Brosnan's on-screen chemistry

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  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Ludovico wrote:
    Many Bond girls in the Brosnan era were seriously miscast. I would add to the list Teri Hatcher, in a role that should have been crucial.

    I think she was decent enough.

    I also disagree about the miscast actresses. Janssen, Scorupco, Yeoh, Marceau and Pike all performed well in their respective roles IMO. Berry and Richards were iffy though, but that's counting only two. And as for minor roles (Bond, Dench, Driver, Thomsen, Deckers, Grazia Cucinotta, Scott Thomas, Grant, ...) I can't say I'm ever disappointed as such. Truly, I find most of the Brosnan women, in terms of casting at least - not necessarily in terms of character development, fairly good!
  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    Agreed. Brosnan and his leading leadies worked well together, for the most part. Jinx was the worst. Bond just seemed like he was annoyed by her and was only trying to get her into bed. I've never been bothered by Paris. The rest I thought were great with him.
  • edited September 2012 Posts: 11,189
    Teri Hatcher wasn't that good. She had a couple of decent moments (I like how she looks across at Bond from the balcony at the party as he's led away by Carver's goons. Her expressions suggest she knows whats going to happen) but I don't like her delivery of some of her lines:

    Namely:

    "I've made my bed...you don't sleep in it anymore". A cheesey line that Hatcher delivers in an over-the-top manner.

    "That's it...go home" (in Bond's doorway)

    "I have no choice, no one can protect me from him...not even you"
  • Posts: 1,492
    The first time I watched TND in the cinema one thought when the two were on the debris at the end with the searchlights scanning for them was..

    Does Wai Lin even like him?

    There seemed to be a curious non-chemistry with Brosnan and his leading ladies.

    Natalya I am not sure he ever recovered from the bashing his eardrums got when he first met her. Wai Lin seemed as disinterested in him as he was for her. The only one he generally seemed pleased to be with was Electra and I wonder if that was Sophies superior acting that brought it out of him. And Halle? The less said the better.

    This is not a bash. But the chemistry between his leading ladies wasn't perhaps as strong as Sean and Ursula, George and Diana, Rog and Maud, Tim and Maryam and Dan and Eva..
  • edited September 2012 Posts: 11,189
    actonsteve wrote:
    The first time I watched TND in the cinema one thought when the two were on the debris at the end with the searchlights scanning for them was..

    Does Wai Lin even like him?

    There seemed to be a curious non-chemistry with Brosnan and his leading ladies.

    Natalya I am not sure he ever recovered from the bashing his eardrums got when he first met her. Wai Lin seemed as disinterested in him as he was for her. The only one he generally seemed pleased to be with was Electra and I wonder if that was Sophies superior acting that brought it out of him. And Halle? The less said the better.

    This is not a bash. But the chemistry between his leading ladies wasn't perhaps as strong as Sean and Ursula, George and Diana, Rog and Maud, Tim and Maryam and Dan and Eva..

    Another moment you could feel sorry for Brozza was in DAD. Right after Jinx says "I think I got the THRUST of it" at the Ice Palace party there's a shot of Brozza looking annoyed. Who could blame him?

    I quite liked Wai Lin's reactions at some of Brosnan's quips.

    "I always thought watching your tv shows was torture enough"

    (After touching the fire breathing dragon model) "Very novel"

    That last one does make me laugh too.
  • At risk of a backlash, I never thought there was much chemistry between Scorupco and Brosnan in the first movie. It starts out tentative enough as you would expect, when they are caught by Mishkin's men and interrogated, but it never really took off I found sometimes, worked better with Michelle Yeoh, that was a more tangible relationship, one of the better recent Bond girls, and once again, for the next release, and his pairing up with the awful Berry/Johnson character, it was an unmitigated disaster for me. Zero chemistry, it simply didn't work. I left out TWINE, or simply forgot, but as again, Richards and Brosnan, it was another non event I feel, there was more of a connection with the King character. Brosnan simply didn't have a great time with his female counterparts during his tenure I felt like saying
  • edited October 2012 Posts: 533

