Is Pierce Brosnan really all that bad ??

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  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    There are a lot of "righteous" opinions around.
    My righteous & incontestable opinion is that there has never been a truly bad Bond actor.
    Merely most & least favourites.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 12,837
    I agree with you @chrisisall. I think we've been pretty lucky because I don't think Bond has ever been miscast, and there hasn't been a bad Bond actor (and I don't think any of them have ever given a truly bad performance in the role either, I think the Bond performances* range from decent to brilliant). I think every actor was perfect for the time they were cast and every actor did a brilliant job portraying their version of the character. At the end of the day it just comes down to which version you prefer (and I'm not so sure about that nowadays either, find it harder and harder to rank them, I really like all the actors, the only thing I'm 100% sure of is that Dalton is my favourite).

    *as in, the performance of the actors playing Bond himself in the film, not other cast members
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    I really like all the actors, the only thing I'm 100% sure of is that Dalton is my favourite).

    Was he the best? That's subjective. But favourite? Ha! There you and I agree solidly, my friend! \m/
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    Just like Brosnan is my favorite, but is he the best Bond? No. Obviously, I am. Err, I mean, Connery is!
  • @chrisisall Sooner or later the rest will see the light and agree with us too ;) And yeah I think the best Bond is subjective really. I think choosing an objective "best" Bond is impossible. I mean we could probably decide on a "best" Bond film, because you can look at films on an objective level, you can look at all the technical elements.

    But with the actors it's much harder. Because what would it take to be the best Bond really? The closest to Fleming? The most popular? Connery is iconic and set the standard, but is it fair to call him the best Bond when other actors have come closer to Fleming's vision? At the same time some of the actors that were closer to Fleming don't have as much charisma Connery had. And if the best Bond is the most charismatic then Moore and Brosnan have to be up for consideration too. But Moore and Brosnan don't have the dangerousness of Dalton and Craig, and the best Bond should be dangerous right? But Bond throughout the years has become known for his quips and neither Craig nor Dalton nor any other Bond actor was as good as quips as Moore.

    This could go on for a while but my point is that I think "best" Bond is too vague a term to be looked at objectively. I think it's entirely subjective. You could probably say that one Bond was objectively the most deadly (Brosnan has the most kills) or the best womaniser (Moore has slept with the most girls) and so on, but I think the overall best is entirely subjective, because too many people have different ideas about what Bond should be for there to be an objective best.

    So I think Dalton was the best, simply because his Bond was my favourite, I like his Bond better than the others.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 533
    DrGorner wrote: »
    The only bad thing I've ever read about Brosnan is that he's a bit
    Tight with money, tips etc, Then again many from poorer backgrounds
    Are very careful with money.

    Like Connery?


    The amount of insults toward Brosnan is amazing. Why has he suddenly become the fans' boogie-man? I enjoyed his performances as Bond as much as I had enjoyed the other actors who have portrayed the character.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    DRush76 wrote: »
    The amount of insults toward Brosnan is amazing. Why has he suddenly become the fans' boogie-man? I enjoyed his performances as Bond as much as I had enjoyed the other actors who have portrayed the character.

    \m/
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    DRush76 wrote: »
    The amount of insults toward Brosnan is amazing. Why has he suddenly become the fans' boogie-man? I enjoyed his performances as Bond as much as I had enjoyed the other actors who have portrayed the character.

    Believe me most of those insults come from outspoken fans of Daniel Craig. That's a phenomenon that can be seen around the forums of different websites.

    Everything will change once Craig is the "former Bond" and a new one has made at least two movies.
    The focus on Brosnan as being the one to bash will vanish.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    DRush76 wrote: »
    The amount of insults toward Brosnan is amazing. Why has he suddenly become the fans' boogie-man? I enjoyed his performances as Bond as much as I had enjoyed the other actors who have portrayed the character.

    Believe me most of those insults come from outspoken fans of Daniel Craig. That's a phenomenon that can be seen around the forums of different websites.

    Everything will change once Craig is the "former Bond" and a new one has made at least two movies.
    The focus on Brosnan as being the one to bash will vanish.

    I don't beleive this to be true. I beleive Connery to be the best Bond and have always thought Brosnan was the worst of a good bunch based on performance and films. I must be different from the phenomenon you describe?
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @suavejmf

    If you find Connery to be the best you even don't belong to that group I was describing.
    I was talking about those who are outspoken fans of Daniel Craig. And a phenomenon doesn't include everyone, it just says that there is a noticeable amount of Craig fans that are disliking Brosnan or even bash him.
    There are Craig fans that don't bash Brosnan or find him the worst.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 11,189
    I loved Brosnan all throughout my youth and as I grew up. To put it simply, he WAS Bond to me in the way that Connery was to so many back in the 60s. Even now when I see him I think "Bond" instinctively.

