41 replies to this topic

[quantumofsolace]

http://www.guardian....y-as-james-bond

[JB007YH]

Serious question after just 2-3 films? The market was different in the sixties and Bond will not re-gain that mania(As much as I wish it would). Bond in the sixties is what Harry Potter is now. If you take into affect inflation and now with SkyFall IMAX tickets being more expensive, there is no way to look at it on an even playing field. With inflation adjusted- thunderball grossed over a billion. I hope skyfall does the same, but lets be real. Its too early to make the outlandish statement that Craig has surpassed Connery.

[solace]

Granted Im on a real high having seen the film today and currently watching Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Judy Dench being interviewed on last nights Graham Norton but I would say he has made a film as good as Connerys best which imo is Frwl.

[JB007YH]

I have not seen it and I am hoping for that. I think this movie does have the potential to be a top 3 Bond film. I am always excited when a new film is released but never as much as I am before SkyFall. I love the cast and crew they put together for this one. Solace, I am so jealous of you that you have seen it already! I feel tortured whenever I look at my IMAX tix and the date is so far away

[Tony_OO_Black]

I don't think anyone can answer this without the benefit of hindsight. I remember back in the 90's people said the same thing about Brosnan, and most of us would agree he didn't come close to matching Connery.

All comes down to the quality of the movies. Connery's are recognised by most as, bar a couple of exceptions, being the best of the run. Craig so far has nailed 2/3 of his films - should he keep that quality level going, by the time he retires from the role this might be a fair claim. Right now, it's too early to judge.

[FOX MULDER]

The long answer is...

No.

[Iceskater101]

Hmm, that's a really hard thing to do. I think Craig is a great James Bond, but I think he still has a lot more convincing to do before he is better than Connery.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

To me, Craig can never surpass Connery but to the question is he as good as Connery my answer is affirmative, and in my opinion he is closest to the literary character. Dalton tried to pull that off but came off as a depressed selfloathing individual while Craig seems to have doubts but has strong sense of duty - he knows he's in a dirty business but someone has to do it.

[SecretAgentFan]

I think Daniel Craig is the Sean Connery of the Bond 2.0 era.

[marktmurphy]

He's brilliant: owns it completely, but... hand on heart... the ultimate Bond is still Connery.

[SecretAgentFan]

Yep, yep, but still - if you consider CR re-booting the whole series, starting a new timeline with a new guy becoming Bond, I guess it´s safe to say that the Connery to Brosnan era is a closed book. The new book, starting with CR, had the luck to feature again a "Connery"-status Bond with Mr. Craig. Someone every following actor will have to measure up to.

[L4YRCAKE]

I think it's easy to point to Goldfinger as pretty much the quintessential Bond film, one can argue over the details but I think that's the film that defines Bond to the general public.

However, I don't think any of Connery's films had the character development or emotional depth of a 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' or 'Casino Royale', and those elements are taken from the books, give or change a few details but that's really where the roots of the character himself are located.

I think Skyfall will probably (and since I'm American I haven't seen it yet, grahhh) be the first Bond film to have both the elements of OHMSS and Goldfinger together. If Mr. Craig & Co. can keep this approach up with Bond 24 and 25, he will have definitely surpassed Sean Connery, especially if he ends up making several more and appears in more films than Connery did.

Quantum Of Solace has its issues, but it's no Never Say Never Again.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

Yep, yep, but still - if you consider CR re-booting the whole series, starting a new timeline with a new guy becoming Bond, I guess it´s safe to say that the Connery to Brosnan era is a closed book. The new book, starting with CR, had the luck to feature again a "Connery"-status Bond with Mr. Craig. Someone every following actor will have to measure up to.

Well put, that is how I feel.

[Vauxhall]

Craig hasn't eclipsed Connery, and I'm not sure he or anyone else ever can, but he stands alongside him very comfortably at the pinnacle of James Bond portrayals.

[Iceskater101]

Yeah I agree with that ^

[delfloria]

Craig hasn't eclipsed Connery, and I'm not sure he or anyone else ever can, but he stands alongside him very comfortably at the pinnacle of James Bond portrayals.

Well said.

[jaguar007]

While Craig may be a better actor and make great Bond film, the fact that he is not Sean Connery will prevent him of ever surpassing Sean Connery. Connery is not just an actor to play James Bond, he is a cinematic icon.

[kissarmy71]

No.....

Craig doesn't have the looks, appeal or swagger of Connery.

Craig is by far....the worst Bond.

Don't get me wrong, he's a good actor......just not Bond material.

[L4YRCAKE]

No.....

Craig doesn't have the looks, appeal or swagger of Connery.

Craig is by far....the worst Bond.

