Rank the James Bonds
02-20-07, 05:27 PM
#1
Rank the James Bonds
Now that we've seen the sixth Bond, rank them from your favorite to least.
1.Connery
2.Moore
3.Brosnan- His portrayal is somewhat underrated, let down by awful writing during his later Bonds. He played Bond the best since the 60s.
4.Lazenby- Phenomenal for having little experience. Had charm, intimidation, emotion & should have continued.
5.Dalton- Good actor but disliked him doing it pure-Fleming. The book Bond doesn't work well as the cinematic Bond.
6.Craig- Purposely played it underdeveloped but i didn't like them making him too street, too much like John MacClane. Hopefully in the next one he won't be.
1.Connery
2.Moore
3.Brosnan- His portrayal is somewhat underrated, let down by awful writing during his later Bonds. He played Bond the best since the 60s.
4.Lazenby- Phenomenal for having little experience. Had charm, intimidation, emotion & should have continued.
5.Dalton- Good actor but disliked him doing it pure-Fleming. The book Bond doesn't work well as the cinematic Bond.
6.Craig- Purposely played it underdeveloped but i didn't like them making him too street, too much like John MacClane. Hopefully in the next one he won't be.
Last edited by FRwL; 04-24-07 at 04:57 PM.
02-20-07, 06:36 PM
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
1. Sean Connery - Completely "untouchable" as the best Bond ever (despite "Diamonds Are Forever")
(gap)
2. Daniel Craig - Yep, after just a single movie but he captured the spirit of Fleming's Bond so well that he's 2nd only to Connery, IMO. (Plus being in a movie that itself returned to the Fleming spirit definitely helped.)
3. Pierce Brosnan - His movies tended to be too over-the-top, although less cheesy than the Moore ones, but I think he played the character always straight and not tongue-in-cheek, so I liked him in the role.
4. Roger Moore - If he had only been in the few good ones he made, I'd rank him at #3 because he was appealing in the role, even though he never seemed "tough" (that was always a stretch for him). But his rating is weighted down by the cheesy installments he appeared in, which unfortunately account for a large portion of the ones he was in.
5. Timothy Dalton - I liked that he tried to bring back the "Fleming Bond" to the series, but his Bond movies themselves just weren't in that "Fleming" mode so the mixture of styles really didn't work.
6. George Lazenby - Looked the part, but just not a very good actor - he's simply far too bland. (His entry is a great movie in the series, though, one of the best.)
(gap)
2. Daniel Craig - Yep, after just a single movie but he captured the spirit of Fleming's Bond so well that he's 2nd only to Connery, IMO. (Plus being in a movie that itself returned to the Fleming spirit definitely helped.)
3. Pierce Brosnan - His movies tended to be too over-the-top, although less cheesy than the Moore ones, but I think he played the character always straight and not tongue-in-cheek, so I liked him in the role.
4. Roger Moore - If he had only been in the few good ones he made, I'd rank him at #3 because he was appealing in the role, even though he never seemed "tough" (that was always a stretch for him). But his rating is weighted down by the cheesy installments he appeared in, which unfortunately account for a large portion of the ones he was in.
5. Timothy Dalton - I liked that he tried to bring back the "Fleming Bond" to the series, but his Bond movies themselves just weren't in that "Fleming" mode so the mixture of styles really didn't work.
6. George Lazenby - Looked the part, but just not a very good actor - he's simply far too bland. (His entry is a great movie in the series, though, one of the best.)
Last edited by dhmac; 02-20-07 at 06:38 PM.
02-20-07, 11:48 PM
#3
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Connery - Even after "Diamonds are Forever" he still takes the #1 spot. The first, the original, the best.
Craig - "Casino Royal" shocked me. I wasn't really expecting much, but I left the theater amazed.
Brosnan - Even if the last few movies were not terribly great, he was a wonderful choice for Bond.
Lazenby - I don't know why he gets shit all the time. He was never given a chance to prove he was a good Bond in many people eyes.
