Daniel Craig’s Bond Movies Ranked

Here’s a few fun facts: Daniel Craig is the second-longest-tenured James Bond having played the iconic agent for 15 years, only eclipsed by the incredible Sean Connery who played the character over a 19-year period. Craig is also squarely in third place for most performances as Bond behind Roger Moore and Connery who each have seven entries apiece. With No Time to Die being Craig’s last time in 007’s tuxedo, this seems like an ideal time to rank all five of Daniel Craig’s entries into the James Bond franchise. So let’s get it done! I’m about due for a clickbait post anyway:

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5. Spectre (2015)

• This is without question the weakest of the Craig-era Bond movies. Combining previously existing characters who bring nothing interesting to the character with a star actor who had no interest in playing the role again after this movie makes for a lackluster movie. While re-introducing a classic villain like Blofeld (played by Christoph Waltz) seems like a good idea, it comes off as a desperate ploy to keep audiences interested. On top of this, not once do Bond and Dr. Madeline Swann have a modicum of real chemistry. The two-hour-plus runtime keeps us bored as we trudge through side plots and a windingly unnecessary mystery.

  • 4/10

4. Quantum of Solace (2008)

• Again, a sub-par plot is what really pulls this movie down. We are dragged into Bond’s chase to stop an incredibly forgettable villain. (I honestly do not remember who the villain is and nor do I care to look it up.) However, unlike the last entry in this list Quantum does not have any winding and unnecessary subplots, and Craig is not yet totally worn down by the weight of playing 007. Plus being done with this movie in less than two hours is an amazing pro that keeps it a little higher on this list than perhaps it should be.

  • 5/10

3. No Time to Die (2021)

• Again, I will not pass up the opportunity for shameless self-promotion. I wrote a post for this movie already. You should really check it out. To sum up my thoughts quickly though: the action is strong; Craig is revitalized and plays along one last time; there is enough humor without distracting us from the stakes; this villain is uninteresting (in fact the best scene of the villain on screen is his inevitable demise at the hands of Bond); and the plot twist is underdeveloped.

  • 7/10

2. Casino Royale (2006)

• What a great first impression for Craig as 007! He has charisma, action chops, and a little humor to boot. Transitioning Bond from his campier roots that had stuck around for more than 40 years and into a grittier world is this movie’s greatest feat. Craig is not your grandfather’s James Bond, and we are all the better for it. Plus who doesn’t love a tension-filled poker movie? It’s a little unfortunate on the whole that Craig’s Bond faces his best adversary Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) in his first outing as the character, but the two have plenty of great scenes squaring off against each other that we can always rewatch.

  • 8/10

And the best Daniel Craig Bond movie is…

Skyfall

• You knew where this was going. Skyfall is the only one of these movies that really allows for a great theme to be created and delivered upon. Creating a story where our hero struggles against an unknown enemy is a very real threat facing modern governments. While we never wish for Dame Judy Dench to leave us, she is given a sendoff even better than Craig’s own a few years later. If you put all that with a deliciously evil performance from Javier Bardem and a stoic Craig doing his best to be strong in the face of fear, and you can see why this is considered by some to be perhaps the best Bond movie of all time.

  • 9/10

I know that even as our tenured hero Craig heads off for greener pastures, he left the franchise in a great place and delivered more than a fair share of solid entries that can be remembered fondly and rewatched with joy.

Until we get another Bond.