James Bond is one of the most popular movie franchises in the world and the most recent actor to play the character, Daniel Craig, has recently called it a day in the role. There is huge pressure to deliver when playing James Bond and Craig has done a fantastic job and it will be interesting to see who steps into his shoes for the next Bond movie.
When considering the top 3 best James Bond Movies of the past 20 years, it is difficult to ignore the films starring Craig and Casino Royale is arguably his top performance. Casino Royale was the first Bond film to star Craig and it was an exceptional piece of work as the took the franchise down a different road to the previous film, Die Another Day.
Casino Royale was essentially a reboot for the James Bond movies and the opening sequence sees Bond gaining his 00 status. Having foiled a plot by Le Chiffre to destroy an airliner, Bond participates in a high-stakes poker tournament at the Casino Royale as the villain aims to recoup his lost money. Bond succeeds in beating Le Chiffre but the woman who was aiding Bond turns out to be a double agent, who is ultimately killed. Bond tracks down the man who killed her and captures him. Casino Royale is a highly entertaining film and a great introduction to the role for Craig. If the poker playing sequence whets your appetite for more, you can play casino games for real money online.
Remaining with Craig and another of the top 3 best James Bond Movies of the past 20 years has to be Spectre. Released in 2015, the opening sequence of this film is extraordinary and the whole movie is believed to be one of the most expensive ever created. Special effects and stunts were clearly the main priority in Spectre and the team behind the film pulled off some fantastic moments, including the action surrounding the Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City.
Having stopped a terrorist bombing plot, Bond is battling against the closure of the ’00’ field agent section and is in a race to find the Pale King, who turns out to be Mr White. With the aid of Mr White’s daughter, psychiatrist Dr. Madeleine Swann, Bond discovers the SPECTRE organisation and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Despite being in a position to kill Blofeld at the end of the film, Bond resists and the villain is arrested by M.
The third and final move in our rundown of the top 3 best James Bond Movies of the past 20 years is Skyfall. This film successfully studied the relationship between M and Bond, while also looking at the backstory of Bond.
Following an operation that when wrong in Istanbul, Bond is presumed dead and M is facing questions over her ability to run the secret service. Javier Bardem is excellent as the villain Raoul Silva, who is involved in the attack that leads to the death of M. At the end of the film, Bond is reinstated as 007 by the new M, Gareth Mallory.
