It’s likely that the critical derision that Pierce Brosnan’s final Bond film Die Another Day (2002) faced, plus the growing demand for comedy spy films, helped to pave the way for Craig’s Bond to be welcomed with open arms. This Bond - an emotionally vulnerable, erratic, and believable killer – brought the character back to its roots and yet was firmly and rightly associated with its predecessor but one. Ironically, Craig’s performance (one of the most well-regarded aspects of Casino Royale) was consistently and positively compared to those of Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights and License To Kill (1989). Casino Royale was praised for its departure from the franchise’s conventions, particularly in how it captured the edginess of the Dalton films while avoiding the excessive joviality of the rest. All the old tropes that were so synonymous with Bond had become vulnerable to mockery and parody. The Austin Powers trilogy (1997-2002) had mocked the Bond franchise (and the spy genre more widely) to such acclaim and enjoyment that MGM felt that the existing model had become unsustainable. Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale (2006) marked the biggest overhaul in James Bond history, ditching the gadgets, unconvincing CGI, and comic book villains.
