Daniel Craig is one of the most versatile actors around. Although a lot of people know him because of his recent Bond roles, he has done some amazing roles way before he started acting as 007. Let’s have a look at the 15 best Daniel Craig movies of all time:
15. The Golden Compass (2007)
An adaptation of a three-part fantasy adventure by Philip Pullman, it revolves around the adventure of an orphan, Lyra Belaqua, in a parallel universe who is determined to rescue his kidnapped friend and other children from the Gobblers with whatever help she can get.
Craig’s role as Lyra’s uncle Lord Asriel was refreshing and quite admirable.
14. Logan Lucky (2017)
When Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) gets fired, he convinces his brother Clyde (Adam Driver) and sister Mellie (Riley Keough) to help him execute a heist during a NASCAR race. They cannot execute it without the help of Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), who is a convicted safe-cracker currently in jail.
Now all they need to do is to get Joe free temporarily, empty the vault and get Jimmy to his daughter’s event on time.
13. The Dream House (2011)
The Dream House is a psychological thriller revolving around schizophrenia. Director Jim Sheridan brilliantly adapted a complicated topic like schizophrenia quite easily in a great thriller.
The screenplay was superbly written by David Loucka followed by great performances by Rachel Weisz, Daniel Craig, and Naomi Watts.
The film received very low ratings upon release because its trailer wrongly marketed it as a horror film which affected box office performance as well. The film eventually bagged two awards at the Golden Trailer Awards in 2012 and the Guild of Music Supervisors Awards.
12. Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
The plot revolves around an amnesiac outlaw (Craig), a wealthy cattleman (Harrison Ford), and a mysterious traveler (Wilde) who must ally to save a group of people abducted by aliens in the 18th century.
Despite a great performance by Craig and Ford, the film didn’t do well with the critics, however, was able to recover its cost at the box office.
11. Flashback of a Fool (2008)
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Flashback of a Fool unravels the impact of childhood friendships on life and how an untimely death can ruin one’s life altogether. The film revolves around a struggling celebrity who receives a jolt from the sudden demise of his friend. It forces him down memory lane only to repent of many of his life’s decisions that went wrong along the way.
Supported by equally powerful performances by Harry Eden, Claire Forlani, Felicity Jones, Emilia Fox, Eve, Jodhi May, Helen McCrory, and Miriam Karlin, Craig nailed the character of Joe Scot. The film was directed by Baillie Walsh who sadly failed to strike a favoring note with the critics
10. Archangel (2005)
Another periodical film in which Prof. Fluke Kelso (played by Daniel Craig) and the daughter (Yekaterina Rednikova) of a slain former agent investigate the mystery surrounding Josef Stalin’s life.
Given its production quality and an excellent gripping performance by Craig, and several Russian actors, it’s quite disappointing that the film was only released on television and there was no theatrical release.
9. Enduring Love (2004)
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Enduring Love, is an equally gripping psychological thriller, this time around with a stalker in the plot to spice up the thrills.
Revolving around an air balloon accident where Joe (Daniel Craig) is a witness and tries his level best to get rid himself of the nightmares he has of that incident. The more he tries to fight and forget them the more Jed, the other witness, reminds him of them by stalking him.
The ease and brilliance with which Craig performed his character are noteworthy. Enduring Love was awarded at the Empire Awards, London Critics Circle Film Awards, and the National Board of Review.
8. The Trench (1999)
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Recruits not yet ready to give away the freedom of a common man’s life, memories, and a deep sense of insecurity among strangers, it’s the last days before the Battle of the Somme in 1916, where soldiers are living in terrible conditions in the trenches.
Amongst the new set of soldiers Sgt. Telford Winter (Daniel Craig) has to handle Billy Macfarlane (Paul Nicholls), a patriotic teenager struggling to reconcile his homesickness with his sense of duty. With interesting direction and screenplay by William Boyd, the movie bagged Nominations for the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.
7. Hotel Splendide (2000)
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Talk about shadowy humor and we have Hotel Splendide. A British comedy about a family running a health resort where the only means to reach it is through a ferry. Their approach to health-related treatments gives it a hilarious touch.
Written by Terence Gross and produced by Robert Buckler and Ildiko Kemeny, though it never achieved many accolades, it was appreciated for its shadowy humor and kick-in-the-ass approach to filmography.
6. Copenhagen (2002)
A 2002 adaptation of a stage play that made waves in the film circle, it’s about a meeting between two renowned physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg (played by Craig) during World War 2 in 1941 at Copenhagen. At that time apparently, the young physicist was working on a government-based research program.
While his friend, a master unto himself, was cozying up to the allied forces. Their meeting gave rise to a lot of rumors regarding their motives for meeting. We will leave the rest of the details of the plot for you to watch.
5. Munich (2005)
Another periodical drama adapted from the book Vengeance. It’s based on the Israeli government’s covert operation against Palestine Liberation Organization operatives after the 1972 Summer Olympics Massacre. It was directed and produced by the legendary director Steven Spielberg and was written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth.
The film is a pure example of cinematic excellence and quite unsurprisingly won five Academy Awards nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Score.
4. Defiance (2008)
A drama around two Jewish brothers who escape the Nazis and go deep into the Belarus forest. They huddle together to form forces with the Russian army while trying to build a strong and better housing facility for the non-combatant Jews.
Although it was a decent war film with good performances by the entire cast, sadly it wasn’t as flabbergasted as it should have been to the critics.
3. Layer Cake (2004)
Another crime thriller coming our way to find vivid differences in British society. The film’s plot revolves around a London-based criminal known as XXXX, played by Daniel Craig, willing to leave the drug business but his last job starts a chain of uncontrollable mess that turns his life upside down.
The film also features good performances by Tom Hardy, Calm Meaney, and Sienna Miller. The film was a critical success and received various awards including BAFTA Awards 2005, and British Independent Film Awards 2004.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows an infamous journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig), who investigates the disappearance of a wealthy guy’s niece from decades ago.
Blomkvist gets help from a tattooed, mostly silent punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.
1. Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall is a 2012 film, featuring Daniel Craig in his third performance as James Bond. It’s undoubtedly the best Daniel Craig Bond film in the entire series. It was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan, and features the theme song “Skyfall”, written and performed by Adele. It bagged various awards including Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA.
The film starts with quite a dire situation for Bond when he fails a mission and is considered dead which results in the leakage of a list of all MI6 operatives. Now Bond must prove his loyalty to M and protect MI6 before it vanishes.
Honorable Mentions
Following performances by Daniel Craig also deserve an honorable mention on our list:
- Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998)
- Some Voices (2000)
- Kiss and Tell (1996)
Did we miss any of the best Daniel Craig movies of all time? Let us know in the comments below!
