Daniel Craig makes his return as Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man on Netflix. He's back as the brilliant detective who has to solve another mysterious murder, this time in a church. It seems these movies will continue for as long as Johnson and Craig keep finding great ideas and fantastic actors to fill out the cast.
Anyone looking for a Daniel Craig movie to watch on Netflix while waiting for Wake Up Dead Man has a few choices to choose from. However, the Daniel Craig films vary wildly in quality, with some best for action fans wanting nothing more than a fun movie to watch, and at least one that is an award-caliber release.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
In 2001, Angelina Jolie took on the massive video game adaptation Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. However, what resulted was nothing more than B-level fun. Jolie is Lara Croft, an adventurer who is pulled into a dangerous mission for the Illuminati. Daniel Craig is her love interest, Alex West.
The movie was a huge success, making $274.7 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful video game adaptations. However, it received terrible reviews from critics, and much of the film seemed nonsensical at times, with the action movie turning into a supernatural adventure film in the end.
Craig said in an interview with Cinema that he regretted appearing in the film, claiming that they made the movie without a script. He said it hurt his career, and it was even worse for Angelina Jolie. Despite that, there was still a sequel, and Gerard Butler was a better love interest in that film than Craig in this one.
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
Cowboys & Aliens was made for no reason other than to be a fun mashup of genres. Based on the comic book by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Jon Favreau directed the movie about cowboys battling aliens in the Wild West. While it sounds fun, the film didn't really live up to the description, although it did have its moments.
Daniel Craig plays the lead role of Jake Lonergan, an amnesiac outlaw. He was joined in the Cowboys & Aliens cast by some incredible actors, including Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Walton Goggins, and Keith Carradine. The film was a box office flop, barely making back its budget, not considering advertising.
It received mixed to negative reviews, although its 44% Rotten Tomatoes rating shows there are more things to like about this sci-fi Western mashup than there was with his video game movie with Angelina Jolie. However, if someone wants to watch a big-budget sci-fi Western film on Netflix, it is at least entertaining at times.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
The best Daniel Craig movie on Netflix is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. While the movie doesn't have the twisted family dynamic of the first Knives Out, it is still a wonderfully woven tale with an incredible cast giving their all. Craig is back as Benoit Blanc, and this film is all twists and turns for the detective.
Edward Norton is spectacular as the clueless dirtbag tech bro. All the suspects are great, with Kathryn Hahn and Kate Hudson delivering hilarious performances, and Janelle Monáe proving she is an actress to watch as she plays a woman seeking revenge against the people who killed her sister.
Daniel Craig slid easily into his role as Benoit Blanc, and stole every scene he was in, while also leaving the space for his co-stars to get in their performances. In some ways, it was better than the first Knives Out movie, and it proves Wake Up Dead Man was well-deserved, with hopefully more sequels down the road.
Sources: Cinema