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Bond... James Bond. The best and the worst delivery of the iconic line

myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
edited April 2012 in Bond Movies Posts: 1,143
Prehaps the most important on-screen moment for any actor stepping into the shoes as the new Bond. How they deliver that all important iconic line that announces to the world that they are Bond. Simple really, in which movie do you feel the iconic line was best delivered and which was the worst?

For me, the best was Sean Connery in Dr No. Delivered in a classy, cool, almost nonchalant manner. Worst, has to be Lazenby in OHMSS, which for me felt a little too cheerful and awkward.
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Comments

  • 0iker00iker0
    Posts: 501
    The best, I don't know sure if Dr. No with Sean Connery or Daniel Craig in Casino Royale with the Bond theme as background and Mr. White laid down...
    The worst Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough when he sais Bond... (shoots to the kind of lift and goes up with Christmas Jones) James Bond
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    0iker0 wrote:
    The best, I don't know sure if Dr. No with Sean Connery or Daniel Craig in Casino Royale with the Bond theme as background and Mr. White laid down...
    The worst Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough when he sais Bond... (shoots to the kind of lift and goes up with Christmas Jones) James Bond

    Fine choices there my friend. Craig in CR would be my 2nd choice and Brosan in TWINE is cringe-worthy!
  • Signed_By_RogerMooreSigned_By_RogerMoore
    edited April 2012 Posts: 643
    Some great deliveries of this line. Roger Moore does it for me though, doing it in so many varied ways

    LALD - Iconic, calm and collected, confident, almost taunting of Big's henchmen
    FYEO - After being Bond after escaping from Gonzalez's place, the cheeky intro to Havelock
    AVTAK - To the police chief, authorative, superior to an important person (in the context of the film

    For me, his intro in OP stands out. when he walks into the casino. A mixture of all the quality of these films. Love it

    Worst delivery of this line has to be CR. Over-dramatic, smug, trying to be iconic.
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    I have to agree with you Signed_By_RogerMoore that Moore always seemed to deliver the line very well indeed.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    The first time it was sensational, the rest have done their best but will always fall short from that 1st scene that introduced Bond, James Bond.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited April 2012 Posts: 12,480
    Sean's first, Roger's in TSWLM (I could pick a few for him), Brosnan's in TND and DAD (thanks for reminding me Murdock), and Craig's at the end of CR (love it).
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,359
    Best would be Brosnan in Die Another Day. It's so good you know he wants to take down Graves.

    worst, Dalton in The Living Daylights. it was so rushed and disappointing.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,256
    Best: Connery in DN.
    Worst: Lazenby in OHMSS.

    I like the Lazenby Bond but I find his voice a tad difficult to cope with during his PTS delivery of the famous line.
  • SJK91SJK91
    edited April 2012 Posts: 1,310
    DarthDimi wrote:
    Best: Connery in DN.
    Worst: Lazenby in OHMSS.

    I like the Lazenby Bond but I find his voice a tad difficult to cope with during his PTS delivery of the famous line.
    Gotta agree here. Connery's delivery in DN was absolute perfection. I personally think Lazenby, on the other hand, butchered that line. That being said, I don't mind him overall and I find OHMSS great.

    ...and Dr. No greater. ;)
  • DoubleOhhSevenDoubleOhhSeven
    edited April 2012 Posts: 1,778
    0iker0 wrote:
    The best, I don't know sure if Dr. No with Sean Connery or Daniel Craig in Casino Royale with the Bond theme as background and Mr. White laid down...
    The worst Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough when he sais Bond... (shoots to the kind of lift and goes up with Christmas Jones) James Bond

    Ditto for me. The TWINE delivery was terrible. IMO all of Brosnan's were terrible. They drew way too much attention to themselves and felt unnatural. He always reminded me of a teenager practicing the line in a mirror.
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    Murdock wrote:
    Best would be Brosnan in Die Another Day. It's so good you know he wants to take down Graves.

    worst, Dalton in The Living Daylights. it was so rushed and disappointing.

    Agree, like Lazenby, Dalton just doesn't deliver the line well. Prehaps in part this was not the first impression on the viewing public that either actor would have wished for and prehaps may have contributed to a general feeling by many a casual viewer at the time that both actors were lacking that certain spark or confidence.

    Maybe both got off on the wrong foot with their poor delivery of those famous words, but for me, both OHMSS and TLD and both their performances in those two movies are amongst the highlights of the entire series.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited April 2012 Posts: 9,117
    DN is unbeatable.

    All of Brozzas were awful, not particularly his fault I think just that the way they were done were so over the top and just obviously ticking off the cliche box the same way Brozza was always forced to order a vodka martini and the return of the DB5.

    Rog by comparsion is far better he just tosses them in naturally instead of it being made into a big moment as in the Brozza era.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    DN of course it's iconic, Connery's reading is legendary I don't think you'll ever beat it. While I'm a big fan of DC his one in CR does seem a little rushed, I'm hoping he gets a chance to give us a classic reading in Skyfall.

    While CR & QOS deliberately tried to ignore all the famous lines I think SF while not overdoing it will have them there.

