30 replies to this topic

[Vanish]

Here goes - Which films featured the best Brosnan performances? Here're my thoughts:

1) Goldeneye.
- Brosnan nailed it during his first run, IMO. He seems dangerous, and Brosnan handles the dramatic scenes very well. Easily his roughest portrayal of Bond, and it's his best.

2) The World is not Enough
- While some have decried the more "sensitive" side of Bond that Brosnan displayed here, I felt that this take was a very interesting one. Bond's execution of Elektra, and his early scenes with M and Tanner in Scotland are very well done.

3) Die Another Day
- Brosnan seems bored here, and understandably so. Still, his performance is decent, and he is obviously having fun occassionally.

4) Tomorrow Never Dies
- Rivals Roger Moore's first two outings as Bond in terms of awkwardness. Brosnan seems "off" in this one, and every line comes off as perfunctory. While I like Brosnan, this comes off as a lazy performance - he appears to to be doing a Bond impression rather than a portrayal. And his overracting during Carver's demise is especially weak.

Edited by Vanish, 05 May 2006 - 02:31 AM.

[Qwerty]

• Tomorrow Never Dies - Very solid. Just says Bond from the beginning.
• GoldenEye - Believable relationship with Natayla and very good in the action scenes.
• The World Is Not Enough - These last two often switch back and forth for me.
• Die Another Day

[Turn]

1. TND - With his debut out of the way, Brosnan has his best moves, looks his best and has the right mix of action and acting.

2. DAD - Again, gets to do a little of everything.

3. GE - Confident and fits the bill right off the bat.

4. TWINE - Does what he can, but nothing can help this Lifetime version of Bond.

[Righty007]

1. The World Is Not Enough
2. GoldenEye
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. Die Another Day

[JimmyBond]

Tomorrow Never Dies: Brosnan's best performance, the "personal" crap is hardly present, and Brosnan is having a great time playing Bond and that rubs off onto the audience.

Die Another Day- This film may change tones halfway through, but it's Brosnan's performance that pulls the whole film together, he does exactly what an actor is supposed to do and carries this film almost single handedly.

The World is Not Enough- Brosnan's performance is decent but the characterization of Bond is all wrong.

[OVERLORD]

1. The World Is Not Enough - looked his best and most comfortable within the role
2. GoldenEye - action scene wise his best
3. Tomorrow Never Dies - does his best with what could have been a good story but crap villan
4. Die Another Day - same as above, Diamonds are forever storyline

Brosnan was a great Bond and its ashame he had poor scripts to work with, its like they tried to make him Roger Moore when he wanted to be more in the Connery style.

[tdalton]

1. TOMORROW NEVER DIES: mediocre Bond performance, but the only time that he really came close to capturing Fleming's Bond.

2. GOLDENEYE: looked uncomfortable in the role, and still a bit young for it, even though he had been tapped for the role a decade ago.

3. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH: The movie was good, but he plays Bond as incompetent and not in control of what's going on around him.

4. DIE ANOTHER DAY: the worst Bond performance by anyone other than Woody Allen or anyone else associated with 1967's Casino Royale.

[K1Bond007]

1. GoldenEye - Did great
2. Tomorrow Never Dies - Did good
3. The World Is Not Enough - Did okay
4. Die Another Day - Had some good scenes, had a lot of bad scenes.

[Harmsway]

1. TOMORROW NEVER DIES - He had poor material to work with, but this was the time Brosnan really made the role his own. He exuded the style and confidence and came close to really, really owning the role. It's a shame his dialogue was just that crappy in this film.

2. GOLDENEYE - A little more forced performance on his part, but he does make an impression.

3. DIE ANOTHER DAY - Brozzy's most relaxed performance, which is a great thing, but nothing particularly popping or charismatic about it. It's just there and it seems like Broz is going through the motions.

4. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - Brosnan overacts and perfoms the single weakest characterization of Bond to date - the "Lifetime" Bond (as Turn so wonderfully put it). It's just overwrought garbage. Note the scene where he confronts Elektra for the single most cringe-inducing Bond moment in all 20 films.

[Double-Oh Agent]

1. Tomorrow Never Dies
2. Die Another Day
3. GoldenEye
4. The World Is Not Enough

[pieffra]

Goldeneye - his first outing as James Bond, was very nice, supported by a good script and good action scenes (The dam jump, was comparable only with TSWLM ski jump, and MR plane jump). His acting was quite good, a mix between Connery and Moore acting

The world is not enough - In line with Goldeneye, plus a similar performance Lazenby had in OHMSS (Elektra's relationship), with a good script (maybe the best of Brosnan's era).