    Not surprisingly, many have claimed that Brosnan had no chemistry with Halle Berry. Why do Bond fans are so vitrol about her? It's almost pathological. It's definitely disturbing. And I'm beginning to wonder a lot about many Bond fans and the reasons behind their attitudes.
  • 002002
    Posts: 581
    apparently Monica Belluci was suppose to play Paris in TND but couldnt do it
    shame she and brosnan would have had more chemestary
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    DRush76 wrote:
    Not surprisingly, many have claimed that Brosnan had no chemistry with Halle Berry. Why do Bond fans are so vitrol about her? It's almost pathological. It's definitely disturbing. And I'm beginning to wonder a lot about many Bond fans and the reasons behind their attitudes.
    I'll explain this one... Halle Berry is a fine actress and a beautiful woman. She can do many things well performance-wise, but the ONE thing she is completely unsuccessful at is street smart tough girl. Her version of that is simply bitchy Berry. In Last Boyscout she played Cory precisely the same way, and the result was that when her character dies, we as the audience feel no real remorse. Remember that girl in High School you saw and your jaw dropped, until she opened her mouth and suddenly there endith the fantasy? That, my friend, is Jinx. Topped off with the worst haircut of her career.
    Does that clear it up a bit?

  • edited October 2012 Posts: 3,494
    002 wrote:
    apparently Monica Bellucci was supposed to play Paris in TND but couldn't do it
    shame she and brosnan would have had more chemistry

    You're right but your info is a bit off. Bellucci was up for the role and available. Wilson and Broccoli (and maybe Spottiswoode too) instead chose Hatcher. And Brosnan called them "fools" in recollection and he was damn skippy right about that. Hatcher can't touch Bellucci and this was a terrible hire too often repeated in the Brosnan era. Lesser known actresses needing a break are the best choices, always have been, stars like Hatcher, Berry, Richards rarely if ever give their best efforts as they have nothing to prove, being a Bond girl is just an extra plum on their resumes.

    Read Hatcher's exit comments sometime about her "regret" in taking the role. They sure don't endear her to me. I think her husband at the time, Jon Tenney, was more responsible than anyone in her accepting because he loved the idea of being married to a Bond girl. She was also pregnant and hormonal at the time and we fathers here certainly know what that is like, do we not? She caused her fair share of acrimony on the set and her condition no doubt was a contributing factor.

  • 002 wrote:
    apparently Monica Bellucci was supposed to play Paris in TND but couldn't do it
    shame she and brosnan would have had more chemistry

    You're right but your info is a bit off. Bellucci was up for the role and available. Wilson and Broccoli (and maybe Spottiswoode too) instead chose Hatcher.

    My recollection was that "the studio" was why they went with Hatcher, not EON. Can anyone confirm this? As I recall it was the studio who always insisted on casting actresses who were popular with younger guys (Hatcher was hot off of Lois and Clark, and then we had Denise Richards and then Halle Berry) as a way of guaranteeing box office from the prime demographic of 16 to 25 year old American males. In fact, I seem to recall someone (Brosnan? Broccoli? Spottiswoode?) actually saying that Hatcher was "forced" upon the production by MGM/UA, but as that was quite a while ago my memory may be faulty.

  • It would probably be a good idea to research some articles from the time to see if the studio was involved. I know MGM was rushing them to put the film out A.S.A.P as they were doing a big public stock offering and wanted lots of big moneymaking releases out there to get investors. Brosnan seemed to be referencing the producers who were also considering Sela Ward as well before deciding she was too old. He did however agree with the choice of Michelle Yeoh and was nothing but complimentary, so it sure seems he wanted Bellucci and he was right no matter who made the decision, they were fools not to bring one of the hottest women in the world on board.
  • Posts: 11,425
    It definitely feels like EON is back in charge of casting, which is good. In the films where the studios impose some American starlet it usually ends up being a forgettable performance.

    Bond is almost always better off with some Euro- totty.
  • Brosnan's interchange with Wai Lin in TND is painful to watch..."you have to admit, we've developed a certain...attachment...to each other".

