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Help us celebrate Pierce Brosnan next month.

By sharing your thoughts here

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#1 JimmyBond

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 01:13 AM

Whether or not some of you are aware of this, next month it will be exactly ten years since Die Another Day and therefore ten years since Brosnan was last Bond.

I'm putting together a retrospective of Brosnan for the main page, and in addition to that I thought it'd be nice to see what some of our visitors think:

So here's the deal, in this thread write a paragrap or two of what Brosnan means to you, your favorite memory of him as Bond, your favorite Bond film of his, anything. I'm not being specific in the question because I want it to feel like random thoughts on Brosnan and his tenure.

The deadline for this will be around November 9th. That's around the time I'm seeing Skyfall and I think all my attention will be towards that film. Let's hear your thoughts here, and maybe, just maybe you're post will show up on the front page next month :)

Quick Note: Length will be a factor on whether or not I post your thoughts. Two paragraphs maximum (and when I say paragraph, I mean about four sentences), and at least a paragraph minimum.

Note: This is not a discussion thread. The only posts that should be in here (aside from my comments) are you responding to my request. Any other posts will be deleted.

Edited by JimmyBond, 30 October 2012 - 02:57 AM.


#2 DamnCoffee

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 01:27 AM

As much as I think Roger is my favourite and Connery was the best, for me, Pierce Brosnan, will always be MY Bond. However cringeworthy the dialogue, or how unrealistic the action was, Brosnan will always hold a very special place in my heart. The Brosnan era was my childhood. He was the Bond I grew up with, and no matter how many people bash the guy, and accuse him of being the worst Bond of them all, I will defend him because, as strange as it sounds, I love the guy.

Of course his era was plagued with problems. Acting, Scriptwriting, and at some times, total stupidity. The thing is though, no matter how bad that is, and how much I realise now that is NOT what makes a good film, at the time, I loved it. As a small child, seeing this brilliant hero, reinvented for the 90's was just a total joy. 'The Spy Who Loved Me' might have been my first Bond film, but Brosnan was my first true Bond. He will always hold a special place in my heart.

Edited by DamnCoffee, 25 October 2012 - 01:28 AM.


#3 Nicolas Suszczyk

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 02:16 AM

Will do for sure!

Here's my GoldenEye related site goldeneyedossier.blogspot.com

#4 JimmyBond

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 02:43 AM

Only post your two paragraph thoughts please. Come November I'm going to be the one reading through this, and the more clutter, the longer it will take me to read.

#5 Nicolas Suszczyk

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 02:55 AM

Only post your two paragraph thoughts please. Come November I'm going to be the one reading through this, and the more clutter, the longer it will take me to read.


All right,I'll brew it up this or next weekend. Nothing about the gunbarrel, I promise ;)

#6 thecasinoroyale

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 07:45 AM

Timothy Dalton may have been the first actor I saw as 007 in 'Licence To Kill' on VHS tape as a young boy, but Pierce Brosnan was my first cinematic James Bond in 1997 with 'Tomorrow Never Dies' - and he had me from his brilliant gunbarrel sequence. He saved the franchise from near ending and brought the character back for a whole new generation, and his films were simplistic 007 fun

Looking back, it is a shame the studios and the changing world made James Bond face uncertainty, and especially for someone so confident in the role who also was cut short before his time. Loud, proud and very Bond, Brosnan's films still hold up no matter what the general view is of them. Passionate for the role and ever so suave and sophisticated, without our man Pierce Brosnan as 007, I doubt James Bond would still be with us today.

#7 Nicolas Suszczyk

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 05:06 PM

Here it goes

Pierce Brosnan. What do you say about a man like that?... I'll start with the story I've always told everywhere: after being hooked up with the N64 "GoldenEye" game at 8, I saw this good looking Irishman on a street billboard in Buenos Aires. He was wearing a tux and holding a silenced Walther PPK, against a white background. The advertisement read "GoldenEye". It was, apparently, the film that tied up to that memorable videogame, and it was it's cable TV premiere. Some weeks later, on January 31st, 1998; mom, dad and I watched the film all together. From the gunbarrel sequence to the antenna cradle showdown, not forgetting the stunning Xenia Onatopp and the Tank Chase, the 17th Bond film turned me in a mad 007 fan!

