Some films need the vibe of a night out in the cinema. Also, Roger's films had loads of jokes which work well with a cinema crowd but can fall flat on solo viewing, one prefers more subtlety. Dalton works better on solo viewing because his jokes fall flat a lot, and that shows up at the cinema, you can sense the depressed vibe of the audience more, same goes with Lazenby, his jokes were rubbish too.
Brosnan's best for me was TWINE but even that is reduced on the small screen. Try to catch The Thomas Crown Affair though, he's very good in that.
Yes, but if we want a comedian, we go see stand-up, not James Bond, even though mabny of the Moore films were of course comedies!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,871MI6 Agent
As for my opinion on the "best," I have 2, actually. Connery was a magical confluence of qualities who resonated with the cultural appetites and sensibilities of his day, not unlike The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis; as you know, Sean nailed the cinematic incarnation of James Bond to a "T." However, after being treated to a couple decades of suave, movie Bond, I was introduced to the books and found myself longing to see the literary Bond on the screen for a change...then suddenly when Brosnan became unavailable Timothy Dalton came along to take over from Moore and man, Dalton delivered, and in spades like a cool glass of water during a stifling drought; he was (almost) literary Bond straigt from the pages, but adjusted for the 80's.
For me, each actor that has portrayed Bond brought something to the role that made their performances very memorable to me. Even Barry Nelson, who first played the character on TV in 1954 had a one-liner and a world-weary air that I still recall to this day. Who was the "best" Bond? Who knows? Personally, I do not think a "best Bond" exists. Think about it. In the end, it is all subjective and not a question that can be answered as a fact.
Yes, there's something to be said for this particular viewpoint!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Some films need the vibe of a night out in the cinema. Also, Roger's films had loads of jokes which work well with a cinema crowd but can fall flat on solo viewing, one prefers more subtlety. Dalton works better on solo viewing because his jokes fall flat a lot, and that shows up at the cinema, you can sense the depressed vibe of the audience more, same goes with Lazenby, his jokes were rubbish too.
Yes, but if we want a comedian, we go see stand-up, not James Bond, even though many of the Moore films were of course comedies!
Oh I don't know. There's a fine tradition of the witty leading man, Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, McClane in Die Hard, Arnie in anything. It's not stand-up, but really the witty gags are one area in which a fan might identify and pursue, rather than the most handsome or dangerous stakes.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,871MI6 Agent
Some films need the vibe of a night out in the cinema. Also, Roger's films had loads of jokes which work well with a cinema crowd but can fall flat on solo viewing, one prefers more subtlety. Dalton works better on solo viewing because his jokes fall flat a lot, and that shows up at the cinema, you can sense the depressed vibe of the audience more, same goes with Lazenby, his jokes were rubbish too.
Yes, but if we want a comedian, we go see stand-up, not James Bond, even though many of the Moore films were of course comedies!
Oh I don't know. There's a fine tradition of the witty leading man, Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, McClane in Die Hard, Arnie in anything. It's not stand-up, but really the witty gags are one area in which a fan might identify and pursue, rather than the most handsome or dangerous stakes.
Yes, but I think they all go a bit too far, don't they. Especially the last three Guy Hamilton films...
Humour cheapens the character and there are quite enough Bond parodies out there already, IMHO!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
One of the reasons I like Connery's Bond so much is because he has the witty retorts to go along with the sense of danger he projects. In fact, I think Sir Sean has some of the best and most memorable witticisms of the entire series. ("Shocking", "She's just dead", "Named after your father, perhaps")
Some films need the vibe of a night out in the cinema. Also, Roger's films had loads of jokes which work well with a cinema crowd but can fall flat on solo viewing, one prefers more subtlety. Dalton works better on solo viewing because his jokes fall flat a lot, and that shows up at the cinema, you can sense the depressed vibe of the audience more, same goes with Lazenby, his jokes were rubbish too.
Yes, but if we want a comedian, we go see stand-up, not James Bond, even though many of the Moore films were of course comedies!
Oh I don't know. There's a fine tradition of the witty leading man, Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, McClane in Die Hard, Arnie in anything. It's not stand-up, but really the witty gags are one area in which a fan might identify and pursue, rather than the most handsome or dangerous stakes.
"Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,871MI6 Agent
One of the reasons I like Connery's Bond so much is because he has the witty retorts to go along with the sense of danger he projects. In fact, I think Sir Sean has some of the best and most memorable witticisms of the entire series. ("Shocking", "She's just dead", "Named after your father, perhaps")
Yes, but if we want a comedian, we go see stand-up, not James Bond, even though many of the Moore films were of course comedies!
Oh I don't know. There's a fine tradition of the witty leading man, Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, McClane in Die Hard, Arnie in anything. It's not stand-up, but really the witty gags are one area in which a fan might identify and pursue, rather than the most handsome or dangerous stakes.
Yes, but the Moore Bond films took it all to an altogether more ludicrous level - that's my point!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
One of the reasons I like Connery's Bond so much is because he has the witty retorts to go along with the sense of danger he projects. In fact, I think Sir Sean has some of the best and most memorable witticisms of the entire series. ("Shocking", "She's just dead", "Named after your father, perhaps")
Oh I don't know. There's a fine tradition of the witty leading man, Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, McClane in Die Hard, Arnie in anything. It's not stand-up, but really the witty gags are one area in which a fan might identify and pursue, rather than the most handsome or dangerous stakes.
Yes, but the Moore Bond films took it all to an altogether more ludicrous level - that's my point!
And I absolutely agree with your point. In fact, that's one of the primary reasons why the Moore Bond films rank so low on my list.
