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Walk Like Bond: Which Actor Moved the Best?


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#1 Trip_Aces

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Posted 28 September 2014 - 01:07 AM

When it comes to Bond, people have always said "Women want him, and men want to *be* him." Of course, this is all due in part to how the actor portrays the character on film.

I'm just curious (since I'm sure we've all desired to be Bond) as to who you all think moved the best or had the better physicality - was it Connery's panther, animal-like gait or perhaps Roger Moore's lighter, but authoritative touch? Maybe you dug Tim Dalton's "always on high alert" stroll, or Pierce Brosnan's GQ cover model, dangerous and lithe; then there's always Daniel Craig, the "thug in a dinner jacket", exuding menace with every step.

Thoughts?

#2 AMC Hornet

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Posted 28 September 2014 - 02:50 AM

You didn't mention George Lazenby's "what a lark this is" saunter.



#3 Trip_Aces

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Posted 28 September 2014 - 03:15 AM

You didn't mention George Lazenby's "what a lark this is" saunter.


Ah! How did I manage to overlook Laz'!? That's actually a great way of looking at how he walked... There was a cool, almost deliberately lackadaisical quality to Lazenby's physicality, and coming off the heels of Connery, it worked.

Personally, I always really enjoyed Tim Dalton's movement; he exuded confidence (not arrogance) and always seemed in control...but beneath the surface, you can feel his tension in everything he did, poised to jump in any moment (like a cat sensing the a slightest bit of danger)...

It used to be Brosnan and, as of late, Craig who I admired when it came to embodying "cool" but looking back, they try way too hard (Brosnan more so than Craig).

#4 Grard Bond

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Posted 28 September 2014 - 10:03 AM

I always thought of Dalton's moving and walking (and fighting) as very clumsy and wooden like.

Connery realy walked and moved the best of all, as a cat or panther indeed.



#5 Con Seannery

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Posted 28 September 2014 - 05:08 PM

I'm going to have to give it to Connery.

 

As much as I like Craig, he sometimes moves like a complete and utter bellend (see the Buckingham Palace walk).

 

I must give an honorable mention to Roger Moore though for one scene in particular in The Spy Who Loved Me. When he walks through the streets of Cairo before the meet with Fekkesh/skirmish with Sandor amidst the wailing of the local praying bacon-dodgers - THAT is a very serious, badass piece of movement that deserves a special mention.



#6 Call Billy Bob

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Posted 29 September 2014 - 05:40 AM

I'm giving mine to Lazenby purely on his gunbarrel walk. His gunbarrel has always been my favorite since he drops to a knee before firing. If you're aware of a gunman aiming for you, wouldn't you move out of the line of fire even a little bit before taking a shot yourself? Always made perfect sense to me.

 

Plus, his "I'm James f'ing Bond" attitude when strolling leisurely about always puts a smile on my face.



#7 thecasinoroyale

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Posted 29 September 2014 - 07:33 AM

I do love Craig's one hand in the pocket, one hand by his side swagger - just total "Yeah I'm Bond - DEAL WITH IT!"

 

The others all do have a wonderful way of moving - but out of all, I think Brosnan is the worst. Not in a BAD way, but just he always seemed a little erratic and never totally at ease. Always on edge, on alert, on the go.



#8 sharpshooter

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Posted 29 September 2014 - 11:52 PM

Connery's swagger, followed by Craig.



#9 Grard Bond

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Posted 30 September 2014 - 07:47 AM

...but Craig's walking in the gunbarrel is terrible.



#10 Turn

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Posted 30 September 2014 - 01:14 PM

Connery by far. Physical and suave in equal measure all in the same package. Is it any wonder 50 years later many still consider him the definitive Bond?

 

Lazenby is quite underrated in this capacity, agreed.



#11 Call Billy Bob

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Posted 30 September 2014 - 02:41 PM

The way our boy George walks and talks with a drink in his hand during the scene in Draco's office... bada**!

 

 

Still, Connery pulls it all off naturally. Even in his golfing attire in Goldfinger! Always the man who carried himself well and oozed class.



#12 Yellow Pinky

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Posted 30 September 2014 - 04:26 PM

I'll have to go with Connery first, then Craig by a hair over Lazenby.  Connery is just the perfect package, looking completely confident, competent, and at ease whether strutting across a casino or stealthily maneuvering under cover of darkness.  He also looks good running. And that's a key differentiator. 

Craig has a feral quality, like a big cat on the prowl. His movements are like a well-oiled machine.

Lazenby has a strutting, confident walk that borders on arrogant that I love.  And in action the man is wild and unpredictable.  I have a little bit of trouble buying him as being as well bred as Connery and Craig though.  There's something a little less refined in his movements, but I still love his attitude.

Moore certainly has his moments. For a big man he has a smoothness and finesse that is uniquely his.  Yet, in action, and particularly in fights, he can sometimes be a little less convincing than the previous three. 

