Daniel Craig

The James Bond Project #27: No Time to Die (2021)

~ Randy Blazak ~ Leave a comment

This series is intended to evaluate each product of the James Bond film franchise through a feminist lens, and the relevance of the Bond archetype to shifting ideas of masculinity in the 2020s.

No Time to Die (2021, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga)

August 27, 2025

And in the end. Here we are at the final (for now) review. The final Daniel Craig performance as James Bond. The final 007 in the 59 year history to be produced by Eon Productions and anyone named Broccoli. And perhaps the last Bond film ever. Spoiler: James dies but rumors of another reboot abound. Last February, Amazon/MGM bought the franchise from Eon, so we may get another generation of 007, perhaps AI generated.

No Time to Die,  the 25th Eon Bond film, wraps up the Bond story in some interesting ways. Danny Boyle was to direct but backed out at the last minute so True Detective director Cary Joji Fukunaga took on the job. Daniel Craig, 51 at the time, who’s body had been battered by the role, reportedly said he’d rather slash his wrists than play Bond again. MGM reportedly offered him $100 for two more Bond films, which he turned down. He utilmateiy accepted a payday of $25 million for a film that would tie up the Bond story’s loose ends. We’d see some familiar faces for the last time, including Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Christoph Waltz as Blofeld.

NTTD doesn’t really have a Bond girl in the traditional franchise sense. For the first time, a female lead returns in a film. Léa Seydoux, who played James’ love interest, Dr. Madeleine Swann in Spectre, returns in NTTD and she has a surprise for 007. Ana de Armas, who racked up the awards as Marilyn Monroe in 2022’s Blonde, is CIA agent Paloma and she out-La Femme Nikita’s Nikita. Her action scenes are the highlight of the film.

The final installment gives us the expected Bond tropes, including our final underground lair, Bond in a tux, cool gadgets (including a glider submarine), exotic locations (Bond’s back in Jamaica!), and more than one Aston Martin. But this Bond is not the walled-off Lothario of the past six decades. Craig still plays him with smirky panache, but NTTD 007 is a family man.

For one last time, let’s plug the film into our evaluation matrix and see how the final Bond film ranks in our toxic masculinity scale.

Driver of Action – It makes sense that the final film centers on Bond himself. As Spectre ended, we have James leaving MI-6 to be with Madeline. The MI-6 crew, including Q, play small roles. There’s even a new 007, who, fittingly, is a black female, played by Lashana Lynch. Bond is reunited with CIA agent Felix Leiter, who is killed by a bad DOJ agent. The diversion from solo Bond is the scene with Ana de Armas in Cuba where they make an excellent team opening an epic can of whoop ass on Spectre.

The Role of Violence – Rogue Bond doesn’t need a license to kill, but when he’s reinstated to MI-6, his body count is off the charts. The Cuba scene with the Paloma has the highest kill rate in Bond history and in the Norway chase scene and the underground island lair of the assassin Safin (played by future Freddie Mercury Rami Malek) we see countless henchmen mowed down. Fan count is 27 killed but it felt like twice that. As usual, Bond dodges an endless hail of bullets, but one fired by Safin, finds him, leading to his death as British missiles destroy the island base.

Vulnerability – James Bond has never been more vulnerable in a James Bond film. The first part of the film, Bond is plagued by thoughts of Vesper Lynn, his previous love interest who died. Then he’s plagued by thoughts that Madeleine has betrayed him. Then he learns that that was a mind trick by Blofeld. Reunited with Madeleine, he learns that he has a child named named Mathilde. In the end he sacrifices himself to save Mathilde and Madeleine.

Sexual Potency – That’s not really the vibe in this film. The films opens with James and Madeleine, in love in Italy, including a scene in bed. He tries to make the moves on a woman in his room in Jamaica until he learns she is an MI-6 agent, the new 007 (in a scene that felt like an homage to Live and Let Die). He briefly flirts with Paloma until they get busy killing Spectre baddies. NTTD is a Dad Bond film.