Don't get me wrong, he's a good actor......just not Bond material.

Gonna have to disagree that Craig's the worst Bond, personally I think he's the best by far.

But either way, rock on Kiss Army. Ace Frehley forever!!!

[Iceskater101]

No.....

Craig doesn't have the looks, appeal or swagger of Connery.

Craig is by far....the worst Bond.

Don't get me wrong, he's a good actor......just not Bond material.

Roger Moore is my least favorite, and I completely disagree with you. Daniel Craig is definitely charming, sophisticated, suave. I mean according to the novels he doesn't fit the profile but for this day and age Daniel Craig is my second favorite Bond.

[Tarl_Cabot]

No.

[Taro Todoroki]

LOL.......no.

[mttvolcano]

No.....

Craig doesn't have the looks, appeal or swagger of Connery.

Craig is by far....the worst Bond.

Don't get me wrong, he's a good actor......just not Bond material.

He's good for this Bourne-esque generation.
I agree in the sense that I have heard he's 'charismatically ugly.' Not as suave as Connery. One is almost comparing apples with oranges, but still connery wins.

Not a bad Bond by any means, but this new generation quite honestly has only been in touch with Bond through the video games and Brosnan and so they are shallow and not true aficianados of Bond, who gives a **** if they are saying Craig is better than connery. They know nothing of history and are more interested in new action films than looking back at what they called the 'boring days' so to them Craig is better because they are adding in today's action scenes.

Edited by mttvolcano, 17 November 2012 - 07:42 PM.

[Kelly Smith]

I think you have to take into account we are not only dealing with a different actor,but a different Bond.

The early cinema Bond was not given to introspection or deep feelings until OHMSS, and unfortunately we never got the chance to see Connery do some real emoting as 007. The relative failure of that film precluded further soul searching for nearly two decades, until the Dalton era, and I'm thankful for that if for no other reason than Roger Moore wouldn't have been up to the task. I like Roger a lot, and I'm thankful to him for keeping the cinematic Bond going, but a great actor he is not.

Dalton was given better material to work with, but the public for the most part wasn't ready for a government sponsored dark knight with a license to kill.

Then the six year hiatus and along came Brosnan, a good actor who followed Dalton's lead and put emotion into the character of 007 without sacrificing the fun audiences were used to. I think Brosnan did a marvelous job of giving us a more fully realized and self aware Bond than we'd seen to that point.

Then another break and enter Daniel Craig, a reboot and the wonderful opportunity for the filmmakers to return to Fleming's source material and delve even more deeply into what makes Bond the dark, brooding agent of the novels. I applaud the direction the movies have taken, and while I was initially reluctant to accept Craig, I have grown to love his performance as Bond and I think he is as true to Ian Fleming's concept as any fan of the novels could hope.

But has he eclipsed Connery? No one has or will; he set the style which all other actors, consciously or not, follow.

Edited by Kelly Smith, 17 November 2012 - 08:15 PM.

[seawolfnyy]

You really can't compare. Connery and Craig are almost playing 2 different characters in 2 different time periods. They are both great. Connery will always be the benchmark as he was the first and the best of the first 5. Craig is arguably the best actor of the 6 and has brought Bond into a new age and to a new generation. I think they are just too different to officially say one is better. However, one could measure the two worst films of the respective eras: Connery's portrayal in DAF to Craig's portrayal in QoS. Both weaker films, however, Craig gives arguably a better performance in QoS than CR vs. Connery who appears lazy and uninterested in DAF. Of course compare CR to FRWL or SF to GF and the comparisons are too close to say.

[tdalton]

I think that Craig has already matched him, and if SKYFALL ends up being as great as CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE are, then I'll be ready to say that Craig has surpassed Connery.

[L4YRCAKE]

Everything said above is very interesting, very valid points. I do think though that one can argue that Connery's films won't age as well as Craig's, I think the new ones have a more timeless classic quality to them and avoid many of the more trendy content of some of the worst Bonds. I think Casino Royale and Skyfall will have real legs still in ten, twenty, thirty years.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

Are you seriously saying that films like FRWL or GF do not have timeless classic quality?

[00 Brosnan]

In one way yes. Sean Connery was the original, he defined the role. Everyone after him brought their own elements to the character, but ultimately were playing a character Connery defined. Everyone...but Daniel Craig. He is the first one to successfully re-define the role and make it totally his own.

Connery still has more films in my Top Ten though to Craig's two. (FRWL, YOLT, TB to CR, SF)

[Hockey Mask]

Are you seriously saying that films like FRWL or GF do not have timeless classic quality?

Connery's terry cloth onesie from Goldfinger is not timeless.