The rest was history. "Tomorrow Never Dies" on the big screen by February '98, "The World is not Enough" and "Die Another Day", that was the weakest Pierce Brosnan film, but I can still remember how I run to my VCR to record all promos/TV spots on the old VHS tapes during the 40th anniversary fever back in 2002. I was quite shocked when Pierce was axed from the series, even when I enjoyed very much the Daniel Craig outings. He was the 90's Bond and had a lot to give, he deserved a better farewell Bond flick instead of the poor "Die Another Day". As I also say, there are many Bonds I'm fond of (let's say Sean, Roger and Daniel) but Mr Pierce Brosnan was, is and will always be my James Bond.


Nicolás Suszczyk,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
goldeneyedossier.blogspot.com



Is that short enough or you need it shorter? BTW great idea Jimmy!

#8 JimmyBond

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 05:28 PM

Nah that's fine, if I have to I'll just break up the story into two separate posts.

#9 Nicolas Suszczyk

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 05:54 PM

Never mind. Thanks :)

#10 Iceskater101

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 07:55 PM

Pierce Brosnan was the perfect Bond, he is the man that every man wants to be and the man that every women wants to be with. Even when I first started watching him as Bond, I wanted to be with him. I thought he was that swave and charming. My favorite memory of him as Bond would definitely be GoldenEye. It is my favorite bond film because he is very charming and he really solidified himself as an action star. He was charming, he looked great and he also beat everyone up. Again that being said Goldeneye is my favorite bond film that he was in.

I will always have respect for Pierce holding the role, because he provided action and still kept up the image of James Bond. He will always be remembered. He was a great follow up after Timothy Dalton.

#11 elizabeth

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 11:50 PM

Pierce Brosnan was my Bond. And when I say "my Bond," I mean I grew up with him. I was born in 1991, and Brosnan was the first Bond I ever saw. He was part of my "90s kid" childhood. Whether he was a good Bond or a bad Bond, he'll always have a piece of my heart for being a part of my childhood. I think he was a great Bond, and unlike most people here, I liked DAD, and he will forever be a big part of my life.

#12 Iceskater101

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Posted 26 October 2012 - 04:09 AM

I also want to add that I watched Tomorrow Never Dies and I thought he is so attractive in that movie.

#13 Trevelyan 006

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Posted 26 October 2012 - 04:38 AM

First impressions are often considered to be near everything. With that said, it was Pierce Brosnan who introduced himself, the character of James Bond and a series I would come to enjoy (presumably) the rest of my days, to a young me. I played 1995's GoldenEye in my built-in TV VCR until the tape literally unraveled. To not credit my interest in the entire Bond lot, partly Pierce Brosnan himself, would be a huge injustice. As Bond, he had the answers, he had the girls and he definitely had my attention.

Brosnan seemed to refresh and own the Bond role in each of his four outings. Some great lines, villains and Bond moments all pit Pierce in the center. I can proudly claim Brosnan's first film as one of my favorites of them all. For me, there are really only two appropriate words I could utilize to summarize Mr. Brosnan's outings as Agent 007... fond memories.

