Best James Bond

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Now that Skyfall is a rip-roaring success at the box-office, which actor made the best Bond in the franchise's past 50 years? Whether it's the suaveness of Sean Connery, the tragic one-time moment of George Lazenby, the light-heartedness of Roger Moore, the grittiness of Timothy Dalton, the charisma of Pierce Brosnan or the heavy-hitting realism of Daniel Craig, we all have a favourite Bond era.

I'll start off with Craig, though my favourite is Connery, the realism of Craig has just completely won me over since Casino Royale.

Last edited by LexingtonDeville on 09 Dec 2012, 3:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Sean Connery

Sean Connery here and considering there was only one movie he did that I didn't like (out of hte official Bond movies, 2 if you count that movie released in 1983).

George Lazenby wasn't bad, but I found his only movie to be very boring.

Roger Moore had three good movies out of the seven he did (Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only). And of the ones I didn't like or were mediocre at best, the only bright spot I could think of is Christopher Walken in a View to a Kill.

Timothy Dalton was enjoyable for me and I enjoyed his movies. I didn't particularly like the attempt at humour (if there was any at all.)

Pierce Brosnan was great as James Bond. His only real good movie was Goldeneye as Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World Is Not Enough were mediocre at best, and Die Another Day was excellent until the laser thing was brought into the plot.

Daniel Craig brings a refreshing change to the series and Casino Royale and Skyfall were good movies. Quantum of Solace was not as enjoyable IMO.

In order: Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby. Timothy Dalton would be ranked higher if he did more movies. George Lazenby takes the bottom spot by default, and Roger Moore makes me laugh and I appreciated that about him in the role.

Daniel Craig

I agree with virtually everything you've said here. However, I do have to say, I think Daniel Craig may just have surpassed Sean Connery. It's true, Connery's Bond is classic-- a poised, witty, consummate professional and ladies man, so much a part of our social vocabulary that he is what most people think of first when you say the words "spy" or "Cold Warrior". He's the one who popularized "shaken, not stirred" and codified the formula that has been used in the Bond movies for 50 years now. I've been a skeptic of Craig's since the massive lavishing of praise that came out of Casino Royale-- not that it isn't a good movie, but I wasn't sure what to think of his performance, and I wasn't a fan of the "series reboot" concept. I grew up knowing Brosnan's 007, and for that reason, Craig (who is a very stark contrast to Brosnan) seemed too tight and humourless for my tastes. Quantum of Solace didn't do much to change my opinion, either. It just seemed to me like the one-liners had completely dried up, and that was one of the things about Bond that really made him a charming and interesting character. Even with a more serious and realistic Bond, I felt there should still be a touch of humour used as a psychological coping mechanism to deal with the harsh realities of espionage-- something that signified at least an attempt at redemption.

All of that changed for me when I saw Skyfall. Perhaps the circumstances (and I don't want to mention specifics, because they'd be spoilers) afforded Craig a much better position to be in. The tone of the movie was very different from previous ones, and, overall, much more suited to a serious delivery. The cinematography was some of the best I think I've ever seen in a Bond movie. At first glance, Bardem's villain honestly seemed unworthy to me, but that perception changed quite a bit over the course of the movie. And even as the movie was much darker in tone, I finally saw Craig loosening up and offering more comic relief. Skyfall was, most certainly, the one that made me a Daniel Craig convert, and I think what he has done with the role is the most significant reinvention of the character since Connery's era-- which is ironic, because I think Craig is much closer to Ian Fleming's original vision of 007 than Connery was.

Yes, Daniel Craig, for sure, because he is the first James Bond ever who actually looks like a killer.... which is what Bond is essentially--he has a license to kill, no questioned asked. Also, he brings Bond into the 21st century; even Brosnan was playing him as a displaced 1960's icon.

For Connery fans.... I liked him and he comes in second with me, but if you read the Ian Fleming novels, Connery played Bon a bit too much the glib philanderer. The novel Bond had more the hot and cold passion that Craig has been giving him.

Daniel Craig makes the most believable Bond to me, and plays the role excellently and does not come off as cheesy or campy to the point of self-parody. Plus it helps that I have enjoyed all of his films so far(A problem Pierce Brosnan had, where I loved Goldeneye but each film after was worse than the one before it).

Sean Connery of course comes in a very close second.

For my favorite Bond, I've got to go with Connery, as he was the archetype for the character - and basically, he da man!
Though in recent years, Craig is running a pretty close second.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I'm not really qualified to have an opinion about this, since I've only really seen a handful of Bond films. But out of the ones I have seen, I really love Casino Royale (the new one) and Skyfall, not as Bond movies but purely as interesting action movies. And my favourite thing about both movies is how Daniel Craig is very convincing as a man who kills as part of his job. So I have to vote for Daniel Craig.

Sean Connery, hands down. Pierce Brosnan was the most stylish/sexy Bond. Daniel Craig portrays the one that is closest to the book depiction.

My most beloved Bond movies in general are Dr. No, Casino Royale and Goldfinger.

My most fav Bond song is GoldenEye by Tina Turner.

Sean Connery. Those first ones with him as Bond are the best.

none of the above [of the choices presented in the poll]. ian fleming's own preferred choice would've been hoagy carmichael, believe it or not. but by the time filming was to begin on dr. no, mr. carmichael was 61 years old and beyond the film maker's consideration. but mr. fleming thought that hoagy most resembled his physical description of 007.

Never knew that, very interesting piece of Bond-esque trivia.

Someone finally decided to bring up Bond themes. Goldeneye theme was written by Bono and The Edge. My top five are as follows although the first three aren't among my favourite bond films.

A-ha- The Living Daylights
Duran Duran- A View to a Kill
Madonna- Die Another Day
Nancy Sinatra- You Only Live Twice
Paul McCartney- Live and Let Die

Honorable mention- The Spy Who Loved Me. don't know who sings it.

Carly Simon did the theme to Spy who Loved Me, so now you know And i always thought Chrissy Hynde's track over the Living Daylights end credits was a lot better than the A-Ha track.

Last edited by LexingtonDeville on 15 Dec 2012, 4:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

that would be carly simon in the marvin hamlisch/carole bayer sager gem, "nobody does it better."