Every Daniel Craig Movie Ranked Worst To Best

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

When Daniel Craig blasted his way onto the screen as the new James Bond in 2006's now-classic "Casino Royale," he was already a veteran actor with a diverse array of projects under his belt. A number of those early roles drew enormous praise from critics, while others quietly drifted into obscurity, but each performance was essential in establishing Craig's blend of charm and intensity. These characteristics allowed the actor to tackle complex parts later in his career, leading to Emmy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe award nominations. 

While Daniel Craig will likely forever be known as one of the best iterations of 007 to grace the screen, one cannot discount his fearlessness in tackling challenging characters in smaller projects, even if the results aren't always up to par. With that in mind, here is every single Daniel Craig movie performance to date, shaken (not stirred) and ranked for your eyes only. 

Following her Academy Award-winning performance in "L.A. Confidential," Kim Basinger employed a one-for-the-money/one-for-the-critics strategy with the commercial thriller "Bless the Child" and the would-be epic "I Dreamed of Africa," and failed on both accounts. The former, a satanic thriller, flopped at the box office, while "I Dreamed of Africa" (based on Kuki Gallmann's memoir) is a dreadfully boring affair that strives for the greatness of similar epics — notably "Out of Africa" — but plays like a TV soap opera in dire need of resuscitation.

The film bombed, earning just $14 million against a $50 million budget, and was panned by critics and audiences alike. Daniel Craig occasionally pops in as a land manager but isn't given much to do with a one-dimensional, pint-sized role that wastes the burgeoning star's talents. On a positive note, the film features some glorious scenery of the titular country, and the score by Maurice Jarre effectively conveys a grand scope. Too bad the script and performances don't follow suit.  

In 1995, a little-known Daniel Craig sported an awful bowl haircut for his role as Master Kane in Disney's goofy yet intermittently enjoyable "A Kid in King Arthur's Court," which at 5% fresh ranks as the actor's lowest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences mostly steered clear of the family-friendly pic, which earned just $13.4 million despite the presence of up-and-comers like Kate Winslet in her pre-"Titanic" days. The film's lead, "Rookie of the Year" star Thomas Ian Nicholas, was still four years away from his stint in the decidedly grown-up "American Pie" franchise and shared some memorable moments with his co-stars.

Craig displays his natural charm in the supporting role but can't overcome a flat script, shoddy dialogue, or a relatively meager production (even by '90s era Disney standards), leaving "A Kid in King Arthur's Court" as a curious if not slightly embarrassing entry on the actor's grand resume. Still, there's a charm inherent in these old Disney flicks that makes them, at the very least, watchable if only for nostalgic purposes. 

A curious oddity from the year 2000, "Hotel Splendide" boasts strong Terry Gilliam-style visuals but falls flat in terms of story and character. Directed by Terence Gross and starring Toni Collette and Daniel Craig, the pic takes place on a remote island off the coast of England in the titular spa-resort Hotel Splendide. Run by the Blanche family led by Craig's irritable chef Ronald, the near-inhospitable retreat serves its guests an eel and seaweed diet before administering enemas, thermal mud baths, and flavor-free cuisine. Into this fold drops Kath (Colette) whose arrival turns the vile location on its head and threatens to upend Blanche's unconventional style.

Critics were generous to the performances by Craig and Collette, but felt the script needed a lot more work. As Variety put it, "Pic boasts a few random moments of droll wit" but spends far too much time focusing "on mildew-encrusted tiles, drippy and corroded water pipes, and dining room walls as cruddy-looking as an unattended aquarium."

"Renaissance" is an ambitious animated thriller from director Christian Volckman that attempts to blend sci-fi fantasy with film noir to decidedly mixed results. Despite a star-studded voice cast featuring Daniel Craig, Catherine McCormack, Romola Garai, Ian Holm, and Jonathan Pryce, the film flopped at the box office with a meager take of $1.8 million against an $18 million budget. While it has an astonishing visual flair, its overarching narrative and decidedly grim tone don't match the technical creativity that took an astonishing six years to achieve.

Said narrative revolves around the search for a missing high-ranking scientist (Garai) who works at the Avalon Corporation, a purveyor of youth and beauty. Craig lends his voice to Barthélémy Karas, a distinguished cop who quickly discovers not everything is as it seems. Thankfully, Craig would return to the animation fold with Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," which utilizes the actor's personality and charm to much greater effect.   

