604 replies to this topic

[FreddyVoorhees007]

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

[Agent Leiter]

Timothy Dalton takes the top spot for me, with the ranking going as follows:

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

Of course, my list seem to change every so often... Dalton being in the top spot seems to be the only constant with me. I have enjoyed all of the Bond actors so far and gladly watch any films brought to us by any of the lot.

[TheREAL008]

1. Daniel Craig
2. Sean Connery
3. Timothy Dalton
4. Roger Moore
5. George Lazenby
6. Pierce Bronsan

[Agent Sidewinder]

Timothy Dalton takes the top spot for me, with the ranking going as follows:

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

Of course, my list seem to change every so often... Dalton being in the top spot seems to be the only constant with me. I have enjoyed all of the Bond actors so far and gladly watch any films brought to us by any of the lot.

Very interesting. It's always struck me as uncommon for fans to really like both Dalton and Moore (as they're polar opposites) so your list as a breath of fresh air. I'll have to do a thread on it sometime.

[Matt_13]

Craig
Connery
Dalton
Lazenby (I put George above Roger only because he did so well with only one outing. Moore was always entertaining, but sometimes his Bond didn't strike me as dangerous enough)
Moore
Brosnan (He was not given the material he deserved, so it's not his fault)

[Agent Tatiana Gogol]

1. Roger Moore (always has been and always will be THE Bond)
2. Sean Connery (very close to Roger, great Bond as well!)
3. George Lazenby (George playing James Bond in OHMSS was absolutely brilliant! Would have seen more Bonds to come on his way...)
4. Timothy Dalton (Have not much to say but I like his Bonds all right, his quite good actor, good-looking...)
5. Pierce Brosnan (Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough were great films what comes to Brosnan, Goldeneye was OK entry from Pierce Bond, but Die Another Day, no way - bad...)
6. Daniel Craig (Great actor, but his Bond films -> Is it Bond anymore? The name is James Bond, and there's M but something is still missing, and badly... I think it's too violent, and where's 007's humour and quips? Moneypenny, Q/R, ladies, charm... Those aren't bad films or something, and somehow I like watching them, but not as a Bond way...)

[O.H.M.S.S.]

1. Sean Connery
2. Timothy Dalton
3. George Lazenby
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. Roger Moore
6. Daniel Craig

[Shadow007]

1. Sean Connery - there's no comparison, he was the complete package until the disaster that was DAF. There was no aspect of his performance in the first 5 films that fails IMO.
2. Timothy Dalton - he had everything except the ability to be convincingly humourous. Nonetheless he captured Bond's 'dark side' as well as anyone and was thoroughly convincing as a secret agent.
3. Pierce Brosnan - while many may say that Moore was Bond-lite, I think Brosnan was the true Bond-lite. Not necessarily a criticism mind you. He did everything well but nothing outstandingly. Still his performance was always well rounded.
4. Daniel Craig - Like a post above mentioned, it is hard to work out where to put Craig. CR was simply brilliant, as was Craig in that film. However, QoS gave him no room to work. Bond 23 will be his defining moment. As long as he gets a good script he could rocket up the list. Like Dalton he needs to find a way to be convincingly humourous.
5. Roger Moore - for years he sat on the bottom of my list but he beats Lazenby now only because over the course of seven films there were some redeeming moments (most of TSWLM, FYEO, parts of LALD & OP) throughout. Overall though he was Bond-fluff.
6. Lazenby - it pains me to have him on the bottom (even more so because I'm an Aussie) as OHMSS is one my favourites. He showed glimpses of his potential but too many wooden moments leave him a little short. He could have been great if he had continued.

My two cents worth.

[Davy]

1. Dalton
I love Dalton's portrayal. He brings the firy and the passion of a man who would sacrafice himself and others for the sake of his country. His scene we he informs Sanchez that he's more of a "problem eliminator" is fantastic, We see this fury in his eyes that none of the Bonds before him brought to the role. Iwould love to have seen him make more, be it Goldeneye or Colonel Sun. Yes his comic moments weren't great but he should never have had to delier lines like "salt corrosion" - he did what he could with thescrpits. FOr me the writers were still trying to keep Moore-like quips in that were obtrusive and unneccessary.

2. Connery
For the most pat Sean was flawless but I can't rank him above Dalton as Dalton never had time to become complacent,accept subpar scripts and deliver less than dedicated performances as Connery did in You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever. I won't try and fault his first few films though, he set the tone and was truly iconic in the role. From Russia With Love is to my mind the template any Bond film should follow.