Connection – Jame is fully connected to Madeline in this movie. Even in the scene where he puts her on the train after he believes she tried to kill him is full of pathos. Later in the film, he tells her, “I have loved you and I will love you.” Once he learns Mathilde is his daughter, the parent protection gene is unleashed and he is focused on saving his people. NTTD has no cute epilogue where we see he’s survived the missile strike and on a boat, drinking martinis with Madeleine. We see him blown up real good and the film ends with Madeleine telling their daughter about her heroic father.

Toxic Masculinity Scale: 1

Summary: NTTD might score higher because of the constant explosion of gun violence, but paternal Bond levels all that out. Even the title sequence steps back. Over a great Oscar-winning theme song by Billie Eilish, instead of the titles being projected on the bodies of nude women, it’s over Bond and his weapons. It should also mentioned that the credits included the names of many women, not just hair and make-up and casting. For reasons that might be sad (the end of Eon Bond films), we finally get a more human model of masculinity from Ian Flemming’s iconic character.

No Time to Die’s release was held up by the COVID pandemic. Principle photography wrapped in October 2019, but post-production was shuttered during the lockdown. The final Eon Bond film had its world premiere on September 28, 2021 at London’s Royal Albert Hall and landed in a market where most theaters were still closed. A month later, the global deaths from COVID-19 topped 5 million.

Because of the nature of corporate ownership of film franchises, nobody really lamented No Time to Die as the LAST JAMES BOND MOVIE EVER. In fact, “Bond 26” is currently being written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and Dune director Denis Villeneuve is tapped to direct. Who will play the new Bond? Rumors are floating about Kick Ass star, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I’ve been routing for Idris Elba, but he might be a little old. Could it be a person of color? Or even a woman? I mean, why not? We can only hope the new Bond is a healthier versions of masculinity that is both vulnerable and lethal. He (or she) still has a license to kill, after all.

The James Bond Project #26: Spectre (2015)

The James Bond Project #25: Skyfall (2012)

The James Bond Project #24: Quantum of Solace (2008)

The James Bond Project #23: Casino Royale (2006)

The James Bond Project #22:  Die Another Day (2002)

The James Bond Project #21:  The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The James Bond Project #20:  Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The James Bond Project #19: GoldenEye (1995)

The James Bond Project #18: License to Kill (1989)

The James Bond Project #17: The Living Daylights (1987)

The James Bond Project #16: A View to a Kill (1985)

The James Bond Project #15: Never Say Never Again (1983)

The James Bond Project #14: Octopussy (1983)

The James Bond Project #13: For Your Eyes Only (1981)

The James Bond Project #12: Moonraker (1979)

The James Bond Project #11: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The James Bond Project #10: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The James Bond Project #9: Live and Let Die (1973)

The James Bond Project #8: Diamonds are Forever (1971)

The James Bond Project #7: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

The James Bond Project #6: You Only Live Twice (1967)

The James Bond Project #5: Casino Royale (1967)

The James Bond Project #4: Thunderball (1965)

The James Bond Project #3: Goldfinger (1964)

The James Bond Project #2: From Russia With Love (1963)

The James Bond Project: #1: Dr. No (1962)

The James Bond Project #25: Skyfall (2012)

~ Randy Blazak ~ 4 Comments

This series is intended to evaluate each product of the James Bond film franchise through a feminist lens, and the relevance of the Bond archetype to shifting ideas of masculinity in the 2020s.

Skyfall  (2012, directed by Sam Mendes)

July 31, 2025

Daniel Craig is back for his third stint as Bond, a little older, a little more beat up in a film that further tweaks the 007 formula. There are some classic staples here, including James gambling in his tux, James under the ice, James fighting on top of a moving train, James in rooftop motorcycle chase, exotic locations, random hook ups, and the Aston Martin, but American Beauty (1999) director Sam Mendes brings enough innovation to Skyfall to bring a bolt of electricity to the franchise, marking its fiftieth anniversary.

The most obvious shift from the formula here is that Skyfall is as much a Judi Dench movie as a Daniel Craig movie. M’s outsized role is fitting as it would be her last in the franchise. (She dies.) Also different is the strange twist that there really is no “Bond Girl” in this film. There’s not even a leggy woman on the movie posters! French actress Bérénice Marlohe’s character, Sévérine, almost plays the part, but she’s only briefly in the film. (She dies.) The most exciting addition is the return of Miss Moneypenny and this time she has a first name (“Eve”), she’s an action hero, and she’s black. We also get a Millennial Q, who has no time for gadgets.

