Toughest Bond

Feldmann1503

I always thought connery was the toughest because of his fights in from russia with love and diamonds are forever but after seeing lazenby in on her majesty's secret service, he was like a martial artist. also dalton and craig were pretty tough too i mean dalton beat up 4 men easily in a jail while handcuffed in the living daylights and craig fought two guys all the way down a stairway in casino royale. moore and brosnan i'd say were the least toughest cause moroe had a hard time in moonraker and brosnan had a hard time in tomorrow never dies. idk just my guess.

Blackleiter

I'd have to say Craig's fights were the toughest, that's for sure. And Lazenby certainly carried off his fight scenes quite well. But for me, Connery had the toughest persona and natural swagger. He oozed menance nearly as much as he oozed charm!

thesecretagent

Craig's fights are the toughest in terms of speed, number of opponents and possibly realism - but all the Bond's have had their scenes, that's for sure. In a hypothetical world, in a fantasy brawl with all the Bond's at their peek, I would want to put down Connery as quickly as possible. To me he looked the biggest, and in his prime he looked the fittest and strongest to me. Sure, Craig was toned well, but the guy's a midget in comparison. Of course, this is just a load of bollocks... )

Thunderpussy

They are all Actors,So none of them are Really Tough, Just Mincing about on Stage wearing Make-up. and Tights. But please don't tell them I wrote this )

thesecretagent

Oh yes lovey... )

Lexi

Craig - by far is the toughest Bond - his action sequences alone - (and injuries sustained because of them) make him, IMO the one who would win in a fight between all the other 007's )

My ex once commented on his ju-jitsu moves (having got his green belt) and proceeded to tell me throughout the whole embassy scene whilst watching CR) )

Gassy Man

I agree that Craig seems toughest of all of them -- size has got little to do with toughness but is more a psychological advantage if one comes from a culture where it is thus privileged. Connery and Lazenby would follow closely behind. Part of the issue is that we never really saw a fight with them quite as brutal as the ones with Daniel Craig. However, Connery, despite his bodybuilder past, looks the most realistic blend between a man in good physical shape but not one who has to be in the gym three hours a day to get that physique.

superdaddy

Thunderpussy wrote:

They are all Actors,So none of them are Really Tough, Just Mincing about on Stage wearing Make-up. and Tights. But please don't tell them I wrote this )

So true but I bet 1 or 2 of them believe they are toughies in real life.

mrbain007

It has to go to Craig for physicality. Although Laz and Connery aren't far behind

JADE66

I would have to say Craig. Toughness isn't just fighting ability. Craig is the only on-screen Bond who gets tortured- really tortured. The fact that he was even able to speak after the mangling Le Chiffre gave his privates, not to mention the fact he was still able to make love to Vesper or even walk after all that is impressive, to say the least. Craig's fights are certainly the most exciting and well choreographed, there fore believable (in the Bond Universe). And Craig's Bond just looks mean. I wouldn't want to tick him off. Especially when he's been bloodied already. Seeing that scarred face from CR coming at me with a big stick would make it necessary for me to leave the scene in a hurry. I certainly wouldn't hang around asking "Whose the guy with the stick?" B-)

Thunderpussy

I'm sad to say Jade66, The fact that you can see how well choreographed Craigs fights are,Make them Less Believable not more. The Fight in the Hotel in QOS is so Over Choreographed, To see a Real fight just hang about any Local Pub of a weekend,You'll not see any of the Moves Craig's Bond Does, Only Russell Crowe or Naomi Campbell can use a Phone as good as the screen Bond. )

thesecretagent

I agree with you TP. I hate that fight scene in the Haiti hotel room. It's over worked and their footwork is terrible. A swift kick to the nuts would have stopped either in their tracks on several occasions, and Craig has the chance to drop down onto the guy and get him in a ju-jitsu choke when he throws him through the screen. It reminded my of Jason Bourne style slap/block/hold stuff, only less well done.

JADE66

Thunderpussy wrote:

I'm sad to say Jade66, The fact that you can see how well choreographed Craigs fights are,Make them Less Believable not more. The Fight in the Hotel in QOS is so Over Choreographed, To see a Real fight just hang about any Local Pub of a weekend,You'll not see any of the Moves Craig's Bond Does, Only Russell Crowe or Naomi Campbell can use a Phone as good as the screen Bond. )

Certainly true. But this is entertainment and the belief I'm referring to is the willing suspension of disbelief. Craig's performance makes it believable. ALL the Bond fights are choreographed. The best choreographed fights are the most exciting. In the worst case scenarios, Bond doesn't even get his hair mussed. I have no desire to see a pub brawl or any other kind of real fight. This is about Bond, not some drunken pub crawler looking to get into a scrape. I understand your point but I stand by my previous statement. Craig is the toughest Bond. -{

