158 replies to this topic

[Judo chop]

I think the point is if Brosnan would kick a goon's ars in a movie. He looked to me, in many occasions, that he would consider rapin' the bad guys as well. You know, while duking it out / in the heat of the moment. Male or female.

This is not a good thing.

No. Certainly isn't for the bad guys, presumably.

For Brosnan though...??

[Safari Suit]

Good grief...

[jaguar007]

it's hard to believe that the same team that gave us Dalton's two films also gave us Brosnan's four.

Really, it was not the same team.

[Judo chop]

Good grief...

Just a typical Friday, mate.

[DR76]

What exactly is "manly"?

[Safari Suit]

Y'know, sometimes you've gotta give credit, and personally I just heard the sound of a nail hitting a head.

[Judo chop]

It probably isn't the perfect term to use (and I think the use of those three little dots preceding the term in the thread title is an indication that the original poster knew that from the start), but I think the intended meaning of the question can be ascertained.

Masculine.
Macho.
Muscular.
Magnetic.

Was he convincing at any or all of the above qualities?

[Safari Suit]

Masculine.

Not particularly. But then, regardless of how light and dark each were playing it, I'm not sure if he was any less masculine than Moore. Or Lazenby for that matter. Or maybe even Dalton. More to the point perhaps he certainly wouldn't be an obvious reference point to define the term "feminine" either, I wouldn't have thought.

Macho.

So macho

No, not really. It was "the caring 90s" after all. "We" had been a little bit machoed out by the end of the end of the 80s, I think it's fair to say.

Muscular.

No, but I don't think we wanna look at that track record too closely.

Magnetic.

Of course. How else could he have become a big time movie star? And is magentism really a "manly" thing?

[bondrules]

He was bicuriously macho. Macho in a Top Gun kinda way. That's how I look at it.


He was ready to use his gun on anyone. Regardless of gender.

[JimmyBond]

it's hard to believe that the same team that gave us Dalton's two films also gave us Brosnan's four.

Really, it was not the same team.

Well no, not really. But I was trying to make a point.

[Turn]

While not the biggest Brosnan supporter on this board, I never had a problem buying him as Bond or buying his action scenes.

I recall being somewhat surprised he came off tougher than I anticipated when he took over the role. I just thought of him as more suave and charming than tough, so it was a bit of a bonus I thought that.

No, he isn't Connery, but I don't find him unmanly or a wimp either.

I find it interesting this topic comes up when I've seen some posters on this board advocating people like Hugh Grant and Rupert Everett for Bond. They would have to work 100 times harder to make me believe them to do anywhere near what Brosnan did.

[BrozFan]

it's hard to believe that the same team that gave us Dalton's two films also gave us Brosnan's four.

Really, it was not the same team.

Well no, not really. But I was trying to make a point.

Never let the facts get in the way of a 'good' argument...

[elizabeth]

i mean i think he was. i agree with the last post though, however. he was more charming.

Edited by elizabeth, 30 September 2009 - 08:44 PM.

[elizabeth]

And aren't all the blokes on this thread the wrong ones to answer the question?

well, i AM a girl, and girls generally have a good idea of who's manly and who isn't...and i KNOW i'm definitely not a bloke.

[double o ego]

Blokes can answer the question. We're not blind. We all have our own vision of what Bond is and if something feels as though it's lacking, in this instance it's a question of, "manliness" I think it's a fair and valid point to address....while being more than comfortable with my own hetero sexuality. ; )

[The ides of Mark]

I have only one issue with Brosnan: his voice lacks the masculinity and authority that all the other Bonds did have (especially SC and TD).

[Binyamin]

The grimacing and high pumping action when he ran, supercedes any of those moments in my memory though.

You know, I never understood the "high pumping action while running" criticism. I'm a fairly strong runner and that motion is how I was *taught* to sprint. "Pull out your wallet, check your money, put it back" was how one trainer described the proper arm motion during sprinting.

Evidence: Watch the current fastest sprinter in the world, Usain Bolt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7f_KyTqk0A

Brosnan actually got this one right.

[The Shark]

Bond isn't meant to be a world class sprinter or athlete, and even then, Brosnan's running more resembled the T-1000 than Usain Bolt.

[AMC Hornet]

So...the director has nothing to do with how an actor is presented?

So it was Pierce who insisted on making those pain faces, and planting his feet before sliding open that yacht door, etc, despite what the directors wanted?

Was Brosnan 'metro'? Was he a dandy or a fop compared to say...Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson? (If we're going to hold the actor solely responsible for how he's dressed, made up, lit, posed and photographed, then it was Salmon's choice to be presented as a GQ model.)

Which means it was Moore who insisted on slapping Andrea around, and kicking Loque's car off the cliff, not Guy Hamilton and John Glen. And Terence Young deserves no credit for grooming the Chairman of the Board - Connery was born ready to make Dr. No.

Got it.

I look forward to the day - a few years from now - when all the same posters who loved Brosnan until Craig appeared start praising 007 #7 to the skies. "He's so much more suave than Craig - and so much more graceful in the fight scenes. He's so reminiscent of Pierce; he's the best Bond since Roger Moore, and at 6' 1' so much taller than that dwarf Craig," etc.