Dalton - Liked "Living Daylights" but "License to Kill" scores low points for that silly semi that does a wheelie...also Wayne Newton.
Moore - He is relegated to last place simply because his years as Bond contain some of the worse Bond movies ever put to film. His movies also tend to have stupid moments in them that make me shake my head. Birds doing double takes? Swinging from tree vines and doing the Tarzan yell? Shared screen time with Grace Jones? Bad, bad, bad.
Craig - "Casino Royal" shocked me. I wasn't really expecting much, but I left the theater amazed.
Brosnan - Even if the last few movies were not terribly great, he was a wonderful choice for Bond.
Lazenby - I don't know why he gets shit all the time. He was never given a chance to prove he was a good Bond in many people eyes.
Dalton - Liked "Living Daylights" but "License to Kill" scores low points for that silly semi that does a wheelie...also Wayne Newton.
Moore - He is relegated to last place simply because his years as Bond contain some of the worse Bond movies ever put to film. His movies also tend to have stupid moments in them that make me shake my head. Birds doing double takes? Swinging from tree vines and doing the Tarzan yell? Shared screen time with Grace Jones? Bad, bad, bad.
02-21-07, 02:45 AM
#4
Banned by request
Daniel Craig - Yeah, I'm putting Craig at number one, and after only one movie. His performance as Bond is so electric, so shocking, and so human. He single handedly revived my passion for Bond after 11 years of waning interest. Casino Royale has also topped From Russia With Love as my favorite Bond film.
Sean Connery - Connery takes a very, very close second to Craig. He's the first, the original, and still the prototype. As great as Craig was, it's clear the filmmakers are choosing to make him less of a fully formed Bond, so Connery is still the best example of Bond at his most smooth, sophisticated, and dangerous. Until Casino Royale came along, From Russia With Love was my all-time favorite Bond film. Also, to make myself even more controversial, I'd say the worst Connery Bond film is Goldfinger, not Diamonds Are Forever.
Pierce Brosnan - While three out of four of his films were pretty shoddy, it doesn't change the fact that Brosnan is supremely enjoyable in the role. He has a good mix of wit and the ability to take action. Take into account that his first outing as Bond in Goldeneye turned out to be one of the best in the series (and a personal favorite), and you have an excellent Bond.
George Lazenby - Lazenby had an extraordinarily tough position in his sole performance as Bond. He had to match Sean Connery, the man who up to that point was James Bond. And if he doesn't get to the level that Connery did, he still did an excellent job. I believe, had he decided to stay on for more than one film, he could have grown into an amazing Bond. On Her Majesty's Secret Service stands alone as a unique film in the Bond oeuvre, and it's highly enjoyable.
Timothy Dalton - I have to give kudos to Dalton for his take on Bond. He brought a savagery to the role that had not been seen since Connery (but has since been topped by Craig), but for some reason he never felt like a true Bond to me. Don't know why. Perhaps he was already too established as an actor by the time he did Bond, because I always think of him as Timothy Dalton playing Bond, instead of just simply thinking of him as Bond. I do enjoy both of his films, but more as generic action movies than real Bond films. They just seem out of place.
Roger Moore - The only truly awful Bond. I never got Roger Moore's appeal. Bond always had wit, but only Roger Moore made him camp. The only two films of his that I like are The Man With The Golden Gun (and that more for Christopher Lee than Roger Moore) and The Spy Who Loved Me (the only time Moore truly became Bond). Every other film of his is either too absurd (Live And Let Die, Moonraker), too boring (Octopussy), or simply too terrible for words (For Your Eyes Only, especially the pre-credits sequence, A View To A Kill). Moore made a mockery of Bond, and I truly hope that should EON decide to remake some older Bonds with Craig, that they immediately start with the Roger Moore ones, and make them more like the books (the ones that came from the books, anyway).
