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James Bond Actors | Best Bond?

Connery or Moore? Brosnan or Craig? Swayed by the brutish sex appeal of Craig? Consider yourself a rare Dalton fan? And what about that other guy? Or even those other two guys? Add your argument to the ones below and participate in our ongoing poll. We're looking for you to tell us who your TWO favorite Bond actors are. We'll let the statistics sort it out. Have a simple rant? Leave a comment. Try not to put personal opinions.

May the best Bond win!


A Quick Review of the candidates



Sean Connery



Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Case for:
  • The first - defined Bond a generation
  • Athletic, rugged, handsome, deadpan, sex appeal - the complete package
  • A tough guy, with refinement. Connery learned his lessons from Terence Young well, and made an archetypal character--smart, relaxed, smooth
  • The 'Alpha Wolf'--did it first, did it best--everybody else has to catch him.
  • WON!the James Bond Wiki Tournament! (3 of the 4 remaining films in the Semi-Finals, were Connery's)

Case Against:
  • This is tough. He did come back for that unofficial Bond remake of Thunderball - Never Say Never Again. It wasn't bad though.
  • Portrayal of Bond as a womanizer somewhat stigmatized the character.
  • Was not Ian Fleming's first choice for Bond (it was Cary Grant).


George Lazenby



Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Case for:
  • A few great one-liners
  • The closing scene of On Her Majesty's Secret Service - maybe George can act!
  • Faithful representation of the Bond based on the novels.
  • Portrayed Bond as sensitive and emotionally charged.
  • Did the action scenes and the "This Service owes her a debt" and "...those girls" scenes impeccably, but that's about it...
  • Created a more dark side to Bond; Dalton followed in these steps in later years, as did Craig.
  • Took on one of the hardest roles emotionally i.e. the death of Tracy, getting married, and Tracy being captured after becoming lost in an avalanche.

Case Against:
  • One hit wonder
  • Model turned actor
  • Blowing a huge opportunity by behaving like a recalcitrant tosser
  • "Wooden" performance, saved by extensive dubbing throughout
  • The one-liners should be credited to the writers, not the actor.


Roger Moore


Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Case For:
  • He Was The Funny Bond
  • Successfully updated Connery's sexual wit and innuendo without being condescending to women. Made Bond assessable to a wider audience. Can you imagine if Connery's "man talk" comments and smacking women on the bum was still par for the character?
  • Portrayed Bond as a softer, wittier character. Added depth to the character.
  • Roger did his best acting in bond films
  • He turned bond into a kid friendly movie
  • Was the funny Bond.

Case Against:
  • Following Connery is no easy feat....
  • Fashion: did Moore get saddled with the most depressing era of men's attire of 20th century?
  • Masculinity: Did you ever once real feel like Moore could kick anyone's ass? Seriously, would Pussy Galore have rolled in the hay (yes, literally) with Roger Moore?



Timothy Dalton


Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Case For:
  • He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Academy.
  • Reinterpreted Bond as a cynical, angry character. Gave Bond an edge and a dark side.
  • Attempted more of his stunts than previous actors
  • His Bond set the stage for the darker, more serious Bond performances of Brosnan and Craig
  • Insisted on cutting innumerable "one-liners" from scripts

Case Against:
  • The end of the cold war and AIDS did not give a womanizing secret agent much of a chance...
  • Lacked some of the compassion of other portrayals that made Bond a more three-dimensional character. Closer to Fleming's Bond, but way short on the emotional mark.
  • The bad luck Bond. After about 5 different offers, Dalton finally agreed. He was slated for an additional movie, but after a 5 year lawsuit, he dropped his contract.


Pierce Brosnan



Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Who is the best Bond? - James Bond
Case For:
  • The guy can wear a suit, i.e. modern sex appeal.
  • Is anyone old enough to remember Remmington Steele?
  • The most well-rounded Bond portrayal: Witty, charismatic, reflective of Fleming's original character, and believable ass kicker.
  • Rejuvenated the series and made Bond "matter" again.
  • Deep acting when he assassinates Electra King. Showing Bond at his coldest.