#14 hoagy

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 02:27 AM

Pierce Brosnan was a large and critical part of a resurrection of the film series, making him very, very important to Bond Cinema. I know Timothy Dalton has many fans, and I greatly appreciated his part of the "return to earth" for the series, but it seemed the pendulum had swung so far over that his films were too dour, and rather uninspired and not inspiring. His second film, quite unfortunately, felt very much like a run-of-the-mill TV super-cop telefilm. The scripts did not serve him well, and when the hiccup in production occurred, it was too much. A new Bond was needed, and the success of the choice was as hugely important to the series as when Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery.
Pierce came in young, handsome and charming, but with the physical capabilities to carry the action, too. He was believable as the guy who could get women weak in the knees from one look at him. It's too bad he was not taken as Bond back when NBC tried to keep Remington Steele going. When he was on TV as Remington Steele it seemed everyone who saw the show felt he should be the next Bond. A good friend had found him terribly attractive and thought he should be the next Bond since she'd seen him in a mini-series, The Manions of America. Had he started earlier, he would have gotten in more than just 4 films as 007 before "aging out." Ah, well. Still, he was terrific, and a very well-received, greatly welcome in his time Bond.

#15 Hockey Mask

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 02:52 AM

Six men became Bond but it was always Pierce Brosnan's destiny.

#16 JimmyBond

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 02:52 AM

Pierce Brosnan was a large and critical part of a resurrection of the film series, making him very, very important to Bond Cinema. I know Timothy Dalton has many fans, and I greatly appreciated his part of the "return to earth" for the series, but it seemed the pendulum had swung so far over that his films were too dour, and rather uninspired and not inspiring. His second film, quite unfortunately, felt very much like a run-of-the-mill TV super-cop telefilm. The scripts did not serve him well, and when the hiccup in production occurred, it was too much. A new Bond was needed, and the success of the choice was as hugely important to the series as when Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery.
Pierce came in young, handsome and charming, but with the physical capabilities to carry the action, too. He was believable as the guy who could get women weak in the knees from one look at him. It's too bad he was not taken as Bond back when NBC tried to keep Remington Steele going. When he was on TV as Remington Steele it seemed everyone who saw the show felt he should be the next Bond. A good friend had found him terribly attractive and thought he should be the next Bond since she'd seen him in a mini-series, The Manions of America. Had he started earlier, he would have gotten in more than just 4 films as 007 before "aging out." Ah, well. Still, he was terrific, and a very well-received, greatly welcome in his time Bond.


This is half of what I'm looking for. I will not post anything that disparages another Bond in the role.

Six men became Bond but it was always Pierce Brosnan's destiny.


Bit short, could you at least add a bit more to it?

Edited by JimmyBond, 30 October 2012 - 02:56 AM.


#17 tdalton

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 06:24 AM

I remember first seeing Brosnan as Bond in the GoldenEye teaser trailer, not having any idea who or what James Bond was. I simply remembered recognizing Brosnan from Mrs. Doubtfire and then thinking that the trailer was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen on a movie screen. That was what really got me into Bond. Before GoldenEye was actually released, I had gone back and watched several of the films and was hooked. I remember being quite fond of GoldenEye in the theater, as well as the two films that followed it.

While those films haven't quite held up over the years, they were what got me into the James Bond series, and for that, and the fact that they were the Bond films of my childhood, they'll always hold some nostalgic value that many of the other films simply don't have going for them.

#18 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 06:25 AM

It was not "Remington Steele", actually, but the wonderfully entertaining action movie "Live Wire" that made me think: this guy could and should be James Bond. In it Pierce Brosnan displayed charme, toughness, wit and grace - qualities that seem to come easy but really are a major feat to translate to the screen. Many actors have tried and failed to display that kind of charisma, only a few can really project it. Brosnan definitely belongs to that group. And when he finally became Bond he delivered big time. His Bond seemed to be close to Moore´s, with his obvious good looks and dry disarming humor. But he also channelled the ruthlessness and brutality of Connery´s Bond, making his Bond not just a "best of both worlds"-mix but an exciting new interpretation which, again, was looking effortlessly but really is difficult to achieve. Brosnan also added a vulnerability that paved the way for Daniel Craig´s portrayal. Without Brosnan, the franchise would have been in deep water. Thanks to him he not only made audiences care about 007 again, he also finished the Bond 1.0 era, establishing the appeal of the character firmly in times that had changed considerably.

