Quentin Tarantino wanted to direct Casino Royale starring Pierce Brosnan. Although vocal about his intentions, EON Productions never called and soon after Brosnan was let go, Casino Royale became the series first hard reboot with new actor Daniel Craig taking over the role.

Tarantino has critiqued many Bond films over the years. Moonraker got the thumbs down on his short-lived podcast, while in his book, Cinema Speculation, the director praised early Bond films Dr. No and Goldfinger. While Sean Connery’s second Bond film, From Russia With Love, is Tarantino’s favorite, the Reservoir Dogs director believes Pierce Brosnan played the definitive Bond.

After losing out on directing Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, Tarantino couldn’t bring himself to watch Craig’s debut in Casino Royale. 

However, he did watch Craig’s third Bond film, Skyfall, and didn’t have anything good to say about it.

Skyfall Is Considered a Top Tier Bond Film

Skyfall, believed by many to be Craig’s best and a top five Bond film in the series canon, has its fair share of critics. Nonetheless, the film is the only Bond film to crack a billion dollars at the box office unadjusted for inflation, and is the only Bond film to win Best Picture at the BAFTA Awards.

In 2012, Skyfall was the second biggest hit of the year, only beaten by The Avengers.

Skyfall featured Javier Bardem playing top tier Bond villain, Raoul Silva. It’s also one of the best-looking films in the franchise thanks to the cinematography talents of Roger Deakins and gives the best M, played by Judi Dench, an emotional farewell.

Bond was back in fine form. More importantly, Skyfall took creative risks with the series, reinterpreting and even subverting many established Bond tropes. While reinterpreting Miss Moneypenny as an MI6 agent was met with approval, the setting of the film’s climax divided fans.

Tarantino Hates Skyfall’s Ending

For many the ending in which Bond sets booby traps around his ancestral home was too much like Home Alone. Sure, this highlights Bond’s resourcefulness, stripping away gadgets given by Q Branch to show a side of the character little seen. But it’s not what many Bond fans want to see.

Tarantino agreed. On The ReelBlend Podcast, he said:

“I thought Skyfall was like, ‘This whole fucking movie’s ending at a shootout in a fucking cabin? This is a Bond movie? That’s not James fucking Bond! From the opening action sequence in SPECTRE on, it was like, ‘Now THIS is a James Bond movie.’”

Tarantino loses many Bond fans with his last comment.

Many see SPECTRE as ripping off yet another series. This time Austin Powers: Goldmember which made Dr Evil Powers’ brother. Some critics bemoan that Bond literally copied an idea from a movie that is a parody of James Bond! Making Bond’s arch-nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond’s stepbrother or “Brofeld” as he has been dubbed was not the way to re-introduce the series’ most iconic villain.