Who do you think was the best James Bond?

Worztron · 26-06-2013 8:57am #1

Who was your favorite James Bond actor?

mike65 · 26-06-2013 9:54am

Ah couldn't you make George Lazenby an option?

/harsh!

I'm not sure we've yet found the perfect Bond, they have all had strengths and weaknesses, but then so have the films. I tend to find the better the film, the better the Bond!

Worztron · 26-06-2013 9:59am

mike65 wrote: »

Ah couldn't you make George Lazenby an option?

/harsh!...

I only included those that were in more than one bond film, others go into the 'other' category.

thegreatiam · 26-06-2013 10:06am

Bob Holness
/thread

mike65 · 26-06-2013 10:08am

thegreatiam wrote: »

Bob Holness
/thread

See your Holness and raise you a Barry Nelson

newmug · 26-06-2013 10:08am

Roger Moore. He had that English baxtard factor that a real Bond should have.

Sad Professor · 26-06-2013 10:10am

Worztron wrote: »

I only included those that were in more than one bond film, others go into the 'other' category.

But Lazenby was the only other Bond.

JohnFalstaff · 26-06-2013 10:12am

Sad Professor wrote: »

But Lazenby was the only other Bond.

David Niven??

Sad Professor · 26-06-2013 10:25am

Correction: the only other real Bond.

thegreatiam · 26-06-2013 10:41am

David Niven and I are distantly related. Im sure he tells everyone when ever my name comes up ;-)

JohnFalstaff · 26-06-2013 11:14am

Sad Professor wrote: »

Correction: the only other real Bond.

No true Scotsman!

Speaking of Scotsmen - Connery was the best Bond... but Daniel Craig is running him close and with a few more films under his belt, Craig may end up being the best Bond.

Cool_CM · 26-06-2013 11:17am

Pity that we didn't get to see more from Timothy Dalton. I love those 2 films for completely different reasons.

krudler · 26-06-2013 11:40am

Dalton for me, had the cold hearted bastard thing down long before Craig, it's a pity he didn't get a longer run with the series, he really found his feet in Licence To Kill (probably the most underrated Bond too and one of the only ones aimed at an adult audience)

thegreatiam · 26-06-2013 11:56am

krudler wrote: »

Dalton for me, had the cold hearted bastard thing down long before Craig, it's a pity he didn't get a longer run with the series, he really found his feet in Licence To Kill (probably the most underrated Bond too and one of the only ones aimed at an adult audience)

I agree with this completely, it's unusual for his name to even come up.
Dalton was the closest (imho) to the book character.

I think roger moore is too much of a fop, Connery is pretty good, owned the part. But, like in all his roles, he's more Connery than bond.

Craig is interesting in the physical role, but I think Dalton nails the ruthless killer.

Radiosonde · 26-06-2013 12:00pm

They should have let Tarantino do Bond with Pierce Brosnan, then I might actually have liked a Bond film.

Sad Professor · 26-06-2013 12:08pm

Yeah, Craig nails the physical aspect. This was my one problem with Dalton. He was very unconvincing in the fight scenes. Otherwise I'd agree that he was the best all-round Bond.

The downside to Craig's physicality is that he's sticks out, especially in Skyfall. There's no way anyone would see him coming and not think "oh sh!t". But maybe that's the point with his version of Bond: he's a "blunt instrument" with none of the elegance of previous incarnations.

Pepe LeFrits · 26-06-2013 12:12pm

Dalton.

Sad Professor · 26-06-2013 12:19pm

Actually re: the physicality, I think I'd put Lazenby on top. He seemed like someone with serious training but (unlike Craig) didn't look like he spent all day in the gym. Connery was big and intimidating but he fought like a bear.

thegreatiam · 26-06-2013 12:30pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

Actually re: the physicality, I think I'd put Lazenby on top. He seemed like someone with serious training but (unlike Craig) didn't look like he spent all day in the gym. Connery was big and intimidating but he fought like a bear.

Actually by physicality I was thinking more the tenacious chase. I think bond as a fighter would be more clinical and dirty.

Craig is more of a bulk of muscle.

I think the fight scenes in all movies don't reflect what bond (or anyone) would fight like they merely reflect the style of fight at the time the movie was out.

We like our krav maga in movies now, back in the 60's they liked haymakers and throwing people through doorways.

DazMarz · 26-06-2013 12:31pm

I found it hard to choose. Every actor had their strengths in the roles. I found it very hard to choose between Connery, Dalton, Brosnan or Craig (I know, I know!). In the end, I went for Connery. He was the original and he just played the role so well.

Nobody else could look so at home in a tuxedo and still beat the head off bad guys. There was also that wonderful 1960's political incorrectness in the films (smoking, proper fist fights, flaking women about the place, "man talk", etc.) that made it just so good.

