Hachiman,
Thanks for explaining your position further. I agree with your assessment of Roger Moore's acting abilities completely. I admit to still not being able to "see" him as a Bond villain - but that's more to do with my limited imagination rather than any emphatic disagreement with you.
I do admit to having a weak spot for ol' Dino's Matt Helm movies. It's been awhile, but I think it was The Silencers where he has a complete mini-bar in his car. So right in the middle of the movie (again, if memory serves me correctly), Dean's just driving around, singing, mixing drinks and copiously downing them, all without a care in the world. Talk about politically-incorrect! I'm surprised the 'wonderful folks' from MADD haven't insisted on a world-wide ban on the film! ... And to give credit where credit's due, Dino's four-wheeled bar surpassed Brosnan's champagne compartment in his Aston Martin in Goldeneye by about 30 years!
As for Mr. Craig, whatever he might lack in physical resemblance to "classic Bond" (which I think a lot of female fans (and perhaps even some male fans!) have absolutely no problem with ever since he popped out of the ocean in CR! LOL), he makes up for it in his acting. Despite the overall pluses and minuses of his three films (I personally didn't care for QOS too much), he appears to take the role very seriously and seems dedicated to making each one of his films a success. Come to think of it, one could even argue that, the fact that he's won over a lot of 007 fans without looking like "classic Bond" is a true testament to his talents.
Regarding the politically-correct (PC) aspects of his films, IMO Mr. Craig's movies aren't nearly as prolific with overt PC messages as, for example Mr. Brosnan's. With all due respects to Mr. Brosnan's films, you had M's "misogynistic dinosaur" speech in GE, M and Moneypenny damn-near emasculating 007 during the car ride in the beginning of TND, not to mention his "filthy habit" comment in the PTS of TND. It goes without saying that there's absolutely nothing wrong with showing that it's not just a "man's world" anymore and of course smoking is a "filthy habit." However, the combined effect of bringing these 'enlightened attitudes' into Bond's world in that manner (IMO) served to chip away from the "classic Bond's" persona. Fleming's Bond was not a squeaky-clean Superman who treated everyone equally. On the contrary, he most certainly has his, *ahem* 'opinions' about the role of women, theories on homosexuals, views about other races, and so on. And, aside from morning exercises and occasionally lamenting the need to cut back on drinking and smoking, Fleming's Bond certainly didn't show any real signs of caring too much about the effects his vices had on his health.
So, if you were able to get past those "welcome to the '90's, hope you enjoy your new and improved PC world!" elements in the Brosnan-era, I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the Daniel Craig films. He doesn't smoke or smack women on the butt (which I'd argue that Fleming's Bond likely wouldn't do either), but he does still consume plenty of alcohol (SPOILER - No car-bar yet though! - LOL), eagerly sends villains to their death, and has even called a woman a "bitch" once.
Edited by Double Naught spy, 08 December 2013 - 02:19 AM.