Rank the Bond actors

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Captrek, Nov 16, 2012.

  1. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    I agree completely. In many way’s Moore’s Bond was more dangerous than Connery’s, I mean you knew Connery was dangerous, it’s his default (some would say only) setting. But Rog…Rog could be charming, urbane, amiable…then drop you off a rooftop, kick you off a cliff, shoot you in the balls. And he is a better actor than people give him credit for, much like Shatner he became a bit of a parody of himself, but he could be very subtle. See his seething anger when Scaramanga suggests they’re two peas in a pod or, my favourite moment, the look in his eyes when Anya mentions Tracy…

    In terms of him being a cold blooded killer, people should watch The Wild Geese, particularly his opening scene...shit that man is cold)

    Anyway I need to differentiate them from their acting as Bond to their acting elsewhere I think…

    As 007

    1. Dalton My Bond, managed to give Bond a harder edge without pushing him over into being depressing, more of a dangerous assassin than Craig’s thuggish action man, yet keeps that note of distain for what he has to do as a 00 agent. Manages to utterly convince as a killer (the scene in Pushkin’s mistresses’ hotel room is brilliant “If I believed Koskov we wouldn’t be talking.” But also as a human being, his love affair with Kara is not only convincing, but sweet and romantic, probably even more naturally romantic than Lazenby/Rigg. Plus no one does seething anger like Dalton.

    2. Craig Great actor and a great Bond, like Dalton is funnier than people think, just so long as you keep the humour dry. My main complaints are the battering ram approach he sometimes uses, in conversation he comes across like Bond, but sometimes in the action scenes he could just be AN Other action hero. One thing I love about him, which people rarely pick up on, is the way he disposes of things. Watch him, car keys, mobile phones, guns, girls, even people (Mathis) when they’ve served their purpose. It does at times seem like his Bond has no pleasure in life however.

    3. Brosnan In many ways the best Bond, because he manages to straddle all the other iterations (certainly before him) he can be funny and ruthless, cold blooded and vulnerable. Of course this is also his curse, he represents all Bonds, but the downside is there isn’t anything new or unique he particularly brings to the table which every other Bond has. That said there is a certain boyish glee he has, which I think comes from Brosnan himself. Unlike DC he did at least seem like he loved being Bond. Watch the scene with him in the back of the BMW in TND. You can almost hear Brosnan’s inner voice “I’m James Bond, I’m bloody James Bond!

    4. Moore Stayed in the role too long and did become too much of a parody, but certainly in the early days perfectly cast

    5. Lazenby Has a very natural physicality, and a vulnerability no other 007 has had. The only Bond who you feel might actually be mortal, who doesn’t seem to be always in control of the situation. Lousy actor of course but…but…that final scene is truly superb, which is why he’s above…

    6. Connery Yeah I know controversial eh? The trouble with Connery’s Bond is that, when it comes down to it, I just don’t like him (as in his Bond not Connery) He has no weaknesses, precious few emotions, he doesn’t care about anyone so why should I care about him? Just try and imagine Connery doing the final scene in OHMSS, it would have been terrible, because Connery’s Bond could never care about someone that much

    As actors

    1. Craig
    2. Dalton
    3. Brosnan
    4. Connery
    5. Moore
    6. Lazenby
     
  2. gblews

    gblews Vice Admiral Admiral

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    :lol: And Connery is the only one of the bunch who has an Oscar -- and not from playing Bond.
     
  3. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    Much as I love Connery, I think he ought not to have won the Oscar for the Untouchables as a result of his awful 'Oirish' accent in it.

    Having said that, I don't agree that he can only play one character. Yes, there's his Bond/John Mason (from The Rock) tough guy template, but there's Brother William from The Name of the Rose, the sadistic guard from The Hill, the devious ex-con from The Anderson Tapes, the bookish Henry Jones from The Last Crusade and his wonderful performance in The Man Who Would Be King.

    I don't think he's any more limited than Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Clint Eastwood and many others.
     
  4. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ha ha, so true.

    I used to really love Brosnan's Bond, but watching Goldeneye for the first time in a long while, all I could notice was just how lightweight and paper-thin his Bond was.

    Pretty much everything out of his mouth was either a quip or a double entendre, which got tiresome really quick. I know Moore was kind of the same way, but he had least had some real screen presence to back it up. Brosnan I'm afraid comes across even MORE like a TV actor now-- especially compared to Craig's Bond.
     
  5. gblews

    gblews Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Accent or no accent, I thought Connery was superb as "Jimmy Malone" and richly deserved the Oscar. :)

    Agree 100% with the following, particularly in the case of "Last Crusade" and "King".
     
  6. J.T.B.

    J.T.B. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The Man Who Would Be King is a classic, though you don't hear much about it these days. He was excellent in The Great Train Robbery, too. Plenty of good non-Bond-ish performances on Connery's resume.