Thunderpussy

The great thing is reading Others Opinions,And I can see your Points Jade66. I only used the Pub fighting as an example of how scrappy a "Realistic " fight really is, I know from sometimes when work is slow Helping as, "The poor slob who has to ask these Guys to Leave". IMHO the two best fights in the series are. The train Fight with Red Grant, and the Fight On the radio telescope in Goldeneye. I know both would of been Choreographed, But both somehow feel more Spontaneous, To me at least.
I honestly think Sir Roger was the toughest Bond, For putting up with Tanya Roberts, Screaming "James " Over and Over. )

JADE66

Thunderpussy wrote:

The great thing is reading Others Opinions,And I can see your Points Jade66. I only used the Pub fighting as an example of how scrappy a "Realistic " fight really is, I know from sometimes when work is slow Helping as, "The poor slob who has to ask these Guys to Leave". IMHO the two best fights in the series are. The train Fight with Red Grant, and the Fight On the radio telescope in Goldeneye. I know both would of been Choreographed, But both somehow feel more Spontaneous, To me at least.
I honestly think Sir Roger was the toughest Bond, For putting up with Tanya Roberts, Screaming "James " Over and Over. )

I'll grant you the Orient Express fight is hard to beat and the Goldeneye fight is terrific. As for Sir Roger and Tanya's screaming I guess there really are different forms of torture.

Andy007

This is a tricky question to answer and something I've thought about before. It's an interesting debate and over the 6 Bond's I will point out some fight scenes which stand out, then give my opinion on who is the toughest. As someone pointed out it's not just about fighting, it's about persona and determination too. Craig is probably the most macho-type fighter of them all and does seem the likely winner. He has bags of energy. His fight in the opening of CR and on the hotel stairs was vicious and downright unpleasant. Also he had the strength to turn the knife on that villain in an awkward situation. So who can compete with this? -
(Connery) was tough and could throw a good punch any time. His fight with Red Grant in FRWL was similar to what Craig faced. But although tough I didn't think moved as well in fight scenes. I actually think Lazenby was a better fist fighter. Connery could scrap very well though. (Lazenby):-His fight in the hotel room was impressive and the way he beat up a guard at Piz Gloria was ruthless. It's very quick sequence but well done. He was very sharp & quick at fist fights. But 1 film only does restrict him a bit. I can't put a realistic case for Moore being the toughest Bond. We know it's not true. Moore could fight but didn't have the conviction of the others. (Dalton) is a real contender. He was more unpredictable than the other Bonds and had a brooding quality which the others didn't show much. Connery had it at times and Craig has elements of it. Dalton could scrap and was determined like Craig. I love it when Dalton punches Dario at the table in the bar. Dario draws the knife but Bond is ready & sharp, not having any of it. Also when he smashes that guy's head into the table & says quietly but firmly "he's had enough, run the tab!" He also beats up another man impressively in this scene. He also fought off the vicious jailer in TLD despite being handcuffed & hit hard in the back twice before this. Dalton could contain anger, but when he snapped or was pushed to it, he really let fly at villains. He also head-butted Dario later in film and also did this in TLD opening scene. One burst of energy I love from Dalton is TLD when Bond chases Necros after Saunders' death (although it's not Necros). You can feel the adrenalin from Dalton. I've often wished Bond could have fought Necros then. He would've beaten him up for sure or shot him without doubt. We knew it was too early in the film for this!
(Brosnan) doesn't have the menace of Craig and Dalton, but has his moments. His fight with 006 is brutal, in TND he fought off group of thugs at Carver's business. Also impressive is his fencing match in DAD. This had real aggression and Bond did well to win that.
Anyway my answer is Craig & Dalton equal as toughest. Brosnan is probably 3rd along with Lazenby and Connery. I would put Moore last of the pack. Connery had a tougher persona than Brosnan but wasn't better in fight scenes.

CmdrAtticus

Craig - no contest. Height has little to do with it either. I think it's amusing so many think Craig is small and or midget sized. He's 5' 11" - probably near 6' in his shoes. The other actors were only one or two inches taller - that's not a large factor in hand to hand combat where Bond is a skilled fighter.
I enjoyed some of the fight scenes in some of the old films, but too often they were too well staged. I enjoyed it when Bond uses something nearby to dispatch the enemy (better than breaking his knuckles). However, I know that the reason they had Bond using his fists in the old films was it was standard stunt staging. I'm glad they are getting away from that with Craig and making it more realistic, as in real fighting it's better to not use the knuckles at all as they tend to break! People might think the "slap-block" fighting has not as much visual impact as a western style round up punch, but it's how real hand to hand is done - fast, disorienting and inflicting as much damage as possible to the enemy and limiting the damage to oneself. Krav Maga is the most realistic commando/street fighting taught today and it is surely what Bond would be taught.