In the meantime I'll stick to my own opinion, which is:

Sean Connery was wonderful in the films he made.
George Lazenby ditto
Roger Moore ditto
Timothy Dalton ditto
Pierce Brosnan ditto
Daniel Craig ditto

It's less complicated that way.

Edited by AMC Hornet, 16 October 2011 - 05:07 AM.

[robertcampbell]

He is at his best doing a Cary Grant(urbane,well-dressed,suave...)and he was a great 007.But there were really some instances where his mannerisms were more of Steele than Bond.Check out his rather comic reaction when Natalya gave him a kick on the shins in "GLDNEYE"-it's pure Remmington,Or how his foot went flying out when he was slamming a Carver thug inside a piano in "TND",not to mention his running for dear life in "DAD"...
He is more efficient with looks and cold stares.I particularly loved the cold smile when he was captured with Christmas in "TWINE" after the big explosion.
Now,THAT is pure Bond.

[AMC Hornet]

If Pierce hadn't done what he did - if he'd tried to be more like Connery, Moore or Dalton, he would have been roasted for that.

Seems he's getting shafted (again), while Craig gets praised for doing the same thing.

Unlike Craig, however, Pierce was touted for the role for years before he got it. To the best of my memory there was never a <brosnanisnotbond> movement in the 80s or 90s - just since 2006.

Meanwhile Dalton - who took a lot of heat for being too serious and humourless - gets re-evaluated and less underrated now for having done in his time what Craig is doing now.

Yer just can't win.

Thanks for your four, Pierce. Sorry you didn't get a fifth.

[Safari Suit]

So...the director has nothing to do with how an actor is presented?

They have quite a bit, but still, Brosnan was a sentient adult, and a (then at least) powerful and popular movie star to boot, and should take much (very much indeed in my view) of the credit or blame for his performances.

[Trevelyan 006]

I Can Personally Say, That When I Think Of The 'Manliest' Bond, Brosnan Isn't Quite At The Top Of My List. Evenstill, I Suppose It's Just Another Opinion Thing. I Think He Made A Fine Bond, Whether He Lacked Any 'Manliness', Or Not.

I Can Also Safely Say That Using The Word 'Manly' To Describe James Bond, A Licensed Killer, Isn't Something I Really Prefer.

'Manly' Or Not, Let's Remember The Fond Times, Shall We ?

[coco1997]

I Can Personally Say, That When I Think Of The 'Manliest' Bond, Brosnan Isn't Quite At The Top Of My List. Evenstill, I Suppose It's Just Another Opinion Thing. I Think He Made A Fine Bond, Whether He Lacked Any 'Manliness', Or Not.

I Can Also Safely Say That Using The Word 'Manly' To Describe James Bond, A Licensed Killer, Isn't Something I Really Prefer.

'Manly' Or Not, Let's Remember The Fond Times, Shall We ?

Is there a reason you capitalize every word you type?

[Miles Miservy]

I like Brosnan, when watching his films I always got the impression that as Bond he genuinely loved doing what he does. There are a few things about him that irk me though but one thing I can't decide on is, if he was truly manly. That's not to say he didn't do cool things but I think maybe if he was manlier he may be higher up on my rankings list. Thoughts?

If a match between the two of them were set (then, not now), I'd have to wager that Timothy Dalton would kick Brosnan's A $ $

Edited by Miles Miservy, 17 October 2011 - 05:30 PM.

[Trevelyan 006]

I Can Personally Say, That When I Think Of The 'Manliest' Bond, Brosnan Isn't Quite At The Top Of My List. Evenstill, I Suppose It's Just Another Opinion Thing. I Think He Made A Fine Bond, Whether He Lacked Any 'Manliness', Or Not.

I Can Also Safely Say That Using The Word 'Manly' To Describe James Bond, A Licensed Killer, Isn't Something I Really Prefer.

'Manly' Or Not, Let's Remember The Fond Times, Shall We ?

Is there a reason you capitalize every word you type?

Just A Slight Typing Habit..

[Mr. Arlington Beech]

In short answer to the question.... NO!

Besides he wasn't stylish either (he only had the average style of a male model), and- even most important for me- Brosnan certainly didn't have a commanding voice, not even when it was required.

Edited by Mr. Arlington Beech, 21 October 2011 - 04:32 PM.

[00 Brosnan]

He gets knocked in this department a lot because his good looks (meaning he somehow can't be tough at the same time). Brosnan certainly embodied the 1990s playboy. He showed on numerous occasions his toughness and willingness to kill.

Some people don't like his facial expressions.....oh no...

He doesn't have Connery's killer instinct or Craig's raw brutality, but he's just as manly as Dalton (just not as cynical).

[Lachesis]

As presented in the Bond films, every actor is delivered in a more manly and testosterone fuelled manner than pretty much anyone else on the planet.

The definition of manly is far more than down to physical attributes; courage, determination, decisiveness, disspasionate on occasion, forthright, assertive etc etc are all attributes that are conveyed irrespective of superficial looks and while there may be degrees of manliness and conviction from each of the performers, the context alone ensures their starting point is already close to 'supermanly'... the ultimate preference simply comes down to the overall mix.

[Aris007]

I think that depends on how one defines masculinity. For me Brosnan was a bit more metrosexual than his role required. Too flashy suits, too perfect haircat, too polished shoes, too everything to be exact. His performance wasn't balanced.