3. Craig
Controversuial but I think if Bond 23 turns out well, Craig will be a contender for my favourite. Yes QOS was all over the place but it was really Act 2 of Casino Royale and I think if anything is wrong with Quantum, it's certainly not Craig's fault. He's physically fantastic in the role and delivers a cold, ruthless Bond that I can, unlike most others, imagine being a real life agent.
4. Moore
I like Roger - he's a gentleman and a great ambassador for some wonderful causes...but he's not my idea of Bond. He pretty much just played Simon Templar in his early Bonds then ended up playing the role about as seriously as Mike Myers plays Austin Powers. I wish he had been reigned in as he obviously has some talent in the role but it;s overhadowed by repetivie jokes, villains and Bond girls...and I'm sorry but he was far too old by the end. He should have left after Moonraker.

5. Lazenby
He was wooder in OHMSS but he was inexperienced - I'm sure he gav it his best but unfortunately I'm probably not along in thinking Connery could have made this the ultimate Bond film had he stayed on for it. I do thinkhe acquits himself well in the action scenes though.

6. Brosnan
I may get some backs up with this choice but what some call suave I see as smug. His performances for whatever reason were dull and derivative of the other actors in the role. It disgusts me that EON turned Brosnan's bond into Moore MK2 with all the jokes and gadgets. His Goldeneye was fine, I like that film a lot but after than he seems too stilted and wooden. Annoyingly he can deliver great performances - Tailor Of Panama comes to mind - with material that could have been given to his Bond but never was.

[MarkD]

1. Dalton is the best actor - I can feel his rage when he find Mrs. Leiter's dead body, he means what he says when he holds a knife to Lupe's throat. There's a look of tiredness, a feeling he's on the edge. People say there's no humour in the Dalton movies, but there is, for example the wonderful cameo Q has in LTK. Agreed (with Davy, above), "salt corrosion" didn't work - perhaps the writers still had Moore in mind. Dalton played the part with substance over style, even if the movies themselves were not the best - they were never going to be. However, in the context of a long period of Moore, it was refreshing and finally putting the train back on the tracks. His relationships with the regular cast aren't very close, but that fits. If Bernard Lee was still in the role when M revoked Bond's licence, that scene would surely have been more touching. I found Brown's M too clinical anyway, too much like a box-ticking civil servant.

2. Connery set the tone with style and some beautiful suits. As Davy has said, the money got to him and he played Bond with complacency in the later movies, however his charm always wins me over and makes his appearances a joy to watch - you always felt he was in control. This was all good enough to hide his lesser acting abilities. He had close relationships with the regulars, most notably with Moneypenny and also with M.

3. Brosnan was a worthy choice to take over the role, and he brought a more military feel to the role. He had a seeming power that the women liked, and a strength that his enemies respected. However you never really saw much of his emotional side - fear and anger was rare - I can only think of him with the dead Paris showing any mild sadness. Perhaps he was trying to hide it.

4. Lazenby was an odd choice, and almost worked. Perhaps he would have improved with making another movie or two. However I've heard that he didn't have a good working relationship with the director, so that may have contributed. I still can't work out why he needed to be dubbed when he impersonated Bray. Whilst he showed fear and sadness, he didn't really have the charm or attractiveness of his predecessor.

5. Moore really was the worst Bond but several leagues. For a start, he can't act. He doesn't seem to wear his suits - someone's just put them on him and he doesn't seem to be aware of what he's wearing. The Bond girls seem to have been picked more for their looks rather than acting abilities too, most notably Barbara Bach. There is some humour, though most is just too 70s for my taste. FYEO is the only one of his that holds up and it doesn't try to do too much. The rest contain far too much cheese and slapstick - and far too obviously trying to, and badly, cash in on the current trends (LALD - Blaxploitation; TMWTGG - Kung Fu; Moonraker - Star Wars; Octopussy - Indiana Jones). Fortunately they all contain good worthy Bond moments.

I need to re-evaluate Craig and come back to you. I could only manage 20 minutes of the '67 Casino Royale as it was just so awful.

[00 Brosnan]

5. Moore really was the worst Bond but several leagues. For a start, he can't act. He doesn't seem to wear his suits - someone's just put them on him and he doesn't seem to be aware of what he's wearing. The Bond girls seem to have been picked more for their looks rather than acting abilities too, most notably Barbara Bach. There is some humour, though most is just too 70s for my taste. FYEO is the only one of his that holds up and it doesn't try to do too much. The rest contain far too much cheese and slapstick - and far too obviously trying to, and badly, cash in on the current trends (LALD - Blaxploitation; TMWTGG - Kung Fu; Moonraker - Star Wars; Octopussy - Indiana Jones). Fortunately they all contain good worthy Bond moments.

