Every Bond Movie Pre-Title Scene Ranked - Worst To Best

Despite a barrage of criticism from a vocal minority of the Bond fandom before Daniel Craig had shot a single scene, his debut performance blew everyone away. Raw, blunt, untempered, this was James Bond before he became the picture of cool sophistication to which we’re used.

When we think of 007, one of the first few things that comes to mind would be his famous licence to kill. Casino Royale, then, made the most of the opportunity to show the two kills that began Bond’s career as a 00 agent.

The first could hardly be called a clean elimination, with a flashback of Bond in the midst of a brutal brawl with a rugged minion. Bathroom stalls are battered, and blood peppers the white walls as 007 manages to drown the man in a grimy sink. “Made you feel it, did he?” asks Dryden, the corrupt section chief that Bond has cornered.

Indeed, suggests Dryden, one’s first kill may be harrowing, but the second will be easier. Bond duly concurs, shooting the man point blank in the head. With these two kills officially on file, 007 is introduced to the world. And, as we all know, they’ll only be the first of many.

Best moment: When his first victim suddenly arises from the bathroom floor, Bond swivels and shoots him dead in a first-person shot that segues marvellously into the opening credits. A bold, fantastic innovation of the traditional gun-barrel sequence.