Sean Connery - Connery takes a very, very close second to Craig. He's the first, the original, and still the prototype. As great as Craig was, it's clear the filmmakers are choosing to make him less of a fully formed Bond, so Connery is still the best example of Bond at his most smooth, sophisticated, and dangerous. Until Casino Royale came along, From Russia With Love was my all-time favorite Bond film. Also, to make myself even more controversial, I'd say the worst Connery Bond film is Goldfinger, not Diamonds Are Forever.
Pierce Brosnan - While three out of four of his films were pretty shoddy, it doesn't change the fact that Brosnan is supremely enjoyable in the role. He has a good mix of wit and the ability to take action. Take into account that his first outing as Bond in Goldeneye turned out to be one of the best in the series (and a personal favorite), and you have an excellent Bond.
George Lazenby - Lazenby had an extraordinarily tough position in his sole performance as Bond. He had to match Sean Connery, the man who up to that point was James Bond. And if he doesn't get to the level that Connery did, he still did an excellent job. I believe, had he decided to stay on for more than one film, he could have grown into an amazing Bond. On Her Majesty's Secret Service stands alone as a unique film in the Bond oeuvre, and it's highly enjoyable.
Timothy Dalton - I have to give kudos to Dalton for his take on Bond. He brought a savagery to the role that had not been seen since Connery (but has since been topped by Craig), but for some reason he never felt like a true Bond to me. Don't know why. Perhaps he was already too established as an actor by the time he did Bond, because I always think of him as Timothy Dalton playing Bond, instead of just simply thinking of him as Bond. I do enjoy both of his films, but more as generic action movies than real Bond films. They just seem out of place.
Roger Moore - The only truly awful Bond. I never got Roger Moore's appeal. Bond always had wit, but only Roger Moore made him camp. The only two films of his that I like are The Man With The Golden Gun (and that more for Christopher Lee than Roger Moore) and The Spy Who Loved Me (the only time Moore truly became Bond). Every other film of his is either too absurd (Live And Let Die, Moonraker), too boring (Octopussy), or simply too terrible for words (For Your Eyes Only, especially the pre-credits sequence, A View To A Kill). Moore made a mockery of Bond, and I truly hope that should EON decide to remake some older Bonds with Craig, that they immediately start with the Roger Moore ones, and make them more like the books (the ones that came from the books, anyway).
Last edited by Supermallet; 02-21-07 at 02:50 AM.
02-21-07, 08:41 AM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
1) Craig
2) Connery
3) Dalton
4) Brosnan
5) Lazenby
6) Moore
2) Connery
3) Dalton
4) Brosnan
5) Lazenby
6) Moore
02-21-07, 09:20 AM
#9
For me its:
1. Daniel Craig - He did an exellent job of making the character more realistic than ever before. I just hope that they don't screw up any future bond films by going back to gadgets and comic villains.
2. Sean Connery - He did some greats like Goldfinger and From Russia with Love. He also did some that i thought were highly over rated (Thunderball, Dr. No).
3. Timothy Dalton - I think he got a bad rap. The Living Daylights was pretty rubbish, but License to Kill is one of the best Bond movies of all time. It would have been interesting to see hikm do at least one more movie.
4. Roger Moore - In the classic words of Alan Partridge "ROGER!!!!!!!". No one could wear a safari suit quite like Rog. He did a classic bond movie in The Man with the Golden Gun. He had great supporting actors in the roles of the villains. The movies were far too tongue in cheek, and his age showed from the beginning.
5. Pierce Brosnan - He was a good Bond that never got to star in a good Bond movie. All his movies had crappy story lines (Tomorrow Never Dies has to be the worst villain plot of all time in any movie), it relied far too much on gimmicks and gadgets and the villains were terrible (Stamper, Reynard, Elliot Carver...UGH!!!!!).
I am not even placing Lazenby as the movie and actor are both terrible IMO.
1. Daniel Craig - He did an exellent job of making the character more realistic than ever before. I just hope that they don't screw up any future bond films by going back to gadgets and comic villains.
2. Sean Connery - He did some greats like Goldfinger and From Russia with Love. He also did some that i thought were highly over rated (Thunderball, Dr. No).