I think all the Bond actors had films that cash in on current trends. That's got to be obvious with the Daniel Craig era in terms of rebooting the franchise into a more gritty and realistic form. That was before and currently is a major trend in Hollywood. I should mention however that I very much enjoy Craig's films, but do miss some of the more traditional Bond elements.

As far as Moore goes, well honestly I think the only films that had a lot of camp material were OP and AVTAK..his last two films. I think overall LALD (one of my top favorites) through FYEO are excellent.

[MarkD]

5. Moore really was the worst Bond but several leagues. For a start, he can't act. He doesn't seem to wear his suits - someone's just put them on him and he doesn't seem to be aware of what he's wearing. The Bond girls seem to have been picked more for their looks rather than acting abilities too, most notably Barbara Bach. There is some humour, though most is just too 70s for my taste. FYEO is the only one of his that holds up and it doesn't try to do too much. The rest contain far too much cheese and slapstick - and far too obviously trying to, and badly, cash in on the current trends (LALD - Blaxploitation; TMWTGG - Kung Fu; Moonraker - Star Wars; Octopussy - Indiana Jones). Fortunately they all contain good worthy Bond moments.

I think all the Bond actors had films that cash in on current trends. That's got to be obvious with the Daniel Craig era in terms of rebooting the franchise into a more gritty and realistic form. That was before and currently is a major trend in Hollywood. I should mention however that I very much enjoy Craig's films, but do miss some of the more traditional Bond elements.

As far as Moore goes, well honestly I think the only films that had a lot of camp material were OP and AVTAK..his last two films. I think overall LALD (one of my top favorites) through FYEO are excellent.

Agreed Bond movies sometimes do take up current trends - the current one of grittiness as shown in QOS doesn't work as well because it is too much like a Bourne movie - it should be a Bond movie. The re-boot idea is great - but I would have at least expected Q branch to have made a showing in QOS. And you had to wait til the end credits before you heard (briefly) any Bond music. A friend of mine suggested re-booting back to the 1950's Cold War era might have been a good move - no reason why is shouldn't work - you have serials like Mad Men that do.

Back to Moore - I think his take on Bond worked for the 70's, but the films show their age now. People say he was too old by the time he left the role, but I don't think that really mattered - his final scene atop the Golden Gate Bridge is very good.

[00 Brosnan]

5. Moore really was the worst Bond but several leagues. For a start, he can't act. He doesn't seem to wear his suits - someone's just put them on him and he doesn't seem to be aware of what he's wearing. The Bond girls seem to have been picked more for their looks rather than acting abilities too, most notably Barbara Bach. There is some humour, though most is just too 70s for my taste. FYEO is the only one of his that holds up and it doesn't try to do too much. The rest contain far too much cheese and slapstick - and far too obviously trying to, and badly, cash in on the current trends (LALD - Blaxploitation; TMWTGG - Kung Fu; Moonraker - Star Wars; Octopussy - Indiana Jones). Fortunately they all contain good worthy Bond moments.

I think all the Bond actors had films that cash in on current trends. That's got to be obvious with the Daniel Craig era in terms of rebooting the franchise into a more gritty and realistic form. That was before and currently is a major trend in Hollywood. I should mention however that I very much enjoy Craig's films, but do miss some of the more traditional Bond elements.

As far as Moore goes, well honestly I think the only films that had a lot of camp material were OP and AVTAK..his last two films. I think overall LALD (one of my top favorites) through FYEO are excellent.

Agreed Bond movies sometimes do take up current trends - the current one of grittiness as shown in QOS doesn't work as well because it is too much like a Bourne movie - it should be a Bond movie. The re-boot idea is great - but I would have at least expected Q branch to have made a showing in QOS. And you had to wait til the end credits before you heard (briefly) any Bond music.

I agree. I think Craig is a great Bond and like his films so far, but as I was saying in another thread, the current direction of the franchise risks becoming too generic if they don't reintroduce at least some traditional Bond elements. Whether that be by introducing Q branch (not necessarily Q himself), more use of the Bond theme, or some cool gadgets (enough w/ the smartphone already..it isn't original or all that impressive).

This is just my opinion, it isn't going to make or break anything, but I'd like to hear a "Bond, James Bond" in B23.

Back to Moore - I think his take on Bond worked for the 70's, but the films show their age now.

Personally, I think all the films from DN through AVTAK really show their age. Of course, that's not to say it takes away any enjoyment or is even a negative. One thing that has always intrigued me about the Bond series is the era the films take place in. I'm 24 so I haven't watched too many, if any non-Bond 60s and 70s films and it's interesting to see the technology and the atmosphere of the eras.

[KMiller007]

Daniel Craig

[Aries Walker]

Sean Connery. He defined the role.

