Many people look at Sean Connery as their favorite Bond, but I guess I just don't see why ?

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  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    I agree. Connery was an average, working class jobbing actor who got lucky. But Terence whipped him into shape, proving he was a good actor in that role. Because he certainly wasn't Bond, he learnt to walk, act and hold himself in that way.....acting.

    In fairness my granddad wasn't as keen on Bond as I was either. Hence, he preferred Moore and hadn't read much Fleming.
  • edited July 2015 Posts: 11,189
    I think the last Bond film my granddad watched all the way through was Octopussy back in 1983, He may have seen bits and pieces of the ones since but I don't know.

    He always took the attitude it was all just a load of nonsense,
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    To be fair Fleming himself said it was all escapist nonsence for adults, so he was right. :)
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    I think what makes Sean Connery so special is that the man's acting doesn't feel dated. You could see the young version of himself in Goldeneye in 1995.

    He is also the perfect mix between light hearted Bond and Dark and gritty Bond.
    He is the best of Both worlds and he is the whole thing you look for in James Bond
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Szonana wrote: »
    he is the whole thing you look for in James Bond

    Bingo.
  • Posts: 1,548
    Craig is the best actor to play Bond. Dalton was fantastic but Craig shades it imo in terms of charisma etc. Sean will always be the benchmark when it comes to new casting But Dan has topped it for me.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    moore45 wrote:
    Alright, so many people look at Sean Connery as their favorite Bond, but I guess I just don't see why, other than the fact that he was the first Bond. But it's always kind of annoyed me when people like the original the best SIMPLY because it is the original.

    I'm not saying Connery was a bad Bond at all, I liked him a good deal... but I still don't understand what would make him the best.

    I'll tell you why....quote from Peter Hunt...."Sean really was a very sexy man. There are very few film stars who had that sort of quality. He could basically walk into a room and f**k anybody" ......That's charisma, that's the perfect 007.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    suavejmf wrote: »
    moore45 wrote:

    I'll tell you why....quote from Peter Hunt...."Sean really was a very sexy man. There are very few film stars who had that sort of quality. He could basically walk into a room and f**k anybody" ......That's charisma, that's the perfect 007.

    I have to agree with this and i had to say so but i think Pierce also had it.
    That's why both ( Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery) are my favorite Bond actors


  • Sean Connery nailed all the essential traits needed to play Bond. He was handsome, intelligent, charming, smooth, confident and dangerous. Sean Connery was the three dimensional Bond. The other five Bond actors were good but they were all missing at least one important characteristic.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 11,425
    Who doesn't "get" Connery as Bond?

    He made the legend and set the gold standard everyone aspires to beat. No one has yet, but half the fun is seeing how the new kids on the block measure up.

    Most of the other actors have brought something worthwhile to the table, but none has really surpassed Connery. I'd argue only Moore came close, because he so totally redefined the role and was so massively popular.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    Connery helped define the role, and he is one of my favourite Bonds, but at the end of the day, I think Dalton was better.
  • Posts: 11,425
    Connery helped define the role, and he is one of my favourite Bonds, but at the end of the day, I think Dalton was better.

    Wow. I love the audacity. I love Dalton as Bond. But... No way.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    Getafix wrote: »
    Connery helped define the role, and he is one of my favourite Bonds, but at the end of the day, I think Dalton was better.

    Wow. I love the audacity. I love Dalton as Bond. But... No way.

    Not audacity, just preference. I'd argue that Connery isn't the most universally loved aspect of Bond, Llewelyn's Q is. So it should hardly be surprising that Connery doesn't feature at the top of at least one Bond actor ranking.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Getafix wrote: »
    Connery helped define the role, and he is one of my favourite Bonds, but at the end of the day, I think Dalton was better.

    Wow. I love the audacity. I love Dalton as Bond. But... No way.

    Not audacity, just preference. I'd argue that Connery isn't the most universally loved aspect of Bond, Llewelyn's Q is. So it should hardly be surprising that Connery doesn't feature at the top of at least one Bond actor ranking.

    I'd say John Barry's music is also universally loved.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    edited August 2015 Posts: 1,130
    @getafix
    I'm very surprised you didn't make case to put your favorite guy Timothy Dalton as the Best
    James Bond and belive me you have one which is being the Closest to Ian Fleming.
    Anyway i guess i also admit Sean Connery is the best even though my favorite is Pierce Brosnan.

    I also love Sean Connery and always put him beside Pierce in My ranking of my favorite Bonds actors with with both as my number 1 but if i had to pick just one favorite id go with Pierce since he is the one i saw first but i guess very deep inside i've always admited that Sean is the best.



  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    Getafix wrote: »
    Connery helped define the role, and he is one of my favourite Bonds, but at the end of the day, I think Dalton was better.

    Wow. I love the audacity. I love Dalton as Bond. But... No way.

    Not audacity, just preference. I'd argue that Connery isn't the most universally loved aspect of Bond, Llewelyn's Q is. So it should hardly be surprising that Connery doesn't feature at the top of at least one Bond actor ranking.

    I'd say John Barry's music is also universally loved.