The cast of Skyfall is robust, with 28 Days Later’s Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ralph Fiennes as head of intelligence Gareth Mallory, and Albert Finney as the housekeeper at Skyfall (a part Sean Connery was considered for as a nod to the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. No). The role of Bond Bad Guy went to No Country for Old Men break-out star Javier Bardem. Bardem dyed his hair blonde for the role, drawing comparisons with Julian Assange. Bardem also plays his character, Raoul Silva, as “gay” against James’ straight man role, although when Silva is sexually suggestive with James, Bond replies, “What makes you think this is my first time?” I remember the internet chat asking if 007 has been bi all these decades.

The flimsy plot follows a former MI-6 agent who is revealing the identity of fellow agents because M sold him out after Hong Kong was returned to China. Skyfall is the first Bond film to actually be partially filmed in China with segments in Shanghai and Macau. (Other locations include Instabul and Scotland). What the film lack in sense it make up for in bombast, including seeing our man James finally get shot, twice. (Although he does get winged by a speargun in 1965’s Thunderball.) But being shot clean through, and falling off a massive train bridge can’t kill Bond. He plays dead for a few months and then comes back to save the day.

Twenty-first century Bond has been described as “cool, not camp.” Let’s plug Skyfall’s 007 into our evaluation matrix.

Driver of Action – Skyfall is as much about M and her past choices as it is about James Bond. We do get some Bond backstory (and even see his parents’ grave), but this film is built on M’s career as spymaster in a changing global political landscape. We even get Judi Dench shooting at henchmen! Moneypenny also takes on a sidekick role often reserved for Bond girls. Is Eve Moneypenny Skyfall’s Bond girl?

The Role of Violence – An A.I. source says Bond kills 23 people in the film. It’s hard to tell because Bardem (as bad guy Silva) has so many henchmen. (Why, we don’t know.) Bond kills all of them. He also drops an assassin from a Hong Kong skyscraper. It’s interesting that everyone Bond shoots dies, but he bounces back from being shot like a Phoenix on coke.

Vulnerability – We do get a bit more of Bond’s soft white underbelly in Skyfall. Besides the backstory of James the orphaned child (not much emotion shared here but M quips, “orphans make the best recruits), we get a window into “dead 007,” as James lets the world think he’s dead as a means of retirement. He’s in some Black Sea coastal village, doing shots on the bar with the boys and a scorpion on his hand, having drunken sex, and letting his rock hard body atrophy with self indulgence. It’s not very believable but it sets up his comeback. When M asks him where he’s been, he replies, “Enjoying death.” Later, he states that his hobby is, “resurrection.” But there are plenty of allusions to spycraft being a “young man’s game,” and James being past his prime. (Craig had two more 007 films on his contract.)

Sexual Potency – Is the Bond “rule of 3 back”? Old Bond is still Horny Bond. While he’s “dead” we see drunk James having sex a local (or maybe she’s a contractor for Halliburton, we don’t know). Later, he climbs in the shower with sex-trafficking victim Sévérine, which seems just a tad misogynistic. I mean, c’mon James. Then he watches as she’s murdered by Silva. The big question is if 007 sleeps with Moneypenny after she shaves his face, while he’s clad only in a towel. It’s implied that, after 50 years of sexy banter, he seals the deal. There is an implication that Moneypenny with a gun is closer to his equal, even if she does shoot him on accident. But the message is consistent, that Bond is sexually irresistible to beautiful young women. (James sleeping with M would’ve made for a better film.)

Connection – The connection Bond has to M drives the film. Not only does he come back from the dead to help her, but he takes her to his childhood hiding place to keep his “mum” safe. The job of protecting and vindicating M is the framework of this episode. The connection with Moneypenny is noteworthy as is his lack of connection with the new, younger Q. Dench’s M dies in Bond’s arms, saying, “I did get one thing right.” Her trust and faith him were justified and now death has ended that bond.