Add to the fact that Connery also gave us the first "Bond. James Bond", the debut of the Aston Martin DB5, and some of the best films in the series (Goldfinger, Dr. No, Thunderball).

He just had it down so well. I did love Dalton's more gritty, realistic portrayal and he should have been given a longer run at it. Brosnan was excellent as Bond too (especially in Goldeneye). Craig is also giving Dalton's interpretation another run out in the gritty, blunt-instrument style.

But Connery is still the best for me. I just love his interpretation and he is still cooler now that he's 81 than most other people!

Radiosonde · 26-06-2013 12:52pm

DazMarz wrote: »

But Connery is still the best for me. I just love his interpretation and he is still cooler now that he's 81 than most other people!

O/T he apparently turned down (and regrets) some juicy roles in the past roles like Gandalf and Morpheus in The Matrix. Matrix could have been Connery and Will Smith, which sounds like a very different movie.

thegreatiam · 26-06-2013 12:54pm

Radiosonde wrote: »

O/T he apparently turned down (and regrets) some juicy roles in the past roles like Gandalf and Morpheus in The Matrix. Matrix could have been Connery and Will Smith, which sounds like a very different movie.

he turned down gandalf because he didnt understand half of the script. Tbh I think we got lucky

krudler · 26-06-2013 1:16pm

thegreatiam wrote: »

he turned down gandalf because he didnt understand half of the script. Tbh I think we got lucky

"You..shall not...PASH!"

thegreatiam · 26-06-2013 1:30pm

krudler wrote: »

"You..shall not...PASH!"

haha

ScumLord · 26-06-2013 6:01pm

I think Conery and Craig are the only ones that could really pull off the bond character. They looked hard and you would believe they could be Bond for different reasons.

DazMarz · 26-06-2013 6:21pm

Radiosonde wrote: »

O/T he apparently turned down (and regrets) some juicy roles in the past roles like Gandalf and Morpheus in The Matrix. Matrix could have been Connery and Will Smith, which sounds like a very different movie.

Could see him as Gandalf, but really could not see him in the role of Morpheus. It would have been very interesting, but I'd find it hard to see him doing the hardcore physical fighting stuff that Morpheus did in the films.

JP Liz V1 · 26-06-2013 10:52pm

Dalton for me

tupac_healy · 26-06-2013 11:46pm

Craig for me, he wins it with the attitude he brings to the character whilst still retaining the charm and wit of the Connery/Moore roles...

Overall I just don't see a weakness in his portrail of the character

du Maurier · 26-06-2013 11:55pm

newmug wrote: »

Roger Moore. He had that English baxtard factor that a real Bond should have.

Moore wasn't sinister or dark enough as it was conveyed by Fleming. Timothy Dalton for me. Always like his back-to-back films - perhaps too short lived.

Anyway, everyone has a favourite for whatever reason. I liked Moore, but a bit schmaltzy.

Duckworth_Luas · 27-06-2013 9:15am

newmug wrote: »

Roger Moore. He had that English baxtard factor that a real Bond should have.

Funnily enough the literary character wasn't English. British surely, but his father was Scottish and his mother Swiss. He also spent much of his early life on the continent.

Sleepy · 27-06-2013 2:06pm

For me it's always been Dalton. I've never bought that an assassin needs to be a big guy, realistically someone who can blend in with a crowd whilst carrying a concealled sniper rifle would be more useful than someone as muscle-bound as Craig.

I'll also love Dalton's first film for being the first time we saw Bond sent purely and simply to kill someone. Fair enough, he backed out of taking the shot but it was nice to see a "double O" being sent to do what they were licensed to.

That_Guy · 27-06-2013 3:52pm

Dalton for me. His portrayal of Bond is, for me, perfect. Not annoyingly punny, very dry wit and is a cold hearted bastard. Also, he's in two of my favourite Bond films ever.

pixelburp · 27-06-2013 5:21pm

It's easy to forget that for all the celebrating about Craig's 'grittier' Bond, they tried it once before and simply because the angsty hero wasn't flavor of the month as it is now (think Jason Bourne, Nolan's Batman etc.) Dalton's portrayal didn't go down well with audiences and we went back to cheesy nonsense.

It's a shame, because side by side, Dalton wipes the floor with Craig to be honest. The Dalton films are stronger too imo. Aside from being simply a better actor imo, Dalton had just the right combination of ice-cold brutality, mixed with genuine charm. He was utterly ruthless as an assassin, yet you could easily see why the women might like Dalton's Bond & how he could navigate through social circles.

