Daniel Craig has played the legendary James Bond for 10 years and my oh my hasn’t it gone fast? Initially, his casting way back in 2005 was subject to controversy as he didn’t fit the ‘suave, tall dark and handsome’ image of Bond – fittingly he is often dubbed ‘James Blonde’. I mean, who cares, he did the role justice, with box office records surpassing predecessors, Daniel Craig bought a new meaning to the Bond series.
I’d never really been a fan of the Bond series in all honesty – I thought they were cheesy, gimmicky and misogynistic. Perhaps I’m just referring to the clips of James Bond I’d seen throughout my childhood but I just never really got what it was about. The Pierce Brosnan Bond movies were great for what they were but all I could think of is get rid of all those gadgets and leave them to Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible or Will Smith in Men in Black.
Fast forward to 2006 (Me aged 16) and I had just started studying A-Level Media, all I wanted to watch was films that’d push me out of my own personal comfort zone. Seeing Casino Royale in the cinema was such a change as I am so used to watching thrillers and horrors. All I could think is that I want to direct a Bond movie one day… This is still a long forgotten dream of mine but I’ll leave it wrapped in a box in the corner of my brain for now.
Martin Campbell did a fantastic job with directing Casino Royale, I really cannot fault anything except the fact I wasn’t cast as leading lady. In all seriousness though, Eva Green did an amazing job and I feel like she really stood out in comparison to any other female protagonists in this movie genre. She gave the role more than just ‘looks’. My highlights were the shower scene (which sounds questionable as is), but this scene and the soundtrack alongside it are one of the reasons I loved this movie. Yes, it was a scene of romance, but it was a welcome change from the conventional Bond movie narrative.
I’m not going to lie I have a huge crush on Monsieur Bond – Daniel Craig but besides his piercing blue eyes and fine physique, he is actually a brilliant actor. If anything he is underrated as an actor. with films such as Layer Cake and Road to Perdition to his name – I am glad Mr Craig was cast as Bond all those years ago.
For me he has really shaken the Bond series from formulaic spy movies by stirring them into something really brilliant. Daniel Craig has brought human vulnerability to the role with brooding darkness clouding his judgement (Explored in Skyfall).
He has recently commented in interviews lately that the James Bond character is ‘misogynistic’. To quote him:
But let’s not forget that he’s actually a misogynist. A lot of women are drawn to him chiefly because he embodies a certain kind of danger and never sticks around for too long.
This description has been attached to the series for years but is overrun with that being Agent 007 and that saving the world is exciting and sexy. If anything, I pretty much agree with Daniel Craig, the James Bond character does embody the trait of misogyny but perhaps is relationships with women stem from his childhood and his job of being a spy. Who knows – it is 2015 and in all honesty I am sick of reading articles relating to the women of Bond movies as ‘Bond Girls’, with them solely focusing on their relationship with James Bond, the clothes they wear and their body image. There is definitely more to life media and society, just make a great movie and move on. Perhaps women and the Bond series would make another interesting post on its own?
As you can tell from this blog, I am so excited for the new movie Spectre, out this week. Even if this is Daniel Craig’s last Bond movie, I’ll watch them with much happiness for years to come. The brilliant thing with movies is that they are here to enjoy forever.
If you big Hollywood casting agents happen to be reading my blog, I do believe that Tom Hardy will be an apt successor to Daniel Craig as James Bond and he has my very blessing too.
Char xo
Please note – gifs in this post do not belong to me. They have been sourced from GIPHY for reference purposes only.
flourishingpetal says
Let’s go and see this together please!? xx