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He really wasn't bad in the role. In fact, he seemed perfect. There's just something intangible that isn't quite right. For all his good looks and physicality, he somehow seems to still lack charisma. He might have grown into the role but never had the chance. He's perhaps a bit wooden. I suspect Henry Cavill would be a similar Bond. He's another actor that seems absolutely perfect for the role, yet, somehow, in some intangible way, is actually NOT perfect.
5. Craig
I echo all the negative comments I've heard from others who, like me, never really took to him as Bond. He doesn't rank last because he's the best fighter and one of the most physical (Dalton more so) of all the Bonds. He also does cold and ruthless very well. I like the iciness of his portrayal. No humor or suaveness though & totally unconvincing as a womanizer. Where Moore might have been a tad too "pretty", Craig is too much in the other direction. I like a fit, blonde Bond (for the change), but not a short one.
4. Moore
I consider the 70s to have been the true Moore era. By the 80s he was too old. The series had been rebooted to a more serious Bond. Dalton should have taken over with FYEO. It's easy to now look back at the Moore era and discount it. In fact, even though I rank Craig lower, I'd rather have him today than a Moore of the same age. For the light and campy 70s though, Moore was a perfect Bond for the times. I grew-up on him and loved him in the role as a child.
3. Brosnan
While not my favorite, he was, in a certain sense, the best Bond (in that he was the most well-rounded). When causal Bond fans, or those who have only occasionally seen Bond movies, look back at the entire last 50 years of Bond, and call to mind an image of who Bond is, taking into consideration all Bond's aspects, I believe Brosnan most embodies it ALL. For me personally though, being the most balanced Bond (and thus, best Bond), doesn't necessarily mean you're my FAVORITE Bond. Never cared for his smirk but, other than that, a pretty darn good Bond.
2. Dalton
Dalton is THE Fleming Bond, both in appearance and his portrayal. No other Bond can claim this, not even Craig (whose Bond is not Fleming's Bond, neither in appearance or portrayal, despite what some think). Give Dalton a scar on his cheek and he'd be the Fleming Bond to a tee. This is not why I rank him so high though. I rank him high for his violently dashing portrayal of Bond, and for his intense physicality. He did what Craig now does but did it w/out surrendering Bond's panache and charisma. He was also very handsome w/out being a "pretty boy". He did the most of his own stunts than any other Bond. I suspect he'd be a lot higher on others' lists if he'd been given more (and better funded) opportunities. The fact that he's a tad too actorly and a tad too humorless (though that's keeping with Fleming) blocks him from my number one spot.
1. Connery
Do I even need to explain this one? I almost wish he weren't my favorite, just so that my favorite wouldn't be so expected, but, alas, Connery made Bond and IS forever Bond. There is no explanation needed for Bond fans, not even for those who have another favorite. Everyone "gets" this choice, even if when it's not their choice.
I agree w/you reasoning.
glad to see another dalton fan.
One of the best summaries of Brosnan's Bond I have read on this board. Well said.
As everyone else has, I'm going to expand on my answer....
1. Connery - The most believable, utterly self assured, hard, yet sophisticated 007. He is the on screen Bond and the standard that others aspire too. Played Bond in some of the best films.
2. Craig - Charismatic, suave and has the personality of Bond down to a tee. He might not look like Flemings 007, but he plays Flemings Bond. He was also in CR, the best film since DN-TB.
3. Dalton - The closet to Flemings incarnation. Lacked the screen presence and natural charm of SC, DC & RM. Starred in the best 007 films of the 80's.
4. Moore - A national treasure and a Bond with natural charm, sophistication and screen presence. If only he had taken the role 'Moore' seriously.
5. Did a great job in one of the best 007 films. Looked the part but lacked the star quality of his more accomplished peers.
6. Brosnan - The easy option. Neither as smooth as Moore or suave and hard as Connery. Not as good an actor as Craig or Lazenby and thus didn't really add any Fleming to the role. Yes he 'looked good in the role' but he is also appeared in the worst films in the series. I still like PB, but he is the worst of a fantastic hall of fame.
Born 1974, I grew up to Dalton, if that can be said for only two movies and I was 21 when Goldeneye arrived. That might help you understand my ranking.
1. Timothy Dalton
Dear Timothy, you ooze Bond in every single frame, Ian Fleming would be proud of you.