Craig has never had that aura, and no matter how many Tom Ford suits he wears, his appearance in the flashier moments of his Bond films are always unconvincing. Also, considering how he looks like a bruiser, he feels unsuited to the grandeur and his physicality means violent moments never shocked me.

jpm4 · 27-06-2013 7:27pm

pixelburp wrote: »

It's easy to forget that for all the celebrating about Craig's 'grittier' Bond, they tried it once before and simply because the angsty hero wasn't flavor of the month as it is now (think Jason Bourne, Nolan's Batman etc.) Dalton's portrayal didn't go down well with audiences and we went back to cheesy nonsense.

It's a shame, because side by side, Dalton wipes the floor with Craig to be honest. The Dalton films are stronger too imo. Aside from being simply a better actor imo, Dalton had just the right combination of ice-cold brutality, mixed with genuine charm. He was utterly ruthless as an assassin, yet you could easily see why the women might like Dalton's Bond & how he could navigate through social circles.

Craig has never had that aura, and no matter how many Tom Ford suits he wears, his appearance in the flashier moments of his Bond films are always unconvincing. Also, considering how he looks like a bruiser, he feels unsuited to the grandeur and his physicality means violent moments never shocked me.

Absolutely. Licence to Kill is an underrated gem as well - the truck chase scene at the end is one of my fav action sequences.

krudler · 27-06-2013 7:45pm

Licence To Kill has a fantastic musical score as well, Michael Kamen knocked it out of the park, has the best gunbarrel musical cue imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OLEz02pNiA

kaimera · 27-06-2013 8:47pm

Connery - even with the wig

but Brosnan had Goldeneye which is my favourite.

Looper007 · 28-06-2013 1:39pm

Craig for me Casino Royale and Skyfall have taken Bond to a different level. After Years of the Gay Hairdresser types with Brosnan and Moore and the slightly above average Dalton. Connery fell apart with his last three Bond films.

Thank God for Craig bringing Bond back as a flawed human hero and out acting every Bond before him. QOS is a underrated film in the Bond canon. He's bought back Bond to Critical and huge Commercial acclaim.

Looper007 · 28-06-2013 3:33pm

pixelburp wrote: »

It's easy to forget that for all the celebrating about Craig's 'grittier' Bond, they tried it once before and simply because the angsty hero wasn't flavor of the month as it is now (think Jason Bourne, Nolan's Batman etc.) Dalton's portrayal didn't go down well with audiences and we went back to cheesy nonsense.

It's a shame, because side by side, Dalton wipes the floor with Craig to be honest. The Dalton films are stronger too imo. Aside from being simply a better actor imo, Dalton had just the right combination of ice-cold brutality, mixed with genuine charm. He was utterly ruthless as an assassin, yet you could easily see why the women might like Dalton's Bond & how he could navigate through social circles.

Craig has never had that aura, and no matter how many Tom Ford suits he wears, his appearance in the flashier moments of his Bond films are always unconvincing. Also, considering how he looks like a bruiser, he feels unsuited to the grandeur and his physicality means violent moments never shocked me.

:eek:

You Joking Craig is the best actor to have played Bond. Dalton was too stage actory for my taste. You felt he was trying to play Hamlet rather then Bond. Dalton films are stronger? :rolleyes: both fine films but so outdated it's silly. LTK is a Miami Vice ep with Bond as a guest star.

Craig can act with his body, makes you care for Bond, the only actor along with Lazenby that you are convinced could kick your ass and pull your Girlfriend at the same time. Tell me a moment that Dalton has like in QOS when Craig kills off the guy in the hotel brutal and cold blooded as Bond has ever got. Plus Craig has been Critical acclaimed and has won and be nommed for Best actor at the Bafta's for Bond.

Sad Professor · 28-06-2013 3:53pm

Looper007 wrote: »

:eek:

You Joking Craig is the best actor to have played Bond. Dalton was too stage actory for my taste. You felt he was trying to play Hamlet rather then Bond. Dalton films are stronger? :rolleyes: both fine films but so outdated it's silly. LTK is a Miami Vice ep with Bond as a guest star.

Craig can act with his body, makes you care for Bond, the only actor along with Lazenby that you are convinced could kick your ass and pull your Girlfriend at the same time. Tell me a moment that Dalton has like in QOS when Craig kills off the guy in the hotel brutal and cold blooded as Bond has ever got. Plus Craig has been Critical acclaimed and has won and be nommed for Best actor at the Bafta's for Bond.

I voted Dalton, but I would agree with this to a certain extent. As i said earlier, he wasn't very physically convincing as Bond. However I don't think he reached his full potential. He never had the same support as Craig and the other actors. TLD was originally written for Moore and he didn't have a chance to really shine until LTK which had serious script issues. John Glen's generally uninspired and workmanlike directing in both films didn't help either.