#19 phil_007

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 09:51 AM

My first James bond movie in theater: Goldeneye
I was 16 years old at that time, and already was a huge fan. Tim was my favorite bond, but the 6 years gap, as a child, made me think James Bond would never come back.
And then came Pierce Brosnan. I remember myself reading articles on several magazines saying that diferent actors may reprise the role: Jason Connery!! Ralph Fiennes !! Mel Gibson.... and a charismatic man looking Pierce Brosnan.....
That was the time of TRUE LIES, and medias were asserting that James Bond was dead, an "old relic of cols war", and that swarzi's performance may be the ultime interpretation of new secret agent.

Goldeneye broke all those bad thoughs! A little bit surprising for myself as a bond fan: Eric Serra 's score, Campbell morden's filming, new codes from the 90's............. but Brosnan was the idealman for 007 resurrection in 1995...... and it worked!
Then came TND and i really find Brosnan self confident, strong as Connery was in FRWL. With arnold's classical score, i really felt James Bond was back for a while.
TWINE and DAD were weaker but Brosnan was in my mind the ultimate James Bond, and I really liked those movies.
At that time, I thought that the franchise should stop if Brosnan wouldn’t come back. Nobody would do it better, because the man had such a class and was a perfect mix of the best previous actors’ element

And then came Daniel Craig, I was unhappy expecting James Purefoy for CR……………. But time make me understand, as a fleming fan, that it was the best thing that could have happened………………….. but It’s another story

So, Thanks Pierce, you’ve been my favorite James Bond for many years, a real Pygmalion for a young man.
Probably, without Pierce, James Bond may have not survived to the post cold war era….

#20 Conlazmoodalbrocra

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 10:05 AM

Pierce Brosnan's debut as Bond could not have been more brilliant. Goldeneye introduced a new Bond - one for the post Cold War era. A Bond who now took on the world's terrorists rather than the KGB or Soviet sympathisers. Goldeneye displays Brosnan's brilliant ability to display both a humorous side to Bond and a threatening and dangerous side to him, reminiscent of the early Connery movies. Brosnan knew exactly what audiences wanted at the time, and he delivered it. Goldeneye is undoubtedly Brosnan's finest Bond film, though both Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough are brilliantly entertaining Bond films, with interesting villains, fantastic action sequences and most importantly, great performances from Brosnan.

Pierce will always be a special Bond to me. He was the first Bond i ever saw on the big screen (The World Is Not Enough in December 1999), and the first Bond I ever had chance to react to their departure from the series. Die Another Day is my least favourite Bond film, but this has little to do with Brosnan's performance. In my opinion, the man was let down by the film makers and it is a terrible shame that his tenure as Bond had to end on such a low point. Neverthless, I'll always look upon Brosnan's first three films with great affection, particularly Goldeneye which remains to this day my favourite bond film of all time.

#21 Hockey Mask

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Posted 30 October 2012 - 11:29 AM

This is half of what I'm looking for. I will not post anything that disparages another Bond in the role.


Six men became Bond but it was always Pierce Brosnan's destiny.


Bit short, could you at least add a bit more to it?

But doesn't that pretty much sum it up.

#22 Sondreho

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 11:59 PM

Pierce is the James Bond who I grew up with. I remember when I was six years old and was ill, and my mother rented me the new James Bond film 'The World is not Enough' - and that saved my day. I saw it over and over again, and from that day, Pierce was my Bond.

You can say what you want about his Bond films (personally I think they are great Bond films), but you can't say he wasn't dedicated to his role. And that's why I think of Pierce's Bond when I think of James Bond!

Six years old when you saw TWINE?! That makes me feel old. I was 18 when I saw it in theaters. -JimmyBond

Edited by JimmyBond, 01 November 2012 - 12:02 AM.


#23 Robinson

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 10:07 PM


I'll admit, I enjoyed Timothy Dalton as 007 and was upset when he bowed out of the role. I had no problem with Pierce Brosnan assuming the mantle after seeing him speak at a Bond, convention prior to the release of "Goldeneye." Beyond being grateful, Brosnan felt that the timing was right this time and "things happen for a reason." I thoroughly enjoyed Goldeneye and noted that this was the first Bond film I experienced and enjoyed as a bonafide adult (I was 26 back then).