    Not a patch on Bond/Vesper in CR which I love and rate as the best aspect of the film
  • Posts: 7,653

    Not a patch on Bond/Vesper in CR which I love and rate as the best aspect of the film

    I would give that the finger, which is apperently enough for Vesper. O:-)

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Well, here is my overall take on the chemistry of Bonds and their main babes:

    First, I just want to say I loved Natalya and Brosnan together; I like GE so much and they have real spark. She was the best Bond girl of his era, for sure. I also wish they had signed on Monica Belucca instread of Teri - it would have made a great difference. The entire world is probably unanimous in that ... except for the people who actual did the hiring; shame. I like Brosnan and Yeoh together but it wasn't a hot sexual chemistry; still very nice, working partners, and I enjoyed seeing them together. I do feel that Brosnan had a poor lot of leading Bond girls to work with after GE. Berry, blah and irritating; Richards annoying and stupid, Hatcher blah and shallow, Sophie Marceau was beautiful and could act so she is second to Isabella for me (but she was the villain, right? And Richards, the main Bond girl). Ah well. Poor Pierce -and after that sparkling first film, too.

    So Brosnan deserved a fifth, done in a timely way with a great Bond girl - but then, so Timothy deserved a 3rd! (I thought Kara and Pam were great Bond girls). Both their Bonds were shortchanged so to speak when it comes to great main Bond girls - Dalton for lack of more, and Brosnan for lack of quality. :(

    Sir Roger, bless him, had the best variety and some great Bond girls overall (Seymour, Bach, Adams, Bouquet). And then there's Sean, the original - he had most of the prime, truly stellar women (Ursula, Claudine, Honor, Daniela, and Mie).

    Lazenby, you say? OK, I don't care for his Bond, but Diana Rigg was an excellent main Bond girl. Her Tracy was one of the best highlights of that film.

    Now Daniel is along with, well, only 3 films wrapped, but his first had one of the very best Bond girls ever, in my opinion - Eva Green. Great chemistry, lovely and strong woman. QOS, not really so great, although I sympathized with Olga's character. Skyfall - I will have so much to say later, I am sure! So far, Bereniece fits the bill as top drawer main Bond girl in looks and voice, I think. Hope her character is wonderful.


  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    (I thought Kara and Pam were great Bond girls).
    THANK you! So many seem to shoot Kara down, but she was a CELLIST, not an agent. And pretty tough for a cellist at that.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    chrisisall wrote:
    (I thought Kara and Pam were great Bond girls).
    THANK you! So many seem to shoot Kara down, but she was a CELLIST, not an agent. And pretty tough for a cellist at that.

    And her chemistry with Dalton was great, in my opinion. D'Abo's acting was more than adequate; I like the two of them. But I guess that is more for a Dalton thread ... I just got started thinking of Pierce and wanted to mention all the Bonds. Didn't mean to digress too much.
  • Brosnans best chemistry was with Colin Salmon and Michael Kitchen IMO



  • Now Daniel is along with, well, only 3 films wrapped, but his first had one of the very best Bond girls ever, in my opinion - Eva Green. Great chemistry, lovely and strong woman. QOS, not really so great, although I sympathized with Olga's character. Skyfall - I will have so much to say later, I am sure! So far, Bereniece fits the bill as top drawer main Bond girl in looks and voice, I think. Hope her character is wonderful.


    I'm glad to see that they're casting good, interesting actresses instead of "stars" that the marketing department suggests...one of the things that I loved as a kid was when you would see these exotic, interesting women that you had never seen before. That made them more special, whereas when you're watching Teri Hatcher you think, oh, there's Lois Lane! or when you watch Halle Berry you think, oh, there's Storm!

    Hard to believe that we almost had Angelina Jolie as Vesper (I guess we have to thank Brad Pitt for Eva Green - IIRC the offer was made to Jolie and she had to turn it down due to her pregnancy). As much as I think she's an under-rated actress (I think she shines when given good material and a good director) having this "unknown" actress Eva Green was one of the key parts of CR (along with Craig, Campbell, and the script) that made it so exceptional.

