Exploring the world of James Bond for the first time can be daunting—but if you want to pick a specific actor and go through their run as Bond, that’s the best way. With seven to choose from, you’re going to end up with a lot of opinions from James Bond fans.
Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig all took on the task of playing James Bond at one point or another. While Connery was the first (and therefore where many start), some Bonds have become fan favorites throughout the years—and the one that many claim as the best is Daniel Craig.
While he did not lead the most James Bond movies (that honor belongs to Connery and Moore with seven each), Craig was the longest-running Bond, having the title for fifteen years. So why not start with him, especially since his movies are genuinely good and form a complete story all on their own? To make the most of Daniel Craig’s run as Bond, you should watch them in the order in which they were released. So, let’s talk about them all (and why they’re incredible).
Casino Royale (2006)
The movie to kick it all off was Casino Royale. Based on the first of Ian Fleming’s Bond novels, Casino Royale introduced Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to the world and established why Bond has a new girl in his life in nearly every movie. Setting the scene for a lot of his iconic lines and moments, Casino Royale worked as a soft relaunch of the franchise for Craig, and it did a brilliant job of bringing us into his world as 007.
Casino Royale was, however, still connected to the previous Bond era (which was led by Pierce Brosnan), with characters like M being played by Judi Dench. Outside of that, these movies really do stand on their own as Craig’s story—and it all begins with Casino Royale, a must-see before you explore the rest of his franchise.
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Still grieving over the death of Vesper Lynd, Quantum of Solace brings us into the next Bond adventure, with Bond fighting against an organization that is trying to eliminate a valuable resource. Why it works, though, is because it follows through on James’ arc from Casino Royale, something that previous Bond movies mostly tried to avoid.
Characters and actors were brought back for multiple movies before, but none of the Bond films really followed through on character development and narrative themes. While Quantum of Solace is the weaker of Craig’s Bond movies, it is still part of the larger whole and a great James Bond movie in general.
Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall focuses on M (Judi Dench) as her past comes back to haunt her, and James has to figure out where his loyalties lie. If you don’t know much about this as a movie, you will probably at least know “Skyfall” by Adele, one of the best James Bond songs ever written. Her take on a Bond song really helped nail the magic of this movie.
Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) was a former MI6 agent who became a cyberterrorist, hellbent on destroying MI6, Bond, and M once and for all. Terrifying, close to home for James, and genuinely a great way to bring him back to his roots, Skyfall is one of the best Bond movies overall and definitely one of Craig’s best.
Spectre (2015)
After the horrors of Skyfall, Bond is back to protect the country he is meant to serve. Spectre introduces a lot of new characters, all of whom play an important part in both Spectre and its sequel, No Time to Die. Léa Seydoux’s character, Madeleine Swann, becomes particularly important.
Spectre is a long movie, and many have questioned whether or not it’s actually good because it takes so long for relatively little to happen. Still, in order to understand the important parts of No Time to Die, you do have to dive into Spectre first.
No Time to Die (2021)
Oh, how I love you, No Time to Die. In a movie that is all about finishing Craig’s legacy as James Bond, there were a lot of moving parts to wrap up since he did take part in an overarching story. Introducing characters from his past, a new villain in Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin, and reconnecting with Jeffrey Wright’s Felix Leiter (who was in three of Craig’s five movies), No Time to Die was an undeniably great send-off for Craig’s Bond. Mixed with setting up the future (in characters like Lashana Lynch’s Nomi and Ana de Armas’ Paloma), there is just so much to love about No Time to Die!
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That’s the best order to watch Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies in. Enjoy!
(featured image: Sony Pictures Releasing)