Hollywood has yet to produce a great video game adaptation, but actually came closer than they had any right to with 2001's action bonanza "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." Featuring Angelina Jolie in the title role she was practically born to play, the $115 million Simon West pic never rises above its generic (and confusing) plot and makes the same mistakes as other films based on games in that it leans too heavily on its source material to really take off, but still works as a trite bit of B-movie entertainment.

Daniel Craig co-stars as Alex West, Lara's rival/ally depending on the circumstance, and does his best with the material given. He is ultimately wasted in a rather thankless role that caters more to his impressive physique than his acting chops. Critics dismissed "Lara Croft" upon its release, and the film certainly lacks what one would call quality filmmaking. Even so, all these years later it actually stands as one of the better big screen video game adaptations.

On paper, "Flashbacks of a Fool" must have sounded like a powerful coming-of-age drama directed by a burgeoning young talent (Baillie Walsh) with the support of James Bond himself. Alas, the story as seen through the eyes of Daniel Craig's aging Hollywood actor builds to a revelation too outlandish to take seriously. The finale doesn't quite ascend to the operatic heights it clearly strives for.

Too bad, because Craig — who also produced — is perfectly fine in what amounts to a supporting role, using his piercing blue eyes and moody gaze to great effect. Harry Eden (Craig's character as a younger man) and Felicity Jones lend strong support during the extended flashback sequences, while Walsh absolutely nails the period details and musical trappings of the '70s era where the majority of the story takes place. Yet the film, for all its promise, is ultimately let down by Walsh's underdeveloped script that usurps deeper reflections on life in favor of half-cooked melodrama.

Three years before "Casino Royale" made him a bonafide superstar, Daniel Craig lent his good looks and charm to the misguided biography "Sylvia" opposite Gwyneth Paltrow. While the pair deliver fine performances and exhibit plenty of chemistry, the film as a whole never finds a perfect branch to hang from, so to speak, and gets lost amidst an array of hokey melodrama that amounts to little more than a daytime soap opera.

"Sylvia" attempts to recall the life of famed poet Sylvia Plath (Paltrow) and the events that led to her eventual suicide in 1963. We see her early career as a talented young poet, endure the tragedy of her father's death, and experience her problematic relationship with fellow poet Ted Hughes (Craig). Yet, director Christine Jeffs and writer John Brownlow fail to help audiences truly understand the remarkably talented writer, leaving the film as little more than a collection of individual scenes that don't amount to much depth. It doesn't help that Plath's daughter derided the film as a cynical cash grab, with The Guardian adding that it voyeuristically rakes "over the ashes of her mother's death." Yikes!

Daniel Craig took on a number of risky roles early in his career, the most prominent being 1998's "Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon," in which he plays the lover of renowned painter Francis Bacon (played by Derek Jacobi). The film, based on the biography "The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon" by Daniel Farson, follows the pair's acidic relationship that unexpectedly begins when Craig's thief enters Bacon's home seeking materials to pawn off and is offered the painter's bed instead. 

"Love is the Devil" doesn't shy away from Bacon's horrible persona, a result of his endless drinking with Soho's low-lives. Indeed, director John Maybury visualizes Bacon's world in a manner similar to the artist's paintings: Contorted, hypnotic, and frightening. The man was certainly celebrated for his artistry, but "Love is the Devil" doesn't hold back on unveiling the true persona behind the work, resulting in a fascinating-if-not-haunting film experience.

Based on George Plimpton's 1997 book "Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career," "Infamous" tells the tale of Capote (Toby Jones) and his endeavors to write the bestseller "In Cold Blood," about the murders of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. Released one year after the Academy Award-winning "Capote," in which Philip Seymour Hoffman memorably played the famous writer, "Infamous" takes an ostensibly different perspective on Capote's life. It leans in on the decadence and flamboyance of his persona but doesn't go far enough in any direction to become anything more than an addendum to the previous movie. 

