Timothy Dalton fantasy plots and humour. A fan of the literary character, often seen re-reading and referring to the novels on set, Dalton determined to approach the role and play truer to the original character described by Fleming. His 007, therefore, came across as a reluctant agent who did not always enjoy the assignments he was given, something seen on screen before, albeit obliquely, only in George Lazenby's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". In "The Living Daylights," for example, Bond tells a critical colleague, Saunders, "Stuff my orders! ... Tell M what you want. If he fires me, I'll thank him for
James Bond filmography 007's defining characteristic: he's an absolute swine". James Chapman commented on the realism and violence in the film noting that Bond is seen to seriously bleed for the first time in the series; Chapman also identified a number of violent scenes which make "Casino Royale" notable in the series. In 2012 "Skyfall" was released: it was Craig's third outing as 007. Reviewing the film, Philip French, writing in "The Observer", considered that Craig managed to "get out of the shadow of Connery", while the "New Statesman" thought that he had "relaxed into Bond without losing any steeliness". Notes References James