Do you think the advent of Craig's movies, and the subsequent positive re-evaluation of Dalton's threaten to cause the general public to lump Moore's efforts in with the likes of Flint, or *gasp* Austin Powers?
Well,,,,,,,I wouldn't go that far! But I suppose there is that possibility, especially among younger Bond fans. I remember a few years ago when I had a young relative ask me why Dr. Evil appeared in the PTS of FYEO! Up until that point he had only seen the Dalton/Brosnan films, and he thought the makers of the Bond films had purloined certain ideas from the Austin Powers franchise!
And I absolutely agree with your point. In fact, that's one of the primary reasons why the Moore Bond films rank so low on my list.
Do you think the advent of Craig's movies, and the subsequent positive re-evaluation of Dalton's threaten to cause the general public to lump Moore's efforts in with the likes of Flint, or *gasp* Austin Powers?
I had a young relative ask me why Dr. Evil appeared in the PTS of FYEO! Up until that point he had only seen the Dalton/Brosnan films, and he thought the makers of the Bond films had purloined certain ideas from the Austin Powers franchise!
Well,,,,,,,I wouldn't go that far! But I suppose there is that possibility, especially among younger Bond fans. I remember a few years ago when I had a young relative ask me why Dr. Evil appeared in the PTS of FYEO!
)
You know, that has never occurred to me! I have seen Austin Powers, and I have seen all the Bond films, and I know Dr Evil is supposed to be a parody of Blofeld. But it never occurred to me that the actor who portrayed Blofeld in a wheelchair in For Your Eyes Only bears a striking resemblance to Dr Evil!
The Dalton movies would always be the first port of call for me because I can't even describe how perfect he was for the role but I'm the biggest fan of him as an actor anyway (even though I wasn't around pre-Brosnan ) Of all the Moore movies Moonraker is my favourite but I have a soft spot for A View to a Kill. Connery favourites are Dr. No and Goldfinger. I like most of the Brosnan movies but GoldenEye was my favourite of those; I love Pierce's demeanor in it. Never really liked On Her Majesty's Secret Service
"You were fantastic! We're free!"
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan."
OHMSS is a must-see. Especially in pre-view for Dalton's 'LTK' You have to see what happened in that film to fully understand the motivations for Dalton's Bond in LTK. Because getting revenge for what happens to dear friend Felix isn't the half of what's motivating Bond in that one. Both Dalton's efforts are excellent. "TLD" is a more grounded, FRWLesque Bond film. And even though 'LTK' is mostly revenge driven, in both films, we get to see Bond be a spy again. Despite the lacking elements of the script, seeing Dalton work his way into the villain's good graces in "LTK" is absolutely brilliant. His two outings and reading all the Fleming (And other authors books) cemented Dalton as my #1 Bond.
Of Moore's efforts, "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "For Your Eyes Only" are the best of the bunch. If you like TSWLM, then Moonraker is acceptable viewing, since it's basically a remake of that film. 'A View to a Kill' is a guilty pleasure. Moore's too old for the part, but Christopher Walken can make anything good, and it's worthwhile for his performance alone.
As for Brosnan's 'Goldeneye' heads up the list, though it's painful to watch for me because the Dalton elements left in the script make me long for him to have been in it. Then 'The World is Not Enough'
As the poster above, and other have said, Dalton really owned the role, and it's painful for me to see him ranked next to last, or sometimes even last under Lazenby. I've never seen such a good actor (And Bond) so heavily reviled. I just don't get it. I've seen his films countless times and I don't see what the problem is. There's no universe where he shouldn't be at least 4th in any ranking.
So My order would be OHMSS, then LTK, Then TLD, then whatever order of the rest. LTK is a great F/U to OHMSS, despite the dark tone, because as I said before, it completely highlights Bond's motivations.
Comments
Yes, but if we want a comedian, we go see stand-up, not James Bond, even though mabny of the Moore films were of course comedies!
Yes, there's something to be said for this particular viewpoint!
Oh I don't know. There's a fine tradition of the witty leading man, Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, McClane in Die Hard, Arnie in anything. It's not stand-up, but really the witty gags are one area in which a fan might identify and pursue, rather than the most handsome or dangerous stakes.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Yes, but I think they all go a bit too far, don't they. Especially the last three Guy Hamilton films...
Humour cheapens the character and there are quite enough Bond parodies out there already, IMHO!
Yes, but the Moore Bond films took it all to an altogether more ludicrous level - that's my point!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
You know, that has never occurred to me! I have seen Austin Powers, and I have seen all the Bond films, and I know Dr Evil is supposed to be a parody of Blofeld. But it never occurred to me that the actor who portrayed Blofeld in a wheelchair in For Your Eyes Only bears a striking resemblance to Dr Evil!
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan."
Of Moore's efforts, "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "For Your Eyes Only" are the best of the bunch. If you like TSWLM, then Moonraker is acceptable viewing, since it's basically a remake of that film. 'A View to a Kill' is a guilty pleasure. Moore's too old for the part, but Christopher Walken can make anything good, and it's worthwhile for his performance alone.
As for Brosnan's 'Goldeneye' heads up the list, though it's painful to watch for me because the Dalton elements left in the script make me long for him to have been in it. Then 'The World is Not Enough'
As the poster above, and other have said, Dalton really owned the role, and it's painful for me to see him ranked next to last, or sometimes even last under Lazenby. I've never seen such a good actor (And Bond) so heavily reviled. I just don't get it. I've seen his films countless times and I don't see what the problem is. There's no universe where he shouldn't be at least 4th in any ranking.
So My order would be OHMSS, then LTK, Then TLD, then whatever order of the rest. LTK is a great F/U to OHMSS, despite the dark tone, because as I said before, it completely highlights Bond's motivations.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS