Here are my opinions on the Bond movies as my mother and I rewatched all of them while I built some Gunpla. All to lead up to going to see No Time to Die tonight, before her surgery tomorrow. Yep, I'm actually this nerdy.
Casino Royale: I was never that big on this movie. I avoided seeing it during its initial release and I'm not sure why. It's certainly a good movie, but disappointing in retrospect, because I don't think the Craig movies really follow through on its promise. It feels like a solid reboot that is the James Bond Begins treatment that will lead us to better understanding the character and play with his legacy. Like I always saw the whole conclusion with Vesper as kind of explaining James' detachment to women. I love how he says the James Bond line and we only hear the Bond theme at the end. It felt like a clever origin story, without the lame stuff Specter and Skyfall would push.
But I think it goes on too long and the whole back end of the movie reminds me of Superman Returns where we spend like 30mins of Supes in a hospital and it feels very un-superman. I believe Craig and Eva Green have great chemistry, but some of those lines.....
QoS: I love this movie. It feels better paced and well shorter than CR which is good. People laugh about Dominc Greene and water, but again I like the whole toned-down affair this series started with. It can get a bit cringy with how "topical" it wants to be("the dollar is not what it use to be"). But I genuinely think it's an exciting movie that works as a continuation of CR. I also really like Bond and Olga K's character. I like how it's not a romantic relationship, but two characters who can really understand each other. Bond feels fully formed at the end, signified by the gun barrel sequence.
Skyfall: This is just a classic bond movie. Traditional down to the very Bond Adelle song that yes I really like. I've seen the joke that Silvia is the Bond people trying to do Ledger Joker and maybe they are right, but he works as a fun villain with a real unique presence. I also have seen the take that M is the Bond girl here and well that works two. Introducing Money Penny and Q was great and continued the reboot feel, but I also think it does well by them. I like how they are characters and not just things that appear before the main mission starts. Maybe it drops the more hard edge of the previous two, but I enjoy it. Not as into visiting Bond estate which I feel goes against the orphan stuff from CR and does nothing for me.
Spectre: I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I hate the title song but upon more rewatches, it's not that terrible. Looks great, just like Skyfall. The whole Bolfield stepbrother is really lame and feels like anime shit. Also makes things feel just a bit smaller. Madison Swan isn't that great of a character and the whole "it was me all along with James" feels unearned.