After him, Craig, Brosnan/Dalton (take your pick), then a big gap, and then Moore, and Lazenby, who obviously didn't care.

[SecretAgentFan]

5. Moore really was the worst Bond but several leagues. For a start, he can't act. He doesn't seem to wear his suits - someone's just put them on him and he doesn't seem to be aware of what he's wearing. The Bond girls seem to have been picked more for their looks rather than acting abilities too, most notably Barbara Bach. There is some humour, though most is just too 70s for my taste. FYEO is the only one of his that holds up and it doesn't try to do too much. The rest contain far too much cheese and slapstick - and far too obviously trying to, and badly, cash in on the current trends (LALD - Blaxploitation; TMWTGG - Kung Fu; Moonraker - Star Wars; Octopussy - Indiana Jones). Fortunately they all contain good worthy Bond moments.

I think all the Bond actors had films that cash in on current trends. That's got to be obvious with the Daniel Craig era in terms of rebooting the franchise into a more gritty and realistic form. That was before and currently is a major trend in Hollywood. I should mention however that I very much enjoy Craig's films, but do miss some of the more traditional Bond elements.

As far as Moore goes, well honestly I think the only films that had a lot of camp material were OP and AVTAK..his last two films. I think overall LALD (one of my top favorites) through FYEO are excellent.

Agreed Bond movies sometimes do take up current trends - the current one of grittiness as shown in QOS doesn't work as well because it is too much like a Bourne movie - it should be a Bond movie. The re-boot idea is great - but I would have at least expected Q branch to have made a showing in QOS. And you had to wait til the end credits before you heard (briefly) any Bond music. A friend of mine suggested re-booting back to the 1950's Cold War era might have been a good move - no reason why is shouldn't work - you have serials like Mad Men that do.

Back to Moore - I think his take on Bond worked for the 70's, but the films show their age now.

Every film shows its age when time has passed.

And that´s the fantastic thing about the Bond series: they embody the zeitgeist during its production, they are living history.

[mrevans]

Craig. Whenever I read a Fleming novel I always see Bond as Craig with dark hair.

1. Daniel Craig
2. Sean Connery
3. Timothy Dalton
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. George Lasenby
6. Roger Moore

This is not to say that I dislike Moore or Lasenby but I like things about all of them. But this is how I rank them.

[BourneAgainBond]

Pierce Brosnan is 007 he is a hybrid of Conney and Moore and deserved better

he lost his wife just like bond and she was a bond girl in FYEO
starred in a tv spy thriller just like Moore did before him
he was some what similar looking to Timothy Dalton which didn't discredit his 2 films but adds to them
and finally because he should have done another film to complete his series magic number 7

[sharpshooter]

Brosnan has jumped Dalton since my November 2010 ranking.

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

[Pussfeller]

Connery
Craig
Dalton
Lazenby
Moore
Brosnan

[DamnCoffee]

Moore / Connery / Craig / Dalton / Lazenby / Brosnan

[Pussfeller]

Brosnan is a tough one for me. I used to like him a lot, for sentimental reasons, and I still love him in GoldenEye, but increasingly I find him unctuous and insecure. I definitely think he was dealt a bad hand, and could have had a much better run, but even under the best circumstances (as in GE and the first halves of TWINE and DAD), he's never really comfortable with the role.

[BourneAgainBond]

Brosnan is a tough one for me. I used to like him a lot, for sentimental reasons, and I still love him in GoldenEye, but increasingly I find him unctuous and insecure. I definitely think he was dealt a bad hand, and could have had a much better run, but even under the best circumstances (as in GE and the first halves of TWINE and DAD), he's never really comfortable with the role.

i've heard that before but i don't understand why some feel "he's never really comfortable in the role" the only impression i get is he is not comfortable with the script or casting in DAD and that he suspected they wouldn't have him return for a 5th film.

[007RogerMoore]

Moore easily

[DR76]

All of them.

[Golddragon71]

I Had to throw my hat in for Brosnan. Largely because I was such a huge Remington Steele fan. but also because he was the perfect choice at the perfect time to play 007.

[killkenny kid]

Brosnan is still my man.....sorry Jim.

[Double-0-Seven]

I'm sure I've answered this thread before, but I'll say Connery or Craig. I really like them all though.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

1. Sir Sean Connery
2. George Lazenby & Daniel Craig (so far its a tie, perhaps Skyfall will tip the scales)
3. Sir Roger Moore
4. Timothy Dalton & Pierce Brosnan (tie again, Dalton never got a chance IMHO)

Edited by AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän, 29 June 2012 - 12:24 AM.

[Panavision]

Roger Moore - the guy's hilarious - and he delivered those lines perfectly. Perfect Bond for the 70s and early 80s.