Toxic Masculinity Scale: 3

Summary Bond’s interaction with Sévérine is highly problematic. Maybe we’re more sensitive in a post-Epstein era, but it should be clear that you don’t show up naked in the shower of a woman who is clearly a traumatized sex trafficking victim. Maybe it’s business as usual in a Bond film, but the scene was more anger-inducing, than “sexy.” However, the fact that Skyfall is really an M-centered film, with 007 in a supporting role, elevates the film as portraying a gender dynamic unique in the 007 canon.

For the 50th anniversary of Eon’s Bond franchises, there are familiar friends, like a title sequence featuring female bodies (and an Oscar-winning theme song by Adele), sharp dry quips from James (“Only a certain kind of woman wears a strapless dress with a Beretta 37 strapped to her thigh.”), and the return of the Aston Martin, along with the Bond theme music. (When Silva’s men blow up the car, 007 goes Rambo.) There’s even a glimpse of the vintage of the Macallan scotch Silva pours for Bond, 1962. Easter eggs aside, Bond’s emotions are still restrained but M (Dench) reveals the truth behind James masculine stoicism.

Skyfall premiered at Royal Albert Hall on October 23, 2012, while Hurricane Sandy was lashing America’s east coast. The film, as articulated by M, shares that the cold war world that produced Dr. No in 1962 now exists “in the shadows,” without clear enemies but with a new climate of danger. Mendes as director was an inspired choice to frame the action in service to M instead of Bond. Mendes would direct the next Bond as well as the Oscar/Golden Globe winning 1917 (2019). Medes is now directing four biopics on the members of the Beatles. For the kick-off of the next half-century of 007, Mendes would soon bring back a familiar foe to Bond’s universe.

Next: Spectre (2015)

The James Bond Project #24: Quantum of Solace (2008)

The James Bond Project #23: Casino Royale (2006)

The James Bond Project #22:  Die Another Day (2002)

The James Bond Project #21:  The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The James Bond Project #20:  Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The James Bond Project #19: GoldenEye (1995)

The James Bond Project #18: License to Kill (1989)

The James Bond Project #17: The Living Daylights (1987)

The James Bond Project #16: A View to a Kill (1985)

The James Bond Project #15: Never Say Never Again (1983)

The James Bond Project #14: Octopussy (1983)

The James Bond Project #13: For Your Eyes Only (1981)

The James Bond Project #12: Moonraker (1979)

The James Bond Project #11: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The James Bond Project #10: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The James Bond Project #9: Live and Let Die (1973)

The James Bond Project #8: Diamonds are Forever (1971)

The James Bond Project #7: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

The James Bond Project #6: You Only Live Twice (1967)

The James Bond Project #5: Casino Royale (1967)

The James Bond Project #4: Thunderball (1965)

The James Bond Project #3: Goldfinger (1964)

The James Bond Project #2: From Russia With Love (1963)

The James Bond Project: #1: Dr. No (1962)

The James Bond Project #24: Quantum of Solace (2008)

~ Randy Blazak ~ 4 Comments

This series is intended to evaluate each product of the James Bond film franchise through a feminist lens, and the relevance of the Bond archetype to shifting ideas of masculinity in the 2020s.

Quantum of Solace  (2008, directed by Marc Foster)

July 1, 2025

I wonder if ChatGPT could tell me which 007 movie had the most bullets fired at James Bond. I’m guessing Quantum of Solace would be in the top three. Thousands of rounds. After two dozen films and millions of bullets, I’m convinced our James has a magical forcefield around him. Is it wrong to want to see Bond shot just once? I mean, he’s shot so many people since 1962. Where is the equity?

Quantum of Solace is framed as somewhat of a sequel to Daniel Craig’s first Bond film, Casino Royale, as he seeks revenge for the killing of Vesper, who M described as “someone you loved.” But, because of the writers’ strike, it gets folded into a different film about another Elon Musk-like billionaire trying to corner the market on fresh water in South America. Directed by Marc Foster (Monster’s Ball, The Kite Runner), who in 2013 would direct my favorite zombie film, World War Z, QoS is a non-stop action film. Craig trained for the role this time but still sustained multiple injuries during the film, including losing the tip of a finger.