Performances are mostly solid from the large ensemble, which also includes Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Peter Bogdanovich, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sigourney Weaver. Craig in particular stands out as Perry Smith, one of the Holcomb killers who develops a close personal relationship with Capote that forms the emotional crux of the story. As explained by The New York Times in their review of the film, Craig "endows Smith with a coiled, frightening sexual intensity. Unlike Clifton Collins Jr.'s volatile lost boy in the earlier film, Mr. Craig's Smith is more predator than prey, even when he's at Capote's mercy."    

Daniel Craig's stardom certainly took some time to develop. After basking in TV dramas and the occasional supporting role on the big screen throughout the '90s, the actor landed the role of Ray in Simon Cellan Jones' fascinating love story "Some Voices" and showed the world why he was capable of so much more. The actor plays Ray, a schizophrenic recently released from a psychiatric hospital whose personal relationships — notably those with his brother Pete (David Morrissey) and girl-next-door Laura (Kelly Macdonald in a stellar performance) — are tested when he skips his medication and begins a gradual descent into madness. 

Despite the film feeling far too small for its own good, a result of its stage-based origins, "Some Voices" is actually an involving little flick that looks at mental illness from a unique perspective. Despite its gritty visual look, it offers a certain amount of optimism rarely seen in this type of picture. 

For much of the epic 148-minute runtime of "Spectre," you get the sense that you're watching the greatest James Bond film ever made. This is due to its splendid mix of high-octane action, memorable villains (notably, Dave Bautista's Jaws-like Mr. Hinx), and captivating mystery centered around Léa Seydoux's sensual Madeleine Swann and Christoph Waltz's maniacal Ernst Stavro Blofeld. 

Unfortunately, a somber and confusing third act — a consequence of last-second reshoots — ends this otherwise exciting film on a disappointing low note. Returning director Sam Mendes and a legion of writers try their best to connect Daniel Craig's Bond then-quadrilogy in a satisfying manner, but foolishly resort to a contrived plot twist ripped straight out of "Austin Powers" that induces more eye rolls than gasps. The results are astonishingly miscalculated, leaving "Spectre" as a spectacular misfire that would have forever tainted Craig's tenure as 007 if not for the splendid "No Time to Die." Still, "Spectre" is certainly worth a watch. There are a number of throwbacks to previous Bond films that will delight fans, plenty of amazing stunts, set pieces, and more than enough dazzling spectacle to justify its existence. 

David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," based on the best-selling and award-winning Swedish "Millennium" book series written by journalist Stieg Larsson, is perhaps the bleakest, weirdest, and most involving psychological thriller released in the last decade, even if it falls just short of Niels Arden Oplev's 2009 foreign counterpart. Slick, stylish, and pitch black in tone, "Dragon Tattoo" centers around a long-running murder mystery involving one of the wealthiest families in Sweden and the two individuals — disgraced financial reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and spirited Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) — who reluctantly take up the case. The film explores everything from sexual violence against women to the misogynistic attitudes that linger so prevalently in modern society. 

Craig delivers a sturdy performance as the well-mannered Blomkvist, though it's Mara as the intense but ultimately likable Lisbeth Salander who steals the show. As is the case with most mysteries, the big reveal disappoints. Some of the more contrived plot mechanics — notably a bit about a photograph taken during a parade — will induce a few guffaws. Yet, thanks to Fincher's always steady direction and strong performances from the entire cast, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" provides plenty of dark thrills for moviegoers to enjoy. However, you may be better off skipping Fincher's one-off altogether to watch the completed Noomi Rapace trilogy instead.     

Taking cues from Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" and "The Conversation," Steven Spielberg crafts an intense, visually opulent, violent spy thriller with "Munich." The story is centered around the Israeli government's covert retaliation against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) after the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics. Eric Bana's Avner Kaufman leads a unique assortment of men (including Daniel Craig's ruthless South African driver, Steve) to hunt down and kill those responsible for the tragedy, a journey that leaves the squad questioning their individual morality as the circular nature of violence escalates.

Spielberg's film remains as relevant and ballsy today as it did upon its release in 2005, confronting the problems centered around the endless violence in the Middle East. "Spielberg did not have to make 'Munich,'" Roger Ebert said at the time, "but he needed to. With this film he has dramatically opened a wider dialogue, helping to make the inarguable into the debatable." At a lengthy 163 minutes, "Munich" occasionally hits a few bumps — notably a bizarre sex scene during the climax of the film in which Avner imagines the "Munich" tragedy, despite not having witnessed it — and certainly bites off more than it can chew. It remains a powerful political thriller that tackles its difficult subject matter head-on.     

