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Comments
Tricky stuff.
Connery owned the screen and established Bond as a hit, no mean feat. I think he got even better in later films but he's quite something right from the start. A cool and super-sexy, sophisticated alpha male action hero wasn't something even done in a British movie before I think. The whole film is all about him, and luckily he's more than up to the task.
Lazenby is... not great. He's good at the fighting and has a bit of swagger at least.
Roger is very good, although he's not quite nailed it yet. As someone recently pointed out, his performances in the Hamiltons are a bit weird- they hadn't figured where to go with him yet.
Dalton is really enjoyable in Daylights and he hits the ground running. Maybe third film syndrome would have kicked in with him too but I do find his Bond to be lacking just a bit of screen presence though.
Brosnan gets off to a flyer and is as good as he ever was. He's a walking cheese monster, but he's got undeniable charisma and charm.
Craig is a a powerhouse from the start. The only Bond performance to get nominated for a BAFTA, it's a big, powerful, ballsy one and deserved all of the plaudits: he could do everything from gags to bone-crushing fights and emotion and became a generation's favourite Bond.
So for me, first Bond film performance goes between Connery and Craig. And it's a damned tough one. The success of the whole series is arguably down to Connery being amazing in that first film, but then Craig had to live up to that and took it even further. If I could give them a joint win I would, but I think just because Craig had perhaps more he had to do, more emotions to convey, a deeper journey to explore, in that movie I'm going to give it to him. Daniel Craig, Casino Royale.
He's strapped naked to a chair being tortured and gets an enormous laugh from the audience! And seconds later, in the same sentence, your emotions take a plunge and you feel for him because he knows he's about to die. That's big boy stuff.
Dalton was all right, but both Moore and Brosnan had really weak debuts.
Interesting: agreed on most there, but would you say Brosnan improved in his later films or are you just not keen on him in any of them?
Both Brosnan and his films follow a zig zag pattern. GE poor, TND good, TWINE poor, DAD good.
Interesting, I agree the films vary but I've never really thought his performance differed all that much. I'll have a ponder on it!
:)
Connery is mostly great in DN, but his driving acting and occasional barking put him below Dalton for me. Craig gives an incredible performance in CR, but it feels a bit removed from what James Bond is meant to be.
In many ways selecting the “best” initial performance of the Bond actors is a little like (and please indulge me here for a moment) deciding on what is the best “Godzilla” film. Like the original “Gojira” (1954), Connery’s DN performance was such a historical milestone that its’ almost impossible to judge anything that came later, without using it as a point of reference. And that can be unfair to Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig. To fairly appreciate a “Mothra vs. Godzilla” (1964), for example, I force myself NOT to reference the original. Instead, I view it as an unconnected variation on a theme.
In short, "the first" really stands alone by itself. Connery set the “standard” before we even knew what the standard was.
Now if I were to put Connery’s DN aside, I would rank them as:
1.Craig CR
2.Brosnan, GE
3.Dalton, LTD
4.Lazenby, OHMSS
5.Moore, LALD
Sorry for the monster talk, but when I saw this question, that comparison did come to mind.
The greatest
To my mind there are no right or wrong here with any of the thoughts that have been posted. I will be interested to see how others chime in and see this.
To the person who said Craig is one of the greatest performances as Bond I foresee us having a best actor as Bond in any film. Which gives me an idea for a future Klebbie has well.
But I digress! Let the voting and wonderful thoughts continue...
I remember being pleasantly surprised and glad that Brosnan didn't start in 1987. Of course Connery was terrific in DN but my favorite Bond performance from him is in TB.
Roger for the Bondie!
Clearly drunk. I think I am taking my vote back.
What does the Joker have to do with anything?
He sure looks a bit tipsy. Maybe a drink to calm the nerves before the first shoot?
That's the spirit ;)