3. Timothy Dalton - I think he got a bad rap. The Living Daylights was pretty rubbish, but License to Kill is one of the best Bond movies of all time. It would have been interesting to see hikm do at least one more movie.
4. Roger Moore - In the classic words of Alan Partridge "ROGER!!!!!!!". No one could wear a safari suit quite like Rog. He did a classic bond movie in The Man with the Golden Gun. He had great supporting actors in the roles of the villains. The movies were far too tongue in cheek, and his age showed from the beginning.
5. Pierce Brosnan - He was a good Bond that never got to star in a good Bond movie. All his movies had crappy story lines (Tomorrow Never Dies has to be the worst villain plot of all time in any movie), it relied far too much on gimmicks and gadgets and the villains were terrible (Stamper, Reynard, Elliot Carver...UGH!!!!!).
I am not even placing Lazenby as the movie and actor are both terrible IMO.
02-21-07, 11:09 AM
#10
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Moore was always my favourite because his Bond was the first I saw in theatres. I was 10 when I opted to see Moonraker over The Muppet Movie. Even though I didn't understand the plotlines or the dimensions of the Bond character, I loved Moore's films. Now, as an adult, I have to revise my feelings. Upon reviewing the Bond films with the Ultimate Collection, I have to say that my ranking for best Bond would be:
1) Connery - He created the Bond archetype: The arrogance, the toughness & the sex appeal. Since Connery’s Bond is imprinted in cinema history, it's a safe bet that subsequent Bond actors had to decide whether they would be a Connery Bond or not.
2) Craig – His first outing as Bond was excellent and, dare I say it, Casino Royale is my favourite Bond film. With the backlash of Brosnan’s firing, everyone wanted to see Craig fail. He didn’t, thanks in part to a great script (something Brosnan didn’t have). Craig was a Connery Bond times 10. Bond has never been in more brutal fist fights.
3) Brosnan – Despite the lackluster movie scripts, Brosnan was a great Bond. He was confident and brought a lot of personality. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with the Casino Royale script had he not been fired. Brosnan was not a Connery Bond, but he had a hint of Moore when he delivered his quips (fixing his tie while submerged in The World is Not Enough is quintessential Moore).
4) Dalton – The Bond franchise could have taken a turn for the worse if Dalton was a disaster, but he held his own. He was obviously a Connery Bond. He was going to bring back the no-nonsense spy back to the silver-screen and he did. Many didn’t like Dalton’s Bond, but perhaps that had something more to do with producers’ politically correctness. No longer would Bond be the womanizer that made him a sexual predator. That wasn’t Dalton’s fault.
5) Lazenby – His first and only foray as Bond was great. Especially after stepping in after Connery. In OHMSR, Bond had to show his emotional side and Lazenby pulled it off. In all of his Bond films, Connery never displayed the emotion that Lazenby did in one film. It would have been interesting to see Connery do that atleast once. Lazenby was a Connery Bond, but with heart.
6) Moore – Strange. My favourite childhood Bond is my least favourite Bond as an adult. Moore was obviously not a Connery Bond and he went out of his way to show it (at times, his portrayal was cartoonish). With the exception of The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, Moore’s films are forgettable and dated. With the new digital transfers of the Ultimate Collection, it’s obvious that Moore’s worst enemy was 70’s fashion.
1) Connery - He created the Bond archetype: The arrogance, the toughness & the sex appeal. Since Connery’s Bond is imprinted in cinema history, it's a safe bet that subsequent Bond actors had to decide whether they would be a Connery Bond or not.
2) Craig – His first outing as Bond was excellent and, dare I say it, Casino Royale is my favourite Bond film. With the backlash of Brosnan’s firing, everyone wanted to see Craig fail. He didn’t, thanks in part to a great script (something Brosnan didn’t have). Craig was a Connery Bond times 10. Bond has never been in more brutal fist fights.
3) Brosnan – Despite the lackluster movie scripts, Brosnan was a great Bond. He was confident and brought a lot of personality. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with the Casino Royale script had he not been fired. Brosnan was not a Connery Bond, but he had a hint of Moore when he delivered his quips (fixing his tie while submerged in The World is Not Enough is quintessential Moore).
