I've Been Watching James Bond For Over 30 Years. One Daniel Craig Movie Made Me A Lifelong Fan

The "James Bond" movies have endured for more than 60 years. 007 has ruled the big screen after originating on the page in Ian Fleming's novels about the British spy. 1962's "Dr. No" kicked off one of the most enduring franchises in cinema history, and audiences, by and large, have never looked back.

Everyone has their own entrypoint into the series. As someone who grew up in the '90s, Pierce Brosnan was my first Bond. Even though "GoldenEye" was almost the end of the "James Bond" franchise, it was a new beginning in many ways. Like many people my age, I spent countless hours playing the "GoldenEye" video game on the N64 and, of course, I saw some of the movies here and there. However, it was not Brosnan who made me a lifelong fan of Mr. Bond, James Bond.

My true point of no return would come years later when director Sam Mendes delivered the modern blockbuster classic, "Skyfall." Despite serving as the third movie in the Daniel Craig era of Bond, it was the one that changed everything for me. There was the casual "Bond" fan who entered that Harkins theater in Mesa, Arizona, on that fateful November day in 2012, and the super fan who emerged after the lights came back up. It was one of those key "before and after" moments for this lover of blockbuster cinema.

I very much enjoyed "Casino Royale," widely considered the best "James Bond" movie ever, upon its release in 2006. Initially, I skipped "Quantum of Solace" in 2008. But when that first, unforgettable teaser trailer for "Skyfall" arrived in the post-"Dark Knight" world, my eyebrow raised. "This looks incredible," I thought. I was unprepared for how true that proved to be.

Things rarely deliver against expectations in the way this movie did. There's a very good reason why "Skyfall" became the biggest "Bond" movie ever at the box office. While remaining true to the ideals of what Bond represents, it also operated as a standalone adventure capable of appealing to just about anyone who can enjoy large-scale cinematic entertainment. It was then and remains now the pitch-perfect popcorn blockbuster.

Rightfully, over time, much has been said about the greatness contained within Sam Mendes' sprawling love letter to what "James Bond" can be in the modern era. From the legendary cinematography of Roger Deakins to some of the most incredible action set pieces one can ever hope to find in a mainstream motion picture, this movie more than delivers against expectations. It's one of those movies that is experienced just as much as it is viewed, bordering on religious for the right sort of viewer. I was and still am very much that sort of viewer.

There is one scene in particular that has always stuck with me, in which Judi Dench's M reads a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson as Daniel Craig's battered Bond runs to save her. As time goes on, it continues to assert itself as one of my favorite things ever committed to film for the purpose of cinematic entertainment. It is the platonic ideal of art meeting entertainment, the perfect blend of both. I live so that I may ever enjoy a moment on screen quite as wonderful as this again someday.

This is to say nothing of the brilliance of Javier Bardem's Silva, who we don't even meet until halfway through the movie. Or Dench's stellar final performance as M. I could go on.

I could write a book about this movie, going frame by frame, finding only things to love and nothing to hate. That amazing opening credits sequence and Adele's theme alone warrant much discussion. Most importantly, though, what this movie did for me above all else was point me towards the larger "James Bond" universe.

I'm a fiend for blockbuster entertainment. I pray for anything to scratch an itch like "Jurassic Park." I yearn for shared theatrical experiences like "Avengers: Endgame." With "Skyfall," I thought I was getting some version of that. What I didn't expect was something that would force me to dive through decades of cinema history, discovering a much larger world to enjoy.

No other "James Bond" movie is quite like "Skyfall," but what this movie does is suggest that there is a larger world to explore. What happened between "Quantum of Solace" and "Skyfall," for example? Bond had years of adventures in between; what might that have looked like? In some ways, the Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan eras contain the answers to that unanswerable question.

I came to love the suaveness and gadgetry of the Connery era. I came to love the sincere camp of the Moore era. I came to enjoy Lazenby's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as the hidden gem in this rich franchise. I came to love Brosnan in the way I always should have. I came to love Bond more holistically.

That's how good "Skyfall" is. In search of more of that feeling, it encouraged me to dive deeper into Bond's world. More than just a movie, it was an invitation to participate in something much bigger than a single, brilliant work of mainstream cinematic excellence.