Re: the QoS rooftop scene, this is my favourite Craig moment (one of several in the film - he's brilliant in it). Funnily enough they ripped it out of The Spy Who Loved Me. Moore has several pretty ruthless moments in that film which he's visibly uncomfortable with.

mewso · 28-06-2013 5:49pm

I think age changes attitudes to the Bond question. Growing up Moore was Bond and my answer to the question then would be Moore simply because it was much more cartoonish stuff then. Who didn't love Jaws for crying out loud (assuming you were a 12 year old kid at the time of course), not to mention Jaws in Space taking it to an even greater level.

Now I would say Connery though.

quickbeam · 28-06-2013 7:21pm

Surprised but delighted at all the Dalton love on this thread. My favourites in order:

Dalton
Craig
Connery

Brosnan
Moore
Lazenby

Top three are far superior to the bottom three.

What a pity that the world wasn't ready for bad-ass Bond when Dalton took the role. They got there eventually with Craig but it would have been nice to see Dalton doing it a few more times.

miralize · 03-07-2013 2:12am

I'd love to see Idris Elba as Bond. Would be huge too!

MisterAnarchy · 04-07-2013 2:30am

Sleepy wrote: »

For me it's always been Dalton. I've never bought that an assassin needs to be a big guy, realistically someone who can blend in with a crowd whilst carrying a concealled sniper rifle would be more useful than someone as muscle-bound as Craig.

Dalton was a big guy,6 foot 2 and very well built, I suspect he would beat the Living Daylights out of Craig in a fight.

04-07-2013 11:13am

Connery without question.

I too liked Timothy Dalton and both his films, Licence to Kill is actually still a good watch.

Moore was good too but he just seemed like such a sleaze though

Daniel Craig has re-created Bond and done a good job of it so far. Skyfall was brilliant and lets the Bond franchise move forward. I think they need a bad guy that is being chased properly through a few movies again and make him a sadistic ****er played by someone like Anthony Hopkins!

Jumboman · 06-07-2013 2:46pm

Roger Moore was by far the worst James Bond he was totally unbelievable in fight scenes Moore could not fight his way out of a paper bag.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 06-07-2013 2:48pm

david niven, because he's david niven. he was the best at everything he did.

Jumboman · 06-07-2013 2:52pm

krudler wrote: »

Licence To Kill has a fantastic musical score as well, Michael Kamen knocked it out of the park, has the best gunbarrel musical cue imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OLEz02pNiA

Licence To Kill didnt feel like a bond film to me it had a totally different tone to the living daylights also the score was out of place for a bond film. Maybe if it had a John Barry score it would have felt much more like a real bond film.

Also goldeneye had a crap score they didnt have a decent Bond score post John Barry untill tomorrow never dies.

TheDoc · 08-07-2013 2:42pm

krudler wrote: »

Dalton for me, had the cold hearted bastard thing down long before Craig, it's a pity he didn't get a longer run with the series, he really found his feet in Licence To Kill (probably the most underrated Bond too and one of the only ones aimed at an adult audience)

Agree with this, and the post that came before it.

The world wasn't ready for this type of bond, or tbh this type of movie. Punters went to the cinema to be amazed, to see crazy stuff and to be brought into a fantasy land of make believe.

As opposed to now, where you go into the cinema and you are querying stuff if it couldnt happen out on the street.....

I enjoyed Dalton because it took some of the sillyness from Bond, but still kept some of it there, at the right time. I love James Bond, I remember running home from football to catch every movie, every week on Network 2.

License to kill and the Living Daylights are my favourite bonds without a doubt, and it's a REAL pity they cut him out after two. I watched them both recently and they have aged well, not falling flat like alot of other bonds

FutureGuy · 08-07-2013 2:46pm

Cool_CM wrote: »

Pity that we didn't get to see more from Timothy Dalton. I love those 2 films for completely different reasons.

Completely agree. Loved Dalton. Have a casino chip prop from Licence to Kill on the wall of my home office. I think Dalton was way ahead of his time in his version of Bond.

Donnielighto · 08-07-2013 9:12pm

Was going to post this question but saw this was up recently so ill bump it instead.

I thought that Connery was a terrible bond, as with all his roles he didnt act per se but was just himself reading the lines, over rated cos he was the first out of the traps.

For me its between brosnan and craig for the suave vs coldhearted aspects of the character though dalton was a great mix, id have those 3 close together and significantly ahead of the rest.

miralize · 08-07-2013 9:34pm

Donnielighto wrote: »

Was going to post this question but saw this was up recently so ill bump it instead.

I thought that Connery was a terrible bond, as with all his roles he didnt act per se but was just himself reading the lines, over rated cos he was the first out of the traps.

For me its between brosnan and craig for the suave vs coldhearted aspects of the character though dalton was a great mix, id have those 3 close together and significantly ahead of the rest.

Goldeneye Brosnan is very different to the rest of his time as Bond....

Who do you think was the best James Bond?

Who do you think was the best James Bond? 230 votes

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