Maybe because this film was set up as a revenge caper for the death of Vesper in the last film, the fast cracking Lothario Bond is dialed way back and replaced with the one speed demolition man.  This episode’s Bond “girl” is Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko, playing Bolivian agent Camille Montes. (Future Wonder Woman Gail Gadot also auditioned for the role.) Kurylenko, who did many of her own stunts, went on to a long action film career, most recently starring as Taskmaster in 2025’s Thunderbolts*. French actor Mathieu Amalric, who plays the villainous Dominic Greene, broke the Bond mold of bad guys having some weird distinguishing characteristic. He’s just a dude.

Besides the endless hail of bullets, there are some Bond staples in QoS; Bond in a suped-up Aston Martin, Bond in a tux, Bond falling out of an airplane without a parachute, and a wide variety of exotic locations, including Haiti (with no references to voodoo!). This film is somewhat of a departure in that M, still played by Judi Dench, takes almost a co-starring role as she both helps Bond and tries to reign him in. It has a different feel because of that so let’s plug it into our matrix.

Driver of Action – James Bond movies will always be “James Bond” movies but I started to wonder if the formula of the femme fatale who was good in a fight, Camille in this picture, was tweaked to have Bond teamed up with a male crime fighter, if the film would have a different feel. With the exception of Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond’s female accomplices always seem very subordinate. QoS see the return of CIA gadfly Felix Leiter, but he’s relegated to the shadows. What’s different here is the upsized role of Judi Dench’s M. It’s almost a movie about Mom/Mum/Mam trying to discipline her wild boy. Dench was not given co-billing but it feels as much her film as it does Craig’s.

Role of Violence – 007 maximizes his license to kill in this film. Over two dozen bodies stack up, including a traitorous MI-6 agent shot after an insane rooftop chase in Sienna, Italy, a hitman killed in a knife fight in Haiti, and the main bad guy left to die in the driest desert on earth in Bolivia. Bond even instructs Camille how to kill. “Have you ever killed someone? The training will tell you that when the adrenaline kicks in you should compensate. But part of you’s not going to believe the training because this kill is personal. Take a deep breath. You only need one shot. Make it count.”

Vulnerability – QoS Bond is zipped up tight. I don’t think he even smiles once in this film. It’s re-iterated throughout the film how little he cared about Vesper, the last scene not being Bond in a boat with a woman, a flagrante delicto, but Bond throwing Vesper’s neckless into the Russian snow. Even bloodied, he’s laser-focused on the mission, whatever it is.

Sexual Potency – An hour into the film, James finally gets to unzip his pants. It’s with MI-6 underling Strawberry Fields (I’m not kidding). In an act of obligatory sexual harassment of company subordinates that’s become the most persistent cliche of the franchise, Bond gets his romp. There is no flirtation or chemistry. It seems purely contractual and you know that Ms. Fields will be dead before the end of the film. (Her naked body in a bed covered in oil, a nod to the famous scene in Goldfinger.) That’s it for the sex. He briefly kisses Camille, but it’s just sad all the way through for James.

Connection – There is one interesting bond in this Bond film, and that’s between James and M. She comes off as the strict mother, even applying face cream while she frets that her boy has gone off the rails. At the end of the film, she says, “Bond, I need you back.” To which he replies, “I never left.” Bond’s need to prove the threat of Quantum seems purely to prove the threat to M.

Toxic Masculinity Scale: 5

Summary

How can you be unhinged without appearing unhinged? QoS Bond is not a man. He’s a killing machine trying to prove a point that, ultimately, he doesn’t care about. But there’s a weird sense of balance in this film. On one side you have NONE-STOP action scenes, including classic Bond boat chases and airplane chases. On the other side, there’s the chunk of the film that is about M holding MI-6 and the entire geo-political order together. The brilliant theme song by Jack White and Alicia Keys hints at the promise of gender parity in the film, but it all goes off the rails amid the chaos. This includes the complete destruction of a hotel, that for some weird reason, is powered by hydrogen fuel cells. 

It should be mentioned there is an attempted rape scene. A woman working for exiled Bolivian General Medrano attacks her on a bed but is then killed by Camille, avenging the rape and murder of her family by the general.

Despite any real plot, Quantum of Solace was a box office smash, sailing on its over the top action sequences. You can literally hear Daniel Craig’s bones break in these scenes. The filming of this Bond coincided with the rise of the opioid painkiller epidemic so QoS doubles as a direct to consumer ad for OxyContin. The absence of Q and Moneypenny is made up for in the presented mythology of the indestructibility of the “good guy.”

