I recently rewatched the series and have to say that Pierce Brosnan (a fine actor), I liked him in Remington Steele and Mama Mia, is just not James Bond. He is unconvincing and tepid.
My definitive ranking of Bonds:
Connery
Craig
Lazenby
Moore
Dalton
Brosnan
Really? Could've sworn he was in 4 Bond movies
shareNo
shareYes arguably to worst in the series. Good action movies and Bond-esque but missing an Alpha Male in the title role.
shareI'd argue that A Quantum of Solace is the worst one. Most of it doesn't feel like Bond (except the opera sequence). I'd rather rewatch Die Another Day, frankly, because it's at least got that flare that 007 brings to the table. Bond's unique blend of character traits, the Bond film's particular style make them fun even when the movie's not so good. For me, Quantum lacks the je ne sais quois that the other films have.
To each their own, of course, but QOS lost the Bond vibe.
I think the correct ranking would be:-
Connery / Moore
Brosnan
Lazenby
Dalton
Craig
haha to each his own. Did you not like Casino Royale?
Brosnan too me looks to polished and pretty. Like an auditor from Deloitte, I heard him referred to as a wine waiter ...haha
Curious we agree on Lazenby, so you can't be all that bad! ;)
How can you combine Connery/Moore as one guy? make a stand.
I've only seen Casino Royale once despite its wide spread availablity ( https://moviechat.org/tt0381061/Casino-Royale/5d57b9ebedbbbb7bf45a6df6/Is-Casino-Royale-the-most-discarded-Bond-film-in-history ) so can't recall too much detail. I didn't dislike it per se, and wouldn't say it was too close to being the worst Bond, but I do dislike the change it represented and the loss of Bond films as they were. QoS - following that new direction - was certainly worse!
I love OHMSS. Kind of funny given that I'd have to concede, like Casino Royale, that it's a bit of an outlier for the series at the time - chalk and cheese compared with DAF! Maybe a shame we never got to see any more with Lazenby but then again if Craig had just made Casino Royale perhaps I would view that film differently now.
I just placed Connery and Moore together as I can't really separate them or their films. Love them both.
OHMSS just draws me in because it is the first time they tried to replace Connery and they really tried to make it good. In making No Time to Die, they were desperate to find anything that resonates and borrowed heavily from this movie, stealing the Soundtrack and many lines.
I did not like Telly Savalas as Blofeld.
Haven't seen No Time To Die but I had heard they'd done that as well as going with the Bond dies gimmick.
I didn't mind Savalas, don't really remember thinking he was any better or worse than Donald Pleasance. And I guess they needed to replace him so he doesn't recognise Bond despite having met him in the previous film!
And talking of replacements, I really think OHMSS works because of Lazenby. Connery's girl slapping, dismissive Bond would have been a hard sell to buy into the more romantic storyline.
So much hate for Dalton in this topic. I actually liked License to Kill though The living Daylights was kind of meh. I admit you'll probably hate me for this TC but I think Dr. No's boring. Much prefer From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and Diamonds are forever. I admit I don't think I ever saw Lazenby's or Moore's movies. Actually I think I saw Moore's Man with the Golden Gun once a long time ago but I don't remember it except that I found it boring. I like Pierce Brosnan as Bond but I can agree the World is not Enough and Die Another Day are not that good.
shareIn terms of sheer looks, I think Dalton was the definitive James Bond.
shareFunny, to me ONLY Brosnan is Bond. This was my first Bond movie, so I see him as a more suave and smartass character, whereas everyone else comes across sorta plain and brutish. Craig neither has the look nor the personality, I don't see how anyone accepts him as Bond.
shareCraig is much more like the Fleming character from the novels. In the novels, Bond is described as being rather indistinguishable, except for A scar running down his cheek. Bond is a blunt instrument, and a hired assassin, not some sissy pretty boy, prancing around in tuxedos and worrying about whether his little martini is shaken or stirred.
It always cracks me up how people want their bond to be “suave“. LOL! (And it’s usually MEN!) Ha ha.
Craig looks like a guy who could kill someone with his bare hands….(and he does). I like how, once he chokes out the Thug in the stairwell… He returns to his room, slugs down a double scotch, puts on a new shirt…and returns to the game.
And when the bartender asks whether he’d like his drink shaken or stirred, Bond replies: “do I look like I give a damn? “
Now THAT is badass. Not some pretty boy, prancing around, not a hair out of place, making little puns all day. Sorry.
Why be rude to a random bartender? Just say it doesn't matter. Lol, to me that comes across as petty and insecure, like he feels the need to display dominance over a service worker. Maybe he hates his life, or is over-compensating for having tiny balls and looking like a school teacher. I've had several teachers that looked like they could beat his ass. Maybe he could beat Brosnan, but he can't get as many bitches or deliver as many puns.
shareIt was a stupid meta line.
He may as well have said, "Can't you see, I'm a real hard man now. Just cracked someone's head into a toilet basin! No more jet packs for me..." or "Just give me a Heineken" or some crap like that...
https://youtu.be/h6CoNUE5Zho?si=iweKAAl12TwiDt8j
He never convinced me. He looked too much like a tailors-shop dummy. And I always saw him as being physically too 'lightweight'.
shareHaha well said. A lightweight tailors-shop dummy.
shareYou said you liked Remington Steele, I think his secret agent part was rooted from that show, where he pretended to be ex-CIA, and had a CIA analyst fully convinced he was and even envy how exciting his life was.
Then again in that show he was pretending.
You mean in his films he was doing it for real? haha Brosnan could not fight his way out of paper bag. He belongs in Mama Mia, perfect for him.
shareIf you watched homeland, in that, Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes) was a top spy, but can she fight?
Being spy has very little to do with that, even being an assassin has very little to do with that, if you watched Stallone's assassins.
Connery
Brosnan
Dalton
Moore
Lazenby
Craig
He was when he played "Remington Steel" though. I had hoped he would have been picked to be Bond but essentially just play the character as he did RS but nope. At that time we were used to Bond having a sense of humor, primarily due to Moore's portrayal, and we liked that. Brosnan played Bond as humorless and too serious for entertainment purposes IMO. I rank Brosnan on the same tier as Dalton- capable, but their films were missing elements.
My list:
1) Moore
2) Connery
3) Lazenby/Craig
4) Brosnan/Dalton
GREAT list Sparky! Give it some time and you will eventually come around and realize I was right.
I liked Moore best at first, but that was because I grew up with him. When I learned more about movies I appreciated the originals more.
Time? I saw most of them in the theater. If I give it much more time I'll be pushing up daisies.
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