The 14 Best Daniel Craig Movies, Ranked

Hollywood has consistently struggled to adapt video games into feature-length films (see: "Super Mario Brothers" or "Doom"). But if you can turn the dimmer down on your brain a couple of notches, 2001's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" is a hoot. The short-lived film series starred Angelina Jolie in her first time top-lining an action franchise, and only the second action film of her career to date at that time. Between the early-2000's needle drops to the overreliance on dated CGI, it's definitely a product of its era — embracing the cheesecake aspects of Lara Croft in the '90s.

In "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," Craig portrays Alex West, a globetrotter invented for the flick. While Craig is no stranger to being objectified in film (the man was, after all, James Bond), he's fetishized here as the himbo for Lara's millionaire archeologist/adventurer in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." It's fun to see him as the bedroom-conquest figure, a neat inversion of the stereotypes that he would inherit as Bond. There's even a charged scene opposite Lara in which West is fully nude (though his privates are cheekily obscured and cut around). Craig and Gerard Butler (who plays the hunky love interest in the sequel "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life") would graduate from arm candy to mainstream action heroes. In a neat wrinkle (pun intended), Craig sports a look similar to his Madagascar duds in "Casino Royale." Both films share a costume designer in Lindy Hemming.

Director Shekhar Kapoor's "Elizabeth" tells the story of Queen Elizabeth's rise to power. A critical and financial success, the historical epic garnered seven Academy Award nominations, including Cate Blanchett's first Oscar nomination. In the 1998 film, Craig is John Ballard, a Catholic priest, caught in a courtly web of espionage. Despite his modern rough-and-tumble energy here, this wasn't Craig's first outing with a period piece. Previously, he lent his talents to the Middle Ages-set ABC series "Covington Cross" and the miniseries "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders," sporting an awful wig. His supporting role in "Elizabeth" befits him with a bit more dignity — even if Ballard meets a grisly end halfway through the picture.

Craig's character endures a brutal torture scene — an ongoing motif in his acting career — at the hands of the scheming Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), who has manipulated events to implicate Ballard in an assassination attempt on the life of the Protestant Elizabeth I and for plotting a Catholic coup. Some historians have pointed out some of the liberties taken with the known history that inspired the film, particularly with the characterization of Ballard and his exact role in the narrative's Machiavellian power struggle.

"Defiance" tells the true story of the Bielski brothers, four Polish Jews who helped lead a rebellion against Nazi occupiers in Belarus during World War II. Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski — despite not being Jewish. Liev Schreiber, who plays the hotheaded Zus Bielski, is the grandson of Ukrainian Jews and has been assisting with charitable efforts for Ukrainians living through the current Russian invasion. Edward Zwick, no stranger to period wartime films, is a steady hand in the director's chair.

Tuvia and Zus are opposed when it comes to their mission. While both men are prone to violence, Tuvia believes more in saving lives than taking them. Since this film is a war survival story, there are meditations on the consequences of armed resistance. Unfortunately, it's an all-too-relevant film amidst these dark times and a harrowing look at enduring risky odds. In "Defiance," Craig gives a haunted and soulful performance, delivering nearly all of his dialogue in Russian. He offers a similar performance in "Munich" (again playing someone of Jewish ancestry), although that's an even more morally conflicted one and thus more compelling.

After Craig's traumatic experience filming 2015's "Spectre," people wondered if he'd play Bond again. But as his heartfelt message to cast and crew upon wrapping filming on "No Time to Die" proves, this shouldn't have been questioned. In "No Time to Die," Craig managed to do what no other Bond actor has achieved: ending his tenure on a high note. Remarkably, "No Time to Die" retroactively improves the middling "Spectre." "No Time to Die" incorporates crucial plot elements while honoring the legacy and overarching character arc of Craig's Bond.

By now, it's common knowledge how "No Time to Die" concludes: Craig insisted on Bond's heroic sacrifice, and the film is all the better for it. That's only one of the film's many benchmarks in the Bond franchise — such as finding true love and becoming a father. Craig rises to these high demands admirably. Craig's Bond has a rewarding and slow-building emotional arc. While it's not his best portrayal of Bond, "No Time to Die" is the perfect capper to his journey, as it's hard not to get teary-eyed during his last frames on screen as 007.

Craig receives top billing in 2011's adaptation of the bestselling novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Directed by David Fincher, Craig plays the disgraced but dogged journalist Mikael Blomkvist. In the film's convoluted mystery plot, Blomkvist crosses paths with a hacker named Lisbeth Sander (Rooney Mara, in her first leading film role).

