101 replies to this topic

[Aris007]

I say he wasn't, but he's certainly improving himself, with his work in films such "The Ghost Writer".

[Colossus]

It saddens me to see all the dislike for Brosnan....it really does.

Don't worry, he's just going through the usual putdown phase that claims the last Bond before the new Bond mania starts up. I remember 2007 was a really brutal year just post-CR, but now things are lightening up with each passing year. In time he will be more liked. It's no secret why the three most successful Bonds, Connery, Moore, Brosnan are also the best 3!

[zencat]

I think Pierce truly gives it all he's got -- and that is sometimes, well, not good.

But I think he's freakin' amazing in The Matador.

[SecretAgentFan]

... and in "The Ghost Writer". I guess Brosnan is one of those actors who really need to be directed well.

[Lucky]

I think he's a great actor, not just a good one. His interpretation of Bond defined it for a generation. And his other works like Dante's Peak and Mars Attacks (the latter which had Brosnan in a nice comedic performance) were great turns by him. The most recent film I've seen of his was The Ghost Writer, and he was amazing in that too.

[jaguar007]

It's no secret why the three most successful Bonds, Connery, Moore, Brosnan are also the best 3!

Well in his first two Bond films Craig is proving to be more successful than Brosnan or even Moore in their first two films.

I also know there are quite a few people that will argue with you about Lazenby, Dalton and Craig being better than Moore or Brosnan (and some will even argue they are better than Connery).

[The Shark]

I think he's a great actor, not just a good one. His interpretation of Bond defined it for a generation.

Isn't that true for every Bond (par Lazenby). Bit of a lazy journalistic cliché isn't it?

[jamie00007]

It's no secret why the three most successful Bonds, Connery, Moore, Brosnan are also the best 3!

How to you classify "successful"? Going by average box office takes, Brosnan is second last, only beating out Dalton. Connery, Moore and Craig are the most succesful at the box office by a huge margin. Going by critical reception, he's dead last with three of his four films being rated as "rotten" at RT, with Connery and Craig being the most acclaimed.

Edited by jamie00007, 11 July 2010 - 05:27 AM.

[Colossus]

Yep their combined box office, which puts those 3 above the others.

[Gogol Pushkin]

If I can wear my heart on my sleeve for a moment, I just want to say that I like Pierce Brosnan and I always kinda feel sorry for him in his tenure in Bond. Things started really well for him with GoldenEye which I feel is a tremendous film all the way through, it manages to be a little superfluous and Bond-epic whilst also having substance to it, a bit of that Dalton-esque brooding quality to go with the well staged action sequences, and whilst things were getting a bit more broad with TND, that movie was so well paced and so much fun that it's hard for me to get too critical with it (and also it was the first I saw on the big screen). It was with TWINE that I think the issues set in. I think Pierce's Bond remains a fine interpretation and he does all he can with it, but I think the problem was that what he wanted to do with the role and what Eon wanted him to do sometimes led to some creative schizopherenia almost. TWINE tries to do what GE did, but only less successfully. The action sequences are well staged, but way too loud and way too ferociously edited for what is trying to be a Fleming-esque tale of patricide, stockholm syndrome and what can only be described as severely disturbed characters doing terrible things to one another. It has Sophie Marceau doing a good line in being a disturbed woman and Bond confused as he falls in love with what is essentially the villainess of the movie, but on the other hand you've got Denise Richards as a scientist. It's a strange movie as is Die Another Day which seems to wants to be all dark and brooding and all Ian Fleming with the torture scene and Bond shunned by M but which in reality is just a front to kick start a movie which deals with invisible cars, shoddy CGI, an over the top villain and a big giant satellite looking to destroy the Demilitirised Zone in North/South Korea. Throughout this movie Brosnan is to me the best thing in it. He's suave and cool and subtle, more subtle than a completely bonkers CGI fest/video game style movie like this deserves and it's for that I feel for him. I always imagine how he feels when he sees Daniel getting scripts like CR and QoS that really set out to get to the meat of Bond and his world, whilst Pierce got stuck with Denise Richards as Christmas Jones and getting to deliver crudely obvious puns at the close of the movie. I know it seems to be the in thing to kick the man down at the moment, but really I think Pierce had shown in GE what he was capable off but never got to build on that promise. Which is a shame.

Edited by Gogol Pushkin, 11 July 2010 - 02:47 PM.

