Daniel Craig's Bond Films P2

“Spectre” (2015)

If the first three Bond films starring Craig are a trilogy where Bond becomes Bond through what he learns in death, then the last two are a two-part story where Bond learns to stop being Bond. It is a continuation of what was learned in Skyfall but drawn to the ultimate conclusion… the only way to win when it comes to international intrigue, spying, and war (cold or otherwise) is to not play.

Spectre starts out with Bond going off-book and doing some assassination work for M, the old M, posthumously. And what he learns sheds light on everything that has come before. Every villain from the first three films was tied together. We knew that there was some organization called Quantum that had been pulling strings like the SMERSH or Spectre organizations in the old Bond films. Now we learn that indeed, Spectre are the puppet masters, and they are being led by Blofeld, the archvillain of old.

However, in this story we learn too that there is a connection between Bond and Blofeld from childhood. In a way, everything that has transpired up to this point—all of the intrigue and death and danger, is caused by Bond. (Of course, he hasn’t caused it, but rather has inspired it.) So, the lessons learned in the previous films are put into play here in Bond’s final mission. He must be willing to do his duty, to sacrifice himself, and in the end, he must refrain from using his license to kill. To forgive and walk away from it all.

The only way for Bond to win is to stop. Because the endless cycle of killing, spying, seducing, and saving the world is not some dream job; it is a prison. Craig’s Bond makes the right choice and he gets to walk away and actually live.

Or does he? Because the credits indicate: “James Bond will return.”