Die Another Die, The kiss goodbye of Brosnan's era. Maybe he knew it. Funny movie, and funny action scene, but Brosnan's seemed to be a little bit older and fat (going to be like Moore's last 007 movies, good but quite not appropriate with the part)

Tomorrow never dies - except for the second part of the movie (for me the worst of Brosnan's era), in the first one he portrayed an excellent bond (maybe the best play he did) in a Dalton (the relationship with Paris) and Connery way (the Carver's studio fight, with the ashtray scene.)

[Mr_Wint]

Ranking Brosnan's performance (and NOT the films!)

1. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - The only film were Brosnan is allowed to play Bond as a British gentleman. Brosnan is charming, relaxed and yet confident. The balance is perfect here. An all-round Bond as some described it.

2. DIE ANOTHER DAY - Still very good as Bond. But you can see that Brosnan is a little bit uninspired during the Iceland scenes, and that's why I rank his performance in TWINE a little higher.

3. TOMORROW NEVER DIES - Clearly an improvement after GE. His haircut is better and Brosnan is more confident as Bond. There are some scenes that I dont like tough. For instance, his meeting with Carver before the Bike chase and the scenes with Wai Lee after the chase.

4. GOLDENEYE - I agree that Brosnan looks somewhat uncomfortable as Bond here. The thing I dont like about Brosnan (his light voice and lack of presence) is most evident in this film. Brosnan only has a small number of facial expressions to work with, and after 5 min you have seen them all.

[JimmyBond]

Brosnan was a great Bond and its ashame he had poor scripts to work with, its like they tried to make him Roger Moore when he wanted to be more in the Connery style.

They only wrote to his strengths. It wasnt the writers fault Brosnan didnt have it in him to be as cool as Connery was. If he would have shut up and played the role as written for him, we'd all have probably seen his fifth film by now.

[Genrewriter]

• Tomorrow Never Dies - Very solid. Just says Bond from the beginning.
• GoldenEye - Believable relationship with Natayla and very good in the action scenes.
• The World Is Not Enough - These last two often switch back and forth for me.
• Die Another Day

Ditto.

[Johnboy007]

Tomorrow Never Dies - Hit his stride in this one. Played the "sensitive" and action Bond better than any of his other performances

GoldenEye - He just doesn't seem real confident in this one. Not bad, though

The World Is Not Enough - Far too serious and far too boring

Die Another Day - Looks, acts, sounds incredibly bored.

[Byron]

GE - He's in Dalton mode.
TND - He's in Bruce Willis mode.
TWINE - Forgettable mode.
DAD - Sleepwalk mode.

Overall very little contribution to the series and other than GE, a waste of time.

[JimmyBond]

Can't believe I forgot to comment on his Goldeneye performance. Well...he's a non-entity in Goldeneye, it's sad kinda, but Bond is window dressing in his own film. This film really should have been called Natalya and her sidekick James Bond battle evil, because that's what the movie feels like.

[killkenny kid]

• Tomorrow Never Dies - Very solid. Just says Bond from the beginning.
• GoldenEye - Believable relationship with Natayla and very good in the action scenes.
• The World Is Not Enough - These last two often switch back and forth for me.
• Die Another Day

Ditto.

Ditto to your ditto.

[Stuff_My_Orders]

Can't believe I forgot to comment on his Goldeneye performance. Well...he's a non-entity in Goldeneye, it's sad kinda, but Bond is window dressing in his own film. This film really should have been called Natalya and her sidekick James Bond battle evil, because that's what the movie feels like.

I Couldn't agree with you more they went to far with the nazi-feminism in this one and lost the character James Bond along the way. Damn, the whole movie is about other characters bashing the Bond-character and his views on women in particular.

[Double-0-Seven]

Ranking Brosnan's performance (and NOT the films!)

1. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - The only film were Brosnan is allowed to play Bond as a British gentleman. Brosnan is charming, relaxed and yet confident. The balance is perfect here. An all-round Bond as some described it.

2. DIE ANOTHER DAY - Still very good as Bond. But you can see that Brosnan is a little bit uninspired during the Iceland scenes, and that's why I rank his performance in TWINE a little higher.

3. TOMORROW NEVER DIES - Clearly an improvement after GE. His haircut is better and Brosnan is more confident as Bond. There are some scenes that I dont like tough. For instance, his meeting with Carver before the Bike chase and the scenes with Wai Lee after the chase.

4. GOLDENEYE - I agree that Brosnan looks somewhat uncomfortable as Bond here. The thing I dont like about Brosnan (his light voice and lack of presence) is most evident in this film. Brosnan only has a small number of facial expressions to work with, and after 5 min you have seen them all.

I agree. That's how I would rank them as well.