Case Against:
  • kept putting him through interminable fire-fights with automatic weapons *Yawn*.

Daniel Craig



Who is the best Bond? - James Bond

Who is the best Bond? - James Bond

Who is the best Bond? - James Bond

Case For:
  • Masculinity: Craig's brooding thug looks allow you to imagine that he's actually capable or hurting someone.
  • Takes Bond away from the "pretty boy" stereotype.
  • Portrays Bond as vulnerable and "human"
  • homosexuals love him
Case Against:
  • Range? Does Craig have it to be an enduring leading man?
  • Positions Bond solidly within the "action hero" stereotype.
  • Portrays Bond as the muscle-bound ass-kicker. Lack of subtlety.
  • Lacks charm
  • short (required to wear shoe lifts so agent Fields was not taller than him in Quantum Of Solace)
  • Not the traditional looking Bond, blonde and thugish
  • His movies have steered clear of "the Bond formula"
  • Has bad pick-up lines (can you help me find the stationary)
  • Love him or hate him status
  • dresses like a hawaiian hobbo
  • looks elfish




NOW VOTE!






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Started By Thread Subject Replies Last Post
moore4ever Best 007 (page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... last page) 113 Wednesday, 9:26 PM EST by Anonymous
Thread started: Aug 16 2007, 2:18 PM EDT  Watch
No doubt...Roger Moore is the true Agent 007.
Next...Connery
Then...Craig and Dalton-They both seem equal.
Lastly...Brosnan and Lazenby
11  out of 56 found this valuable. Do you?    
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Anonymous Rating Bonds 8 Friday, 2:48 AM EST by Budjettivaje
 
Thread started: Wednesday, 8:13 PM EST  Watch

It surprises me that Sean Connery is not my favorite bond. He is one of my all-time favorite actors. I think his looks, charm and charisma ripened with age. Wonder how he would have played an older Bond? Think I would have fallen in love. I also think if he'd played the character at a later time and the "sexism" aspect was tuned more to "suavely complementary" rather than such overt, potentially demeaning displays... I would have been more responsive to the character. Being able to communicate those "steamy" intentions in a cool, clever, devilishly sly way - oooh - that about does me in.

Another surprise to me is that when I think about it, I really loved how Pierce Brosnan played the role. I'm not saying he got the best movies. I don't think I even saw the last one he made because of the reviews it got, and I didn't want to "spoil" the ideal for myself. But, the portrayal of the character he delivered played on the notes of my every "Bond" fantasy - Dry, saucy, savoir-faire, dripping with weak-in-the-knees charms, sharp intellect, supremely self-confident, suave, quick in wit and response time, clever... the total package.

So, my rating list would be...

1. Moore (He had the clever, debonaire, class-act thing in spades.)
2. Brosnan (He brought out the "class-act" bond, all the way. [see above])
3. Connery (He's just generally SPLENDID.)
4. Craig (I don't know the other two bonds, so Craig had no real competition for this spot. Casino Royal was a great film and I thought Craig did a great job with it. There's a lot of potential for this new brand of Bond, I think. Kind of hard to make the switch mentally, in some ways, to accept the change. But as another commenter wrote, each portrayal can be appreciated for the different qualities it brings out in a fantastic, truly iconic and enduring archetypal character.
Show Last Reply
Anonymous Hate Graig 12 Monday, 7:23 PM EST by 007Domanator
 
Thread started: Oct 23 2009, 8:01 PM EDT  Watch
New to site. Just wondering, do people like Graig, been Bond fan since I saw Goldfinger at theather. I cant stand Graig, worst of all time (Dalton was bad) Just wondering what Bond fans think Dino
Show Last Reply
Anonymous Brosnan all the way 3 Oct 31 2009, 8:02 PM EDT by 007Domanator
 
Thread started: Oct 31 2009, 12:29 PM EDT  Watch
Brosnan = style + substance
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Anonymous  (Get credit for your thread)


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