    Yes, there's another one. When it comes to Bond actors, objectively, Connery has strong opposition from Moore. When it comes to Q, or the scores, though there have been others, they're pretty much one horse races when it comes to ranking them.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    LeChiffre wrote: »
    Craig is the best actor to play Bond. Dalton was fantastic but Craig shades it imo in terms of charisma etc. Sean will always be the benchmark when it comes to new casting But Dan has topped it for me.

    I can see why someone would argue for DC's acting, but in terms of charisma, Connery is light years ahead.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    What differentiates the Bond franchise for any other, is not only that are the new films are very popular and millions of people everywhere are very excited to see the latest Bond film, but that the old outings from 40+ years ago are are still massively popular, and kids born decades after these films were made can know tons of stuff about them.

    This is not a negative thing about Daniel Craig, but his movies alone can't keep the franchise highly popular without the old outings being also popular and remembered. I love Dalton as Bond, but his films did not 'click' with the audience, and the young generations today don't know/remember much about his films. If the entire series pre-Pierce Brosnan was in the same state, James Bond would not be one of, if not the most iconic and popular fictional characters to kids in 2015.

    Sean Connery created the damn thing. He did it so well that in 1962, everyone around the world were sold by his performance from the moment he utters Bond, James Bond'. And, that's not the whole argument: 50 years later, any kid who sees DN will love Connery with this scene alone. No other actor in history can pretend to immediately click with generations of people across 50 years. Name one actor who can will immediately become a legend for everyone by saying 1 sentence. And by 1 sentence I mean giving his name while lighting a cigarette. Connery became a legend within 5 seconds. No one can come close to this achievement. It took him 5 seconds to create and sell the most iconic character in cinematic history . Every other Connery moment after this scene is the cherry on the cake.


    So outside of Bond
    Do you prefer a George Clooney over a Daniel Day Lewis ?

    Nothing wrong with it, between my favorite actosr i have guys from both spectrums( Thespian/ Chameleons and Movie star actors).

    I love with Capital letters Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, George Clooney and Brad Pitt but also love with the same Passion Daniel Day Lewis, Ralph Fiennes and Geoffery Rush )


  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    RC7 wrote: »
    LeChiffre wrote: »
    Craig is the best actor to play Bond. Dalton was fantastic but Craig shades it imo in terms of charisma etc. Sean will always be the benchmark when it comes to new casting But Dan has topped it for me.

    I can see why someone would argue for DC's acting, but in terms of charisma, Connery is light years ahead.

    I would agree with that.

    I have never bought Connery (or Moore, for that matter) as a dangerous agent/assassin. Not that that matters; I don't view the early Bond films as nothing more than fun. (heck, I didn't buy Chris Reeve as Superman either, but so what???) But DC does play a killer and plays him better than anyone who came before. Part of that is the material. Part of it is the depth DC brings to the part. The scene in CR when he's cleaning off his bloodied face is a work of art.
  • Posts: 11,425
    RC7 wrote: »
    LeChiffre wrote: »
    Craig is the best actor to play Bond. Dalton was fantastic but Craig shades it imo in terms of charisma etc. Sean will always be the benchmark when it comes to new casting But Dan has topped it for me.

    I can see why someone would argue for DC's acting, but in terms of charisma, Connery is light years ahead.

    I'd say Connery wins on the acting front as well. Hands down. I find the suggestion Craig is a better actor unconvincing. Bonds physical and dramatic performances as Bond are pretty much flawless.

    You might argue its Sean Connery playing Sean Connery, but I'm not sure that's fair.

    Craig is a decent actor but he is nowhere near as powerful a big screen presence as Sean. May be Craig's a better stage actor or better at small character parts, but frankly who cares? The issue at hand is surely who is a better actor when it comes to playing Bond, and the evidence is IMO up there on the screen for all to see. I don't get these arguments about "he might be the better Bond but he's not the better actor". In my book, the guy who gave us the best performance as Bond is also the best actor.
  • Posts: 1,998
    Five Bonds later, we still can't quite decide why SC was the best Bond. Maybe he wouldn't have worked as well had RM been the first Bond. Don't we always compare what comes after with what came first? I suspect a lot of the feeling depends on one's first Bond. Of the six actors to play the role, SC is like a magnet. He commands the screen. His eyes are one of his most telling features. There's focus and concentration the others don't really have. He seems to be thinking, not merely reacting. The light approach, RM and PB, always seemed to undermine the intensity and believability of the role. RM always seemed to be acting rather than being the role. He was fun, but he didn't command the screen as Connery. I like GL, TD, and DC. They were the most effective later Bonds. Sixty year later the producers still haven't found a successor with the screen presence of SC.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited June 2022 Posts: 24,187
    You walk into ten different restaurants for the exact same meal. Some have the meal undercooked, others overcooked; some have the seasoning not quite right, others fail to plate it out beautifully. But there is one restaurant that has it all just right.

    That, to me, is Connery in his first four outings. His looks, acting, charm, line delivery, ... he is Bond, just like his successors, but just a bit more Bond than them. The others got to ten, he got to eleven. The FRWL Bond is the quintessence of double-oh-seven.