    At least Brosnan did get some good actresses to work with - both women in GE, Marceau, Pike...

  • Posts: 533


    I'll explain this one... Halle Berry is a fine actress and a beautiful woman. She can do many things well performance-wise, but the ONE thing she is completely unsuccessful at is street smart tough girl. Her version of that is simply bitchy Berry. In Last Boyscout she played Cory precisely the same way, and the result was that when her character dies, we as the audience feel no real remorse. Remember that girl in High School you saw and your jaw dropped, until she opened her mouth and suddenly there endith the fantasy? That, my friend, is Jinx. Topped off with the worst haircut of her career.
    Does that clear it up a bit?



    No it doesn't. Because I had no problems with her performance as Jinx Johnson. Since when did Berry have to play the street smart tough "woman" with perfection in order to have chemistry with Brosnan?
  • acoppolaacoppola London Ealing not far from where Bob Simmons lived
    edited October 2012 Posts: 1,243
    chrisisall wrote:
    (I thought Kara and Pam were great Bond girls).
    THANK you! So many seem to shoot Kara down, but she was a CELLIST, not an agent. And pretty tough for a cellist at that.

    I thought Kara was stunning and fancy Maryam to this day. She looked great at the Skyfall premiere. I could see Bond marrying her more than Vesper. Don't get me wrong, Eva Green is beautiful and was great in CR, but I did not buy how Bond fell for her. She was a tough woman.

    The Living Daylights had got the chemistry right and it worked. It also nicely contrasted with her naivety and Bond's harsh experience of life.

  • Posts: 11,425
    acoppola wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    (I thought Kara and Pam were great Bond girls).
    THANK you! So many seem to shoot Kara down, but she was a CELLIST, not an agent. And pretty tough for a cellist at that.

    I thought Kara was stunning and fancy Maryam to this day. She looked great at the Skyfall premiere. I could see Bond marrying her more than Vesper. Don't get me wrong, Eva Green is beautiful and was great in CR, but I did not buy how Bond fell for her. She was a tough woman.

    The Living Daylights had got the chemistry right and it worked. It also nicely contrasted with her naivety and Bond's harsh experience of life.

    Bond and Kara is the most convincing pairing in the whole series. And I also like Vesper.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    I think Pierce did have great chemistry with all his Bond girls.
    The one who had the least was Michelle Yeoh but still very acceptable.

    Anyway i made two polls on ImDB on Bond and his girls and here the results so far

    http://www.imdb.com/poll/umrLfuBQpNg/results?answer=12&ref_=po_rv


    http://www.imdb.com/poll/uREdvV4WYZY/results?answer=19&ref_=po_rv



  • Posts: 11,425
    Seriously?

    Brosnans on screen chemistry was awful.

    The only one that was actually remotely believable was actually Michelle Yeoh IMO.

    The others were all abysmal. Morceau could have been quite good but the film and Brosnans Performance were so awful, she didn't get a chance.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    @Getafix, you are fined two credits for mindless, directionless Brosnan hate.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    So why do you hate Pierce? Did he not sign an autograph? Did he piss in your fruit loops? ;)
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    Murdock wrote: »
    So why do you hate Pierce? Did he not sign an autograph? Did he piss in your fruit loops? ;)

    Noo, he stole his girlfriend lol

    Noo, seriously.
    I think Pierce was so good at getting the ladies that it helped his on screen chemistry even with worst Bond girls

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I saw this thread title and specifically popped in to see if Getafix had let loose on here recently. Yes, of course he did. Utterly consistent at least, if inexplicable spitefullness towards Pierce.

    As I've mentioned ages ago here, in my opinion Pierce had incredibly good chemistry with Isabella in Goldeneye. Very palpable, lovely to watch, well played. His other Bond women were pretty weak, but still for me he had nice chemistry with women overall. Teri maybe lacking the most, Denise just so weak an actress it would have been like acting with a big cut out doll.
  • Posts: 352
    I would even say the chemistry between Brosnan and Xenia Onatopp was superb. The flirtation and quips at the casino and during the car chase are excellent.
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