PB did show his darker side during his Bond tenure.
Look at the hotel scene waiting for Paris.
Look at his confrontation with Dr. Kaufmann.
"I'm just a professional doing my job."
"So am I"
Bang!
and especially final scene with Electra in TWINE:
"I never miss."
Bang!
All good examples - Brosnan high points. But they pale beside the darkness of Long Good Friday & Fourth Protocol. Too me those two performances gave us a glimpse of a new Bond as cool, ruthless and dangerous as Fleming intended and show us how poorly he was served by Eon and Purvis/Wade whom fell so short of giving him material and opportunity to fulfil that potential.
It's obvious now, after Casino Royale that it was no doubt Martin Cambell's influence on GE that gave us what i think is Brosnan's overall best movie - perhaps he wasn't as comfortable as he was in TND, better the script and direction offered far more opportunity to be Fleming's Bond. A particular stand out is the grittiness of the fight with Sean Bean at the end. This mirrored the ruthlessness of his opening exchange with M in the movie - fantastic stuff.
Who knows, perhaps Brosnan didn't want to play it so 'bad-ass', but whatever the reason it's our loss.
I'm guessing it's Eon's misdirection, since they have a habit of picking people (Dalton/Brossa/Craig) who'd make great Bonds in their own moulds, but then, as their movies continue, trying to make these actors all things to all men. Basically they crumble to the pressure to introduce more and more humour. It's already been indicated that they'll force more gags onto Craig and if so i see his tenure (after such a phenomenal start) going the way of Brosnan and becoming parody.
BTW, the TND hotel scene, sipping vodka, pistol silenced, as he waits for whomever Carver sends (Paris as it turns out) is my favourite Brosnan moment (in fact a franchise high note). But.... then it's followed by the most cheesy, soapy, Dynasty-esque seduction scene. It's so bad - the dialogue so unbelievably awful it verges on spoof and is truly depressing coming on the back of that great Bond moment. At least we then have the Kaufman scene which is superb ("I could shoot you from Stuttgart Mr Bond!"). Talk about the film having highs and lows!
Edited by Odd Jobbies, 25 July 2014 - 01:34 PM.