My two favorite Bond moments during Brosnan's tenure came in Goldeneye, when he threw Trevelyan down the steps and shot at him immediately afterward. The other was Tomorrow Never Dies, when Brosnan let out a smile while driving the BMW from the back seat. At that point, I got it: Brosnan was the "People's Bond" and gave the mainstream moviegoer what they expected. I concur that Pierce was an amalgam of previous Bond actors and I also believe that Pierce understood that most came to see the cinematic Bond as opposed to what Fleming originally envisioned. Despite the invisible cars and Tsunami surfing, Brosnan's charm, looks and physicality kept folk flocking to the theaters to see his outings as 007. Too bad that he never had a Bond film that was adapted from a Fleming story.


#24 Pussfeller

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 11:58 PM

Like many here, I came of age and discovered Bond during the Brosnan era. He was the first incumbent Bond of my lifetime, and GoldenEye the first Bond film I ever watched. If, at the age of eight, I hadn't enjoyed GoldenEye and been thrilled by Brosnan himself, how would I have become a fan of the series? (By stumbling across Fleming in the school library?) Even now that my palate has changed, I can always go back to GoldenEye and feel the same childish exhilaration. Brosnan's appeal was not an acquired taste. He was the first candy-coated hit of an addictive substance. His breezy, boyish take on the role made him the ideal gateway-Bond for a child who still refused to eat whole-grain bread. My cohort of picky little pukes probably wouldn't have swallowed any other Bond actor. That Brosnan was able to appeal to my eight-year-old self, and simultaneously earn the approval of my Connery-loving father, still strikes me as a miracle and a mystery. Maybe it's because Brosnan is the first and only baby-boomer to play Bond, the only Bond that my father could see as a reflection himself, and the only one I could see as a reflection of my father. (Oh please, James, spare me the Freud!) But that's the way Bond is passed down.

I doubt if I'll ever watch Brosnan's films except through a gauze of nostalgia, but when I try to think of them objectively, and imagine what virtue or quintessential quirk the yet unborn generations of Bond fans will attribute to Brosnan, I think it will have to be his wide-open accessibility. Easy, winning, inviting, addictive. This is what he brought to Bond at a time when a huge crop of us had been born and grown to film-watching age without having ever seen a new Bond film. Whatever tedious backstage drama may have caused the six-year hiatus, we all know what finished it. When Bond was up on blocks, not just a relic of the Cold War but a rusty jalopy with blown shocks, it was Brosnan who came equipped with the tools to fix it: a common touch to reach the widest possible audience, a sense of humor and incorrigible immaturity in keeping with the times, and a unique reputation as a man of destiny who had been born for the part. If he hadn't been there, a lot of us wouldn't be here.

#25 WasteOfScotch

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Posted 06 November 2012 - 09:58 AM

I'd had the fortune to grow up catching the tail end of the Moore era and being a schoolkid during Dalton, but Brosnan, and especially Goldeneye, are the Bond and movie that I remember being hopelessly excited for.
When I first saw the "New World" trailer for Goldeneye at the cinema, the hairs stood up on my neck. A masterpiece of editing, I knew that not only was Bond coming back, but he was going to be in the hands of an actor who had what it took to carry off the role, not only to the way audiences were accustomed, but to re-style what some were seeing as a dated franchise and carry it screaming into the cynical mid-90s and beyond.