    Worst one has to be any of PB's they all seemed forced smug and wooden.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    The end of CR. That is the best. The one in TWINE was the worst. The only cool thing about it was its placement in an action scene.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited April 2012 Posts: 11,189
    I didn't think Brozza's "Bond...James Bond" deliveries were that bad :(

    Smug...hell yeah
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited April 2012 Posts: 13,356
    Agent007391 wrote:
    The end of CR. That is the best. The one in TWINE was the worst. The only cool thing about it was its placement in an action scene.

    Are people forgetting there were two in that film? The other, when Bond meets Elektra, was far better.

    Lazenby's second 'Bond, James Bond' is also one of my favourites.
  • licensetoforumlicensetoforum
    Posts: 371
    Roger Moore in LALD. I just love that he is captured and yet take times to flirt.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I cringe when in TWINE Bond and Christmas escape the exploding nuclear base. As Bond hops onto the lift with Christmas, she says "who are you?". Bond says "The names Barnd", waits for the lift to take them higher, and then spats "James Barnd". X_X
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited April 2012 Posts: 11,189
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    I cringe when in TWINE Bond and Christmas escape the exploding nuclear base. As Bond hops onto the lift with Christmas, she says "who are you?". Bond says "The names Barnd", waits for the lift to take them higher, and then spats "James Barnd". X_X

    I've just re-watched that clip...common it's not THAT bad...is it? I didn't cringe anyway.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Agent007391 wrote:
    The only cool thing about it was its placement in an action scene.

    Really? Imo that's what made it worse. It was so cheesy and unnecessary.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    BAIN123 wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    I cringe when in TWINE Bond and Christmas escape the exploding nuclear base. As Bond hops onto the lift with Christmas, she says "who are you?". Bond says "The names Barnd", waits for the lift to take them higher, and then spats "James Barnd". X_X

    I've just re-watched that clip...common it's not THAT bad...is it? I didn't cringe anyway.

    It may be because I think of DAF, and Tiffany saying "You just killed James Bawnd", and I cringe harder. It is still unbearable though, and so dumb. One of Pierce's worst deliveries of that iconic line.
  • LeChiffreLeChiffre
    Posts: 1,548
    Joint best IMO- Connery in Dr No and Dan Craig in CR
    Worst Brosnan in TWINE- sounds too American in his delivery
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231
    Best: Connery in Dr.No, and when he walks in to the Masterson twin's hotel room at the beginning of GF. Perfect. Brosnan in GE and DAD were nearly perfect too.

    Worst: Poor ol George in OHMSS PTS.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited April 2012 Posts: 11,189
    It may be because I think of DAF, and Tiffany saying "You just killed James Bawnd", and I cringe harder

    Yeah...that's worse :))

    Then again Brozza's "drop the act" scene has just come on my tv...yeeeah

    I quite like Brozza in TWINE but in that scene? Nah!
  • VBM398VBM398
    Posts: 154
    Best: Connery in DN and Daniel Craig in CR
    Worst: George Lazenby in the PTS of OHMSS
  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    I agree that Sir Sean's delivery of the line is immortal and still the best...what else would you expect from me? Craig's at the end of CR is second.

    With Pierce's Irish-American accent, it just doesn't sound right for some reason. I can't explain why past that. And George's is even worse.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    BAIN123 wrote:
    It may be because I think of DAF, and Tiffany saying "You just killed James Bawnd", and I cringe harder

    Yeah...that's worse :))
    Tiffany herself sink it, because if Plenty said it I wouldn't mind. She's just so dumb. Bond does his best to make sure the Blofeld's tape gets switched and she reswitches the damn things, she get knocked off the rig by the recoil and looks like a flapping idiot while doing it, and she can't even hit Wint or Kidd with a cake from 5 FEET AWAY. She just needed to die. I like to think that Bond's smile at the end of DAF reads "damn, I have to get the hell away from this stupid broad. Note to self: look for scuba gear aboard the boat to ensure a speedy retreat."
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited April 2012 Posts: 9,117
    doubleoego wrote:
    Agent007391 wrote:
    The only cool thing about it was its placement in an action scene.

    Really? Imo that's what made it worse. It was so cheesy and unnecessary.

    And Arnold giving us the little flourish of the Bond theme inbetween 'Barnd' and 'James Barnd' trying to convince us that the whole scene is pure Bondian genius when in reality its the sort of cheesy cliched parody you find in Bond games.

    Same goes for the crappy tie straightening in TWINE. I dont hate Arnolds work like many on here but these naff moments painfully stand out and are pretty grating.

    Of course the director and Babs & MGW are ultimately to blame as Arnolds only giving them what they want.
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    I cringe when in TWINE Bond and Christmas escape the exploding nuclear base. As Bond hops onto the lift with Christmas, she says "who are you?". Bond says "The names Barnd", waits for the lift to take them higher, and then spats "James Barnd". X_X

    Ha ha, yes the scene alone is cringe worthy but the delivery of "James Barnd" tops it off! Truely awful.

  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    I never liked that elevator thing with Richards either when Brosnan introduced himself, awful delivery to an awful Bond girl in an otherwise standout picture

    Best deliveries I could include would be Connery in Doctor No , Moore in LALD and FYEO. Worst would include above Brosnan in TWINE, Lazenby in OHMSS, Dalton in daylights, and Moore in AVTAK, 'and I'm Dick Tracy etc' , embarrassing..
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