4) Dalton – The Bond franchise could have taken a turn for the worse if Dalton was a disaster, but he held his own. He was obviously a Connery Bond. He was going to bring back the no-nonsense spy back to the silver-screen and he did. Many didn’t like Dalton’s Bond, but perhaps that had something more to do with producers’ politically correctness. No longer would Bond be the womanizer that made him a sexual predator. That wasn’t Dalton’s fault.
5) Lazenby – His first and only foray as Bond was great. Especially after stepping in after Connery. In OHMSR, Bond had to show his emotional side and Lazenby pulled it off. In all of his Bond films, Connery never displayed the emotion that Lazenby did in one film. It would have been interesting to see Connery do that atleast once. Lazenby was a Connery Bond, but with heart.
6) Moore – Strange. My favourite childhood Bond is my least favourite Bond as an adult. Moore was obviously not a Connery Bond and he went out of his way to show it (at times, his portrayal was cartoonish). With the exception of The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, Moore’s films are forgettable and dated. With the new digital transfers of the Ultimate Collection, it’s obvious that Moore’s worst enemy was 70’s fashion.
Last edited by JIF; 02-21-07 at 11:20 AM.
02-21-07, 12:18 PM
#12
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This will surprise some folks, but:
1) Connory
2) Brosnon
3) Craig
4) Dalton
5) Lazenby
6) Moore
I would always rank Moore last. He was never convincing as "heroic" Bond, just as playboy Bond. It was so apparent he did very little of his own stunt work, and I never believed him as a tough guy. Dalton did a good job I though, and Craig will be great in his own time. I grew up with the Brosnan Bond, so that's why I like him, plus that opening scene in Goldeneye is money.
1) Connory
2) Brosnon
3) Craig
4) Dalton
5) Lazenby
6) Moore
I would always rank Moore last. He was never convincing as "heroic" Bond, just as playboy Bond. It was so apparent he did very little of his own stunt work, and I never believed him as a tough guy. Dalton did a good job I though, and Craig will be great in his own time. I grew up with the Brosnan Bond, so that's why I like him, plus that opening scene in Goldeneye is money.
02-21-07, 01:48 PM
#14
DVD Talk Legend
1.Connery
2.Craig
3.Brosnan (He didn't have the thug thing going which is why Daniel gets a better nod)
4.Moore ( I put him ahead of Dalton because he was in the better movies)
5.Dalton
6.Lazenby
2.Craig
3.Brosnan (He didn't have the thug thing going which is why Daniel gets a better nod)
4.Moore ( I put him ahead of Dalton because he was in the better movies)
5.Dalton
6.Lazenby
02-21-07, 04:44 PM
#16
DVD Talk Legend
Connery
Craig
Dalton
Lazenby
Moore
Brosnan
Craig
Dalton
Lazenby
Moore
Brosnan
02-22-07, 06:04 PM
#19
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Originally Posted by dhmac
1. Sean Connery - Completely "untouchable" as the best Bond ever (despite "Diamonds Are Forever")
(gap)
2. Daniel Craig - Yep, after just a single movie but he captured the spirit of Fleming's Bond so well that he's 2nd only to Connery, IMO. (Plus being in a movie that itself returned to the Fleming spirit definitely helped.)
3. Pierce Brosnan - His movies tended to be too over-the-top, although less cheesy than the Moore ones, but I think he played the character always straight and not tongue-in-cheek, so I liked him in the role.
4. Roger Moore - If he had only been in the few good ones he made, I'd rank him at #3 because he was appealing in the role, even though he never seemed "tough" (that was always a stretch for him). But his rating is weighted down by the cheesy installments he appeared in, which unfortunately account for a large portion of the ones he was in.
5. Timothy Dalton - I liked that he tried to bring back the "Fleming Bond" to the series, but his Bond movies themselves just weren't in that "Fleming" mode so the mixture of styles really didn't work.