When I went to see Goldeneye on its opening day, having skived off school, and the gunbarrel sequence started up, I was already sold. There was no way Brosnan could fail to run with the ball, and he didn't.
I think Pierce is easily the most "likeable" and personable of the incarnations of 007, the closest in personality to the average man-in-the-street, whilst still maintaing an unattainable air of charm, class and sophistication.
Brosnans physicality was also great, and, as my friends often smile at, I often claim that no Bond looks better at "running-with-a-gun-whilst-wearing-a-suit"

More importantly, Brosnan, more than any of the other actors that have portrayed him, clearly *relishes* being 007 and always looked like he was having an absolute whale of a time throughout his tenure.
The Brosnan films are not neccesarily my favourites of the series, and I find some of them spotty, but one thing I stand adamant on, regardless of whatever was taking place around him. Pierce Brosnan was *always* excellent as 007, standing head and shoulders above the negatives and fully embracing the positives.

Pierce Brosnans contribution to the series was not only enjoyable, but essential, I often feel people give enough credit to the fact that how well he was accepted by the audience in Goldeneye would likely decided whether Bond got solid funding ever again. But by the second reel of the film, it's as if he has been playing 007 for ten years.

Here's to you, Brosnan. You should be deservedly proud of your work as our favourite secret agent.
Invisible car or otherwise.

Edited by WasteOfScotch, 06 November 2012 - 10:01 AM.


#26 Gothamite

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Posted 06 November 2012 - 05:04 PM

While I was keenly aware of James Bond and what he did and what he stood for from a very early age, and while I have vague memories of watching "Never Say Never Again" and "For Your Eyes Only" as a toddler, it is my rental of "GoldenEye" at the age of just 5 years old, that probably inducted me in the hall of Bondian fandom. The previous Summer, my young brother had received a present of the GoldenEye tie-in PPK and we were excited to see Bond use that very same gun throughout the film.

It was in the run-up to "The World is Not Enough" that I became a proper, card-carrying James Bond fanboy however, rabidly rewatching "Tomorrow Never Dies" every single day at every single opportunity (as well as going back and properly, consciously rediscovering the previous actor-eras), relishing Bond's cocksure use of his imaginative gadgets (remember: technically TND predicted phones that could do anything!) and guffawing at his suave put-downs of Elliot Carver. He was the perfect cookie-cutter Bond, the complete amalgamation of the Eon Action Hero, to the extent that many less Flemingised people of my generation still consider him to be the best ever.

My ninth birthday party, when we went to see "The World is Not Enough" in Liffey Valley cinema, which had only just opened and boasted 'the biggest screens in Europe' (which may or may not have been misinformation on my mother's part) is one of my definitive memories of pre-pubescence. My friends and I lapped up the rollicking action thriller and left the cinema crouching around corners, shooting pretend guns at each other with our index fingers, and just generally imitating our screen-hero. It was terrific. We played James Bond for the rest of the evening.

I even maintain that "Die Another Day", silly as it was, was a fun cinema experience that was just as modern in its own right as the other Brosnan films. With the burgeoning cynicism of a twelve-year old, perhaps I didn't take to it as much as I did to TWINE, but it fit nicely into the mould of the over-developed OTT films of the time such as "xXx", "Spider-Man" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" all of which were popular around that time.

In my teens, my tastes developed differently as I discovered Fleming and learned of the efforts to make Bond harder and more real. For this, Brosnan wouldn't have worked and while I was sad to see him go, Daniel Craig has undoubtedly eclipsed Brosnan in my eyes.

But I'll never forget how excited I was when Bond first drove the BMW with his phone. All in all, Brosnan's tenure was the perfect Bond experience for its time and while it's certainly the most radically divisive of them all nowadays ("He's the worst ever!" "He's the best ever! Daniel Craig's rubbish!"), for me he sits neatly as a benchmark of my childhood and the 1990s in general.

Edited by Gothamite, 06 November 2012 - 05:07 PM.


#27 JimmyBond

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Posted 06 November 2012 - 11:21 PM

Nice, keep them coming guys. As for those of who you wrote really long posts, I may just use bits of them, unless you want to revise it down to fit within the "two paragraph" parameter that I set.

A few hours late on this, but deadlines up. I'll cull together all the entries and get them up on the front page sometime this month.

Edited by JimmyBond, 10 November 2012 - 04:40 AM.