2. Pierce Brosnan
Dear Pierce, maybe you didn't add anything new to the act but you were the perfect mixture of Connery, Moore and Dalton. You killed more than any of them and you are the king of getting laid.
3. Roger Moore
Dear Roger, without you Bond would not be the same, after Connery you did the impossible, you succeeded presenting a completely different Bond and even outdid Connery in numbers of movies!
4. Sean Connery
Dear Sean, eternally grateful to you for starting the franchise and forming the Bond we all still love 53 years after Dr. No. You're the first and therefore the greatest icon.
5. Daniel Craig
Dear Daniel, against all odds you succeeded in the perfect Casino Royale even if you don't look the part one bit. Only because of you Quantum Of Solace is watchable and a very fine action movie with the fastest, hardest Bond ever. Maybe Spectre will be your OHMSS or FRWL and you can get as high as No 3 in my list. Keep trying.
6. George Lazenby
Dear George, what a shame. Before Skyfall you were my No 5 (before Craig) but now you have to be at the bottom. Is it your fault? No. Only one movie is just not enough even if it is the best Bond movie of the 60's and my No 3 of them all.
Craig
Everyone else
Brosnan (gave up but then look what they gave him)
Moore (Barely even knew Bond but eh kept series alive... grew up on Moore)
Lazenby (Just copied Connery ..or tried too.)
Dalton (too stiff, overacted ..and acting was obvious.. hey Tim this ain't the stage ..relax be normal.)
2. Moore
3. Laz
4. Dalton
5. Craig
6. Brosnan
Laz and Dalton could swap places quite easily, but OHMSS is so damn good!
As much as I respect Dalton I kind of agree with this. He had some great moments but he often looked like he was putting a lot of effort into his performance. He seemed to be acting all the time. The same also applies to Brosnan, although Dalton wasn't quite as OTT as Brosnan could sometimes be.
I'm not sure why "acting all the time" is a bad thing. It looked natural to me and at least you could tell in what emotional state Dalton's Bond was in at any time in every scene.
That is something I really miss with Craig by the way, he seems to be the same through most of his films, a little more "acting" would do him good. But Craig has his style, not much to complain there as well.
Dalton coming from the theatre had his own style (similar to Patrick Stewart for example).
Connery is probably the only "classic" actor of all of them and it shows in my opinion.
If anything then maybe Brosnan and Moore are the two that are similar.
The other 3 have next to nothing in common acting style wise. (Lazenby doesn't count).
I like Craig but am becoming a little bit tired of his slightly one dimensional performances. I think the thing he just lacks is that charm/likeability and a bit of light and shade. Still, I'd take Craig over Brosnan every time - even if I don't 100% like Craig's performance, at least it's fairly consistent and convincing.
I have often thought that Dalton could/should have had a late-flowering rebirth like Stewart's. Perhaps Penny Dreadful is the start of that.
I have a lot of respect for Dalton's Bond. These days practically everyone (on here at least) seems to have the same view - that Dalton made an excellent go of Bond at quite a difficult time in the series' history. I still think the first half of TLD is up there amongst the best in the series. Barry's amazing score makes it close to being a bonafide classic.
I think Patrick Stewart seems to translate better onto the big screen than Dalton does - in a slightly similar vein to Anthony Hopkins.
Dalton's place is more the small screen. Not that that is anything to be ashamed of as there's a lot of good stuff on television these days.
Although one of my favourite moments of his is actually in LTK when he's outside Felix's house.
Dalton shines in Penny Dreadful. BAIN123 may have a point with Dalton being better TV material than big screen material.
But let's face it besides Bond Dalton never go the chance to establish him on the big screen. His career was practically dead after LTK.
(the contest is pretty much over just with these guys, one who had the magic and Terence Young to channel it, the other personifying most everything I wanted to see in the role, despite having a director who undercut a lot of that repeatedly.)
Brosnan (more for potential based on other films than anything he got to do in the 007 role, this 3rd place is so far beneath Connery and Dalton it doesn't really mean much, outside of the fact I have nothing much good to say about the rest.)
Lazenby (okay, he's just another double0, but not Bond)
Craig (not even in the bizarro universe would I buy this guy as Bond, only as henchman #1 or Felix Leiter as he is being digested)
Moore (Bond's gay uncle, except when he makes the guy eat the heroin in THE WILD GEESE)
I'm amazed on your view of Connery, Dalton and Craig.