    I am a Daltonite, and I will defend Craig as the ultimate alpha-Bond. Connery's tenure is sadly averaged out downwards by weaker performances--YOLT and DAF and, if so desired, NSNA. Connery shone brightest in '63 and '64, and he was awesome in '62 and '65. But his retirement and comeback film(s) received less impressive work from Connery, while Craig, for one, remained consistently strong. Evidently, history shows that this comparison is unfair. The capital called Connery was spent, the capital called Craig was cleverly invested. A happy Connery could have turned the near-perfect OHMSS into an even bigger blast. But alas that's the way it is. Connery started out as the ultimate Bond. He didn't quit as one. And I find that regrettable. Because his awesomeness cannot be disputed.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Connery started out as the ultimate Bond. He didn't quit as one. And I find that regrettable. Because his awesomeness cannot be disputed.

    Can't put it any better than that, tbh.

  • Posts: 4,170
    Connery certainly had that natural screen presence and approach to playing Bond... but yes, as years go by whenever I watch his later films (TB onwards) it gets harder and harder to watch him when compared to how marvellous he was in his first three. It's such a shame. Even at his most overworked and frustrated Craig continued to play the role rather well (although there are arguably different contexts to that and I'm not criticising either actor for what happened behind the scenes). I'd argue it's the same with Moore too.

    It does pose the question for future Bond actors though: how far can that 'natural talent' get you when an actor is uncommitted to the role?
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,187
    007HallY wrote: »
    Connery certainly had that natural screen presence and approach to playing Bond... but yes, as years go by whenever I watch his later films (TB onwards) it gets harder and harder to watch him when compared to how marvellous he was in his first three. It's such a shame. Even at his most overworked and frustrated Craig continued to play the role rather well (although there are arguably different contexts to that and I'm not criticising either actor for what happened behind the scenes). I'd argue it's the same with Moore too.

    It does pose the question for future Bond actors though: how far can that 'natural talent' get you when an actor is uncommitted to the role?

    An uncommitted actor equals a death sentence to his tenure as Bond. Craig's are mighty big shoes to fill. An audience can smell a lack of energy. Take Jennifer "can't smile" Lawrence, who turned her role as Mystique into a tormented "I don't wanna", as opposed to Rebecca Romijn who was absolutely going for it. Yet Mystique was a secondary character. Bond is the face of our beloved series. If the next actor decides to phone it in, it's game over right away.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    Indeed. It's always been a bit bizarre to me that some fans are convinced that Craig 'hates James Bond' - whereas I honestly don't think that any of the other actors has cared as much or been as committed to the role.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,187
    Venutius wrote: »
    Indeed. It's always been a bit bizarre to me that some fans are convinced that Craig 'hates James Bond' - whereas I honestly don't think that any of the other actors has cared as much or been as committed to the role.

    Never ever have I understood where the "Craig hates Bond" nonsense comes from! It makes no sense unless one is inclined to unfairly zoom in on his wrist-slitting comment, which was dropped after an exhausted Craig had crawled out of the trenches of a challenging production. The man clearly put his back into it; he gave it his all. He trained hard to stay in shape, sat down with the producers and screenwriters to see where they should take the character next, and did a lot of promotion work. It's one thing to not like where Craig helped take the character of Bond, but to call him a hater of Bond is downright absurd.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    Absolutely. Look at everything he gave. Craig went over and above, time and again.
  • I don’t know how you can watch Dr. No and not think “this is James Bond”. Connery was electric on screen from scene 1. His commitment to the role might have wavered later in his tenure, but he made the role. I think there are strong arguments in favor of every Bond actor, but it wasn’t until arguably Craig debuted in Casino Royale that a Bond actor quite lit up the screen and controlled the role, and public perception of the role, the way Connery did.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited June 2022 Posts: 1,711
    I'm always skeptical about "X is my favorite but Y is the best" statements. There are obviously many reasons to declare one actor "the best Bond", whether it's your unvarnished opinion, nostalgia, or a possibly subconscious desire to signal that you have correct/novel opinions.

    You can make a list of Sean's strengths, declare them to be the key to a great Bond, and then tautologically declare Sean the best by virtue of his being the most Sean Connery-like, but the other actors all brought things to the table that Sean didn't do as well, or at all.

    Sean is probably the most unrelatable and least human of the bunch, for example. He doesn't seem to have great affection for any of his women, or strong distaste for his villains. He's easily the most invincible of the bunch. Even in his imperial phase (FRWL, GF, TB), he kind of cruises through the movie until he is saved by his leading lady. Thunderball is the only Bond film where Bond is never captured; in Goldfinger, he's comfortably captured most of the time with little to do but act cool.

    Now I wouldn't want to trade those cool, danger-free moments from these films, but having the more human touch of the other five Bonds is not a bad thing, and is generally probably what you want in a hero character--Fleming's Bond certainly had it.

    So Tim may be less of a ladies man, and Roger may not always seem quite as deadly, but from moment to moment, their Bonds seem a bit more engaged and concerned about the job at hand.
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