[Garth007]

I think Pierce Brosnan isn't a bad actor I mean yes DAD was not everyones favorite movie but like ive ranted befor about it DAD was good till half way of the movie when halle berry came in and from there rest of the movie was horrible. He has done a fantastic job in other movies like Robinson Crusoe, The Thomas Crown Affair, Evelyn, After the Sunset, The matador, Saraphim Falls, Butterfly on a Wheel (aka: Shattered) and etc. i can list more but the point is he has done a fantastic job on those film so I'll say he's pretty good.

[Gogol Pushkin]

I think Pierce Brosnan isn't a bad actor I mean yes DAD was not everyones favorite movie but like ive ranted befor about it DAD was good till half way of the movie when halle berry came in and from there rest of the movie was horrible. He has done a fantastic job in other movies like Robinson Crusoe, The Thomas Crown Affair, Evelyn, After the Sunset, The matador, Saraphim Falls, Butterfly on a Wheel (aka: Shattered) and etc. i can list more but the point is he has done a fantastic job on those film so I'll say he's pretty good.

Yeah I agree with that. Outside of Bond he's been impressive, I just wish they gave him more challenging material in his Bond movies. Plus he's Irish, and coming from the North of the country myself means I'm contractually obligated to like him.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

So if we look at his convincing performance as Bond in GE (and for me TWINE as well), can we say that there are some missed opportunities in his tenure?

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and a little more worn by life.

Edited by PrinceKamalKhan, 13 July 2010 - 12:10 AM.

[JimmyBond]

So if we look at his convincing performance as Bond in GE (and for me TWINE as well), can we say that there are some missed opportunities in his tenure?

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and little more worn by life.

I've always argued that the one thing that holds DAD together (you know, the serious and silly halves) is Brosnan's performance.

[jaguar007]

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and little more worn by life.

I agree! I have always thought that Brosnan was one of GE's weakest links. He did not come across confident or alpha enough in GE (more like a kid putting on his dad's tux pretending to be Bond). He seemed much more relaxed and confident in TND.

[dinovelvet]

So if we look at his convincing performance as Bond in GE (and for me TWINE as well), can we say that there are some missed opportunities in his tenure?

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and little more worn by life.

I've always argued that the one thing that holds DAD together (you know, the serious and silly halves) is Brosnan's performance.

Yeah, DAD is my favorite performance, as he's reached that Connery-in-Thunderball "don't really care anymore" stage, and that kind of "taking the absurdities in his stride" style suits the film perfectly.

On the set of DAD :

Lee Tamahori : Alright Pierce, so in this scene, this guy Mr.Kil is going to come at you and we're going to have laser beams flying everywhere as Jinx gets pulled around on this torture machine thingy. Any questions?

Pierce Brosnan : Just one; my paycheck is in the mail, isn't it?

Lee Tamahori : Yes, absolutely.

Pierce Brosnan : Great! Where do I stand?

[jamie00007]

Yes, his performance in DAD was perfect. I hate the film but, unlike TWINE, I cant peg any of my dislike of the film on Brosnan's performance.

[DamnCoffee]

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and little more worn by life.

I agree! I have always thought that Brosnan was one of GE's weakest links. He did not come across confident or alpha enough in GE (more like a kid putting on his dad's tux pretending to be Bond). He seemed much more relaxed and confident in TND.

As much as I love GoldenEye, I have to agree with you. The problem I have with Brosnans Bond, is that his performances aren't consistent. There's really no development with his character. Personally, I'm quite a fan of his performance in Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day, BUT, they just don't feel like they're the same character.

I admire Brosnan for his take on Bond in The World Is Not Enough though, even though it didn't really work.

Overall, I do feel that Brosnan is a good actor, very inconsistent, but a fine actor, when he wants to be.

[Colossus]

So if we look at his convincing performance as Bond in GE (and for me TWINE as well), can we say that there are some missed opportunities in his tenure?

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and little more worn by life.

I've always argued that the one thing that holds DAD together (you know, the serious and silly halves) is Brosnan's performance.

Yeah, DAD is my favorite performance, as he's reached that Connery-in-Thunderball "don't really care anymore" stage, and that kind of "taking the absurdities in his stride" style suits the film perfectly.

On the set of DAD :

Lee Tamahori : Alright Pierce, so in this scene, this guy Mr.Kil is going to come at you and we're going to have laser beams flying everywhere as Jinx gets pulled around on this torture machine thingy. Any questions?

Pierce Brosnan : Just one; my paycheck is in the mail, isn't it?