zaphod

CmdrAtticus wrote:

Craig - no contest. Height has little to do with it either. I think it's amusing so many think Craig is small and or midget sized. He's 5' 11" - probably near 6' in his shoes. The other actors were only one or two inches taller - that's not a large factor in hand to hand combat where Bond is a skilled fighter.
I enjoyed some of the fight scenes in some of the old films, but too often they were too well staged. I enjoyed it when Bond uses something nearby to dispatch the enemy (better than breaking his knuckles). However, I know that the reason they had Bond using his fists in the old films was it was standard stunt staging. I'm glad they are getting away from that with Craig and making it more realistic, as in real fighting it's better to not use the knuckles at all as they tend to break! People might think the "slap-block" fighting has not as much visual impact as a western style round up punch, but it's how real hand to hand is done - fast, disorienting and inflicting as much damage as possible to the enemy and limiting the damage to oneself. Krav Maga is the most realistic commando/street fighting taught today and it is surely what Bond would be taught.

You make some interesting points. However you must be one of the few people on the Planet that still believe that DC is 5 feet 11! A lot of debate ranges in the Blogesphere about it with a consensus suggesting that from the evidence he is probably a shade over 5'9 barefoot, and 5'10 in shoes, nearing 6ft with lifts (he is a notable lift wearer) where you are bang on though ,is that his lack of height is not a disadvantage in terms of hand-to hand combat. in fact I'd go further and sya it is possbily an advantage (lower centr of gravity, shorter levers etc)

He does appear tough and credible, but my concern is a little to tough, a little too skilled if that makes sense, as he never seems in any real danger to me. I prefer the notion of struggle and outsmarting an opponent that Connerry was so good at. Or the fight with 006 whre it is clearly not all going our boys way until the last moment when he pulls it out of the bag.

Napoleon Plural

Connery had that army training / street brawl thing that worked well, but you can't fall back on that now cos you see all these kickboxer type martial arts stuff he'd be up against, you need to be a cut above to do all that, so I'm not sure.

superdaddy

Thunderpussy wrote:

They are all Actors,So none of them are Really Tough, Just Mincing about on Stage wearing Make-up. and Tights. But please don't tell them I wrote this )

Mincing is the right word for the pouting drag queen.

FreddyVoorhees007

Connery for sure.

CmdrAtticus

A close friend of mine knows one of the crew that worked on CR. Some were in their bare feet on the beach in the shots where Craig was coming out of the water in the now famous scene. This crew member told my friend that he and several of the other crew were all about the same height (he's 5' 10") One was six and another 5' 11". They were right next to Craig talking to him while they adjusted the shots, and he said Craig was taller than he was but shorter than the crew member that was six foot. He thought he looked the same height as the one that was 5' 11". They knew each other's height because Craig being the shortest actor to play Bond just invited this topic to come up among the crew, and they would also kid each other about who could fill in as his stunt double. The conflicts about his height came about from him wearing lifts in some scenes near certain actors (in CR as well as older films) so he would not appear slight next to them. Many well known actors and actresses have done this over their careers, which is where the confusion about their real heights gets muddled in the press.

Andy007

Look - Daniel Craig is 5ft 10.5 in tall. There is an official celeb heights site, which invites comments too. But the official height is always accurate. I've never understood the fuss of Craig being short. He's not. The man is 5ft 10.5 & with shoes would be quite tall. He's just quite short compared to previous Bonds that's all. Let's face it anything over 6ft 1 is very tall imo.

thesecretagent

Mike Tyson is about 5'10". In his prime was there anyone tougher? Jean-Claude Van Dam is 5'9". And I know plenty hard-as-nails ex-paras who wouldn't last a round with many light/middle weight boxers...
I back Connery (1st four films) against the other Bonds - he moves light and easy, has size and looks strong. But in general (ie Craig) height really isn't an issue...

SpectreBlofeld

As someone who dwarfs all Bonds, at six foot four... I can attest that height is not necessarily an advantage. It makes you slower. Think about it, have you ever seen a really tall person that was lightning-quick? I'm sure there are some exceptions, but generally, a taller person is also a heavier person. A big guy like me may be able to pack a punch like a sledgehammer, but a guy with a lighter, quicker aluminum baseball bat will trump the sledgehammer-wielding man in most situations.

And, your center of gravity is higher. Hell, strong winds threaten to topple me over.

Being tall is handy when it comes to intimidating people and charming women, but honestly, most days, I'd rather be 5'10 so I could enjoy a nice sports car without having my knees sticking up on either side of the steering wheel... and not thwack my head on low entryways and chandeliers.

Thunderpussy

So the producers have gotten it wrong for years going for actors over six foot tall, I knew they should of went with Micky Rooney, ( Waynes grandad ) )