Boba Fett

I just rewatched The Living Daylights after quite a few years and forgot how much I liked Dalton as Bond. This time around, I definitely saw the similarities between his take on the character and Craig's. It got me thinking, if one of the two could have made the other's films, which would be the most interesting.

In other words, what would you rather see:
Dalton in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace
OR
Craig in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill

I think, as good as Craig is, Dalton was better, and would have fit perfectly into Craig's films.

MBoyd

I agree with you. I don't mind Living Daylights, but License To Kill was terrible. Summer of '89 was the summer that destroyed the joy of summer movies for me . . . Star Trek V, Ghostbusters 2, and License To Kill.

gmanca

I also think Dalton was the best and although Licence to Kill is very weak character-wise, I thought the plot was pretty good. There was supposed to be a third Dalton movie in '92 with some robots designed by Disney Imagineers, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

Craig is very awesome even if the past two films haven't been very Bond-ish to me which is probably coloring my opinion.

But MBoyd, what about the good films? Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, Indiana Jones, BTTF 2, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids?

MBoyd

Well I thought Batman was okay, but it didn't blow me over. Indiana Jones was my 3rd favorite of the series and still is. Lethal Weapon 2 I never saw, still haven't seen all of it. Never had much interest in that series although I saw all the others in the theater. Honey I Shrunk The Kids was good but I felt a little too old to really enjoy it. I was 18 that summer. And BTTF2 came out at Thanksgiving and I liked it pretty well. The third in that series was the stinker for me!

I don't hate these Craig films at all. Not a Bourne fan and haven't seen a full film of the series, but I think Craig is an outstanding Bond. Just as I did Dalton, but the Bond material starting with From a View To a Kill to the end of the Pierce films is severely lacking something. So I like the change of formula. I know Octopussy is considered crappy but at 12 years old that was an outstanding flick for me!

Nobody will ever make my fantasy of a Bond film 60's period piece.

hitman tommy

Nothing against Craig but I think I would have to go with rather seeing Dalton in the new ones as well.

PopcornTreeCt

I thought this was going to ask who was more ruthless? I really like what Daniel Craig has done with the role. I hope he can also pull off being suave and charming like Connery and Brosnan.

FRwL

I like Dalton's Bond more than Craig's whom i get is just starting out but that impulsive hotheadeded approach is not for me, while i appreciate Dalton's seasoned pro more.There's a great deleted scene in the LTK dvd where he has a cig and is drinking a glass in the hotel room while watching the tv that was just cool.

Spiderbite

Hard to say. Both of Dalton's movies were more Bondian while Craig movies have been more Bourneish. That being said, I would probably rather see Craig in the old movies for that reason alone. Seeing Dalton in some Bourne knock-offs doesn't interest me as much as Craig in some more Bondian films.

But I still prefer Dalton to Craig so far but that could be strictly because of the movies themselves. I personally have never understood the hate that Dalton receives as Bond...especially in the press. If you ever read an article about the James Bond films in any magazine or newspaper, it always ranks them and list Dalton as one of the worse if not the worst. Always. This has been especially true in the last few years where the Dalton hate seems almost extreme at times. Don't even read a recent Entertainment Weekly article on JB if you don't want to see that.

B5Erik

I'm not going to vote in the poll because I just don't like the options.

Dalton is a better fit for TLD and LTK, while Craig is a better fit for CR and QOS.

Having said that, Dalton is my favorite Bond. To me he really captures the guy that Ian Fleming created better than any of the other actors to play the part.

Now Dalton in Goldeneye rather than Brosnan? THAT'S a movie I'd love to see.

roger_d

I can't stand Craig. That is just my opinion.

resinrats

Any day of the week, I'd go with Dalton as Bond over Craig as Bor...Bond.

rexinnih

Have to go with Craig.

Groucho

Dalton was fine as Bond, Craig is better. The Craig films are a lot better, and I think Dalton would have been good in them.

dick_grayson

I liked James Bond when he was all about adventure and getting ass. This whole revenge driven, non-stop action sequence a la the Bourne movies is pretty disappointing (for a Bond fan).

starseed1981

Very much agreed. Henceforth, I'm going with Dalton on this one.

wm lopez

License To Kill is in my top 5 BOND movies.

rocket1312

I voted for Dalton in the Craig movies for one reason and one reason alone:

I want to know if Timothy Dalton would have been more successful in a better film. I don't think Daniel Craig would have made The Living Daylights or License To Kill any better. The Living Daylights would still have two of the most worthless villains ever and License To Kill would still have semis doing wheelies (amongst other various issues).

I think it would be interesting to see Timothy Dalton in Casino Royale simply because I believe it's a superior movie and I feel bad we never got the opportunity to see him in something better.

For the record, I feel the same way about Pierce Brosnan. Goldeneye was great, but he hadn't really settled into the role at that point. I feel like as Brosnan got better, his movies got worse. As much as I love Craig, I would've loved to see what Brosnan could've done with Casino Royale.

Kal-El

Craig is the worst Bond ever. So this is a stupidly-easy poll.

PopcornTreeCt

This is such a close poll. Probably because the options are confusing.

Groucho

This criticism applies to both the Dalton movies and the Craig movies.

dick_grayson

true, but the cheese 80s factor helps a bit. the new ones seem to take themselves too seriously.

Mikael79

That's my opinion as well. The luster of the role is gone, and while I can't say it's all his fault, he's the face of the new Bond.

chris_sc77

hmmm...this is hard:
Craig s in the best Bond ever (Casino Royale) AND the Worst Bod Ever (QOS)
Dalton is in two rather good ones. I guess it would even out although . I like Craig better but might have to choose the Dalton movies just cause I cant see myself watching QOS very much.

Charlie Goose

LTK is my favorite Bond movie, and Craig would've been superbly badass in it. Not a big fan of the silly, smirking, one-liner Bonds.

rw2516

I've always pondered what OHMSS would have been like with Connery. It was supposed to follow Goldfinger(original prints of Goldfinger say Bond will return in OHMSS but were later changed to Thunderball). Then it was supposed to follow Thunderball. The name of the next film has been removed from Thunderball prints(notice how the film jumps at the end where it's cut out), don't know if OHMSS is actually announced or not and they went with YOLT instead. On the one hand I'd love to see a Connery OHMSS, on the other hand a '65 or '67 OHMSS would not have been the same film as the '69 OHMSS just with Connery "interjected" into the scenes, and how much of the rest of the films we've always loved been changed by altering history. I love the OHMSS we have, it's my favorite but would not be totally put out if Connery had done of run of six films ending with Diamonds are forever.
As for Dalton and Craig. I like the films just as they are. I would have preferred Dalton was in all the Brosnan films leading up the two Craig films we have now.
One guy I have always thought would have made a good Bond is Rod Taylor(The Time Machine, The Birds, The Liquidator). I wishhe would have replace Connery instead of Moore. I have no malice toward Moore's Bond, but no affection either. I enjoy them and would never consider not owning them.