Quantun of Solace premiered in London on October 29, 2008 as the American financial crisis, now known as the Great Recession, was just starting to drive Americans from their homes. QoS, Madagascar 2, and Twilight would give people brief escapes while the global economy crashed into a sinkhole. But steely-eyed assassins would not rescue their hope. It would be a man named Barack Obama.

Next: Skyall (2012)

The James Bond Project #23: Casino Royale (2006)

The James Bond Project #22:  Die Another Day (2002)

The James Bond Project #21:  The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The James Bond Project #20:  Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The James Bond Project #19: GoldenEye (1995)

The James Bond Project #18: License to Kill (1989)

The James Bond Project #17: The Living Daylights (1987)

The James Bond Project #16: A View to a Kill (1985)

The James Bond Project #15: Never Say Never Again (1983)

The James Bond Project #14: Octopussy (1983)

The James Bond Project #13: For Your Eyes Only (1981)

The James Bond Project #12: Moonraker (1979)

The James Bond Project #11: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The James Bond Project #10: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The James Bond Project #9: Live and Let Die (1973)

The James Bond Project #8: Diamonds are Forever (1971)

The James Bond Project #7: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

The James Bond Project #6: You Only Live Twice (1967)

The James Bond Project #5: Casino Royale (1967)

The James Bond Project #4: Thunderball (1965)

The James Bond Project #3: Goldfinger (1964)

The James Bond Project #2: From Russia With Love (1963)

The James Bond Project: #1: Dr. No (1962)

The James Bond Project #23: Casino Royale (2006)

~ Randy Blazak ~ 5 Comments

May 30, 2025

This series is intended to evaluate each product of the James Bond film franchise through a feminist lens, and the relevance of the Bond archetype to shifting ideas of masculinity in the 2020s.

Casino Royale (2006, directed by Martin Campbell)

This is not your grandfather’s 007. Casino Royale was meant as Eon Production’s 21st century reboot of the Bond series.  Gone are Q, Moneypenny, endless sexual double entendres, laser watches, and the dumb CGI of Die Another Day. And gone is the brunette James as Daniel Craig steps into the role. The story starts with Bond earning his “00” license to kill, so we can frame it as a prequel, but the film still features Judi Dench as M, so it’s not clear where the story fits in the 007 timeline, if there is one.

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson brought GoldenEye director Martin Campbell back in for a bit of continuity (although Quentin Tarantino expressed interest in taking the gig). The hunt for a new James Bond was massive and included possible candidates such as Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Keith Urban, Ralph Fiennes, and Ewan McGregor. After initially rejecting the role, Craig took the job in 2005.  The casting of Bond “girl” Vesper Lynd also had long list, including Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Audrey Tautou, Rachel McAdams, and Olivia Wilde. Finally producers cast French actress Eva Green (who I absolutely loved in 2003’s The Dreamers).

Casino Royale, while based on the same Ian Flemming novel as the 1967 spoof, starring Peter Sellers, is darker Bond that centers practical stunt work over impossible gadgets. The opening scene is shot in black and white and looks more like a scene from Dr. Strangelove than a sprawling action adventure flick. The opening credit montage features the iconic eye shot followed by a great theme song, sung by Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. But instead of images of women’s bodies, it’s all Bond. We still have the prerequisite globe trotting, Aston Martins, and Bond gambling in a tux, but so much of this film shatters the Bond formula and that was the intent.

Let’s plug this Casino Royale into our evaluation criteria.

Driver of Action – Each time we get a new Bond, the story tends to revolve around him. There is a small MI-6 team that involves Vesper, and we get the return of Felix Leiter (played by Jeffrey Wright, who was so great in Basquiat). As we get in the final shot of the film, this movie belongs to Bond, James Bond.

Role of Violence – Not only can Daniel Craig’s Bond run more than Tom Cruise in any Mission Impossible film, he can kill without remorse. He takes out 11 or 12 bad guys in the film, including drowning a guy in a bathroom sink in the first scene. He remarks that his second kill, a rogue MI-6 officer, is much easier. He shoots an unarmed bomb maker in Madagascar, which creates some bad press for MI-6. His ability to fight the bad guys to death, seems superhuman at time, but this is a James Bond film after all.