[scottright]

Here's my pics:

The World Is Not Enough: A decent director and a good script give Brosnan something to really work with here - and he rises to the occasion. Charming when he needs to be, ice cold when he has to be, Brosnan hits his personal best as Bond in TWINE. His ruthless point-blank killing of Electra is the kind of 007 moment no one thought Brosnan was capable of pulling off, and his scenes with M are the best since the heady days of Connery and Bernard Lee.

I'm not so sure about that white suit during the climax, though.

Die Another Day: Brosnan's in The Zone folks, even in a generally (meaning I only watch it often instead of a lot) disappointing Bond movie. I rate this second because if nothing else, "DAD" is a virtual strutfest for Brosnan. He's the epitome of confidence here, perhaps knowing full well that this is the kind of the movie an actor can get lost in. Thankfully, he's not - his scenes with M have their usual crackle ("You burned me") and Brosnan's reaction after being rebuffed by Miss Frost at Blades is priceless. He's the glue in this one, people...

Heck, he even makes Madonna look credible - and that takes skill, man.

GoldenEye: Brosnan's introduction as 007 is largely successful, if just a tad self conscious. That said, the script gives him and everyone around him plenty to work with. The scenes with M are excellent - Brosnan underplays here (and has a nice moment when he slams the empty bourbon glass on M's desk just hard enough...). He's also terrific in the scenes with Sean Bean, who knowingly throws Bond's habits and history back in his face. There are moments when Brosnan seems a bit too cheery - his exchange with Mishkin is a little too blase (though well written) but that's the sort of thing that calms down with time. And it did.

Tomorrow Never Dies: Brosnan's got his sea legs as Bond, but the film doesn't give him much to do except run, jump, drive, and shoot. The M scenes are flat - and though he has some nice moments and real chemistry with Michelle Yeoh, the movie moves too quickly for anything but action and reaction. Teri Hatcher seems oddly too young to have had any real history with Bond and that robs what little drama there is of it's credibility. Moments later, however, there is a nice moment when one of Carver's thugs tells Brosnan he has an urgent call...and Brosnan just slighly nods, understanding that he is about to be taken into a room and beaten up. It's underplayed beautifully. Wish there were more of moments like that.

Edited by scottright, 09 May 2006 - 09:31 PM.

[glidrose]

1. GE - iconic performance. Exactly what I want in Bond.
2. TND - a bit mannered, but it's easy to forget how likable he is onscreen and how much charisma he has at his best. At this point he's still one of the great Bonds.

(massive gap)

3. TWINE - weak and watery. Others complain that his performance is erratic in this film.
4. DAD - I like the film more than many of you, but not Brosnan's performance which is hammy throughout.

In short, PB got worse with each film.

[Pierceuhhh]

GoldenEye gives him the most chance to breathe and be himself. Campbell plays him to his strengths - softly spoken, finicky, quite funny. You can actually believe women would be attracted to him rather than repulsed!

TWINE - full of flash and confidence - comes actoss more as the Prime Minister rather than a spy but that's not bad. All the failings are the script's. "HUHHH?????"

TND - sometimes looks unhappy on what must have been a toxic set and isn't given much to do. As per GE, at his best when doing light comedy, i.e bickering over who gets to ride the motorbike. At his worst when trying to act grumpy.

DAD - a bloated, depressed husk of a man. Clearly suicidal, seeing the daily rushes and weeping over a ham hock each night. Hilarious from his first line reading ("ME TOOOuhhhhh") and laughable throughout. Particularly another great "HUHHH???" when Jinx makes a stupid joke in the helicopter at the end. Love it wen he gets syringed after his release from the prison camp. "UHUHHHHHuhhhhh"

[Mr. Arlington Beech]

 

Brosnan was a great Bond and its ashame he had poor scripts to work with, its like they tried to make him Roger Moore when he wanted to be more in the Connery style.

They only wrote to his strengths. It wasnt the writers fault Brosnan didnt have it in him to be as cool as Connery was. If he would have shut up and played the role as written for him, we'd all have probably seen his fifth film by now.

 

Totally agree, he, unlike all the others Bond actors, didn't have more versatility to play this role in different facets.

 

4. GOLDENEYE - I agree that Brosnan looks somewhat uncomfortable as Bond here. The thing I dont like about Brosnan (his light voice and lack of presence) is most evident in this film. Brosnan only has a small number of facial expressions to work with, and after 5 min you have seen them all.

I’ve always have said this… Brosnan is the only Bond actor lacking the imperiously necessary commanding tone of voice, to portray in a credible way, a character like Bond. And if you’re a good enough actor, you should be capable to at least project one’s voice according to your role.

[tonyvenhuizen]

I would comment that, overall, I thought Brosnan was a good Bond and very consistent throughout his four movies.  He was never as good as Sean Connery or Daniel Craig but he was always solid, and he was a good balance between the more serious Bond and the Roger Moore goofiness.