Lee Tamahori : Yes, absolutely.

Pierce Brosnan : Great! Where do I stand?

I agree that "fourth movie superconfidence" always hits everyone, Moore in Moonraker as well where they just know that no one will be able to defeat them and they take it in flippant stride.

[Gogol Pushkin]

I always tend to find the fourth movies of Sean, Roger and Pierce similar in terms of their performances and what the films are offering. All three present a suave, subtle sort of performance that almost runs in the opposite of the film they're in which is bombastic, over the top and absurdly epic (although Thunderball still feels reined in compared to MR and DAD, it's really the first example of the Bonds going for a more epic feel).

[Aris007]

So if we look at his convincing performance as Bond in GE (and for me TWINE as well), can we say that there are some missed opportunities in his tenure?

I actually found his GE and TWINE performances his 2 weakest of his Bond tenure. I thought he was much more confident and smoother in TND than in GE and at his most effective in DAD with him being older and little more worn by life.

I've always argued that the one thing that holds DAD together (you know, the serious and silly halves) is Brosnan's performance.

Yeah, DAD is my favorite performance, as he's reached that Connery-in-Thunderball "don't really care anymore" stage, and that kind of "taking the absurdities in his stride" style suits the film perfectly.

On the set of DAD :

Lee Tamahori : Alright Pierce, so in this scene, this guy Mr.Kil is going to come at you and we're going to have laser beams flying everywhere as Jinx gets pulled around on this torture machine thingy. Any questions?

Pierce Brosnan : Just one; my paycheck is in the mail, isn't it?

Lee Tamahori : Yes, absolutely.

Pierce Brosnan : Great! Where do I stand?

Going that way! And in my opinion this didn't start in DAD, but also in TWINE. Unfortunately though, in the third film his performance wasn't as good as in his last one. For this and only for this TND is better than any of Brosnan's outings.
GE was far too complex with all the techno-buff and Bond stayred in the background. In TWINE the rest of the cast blew the whole thing. While in DAD.....well it was blown anyway!

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

I really can't recall any beyond Bond film where Pierce made a bad performance. I even liked him in Mamma Mia!

[jaguar007]

I really can't recall any beyond Bond film where Pierce made a bad performance. I even liked him in Mamma Mia!

Even his singing??????

[elizabeth]

I really can't recall any beyond Bond film where Pierce made a bad performance. I even liked him in Mamma Mia!

Even his singing??????

I'd like to hear his singing.

[Gogol Pushkin]

I'm currently watching what I feel to be Pierce Brosnan's finest ever performance. The voice of the house in The Simpsons:Treehouse of Horror XII.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

I really can't recall any beyond Bond film where Pierce made a bad performance. I even liked him in Mamma Mia!

Even his singing??????

I'd like to hear his singing.

Me too, particulary "SOS" and "When All is Said and Done".

[jaguar007]

Me too, particulary "SOS" and "When All is Said and Done".

I guess his singing did have an entertaining quality to it, kind of an Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space type quality to it

[JimmyBond]

I'm currently watching what I feel to be Pierce Brosnan's finest ever performance. The voice of the house in The Simpsons:Treehouse of Horror XII.

That has one of my favorite bits as well:

Bart: (looking over what voices they can use) Hey it even has 007!

Marge: George Lazenby!?

Love it

[ConnerysToupee1983]

I think Pierce was a great Bond and is an excellent actor, in more of a good "screen presence" way. Even in dreck like Detonator and such, he never turned in a lazy performance. He always has a spark to what he does and a "spring in his step" like he's having fun with the whatever role he's in. He's just a solid "working actor." He does what he does, goes where he's needed, be it big budget fluff like Mamma Mia (which his acting wasn't bad in, just his singing. Even though the whole film is an exercise of "good actors gone bad) or smaller, more subdued works like The Matador (which he was superb in.)

If you want to see Pierce doing something totally different track down the made for TV film "Don't Talk to Strangers" he's part "pretty-boy suave" and ALL psychopath. It's a great, oddball role for him and shows good range and risk taking.

[Bond Maniac]

As said around here, not a great actor but the best choice of Bond at the time. For me, all his performances look alike, except in "The Matador" which was very good. But this is one movie against a lot more were he was bland. I really love some of his movies like "Goldneye" or "Twine" but i never fooled myself thinking that he was a great actor.
He could have proved me wrong on DAD but alas, he never pulled it (not only his fault but the script sucked too).