    However, I think Craig probably is the superior Bond. To me, scenes like the torture sequence in CR and M's death in SF (a favourite of mine because of Craig's acting) really show how Craig has surpassed Brosnan in the role. They give Craig meetier moments and you really feel for him in a way you rarely did with Brosnan (or Dalton for that matter).

    I suspect Brosnan would say the same.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    You haven't seen TWINE in that case or it's a long time ago.

    Watch the very similar torture scene with Elektra. And then how Bond waits to the last second and then shoots Elektra, and how he kisses and feels her good-bye when she's dead on the bed.
    That was great acting but not overacting.

    If you like Craig's similar scenes better that's ok, but I don't believe Craig was more convincing than Brosnan.
    I'd even say Brosnan had the much more difficult job in doing serious scenes as the overall tone of his movies was very lighthearted and humourous.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I think Brosnan's killing of Electra was probably one of his best scenes in the role.

    However, I think the torture scene in CR is far more unpleasant to watch and also better directed.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    However, I think the torture scene in CR is far more unpleasant to watch and also better directed.

    I agree. The scene itself in CR is one of the most memorable in the whole series.
    And Martin Campbell is bloody fantastic. And of course Craig makes this scene believable and I doubt any of the others could have pulled it off so convincing. But then if CR had been made with Brosnan, Campbell would have done the scene much different anyway.

    Apted short of failed completely as a Bond director. TWINE could have been a masterpiece with a different director.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    edited August 2015 Posts: 11,139
    I grew up watching Brosnan but I can tell you that nobody is taking tge title from King Connery who is tge best and ny favourite.

    That being said Brosnan wasnt terrible; he could have been better but overall his Bond was weakly executed and although he did have a dew standout moments, it could be tge death of Paris or Elektra but neither come close to matching this




  • edited August 2015 Posts: 1,548
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    I think Brosnan's killing of Electra was probably one of his best scenes in the role.

    However, I think the torture scene in CR is far more unpleasant to watch and also better directed.

    I agree with all you say. The Electra killing was Brosnan's equivalent of Moore's killing of Locque in terms of cold blooded Fleming moments. A real high point of both films.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    LeChiffre wrote: »
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    I think Brosnan's killing of Electra was probably one of his best scenes in the role.

    However, I think the torture scene in CR is far more unpleasant to watch and also better directed.

    I agree with all you say. The Electra killing was Brosnan's equivalent of Moore's killing of Locque in terms of cold blooded Fleming moments. A real high point of both films.

    I think Moore and Brosnan could have given more such moments but they simply were never asked to do so.
    Craig on the other hand is in movies that take themselves seriously and are more realistic and hard-edged. So he gets a lot more of that stuff to do.
  • Posts: 11,425
    I think you're ignoring the fact that EON tries to play to each actors strengths and clearly they didn't think Brosnan's strength was dramatic acting - hence the follow up to TWINE was DAD.
  • dominicgreenedominicgreene The Eternal QOS Defender
    Posts: 1,756
    I wonder how Brosnan would have handled a similar Casino Royale script in 1995 by Martin Campbell.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 11,189
    Getafix wrote: »
    I think you're ignoring the fact that EON tries to play to each actors strengths and clearly they didn't think Brosnan's strength was dramatic acting - hence the follow up to TWINE was DAD.

    But that's got some serious scenes in the first half too (Bond being traded, greeted by M, parts of Cuba etc). You may not like his performance in those scenes but they're still in the film.

    They tried to have it both ways in DAD because of the whole 40th anniversary thing. Be a serious, dramatic thriller "going into new territory" AND OTT comic-strip nonsense.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @BAIN123

    I agree. They wanted too much probably. I like the PTS the least of the movie. Bosnan's performance is marvelous but it is too brutal for me.
    But the comic-strip nonsense (very accurate description) that I like, no I love it.
    The end sequence in the plane is fantastic and a decade later they practically made a remake of this in Captain America.
  • SasSas
    Posts: 50
    He was handsome :x
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    I love Brosnan, but ultimately prefer watching Craig. I find it far easier to rank the Bonds in pairs, rather than individually, as such:
    1. Craig/Connery
    2. Brosnan/Dalton
    3. Lazenby/Moore
    Then I don't have to really choose ;)
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    I love Brosnan, but ultimately prefer watching Craig. I find it far easier to rank the Bonds in pairs, rather than individually, as such:
    1. Craig/Connery
    2. Brosnan/Dalton
    3. Lazenby/Moore
    Then I don't have to really choose ;)

    I can understand your thinking.