    Justin
     
  7. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    I'm well aware. Just because someone wins an Oscar doesn't mean they're some amazing actor.
     
  8. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Halle Berry has an Oscar...case closed...
     
  9. Naira

    Naira Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Craig and Connery, then Dalton, then the others.
     
  10. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Connery, no contest.
     
  11. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    Worst to Best:

    Lazenby
    Dalton
    Brosnan
    Moore
    Craig

    And the number one best Bond ever, period, end of story:

    SEAN CONNERY
     
  12. trevanian

    trevanian Rear Admiral

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    Connery had the magic, to be sure (there's a line from a kid in WIND & THE LION where he talks about the Raisuli and sez, 'he has the way about him' and it is as much about Connery as the character), but Dalton is who I most often see when rereading Fleming, and Dalton's two pics, divergent as they are from one another, really encompass Bond and Fleming's universe of Bond for me.

    so Connery and Dalton are it.

    If Brosnan had had a director like Boorman do a Bond, it would have made people reassess him, because he is a total bastard in TAILOR OF PANAMA and it is exactly how he probably would have liked to play Bond.

    Moore is Bond's gay uncle, Lazenby is just too damned happy as well as lacking acting chops ...

    To my eye, Craig is just utterly miscast, he should be Felix Leiter after the shark attack or second villain from the left, he is way too ugly to play Bond unless the character has lost an acid fight (possible, since this version of Bond IS a loser, if you consider that in both CASINO -- where QUANTUM makes off with the money -- and SKYFALL Bond FAILS, making him one for three.)

    Between Craig and the producers, they've taken the character so far afield it isn't even Bond at all anymore, especially in CR and SF. I'm thinking they may have actually killed off my interest in future Bond, which is a helluva achievement given that my second memory in life is seeing GOLDFINGER in the theater before I turned 4 years old and that the first amateur films I made were Bond parodies.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2012
  13. Gary Mitchell

    Gary Mitchell Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^Many people haven't yet seen Skyfall yet including me so why don't you put your "subtle" spoiler in spoiler tags? Thanks a lot.
     
  14. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    It's a toss up between Craig and Connery.

    Connery made the role famous and defined it.. he's the first Bond and had some of the most iconic movies in the franchise.

    Craig is very different partly because the movies are so different. The reboot was in dire need and so the focus shifted from mainly babes, gadgets and over the top villains to a more down to earth style and Craig played that part really well because he looks more like a bruiser than a gentleman.
    However when he put on the tailored suit before the game in Casino Royale my eyes popped.. somehow he managed it to make me believe he always was destined to wear such attire. That's good acting and so i'd rate him as the best.

    My list

    Craig
    Connery
    Brosnan (perfect for the role and played it well, to bad his movies were shit scriptwise)
    Moore
    Dalton/Lazenby - equally bad
     
  15. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    BTW, I notice no one's even included David Niven on their lists, even though he played Bond in the spoof version of Casino Royale. It's like that's the Galactica 1980 of bond films. :lol:
     
  16. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    ^The OP specifically said that Niven and Barry Nelson, who played 'Jimmy Bond' in the 1950s telemovie of Casino Royale, weren't included - he was keeping it to the official Eon series of movies.
     
  17. T'Baio

    T'Baio Admiral Admiral

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    After just seeing Skyfall and being really "meh" about it, I realize that I want something in my Bond movies that most people don't. Skyfall is a really well made film, not bad in any way whatsoever...but it's so dour and grim, and true to the character in the books or not, I don't care, I like my Bond fun. So I'll be one of the first to say that Roger Moore is my favourite Bond. It's who I grew up with in the part, and how I came to understand Bond movies.

    Roger Moore
    Sean Connery
    Pierce Brosnan
    George Lazenby
    Daniel Craig
    Timothy Dalton
     
  18. Ian Keldon

    Ian Keldon Fleet Captain

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    do you mean CR and QS? Because by the end of Skyfall, "classic" Bond is most definitely back.

    My list has changed radically in the last few hours having actually been able to see Skyfall.

    My list now would be

    Connery/Brosnan tie
    Craig
    Moore (but only losing out to Craig by a hair) at this point
    Lazenby
    Dalton

    Pre-Skyfall, Craig would have been down below Lazenby but above Dalton
     
  19. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

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    "With pleasure" is 007's version of "My friends, we've come home." That may be a bad omen for the next film.
     
  20. Ian Keldon

    Ian Keldon Fleet Captain

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    I agree that that's the sentiment expressed, but why do you call that a "bad omen"? Because Trek V was an underperformer (arguably because the final product wasn't what it should have been), or because you are a fan of the "harsh and gritty " Bond we've had the last couple of films?