but there’s a school of thought that Craig has been the best Bond yet. Here’s why.

The man behind the prefix

Craig’s Bond was fleshed out and became a man we could all relate to in a way that had not happened since George Lazenby’s one and only appearance in 1969. Connery, Moore et al showed as a comic-book style action hero who could wrestle sharks and free-fall from space as beautiful women fell at their feet.

Craig depicted a real man with a life outside MI6. A man with human frailties. When he fell hard for Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, he was ready to give up the job to be with her. When Moneypenny accidently put a bullet in him, he could no longer shoot straight. Here was a Bond with whom we could all identify.

The best game-related scene of them all

The first scene of the first Bond film takes place at a gaming house, and it’s a theme that has remained through the entire 50 years that the franchise has been running. There have been some great moments, such as Dalton’s Bond taking Sanchez for $250,000 at the card table in Licence to Kill or Connery at the craps table with Plenty O’Toole in Diamonds Are Forever.  

But when Craig finally took on Le Chiffre at cards in Casino Royale, it felt like the moment we had been waiting for had finally arrived. These days, gaming houses are not the places of danger and mystery that they once were, and are just one category among an array of traditional games to play online. But that familiarity just meant that we were all the more able to live every moment of that game as if we were sitting there ourselves. 

The best recommendations

Still not convinced? Well how about the fact that those who have gone before him think he’s the man with the strongest claim to keep the keys to the Aston? Pierce Brosnan felt his performance was not good enough by comparison, while Timothy Dalton described Craig as “the best Bond ever.”

The greats who are no longer with us were also quick to pile on the praise. Sean Connery described him as “fantastic,” while in one of his last interviews with Time magazine, Roger Moore said: “I think he is the ultimate Bond.” What right do any of us have to argue with that?

The editorial unit