Vulnerability – Big shift here. While we get the strong silent bit out the wazoo (M says, “I would ask you if you could remain emotionally detached, but that’s not your problem, is it, Bond?”) We do see fear on Bond’s face when he is about to be tortured  by Le Chiffre (played by creepy Mads Mikkelsen). He should be. The torture is him being repeatedly hit in the scrotum, sending him to the hospital. He also shows great grief when Vesper dies, even though she double crossed him. The scene mirrors the final moment of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1967), with James Bond in tears, holding his dead wife.

Sexual Potency – Bond makes a quip about married women being his type, after he beds Solange Dimitrios, wife of a bad guy. MI-6 pairs him with Vespers Lynd, who keeps him at arms length for most of the film. Of course, they end up in bed together. But that’s it. This Bond ain’t a player.

Connection – This is where 2006 Bond really departs from the formula. There’s a scene where a traumatized Vespers is sitting in a hotel room shower, and James steps in and holds her. There is a strong connection between the two. After they survive near death and torture stopping Le Chiffre, James is in the hospital and Vesper says, “You’re not going to let me in there, are you? You’ve got your armour back on. That’s that.” And he replies, “I have no armour left. You’ve stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me – whatever is left of me – whatever I am – I’m yours.” Who is this man who recognizes the “00” prevents him from being able to love? This scene was 44 years in the making. James resigns from MI-6 to run off with her. Of course, this is a James Bond movie so you know there will be no happily ever after.

Toxic Masculinity Scale: 2

Summary

Casino Royale has enough Bond tropes to connect it to the genre. As a poker player I absolutely loved the extended scenes of Bond, Leiter and Le Chiffre playing high stakes Tex Hold ‘em. Gripping. The film also turns some of those tropes upside down. We get Bond back in the Bahamas coming out of the water like Ursula Andress in Dr. No (1962), his body on full display. This James plays more the role of psychoanalyst than sexual conquerer. But he’s still portrayed as a man’s man. (Vesper: You know, James, I just want you to know that if all that was left of you was your smile and your little finger, you’d still be more of a man than anyone I’ve ever met. James: That’s because you know what I can do with my little finger.)

The high level of violence in the film led to Casino Royale being re-edited in numerous countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and China. But the film is securely located in the 2000s, with the prevalence of cell phones, a parkour inspired chase scene in Madagascar, and the Body Worlds exhibit in Miami.

Casino Royale premiered in London’s Odeon in Leicester Square (where I saw the premiere of Pink Floyd’s The Wall in 1982) on November 16, 2006, with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in attendance. It’s the same week Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s Playstation 3 hit the market, so there was a competition for young male eyeballs. The film received rave reviews with the Rotten Tomatoes website reporting,  “Casino Royale disposes of the silliness and gadgetry that plagued recent James Bond outings, and Daniel Craig delivers what fans and critics have been waiting for: a caustic, haunted, intense reinvention of 007.”

Maybe after four decades James learned the weight of his license to kill.

Next: Quantum of Solace (2008)

The James Bond Project #22:  Die Another Day (2002)

The James Bond Project #21:  The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The James Bond Project #20:  Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The James Bond Project #19: GoldenEye (1995)

The James Bond Project #18: License to Kill (1989)

The James Bond Project #17: The Living Daylights (1987)

The James Bond Project #16: A View to a Kill (1985)

The James Bond Project #15: Never Say Never Again (1983)

The James Bond Project #14: Octopussy (1983)

The James Bond Project #13: For Your Eyes Only (1981)

The James Bond Project #12: Moonraker (1979)

The James Bond Project #11: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The James Bond Project #10: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The James Bond Project #9: Live and Let Die (1973)

The James Bond Project #8: Diamonds are Forever (1971)

The James Bond Project #7: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

The James Bond Project #6: You Only Live Twice (1967)

The James Bond Project #5: Casino Royale (1967)

The James Bond Project #4: Thunderball (1965)

The James Bond Project #3: Goldfinger (1964)

The James Bond Project #2: From Russia With Love (1963)

The James Bond Project: #1: Dr. No (1962)