- Question
- Who was the best James Bond?
- Position‹2 of 6›
- Daniel Craig was the best James Bond
Skyfall was the most successful Bond film because it was successful in the box office and also praised by both fans and critics. This success is due in large part to Craig and his acting.
The argument
The argument identifies a single film and treats its standing as the strongest available evidence for the actor at its centre. Skyfall grossed the most of any Bond film. Commercial performance on its own is a blunt measure, since a long-running series carries audiences from one instalment to the next largely regardless of quality. What makes this case unusual is that the film did not only sell. It also sat well with fans and critics, an unusual achievement for a film, and a rarer one still within a franchise, where the audience that turns out in volume and the critics assessing the picture on its own terms often reach opposite conclusions. Satisfying both at once is the double result the argument rests on. Credit for that is shared. Sam Mendes, the director, is masterful, and his shots have cinephiles purring; the film is admired for how it is constructed as much as for what it tells, which is part of why the critical reception was what it was. But a Bond film is organised around its lead. The protagonist is in nearly every scene, the tone of the picture follows his performance, and no amount of direction compensates if the centre does not hold. As the man at the heart of it all, delivering a performance worthy of Britain's favourite protagonist, Daniel Craig deserves a significant portion of the credit for what the film achieved. Because he starred in the most successful Bond film, successful commercially and critically at once, proponents conclude that Daniel Craig was the best James Bond.
Context
The Bond franchise is one of the highest-grossing film series in history. To date, Skyfall has made the most money at the box office of any Bond film.
Premises
Counter-arguments
The film's plot makes no sense. For all of its great action scenes and great performances, the story is lacking and there are glaring holes in the plot. Why does M let Bond return to the field even after he fails the necessary psych and physical tests? Why does Silva not use his hi-tech cyber skills to get to M, but instead hatches a basic plan to shoot at her in the Houses of Parliament? Why does Bond feel the need to return to his childhood home in Scotland? Why does Bond take M to a remote mansion for safety? Why is he the only one protecting her? Why, instead of enlisting the army, Marines, or other MI6 agents, does he rely on an old groundskeeper for armed support?