Dalton could be really good (which admittedly was most of the time) or laughably bad (on rare occasion).  I have never been completely sold on his fighting skills on film, though he is a fantastic Bond - one of my very favorites. That said, the scene where Lupe is covering for him as he runs across the background escaping Sanchez's place in LTK makes my whole family laugh until we cry!  He looks so incredibly daft and silly...

Then there's Brosnan... He just never seemed at ease to me. Ever. He always seemed to be acting out everything according to a script he had previously rehearsed through in his head and never seemed to relax and simply inhabit his scenes for me.  



#13 sharpshooter

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Posted 07 October 2014 - 10:56 AM

...but Craig's walking in the gunbarrel is terrible.


Stuff like Craig's walk into the Golden Dragon Casino is what I'm talking about. Very Conneryesque swaggering going on there. Barbara Broccoli agrees in the Skyfall audio commentary too!

#14 Hansen

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Posted 07 October 2014 - 04:03 PM

Connery. No doubt.

The others are extremely far (which is pretty strange, by the way)



#15 Grard Bond

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Posted 07 October 2014 - 05:09 PM

Still all the other Bond actors walked great in the gunbarrel, Craig don't. Somehow he's just terrible.


Edited by Grard Bond, 08 October 2014 - 10:24 AM.


#16 Satorious

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Posted 08 October 2014 - 09:49 PM

I concur mostly because his gun-barrels feel so rushed and he is much closer to the camera than the earlier gun-barrels - Forster/Mendes and co have done him absolutely no favours. Conversely I think his CR gun-barrel shooting posture is great (even if it's a turn rather than a walk).

 

On movement prowess I'd say Connery has this in the bag though - the perfect blend of swagger and physicality. The others all seem slightly stiff in comparison, some more than others.



#17 Bond of Steele

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Posted 12 October 2014 - 01:16 AM

Pierce all the way.  His gunbarrel proves it.  I wish he had the chance to do another.

 

To me, Connery's looked like he stumbled and actually ends up missing his target.



#18 AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän

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Posted 12 October 2014 - 10:15 AM

Connery's swagger, followed by Craig.



#19 dtuba

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Posted 21 October 2014 - 02:58 AM

Connery by a country mile. For a large man, he was quite graceful in his walk and mannerisms.

 

Although Roger was probably the most adept at physical comedy.


Edited by dtuba, 21 October 2014 - 02:59 AM.


#20 Bryce (003)

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Posted 21 October 2014 - 06:25 PM

I think all the lads moved in their own way. All of them were stage trained. It depends on the moment and the direction. 

 

For action, they all brought their game while working with both the stunt chaps and the director or the AD.

 

For Sean, it was easy. FRWL - the train. Still the most epic HTH (hand-to-hand) nearly three minutes brawl captured on film.

 

For George - Tracy's suite with Draco's thug. This one does have a special place for me. Back in my youth, I took a stage combat theater class. Myself and a great lad named (kid you not) Craig did the fight in one take for my final complete with mats and breakaway furniture (lamp, table, wooden divider - all of it including a blank firing PPK). He caught one on the jaw (I think the third of the first five punches - my bad, but damn if we didn't keep going) and I cracked a rib. 

 

Hunt's direction and editing still make that work. I caught OHMSS on one of the movie channels this last weekend. Still among the best IMO.

 

Roger was the same. The last time I watched OP, I loved the fight at the Palace with both Bond and Octopussy fending off the thugs in her bedroom. Roger was 54 and still sold it. The defensive moves and then reverse slam into the octopus tank is just great. THAT was Bond. Roger got smacked about pretty good in TSWLM. Also, his fights (which btw happen on the same day) with Sandor and then Anya's thugs ("Good staff is hard to find these days.") are very cool and brutal. I've read his books and he always has stated that he hated guns and physical violence, but damn if he couldn't sell it. I guess that's what great actors do.

 

Tim had an edge for certain, but he never got to do much HTH. He did have presence for certain. He always seemed to move with purpose.

 

Pierce did it all IMO. He moved great and handled his fights well. He could sell takinga punch and sending one back and could run like he truly was running for his life.

 

Daniel just exudes where we've come to now. The bathroom brawl in CR (as well as the crane bit) to the confrontation at the end of QOS to the shoot out at M's hearing in SF just shows he can just jump right in.

 

As to Bond's elegance, all the boys move with a sense of confidence. 

 

I'm Scottish by heritage and sport a kilt once in a while. A great book I own is titled "So You're Going To Wear The Kilt". The very first sentence of the first chapter is : "Before you put on your kilt, put on your confidence."

 

I do the same before I put on my tuxedo as a Bond fan. :D



#21 Turn

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Posted 21 October 2014 - 09:21 PM

Bryce, good to have you back at CBn with your thoughtful posts.



#22 Bryce (003)

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Posted 21 October 2014 - 11:33 PM

As I've been repeating here and there Turn, "I never left" - Just haven't been posting again. I've still been a very active Moderator if only behind the scenes, but thank you all the same. ;)