    For me in pairs it'd be:

    1. Dalton/Brosnan
    2. Moore/Connery
    3. Craig/Lazenby
  • Posts: 11,425
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    I think you're ignoring the fact that EON tries to play to each actors strengths and clearly they didn't think Brosnan's strength was dramatic acting - hence the follow up to TWINE was DAD.

    But that's got some serious scenes in the first half too (Bond being traded, greeted by M, parts of Cuba etc). You may not like his performance in those scenes but they're still in the film.

    They tried to have it both ways in DAD because of the whole 40th anniversary thing. Be a serious, dramatic thriller "going into new territory" AND OTT comic-strip nonsense.

    Hmmm, and if you think the first half of DAD is high quality then fair enough, but I've always felt it was as bad, if not worse, than the second half.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 11,425
    I re watched DAD fairly recently, trying to find the quality in the first half that all its supporters talk about, but I found the first half truly appalling - it's plodding and tedious in the same vein as TWINE. Brosnan seems almost as mortified by the 'saved by the bell' line as the audience. It's one of those foot shuffling, stare at the floor moments. Oh dear... Then there's him looking portly and (frankly) overweight in the scenes after he's released. The idea he's been incarcerated for months in North Korea and tortured is hilarious - he looks like he's been pigging out on tacos in Malibu (which is probably closer to the truth).

    IMO it actually improves in the second half - it's complety bat shit crazy but at least you don't fall asleep.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    Getafix wrote: »
    IMO it actually improves in the second half - it's complety bat shit crazy but at least you don't fall asleep.
    LOL, I love the entire mess because Brosnan & Pike sell it so well.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    edited August 2015 Posts: 1,130
    What can i say i haven't said before.
    Pierce is the whole thing you can ask for in a Bond actor the most complete along with Sean Connery. Maybe his strongest assets weren't the phyiscal parts but he still did a good job in them and definitely excelled In Charisma, Sex appeal, charm, humor, sophistication and style.

    Now i like the idea of pair ups rankings and here is mine
    Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery
    Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig
    Roger Moore and George Lazenby
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 11,189
    Getafix wrote: »
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    I think you're ignoring the fact that EON tries to play to each actors strengths and clearly they didn't think Brosnan's strength was dramatic acting - hence the follow up to TWINE was DAD.

    But that's got some serious scenes in the first half too (Bond being traded, greeted by M, parts of Cuba etc). You may not like his performance in those scenes but they're still in the film.

    They tried to have it both ways in DAD because of the whole 40th anniversary thing. Be a serious, dramatic thriller "going into new territory" AND OTT comic-strip nonsense.

    Hmmm, and if you think the first half of DAD is high quality then fair enough, but I've always felt it was as bad, if not worse, than the second half.

    I never said it was "high quality" but it is more watchable and offers something with a bit of potential.
  • Posts: 11,425
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    I think you're ignoring the fact that EON tries to play to each actors strengths and clearly they didn't think Brosnan's strength was dramatic acting - hence the follow up to TWINE was DAD.

    But that's got some serious scenes in the first half too (Bond being traded, greeted by M, parts of Cuba etc). You may not like his performance in those scenes but they're still in the film.

    They tried to have it both ways in DAD because of the whole 40th anniversary thing. Be a serious, dramatic thriller "going into new territory" AND OTT comic-strip nonsense.

    Hmmm, and if you think the first half of DAD is high quality then fair enough, but I've always felt it was as bad, if not worse, than the second half.

    I never said it was "high quality" but it is more watchable and offers something with a bit of potential.

    Nah. The first half is dreadful, but in a dreary, worthy kind of way. At least the second half is bad in a hilarious, camp, utterly OTT way.

    Still amazes me that apparently sentient beings conspired to make that movie. I mean people actually sat down and thought it was a good idea. How does that happen? I understand how it happens with Transformers, where the whole point is to make utter rubbish, but how does EON end up making a movie like DAD?

    Babs and MGW must have been on something really strong when they signed off on DAD.

    Oh and the idea to reference all the preceding movies - total genius!
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