The film also marks one of the first instances of Craig playing against type in a Hollywood blockbuster, though evocations of his 007 status are there nonetheless. The movie's striking opening credits sequence (designed by Tim Miller of "Deadpool" fame) feels inspired by the iconic openings of the Bond film franchise. Craig's Blomkvist is a cardigan-clad nerd with an odd way of taking on and off his glasses. All apologies to James Bond, but Craig is a cat guy in this film, automatically making it his sexiest role.

If you're a Fincher fan, this is a must-see, especially for the late-film scene — which we won't spoil here — ironically and inexplicably set to Enya's "Orinoco Flow." (By now, Craig has three incredibly iconic torture scenes on his résumé. The man has a gift for depicting suffering!) Stay for the heartbreaking ending. As with "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," it's evident from "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" that Craig is as good at playing second fiddle to a female action hero as he is at being a leading man. 

In 2005's "Munich," Spielberg directly addressed one of the thorniest geopolitical conflicts of the last 80 years. Dramatized by frequent collaborator Tony Kushner (along with Eric Roth), "Munich" tells the story of a ragtag team of Mossad agents seeking to wipe out those responsible for the murder by the Palestinian Liberation Organization of members of the Israeli International Olympics team at the 1972 games. However, "Munich" is not a simple black-and-white depiction of events. Instead, it's a gripping morality tale about the cost of violence and the thin line between justice and retribution.

Craig portrays a South African mercenary named Steve — dripping in '70s swagger and simmering intensity. "Munich" is an absolute masterclass in tension and required viewing (there's a bombing sequence an hour in that is some of the deftest filmmaking of Spielberg's Dreamworks SKG years). It lands at an interesting time in Spielberg's directorial oeuvre, sandwiched between blockbuster stretches and equally somber and complex period films like "Lincoln" and "The Post." Craig is the film's co-lead, sharing the screen with Eric Bana's Avner. As with "Layer Cake," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," and "Road to Perdition," you can see the DNA strands of his Bond interpretation manifesting throughout the runtime. Here, he outshines those previous films by being equal parts smooth, lethal, relentless, and beleaguered.

"We are dealing with science here!" "No peekin'!" "I am. In-car-cer-a-ted." Craig nails the comedic line delivery in Steven Soderbergh's "Logan Lucky." Without a doubt, it's Craig's most quotable film — beating out his starring role as Benoit Blanc in "Knives Out." Here, he's employing an outlandish Southern accent and playing to the rafters. Craig portrays the perfectly-named, tattoo-covered Joe Bang, a convicted felon and demolitions expert roped into a crime scheme by two Appalachian brothers, Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver). Weirdly enough, this was a reunion of sorts for Craig and Driver. (Craig had an uncredited cameo as a stormtrooper in "Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens," though the two never shared a scene in a galaxy far, far away.)

Craig has never been funnier than he is in "Logan Lucky." He steals every scene, despite the all-star cast that surrounds him. Is his accent cartoonish? Yes. Does it matter? Absolutely not. He knows what kind of film he's in, and every time he's present in "Logan Lucky," his performance sends high voltage energy back into the film. It's a credit to Craig, Soderbergh, and writer Rebecca Blunt that a redneck prisoner becomes one of the movie's most sympathetic characters by the time the NASCAR-swindling caper has wrapped. Given the strength of his fleeting moments in "The Jacket," maybe Craig should portray "in-car-cer-a-ted" men more often in films.

Playing Bond essentially obligates an actor to an entire second career as a spokesperson, and Craig has done his fair share of commercial appearances — mostly with frequent Bond product-placers Heineken Beer and Omega watches. But his most recent ad spot is already a viral sensation.

In a commercial for Belvedere Vodka — directed by Taika Waititi with original music from his wife Rita Ora — Craig plays "himself." Or a version of himself. When the ad starts with Craig breaking the fourth wall and turning to the camera to smirk, you know you're in for a good time. Featuring multiple costume changes and a lot of hip-thrusting dance moves, it's Craig at his most gleefully ridiculous. Once it seems like the ad is over, it goes even more meta! Waititi adds to the fourth-wall-breaking comedy, imploring Craig to try it again. "Just be yourself," Waititi says. We're further treated to Waititi mockingly playing himself as a self-centered director. The whole thing is good fun and a testament to Craig's enduring charm.