Because I feel quite the same.
Most fans of Craig always make the comparison to Connery and sometimes to Dalton too.
In my opinion Craig is nothing, really nothing like Connery. Short and blonde he doesn't even look the part and to even say he is as good as Connery is utterly ridiculous.
Still, Craig's minimalistic acting style works for his Bond movies. He doesn't really need to do a lot of "acting" besides running, looking grim, fighting, being rude to a waiter, fighting again, running again.
And if he tries to show emotion like in the dying scene of M, well....I don't buy it.
I really hope they will find another "Dalton" as successor to Craig. It's not that difficult.
But I'll give Craig another chance, maybe with age and experience he has become a better actor and can now make Bond his own. We'll see.
Having said all this, Casino Royale still is one of the very best Bond movies in my book.
No 4 to be exact. Craig worked for that movie, probably thanks to the genius that is Martin Campbell.
With M's death I felt like Bond had genuinely lost someone he cared about. I felt for Bond in those few moments in a much greater way than I ever did with Dalton to be brutally honest.
As I said, Dalton's best "emotional" scene was, for me, his response outside Felix's house shortly before the ordeal begins. Natural and underplayed.
If you refer to Judi Dench, I agree.
But James' reaction is almost Grey's Anatomy level and feels completely out of place, that's just my opinion of course.
I absolutely love Lazenby's acting in the Tracy death scene. He did it marvelously and it is easily one of the best moments in the entire franchise.
It's just I might possibly like the one in SF even more.
OHMSS was the last of all Bond movies that I saw. That was in 1989.
I didn't know anything about it and was quite surprised to see it had another actor in it and not Connery or Moore.
But I didn't mind and just watched it.
I was completely and utterly blown away by its greatness!
I cried bitter tears at the end.
OHMSS was immediately my favourite Bond movie (besides TLD that I saw at the movie theatre) and still is my No 3 only because Goldeneye came along later to climb to the throne.
How you experience a movie has a lot to do how you rate it years later.
I'm pretty sure, the generation that is growing up to the Craig movies will always love him a great lot. That's perfectly understandable.
Of Dalton v Craig, I originally preferred Dalton in the role too funnily enough (I even set up a Dalton Vs Craig on this forum a few years back and voted for Tim). But then I rewatched CR and re-evaluated my view. Craig's tougher and has a more authentic brutality about him - but can still turn on the charm when required. I find him overall more convincing with the lighter stuff too.
I couldn't disagree more. I think people are so used to seeing Bond in a light that doesn't position him in such an emotional vulnerable position that it's hard to see Bond so torn up. People often keep saying they want to see a more human Bond but I don't think they understand what tgat entails and the character build up and deconstruction needed to achieve this. This is particularly moreso with a protagonist who's been emotionally unwavering for the better part of 53 years.
Lazenby's performance over the death of Tracy was good but it was far from perfect, was lacking considering the overall arc both he and Tracy were on together. When Vesper died Craig sold it tremendously, you could see every emotion of pain, anger, hope, loss and sadness in his eyes and face.
Mathis' death again was delivered brilliantly by Craig, you could see emotions of regret, sadness and the respect needed to indulge a dieing man and as for M's death, Craig expressed dignity in his berievement for a woman who he exhausted persistant effort in trying to protect but felt he personally failed to keep alive but was validated by her last words.
This notion of Craig being one dimensional is something I find ludicrous. If you want to see one dimensional look to his predecessors. I can appreciate Craig's interpretation isn't everyone's cup of tea but I'd take it each abd every times over 4 of his predecessors and he most definitely brings an engaging performance to each of his Bond outings. I recently watched CR, QoS and SF in fact just last week and I think Bond fans really take for granted Craig's portrayal. This guy has really helped elevate the series into something people should taken notice of and I think SP is going to pleasently surprise a lot of people even those already hyped to see it.
Maybe my view on Craig will change then. Not on the movies itself I guess. CR is my No 4 Bond movie and will stay there.
QOS might jump up a little, I have it at No 20. Skyfall I have at No 13 in my ranking and it already feels like I'm too kind to it, but I'll decide when I have watched it.
It continues to amaze that people can be so negative about a series they profess to love.