Tragic Bond

The thing that the Daniel Craig series of James Bond movies did, apart from casting an actor who is not naturally suave, was to make James Bond a tragic figure.

It was long overdue, really. Prior to the 2006 “Casino Royale“, 007 movies have defied the standard storytelling ingredients of character flaws and character growth for the protagonist. I suppose their usual audiences didn’t require depth. But how long can such movies compete? Even Marvel movies have that most basic box ticked.

How did they do it? In “Casino Royale”, Bond is criticized for his shortcomings in ways that might cause him to actually doubt himself. However, the real key was setting up Vesper as a tragedy that he just can’t get over. This carries through into the next films. Added to these are other serious flaws and weaknesses, darkness in Bond’s past, etc.