Call it "Ocean's 7/11" all you want, but Steven Soderbergh's "Logan Lucky" is considerably more than just a heist film. The comedy follows a couple of good ol' West Virginia boys played by Channing Tatum and Adam Driver who decide to turn the tables on Uncle Sam by robbing a motor Speedway.

Daniel Craig pops up in a key supporting role as intelligent (albeit slow-witted) safecracker Joe Bang. He enjoys some of the film's best moments, notably a bit where he stops mid-heist to explain how a particular mix of explosives works to his slower compatriots. The veteran actor clearly had a blast playing against type, but still layers his performance with the same charm and wit fans have come to appreciate. One can certainly enjoy "Logan Lucky" for its low-key brand of humor and clever twists, but that's missing the larger point. Really, this is a film about people screwing the system that continues to screw them, and that larger narrative makes the picture stand out amongst similar films of its ilk.

Daniel Craig's 007 goes out with a bang in Cary Joji Fukunaga's action-packed and surprisingly emotional finale. This time the superspy with a vow to kill must take down a new organization led by the mysterious Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a man with ties to Bond's love interest Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). "No Time to Die" certainly follows the trajectory of most Bond flicks, but does so with style and class. The action is fierce and the stakes are high, even if Safin's dastardly plan feels more rudimentary than those of previous villains in the Craig era.

What makes this particular Bond entry stand out are the supporting characters, notably Lashana Lynch's Nomi, aka the new 007, who struggles to work alongside her old counterpart; Ana de Armas, who practically runs away with the film in a brief-but-memorable scene as a new recruit who meets up with Bond in Cuba; returning players Ralph Fiennes, whose M feels more connected to the overarching narrative than ever before; Naomie Harris, who continues to shine as Moneypenny; and Ben Whishaw as the always resourceful (and playful) Q. Make no mistake, this is still very much Craig's movie and the actor does some of his best work in the role, but over the course of five movies spanning two decades it's nice to see Bond go out surrounded by good company.

It's fair to say that, with "Casino Royale," "Skyfall" and "No Time to Die," Daniel Craig's go as James Bond was an enormous success. The actor, who endured a bit of controversy prior to his casting, fit the role like a glove, delivering a fiery intensity not seen since the early Sean Connery flicks.

Impressively directed by Sam Mendes, "Skyfall" marked Craig's third outing as the legendary character and arguably gives him the most to do in the role. The storyline surrounding Bond's efforts to apprehend Javier Bardem's deranged former MI6 operative-turned cyber-terrorist also explores Bond's struggles adapting to the modern era. It then literally transports him back to his roots where we learn about his problematic upbringing at the titular Skyfall estate. Bond's relationship with M (Judi Dench) also receives more attention, while new additions Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw offer welcome support with fresh spins on familiar faces. The results are a film as action-packed as it is moving, with an explosive finale that owes as much to "Home Alone" as it does "Die Hard."

"Casino Royale" not only stands as a great James Bond film but remains one of the best action pictures ever. Period. Directed by Martin Campbell (of "Goldeneye" fame), "Casino" ushered in the Daniel Craig 007 era with wit, style, and class, presenting a Bond as susceptible to emotional anguish as he is physical pain. The plot revolves around a high-stakes poker game, which pits Bond against the villainous Le Chiffre (a terrific, pre-"Hannibal" Mads Mikkelsen), but Campbell still packs the 140-minute film with enough slam-bang action and wild stunt work to satisfy thrill-seekers.     

More pivotally, "Casino Royale" introduces Vesper Lynd (played exceptionally by Eva Green), the chief architect behind 007's buried pain, which makes her the Bond girl of all Bond girls. Her complicated relationship with Bond makes for engrossing drama, while her tragic denouement stings long after the credits roll and reverberates throughout the rest of the franchise. For Craig, "Casino Royale" marked a turning point in his career and instantly shot him to superstardom, despite worries that this "Blond Bond" would destroy the series altogether. Quite the contrary. Nearly two decades have passed since the actor took up the mantle, and to this day you can't think of 007 without first thinking of Craig ... Daniel Craig.