 

To a large extent, what differentiates these movies in my mind is not Brosnan's performances, but other factors.  However, here is how I would rank Brosnan:

 

1 - GOLDENEYE - Brosnan's first performance was his best.  He really nailed it.  Really a great Bond movie.

2 - THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - I like this movie more than most people seem to.  The twist of Elektra being villainess rather than Bond girl is an interesting one.  Brosnan's line when he shoots Elektra: "I never miss" - is a classic Bond moment.

3 - TOMORROW NEVER DIES - This movie is fine and Brosnan does a good job.  My highlight is the scene where he drives the car from the backseat.  This is kind of like Octopussy to me - just a solid, middle-of-the-road entry.

4 - DIE ANOTHER DAY - Brosnan's performance is still fine, but even he can't hold everything together as the absurdities pile up.  Such a disappointment too - the first third or so was promising.  By the end we have a face-shifting robovillain.  Terrible.

Edited by tonyvenhuizen, 29 November 2015 - 01:56 AM.

[B5Erik]

1. Tomorrow Never Dies - Brosnan's best performance as Bond.  He seems comfortable and natural in the role.  He is CLEARLY having fun, and that translates well to the screen.

 

2. The World Is Not Enough - Still comfortable, given a little more to do on an emotional level, but not as on the money as he was in TND.

 

3. Die Another Day - Wildly uneven movie with a fairly uneven performance as Bond.  Some of it works really well, some of it doesn't.

 

4. Goldeneye - Brosnan has his moments here, but he really seems uncomfortable at times and he hasn't yet found his groove.  At times he seems like Dalton-light, at others he seems like a more dramatic Roger Moore.  He just hasn't found himself in the role yet.

[Simon]

1. DAD - His arrogance and playfulness coming through.  Spot on.

2. TND - Not sure as above he IS having a good time bearing in mind the script problems that might have manifested themselves upon a working condition, but still...  I have never believed in a direct correlation between comfortable conditions leading naturally to a Best Performance though.  See point 4.

3. GE - Jolly good.

4. TWODDLE - Trying way too hard to be Dramatic and then whatever else the uneven script demands.  Apparently wonderful working environment but still a completely uneven performance that lead to odd shining moments (in his performance) for example, a stare in the pre credits immediately after shooting someone.

[Professor Pi]

Die Another Day -- His cockiness here really shines through--"Put your back into it" and insisting someone has betrayed him all along.  The Cuba scenes felt like Bond.  But that dialog...ugh.

 

Tomorrow Never Dies -- Kaufman scene and scene waiting for Paris.  Don't care for the bickering with Wai Lin--and just no chemistry here.

 

GoldenEye -- Impressed with Pierce bringing some darkness to his Bond.  Was fearing a light Moore portrayal, but a good rookie outing.

 

The World Is Not Enough -- "I never miss."  The only good scene.  All that psychoanalyzing--of Elektra, Renard, even M...bleh.  But wasn't troubled by his Russian accent.  Still, who is this wuss?  Falling in love with a girl on a video screen?  Brosnan was asked to do a lot to save this awful script.

 

Surprised no one has mentioned his angry nostril breathing in this thread!

[mattjoes]

I really enjoy Brosnan's performance in GoldenEye. He hits all the right notes, and seems human and relatable, not unlike Dalton. However, I must say at times he looks slightly... shell-shocked. He has a bit of a thousand yard stare going on, as if he were trying real hard to look cool and Bond-like at all costs, probably trying to overcome the considerable pressure of having to deliver the goods after a six-year hiatus for the franchise.

He's more comfortable and confident in Tomorrow Never Dies. While he's no longer in Dalton mode, he transitions well into a Connery-type of performance, combined with his own boyish, light comedy touch, reminiscent of Remington Steele. A slight downside is that he comes across as a tad too arrogant at times. It's the only performance in the whole series I've ever felt this way about.

In The World Is Not Enough he combines the two previous performances, to great success. Confident and relatable.

In Die Another Day he continues in the style he honed down in The World Is Not Enough, only this time, he has less to work with. This is the weakest of his films, and his performance suffers for it.

Weighing all the pros and cons, this is my ranking:
1. The World Is Not Enough
2. GoldenEye
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. Die Another Day

[DaveBond21]

 

The World Is Not Enough -- Falling in love with a girl on a video screen?  

 

 

 

I don't get the complaints about this. He wasn't falling in love. He just doesn't like to see a woman scared / in pain. This is true in all the movies. It's the same reaction when he explains to Melina in FYEO about revenge and when he comforts Vesper in the shower in CR.

 

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