6. George Lazenby - Looked the part, but just not a very good actor - he's simply far too bland. (His entry is a great movie in the series, though, one of the best.)
(gap)
2. Daniel Craig - Yep, after just a single movie but he captured the spirit of Fleming's Bond so well that he's 2nd only to Connery, IMO. (Plus being in a movie that itself returned to the Fleming spirit definitely helped.)
3. Pierce Brosnan - His movies tended to be too over-the-top, although less cheesy than the Moore ones, but I think he played the character always straight and not tongue-in-cheek, so I liked him in the role.
4. Roger Moore - If he had only been in the few good ones he made, I'd rank him at #3 because he was appealing in the role, even though he never seemed "tough" (that was always a stretch for him). But his rating is weighted down by the cheesy installments he appeared in, which unfortunately account for a large portion of the ones he was in.
5. Timothy Dalton - I liked that he tried to bring back the "Fleming Bond" to the series, but his Bond movies themselves just weren't in that "Fleming" mode so the mixture of styles really didn't work.
6. George Lazenby - Looked the part, but just not a very good actor - he's simply far too bland. (His entry is a great movie in the series, though, one of the best.)
02-23-07, 10:22 AM
#21
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Craig
Dalton
Connery
Lazenby
big gap
Moore
Brosnan
I do have a soft spot for possibly the worst Moore Bond, A View to a Kill, because it was my first Bond film. That still doesn't account for the overall ridiculousness of most of his films. Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only earn him enough to be ranked higher than Brosnan.
Brosnan gets last because, you would think, with the clout he had by the time Die Another Day was made, he might've had the balls to tell the producers to shove it unless they provided a better script. Maybe he understood how tenuous his position as Bond was... *shrug* Goldeneye was good and Tomorrow Never Dies, despite being ridiculous, was decent. After that... *dropping noise* CRASH!
-ringding-
Dalton
Connery
Lazenby
big gap
Moore
Brosnan
I do have a soft spot for possibly the worst Moore Bond, A View to a Kill, because it was my first Bond film. That still doesn't account for the overall ridiculousness of most of his films. Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only earn him enough to be ranked higher than Brosnan.
Brosnan gets last because, you would think, with the clout he had by the time Die Another Day was made, he might've had the balls to tell the producers to shove it unless they provided a better script. Maybe he understood how tenuous his position as Bond was... *shrug* Goldeneye was good and Tomorrow Never Dies, despite being ridiculous, was decent. After that... *dropping noise* CRASH!
-ringding-
02-23-07, 11:09 AM
#23
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Originally Posted by Suprmallet
I still don't get why people hold For Your Eyes Only in such high regard.
It's far from perfect. John Barry is sorely missed. Kristatos was a weak villain(in part because we're not supposed to know he's the bad guy til 2/3's of the way through). The scene at the end with the Prime Minister and the parrot is beyond stupid. Lynn-Holly Johnson felt like she was from a different movie.
But the good far outweighed the bad. It's Moore's best Bond flick IMO.
02-23-07, 11:55 AM
#25
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by Suprmallet
I still don't get why people hold For Your Eyes Only in such high regard.
To go back now viewing the movies in no particular order, For Your Eyes Only might seem nothing special. But I don't really understand why you so despise it. Perhaps if I saw it again I would see that it has become dated and silly or something.
My favorite of the series was OHMSS, even though Lazenby isn't much liked by most. My reasons: I liked the skiing (which I believe was the first time skiing was used in a Bond movie), I adored Diana Rigg, I liked the romance and marriage — it wasn't just another fling for Bond — and the movie closely followed the book.
By contrast I didn't much care for the much praised Casino Royale because the Bond Craig was playing was so grim. I like the humor and double entendre of many of the Bond films. [The only remotely amusing thing I can remember from Casino Royale was his driving around the parking area circle to get to his place with the soon-to-be-deceased girl of the moment.] CR was more of a modern, non-stop action movie, in the vein of the M:I movies.
IMHO, of course.