Each actor - Their worst and best line delivery

124

Comments

  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,207
    Mathis1 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Sean
    Best: “No well-dressed man should be without one.” (TB)

    Worst: “I love you.” (YOLT)

    George
    Best: “It's all right. It's quite all right, really. She's having a rest. We'll be going on soon. There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world.”

    Worst: “Let’s head for the trees!”

    Roger
    Best: “A water pistol?” (TMWTGG)

    Worst: “Would you like me to drive?” (TSWLM)

    Timothy
    Best: "Stuff my orders. I only kill professionals. That girl didn’t know one end of a rifle from the other. Go ahead, tell M what you want. If he fires me, I’ll thank him for it. Whoever she was, I must have scared the living daylights out of her." (TLD)

    Worst: “Come on!!!!!” (LTK)

    Pierce
    Best: “They’ll print anything these days.” (TND)

    Worst: “Especially when you’re bad.” (DAD)

    Daniel
    Best: "We are teachers on sabbatical, and we have just won the lottery." (in Spanish, QOS)

    Worst: “ I have no armor left. You stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me... Whatever is left of me, whatever I am... I'm yours.” (CR)

    BONUS: David
    Best: “I remember your chap Lenin very well. First class organizer. Second class mind.”

    Worst: “All this trouble just to make up for your feelings of sexual inferiority? I'm beginning to think your a trifle neurotic.“

    Hey GoldenGun, in LTK are you talking about the pts where Bond is ushering them into the helicopter? I absolutely love that moment, its a bit like the scene in QOS where Craig is trying to get the plane to climb higher!

    Oh no, I love the PTS moment as well, I was referring to the ‘come on’ after he says ‘Looks like he came to a dead end.’

    To be honest though, I really struggled to find something for Tim.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 16,605
    On second thought, the line which always bugged me that Craig was given (and I don't blame him for it) is the "You and I had a mutual friend!" line as he jumps on the bonnet of one of the baddies' cars in the climax of QoS. It just doesn't ring true as the first thing you'd shout through a windscreen as you're taking people surprise by jumping on their car with a gun: it's too elegant and casual. Craig tries his best, but...

    A bit like the 'dead end' gag in LTK, it just doesn't really fit. The dead end one is a rubbish gag, too- you could pretty much say that about anyone who's died! :D

    What would be a better gag for someone impaled on a forklift? "He needs a pick-me up?" Nah, that's even worse :))
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,593
    "I need a pallet cleanser after that one"? ;)
  • FatherValentineFatherValentine England
    Posts: 737
    This is a brilliant thread and I am very glad it has been revived.

    Most of the bad line deliveries mentioned here are bad dialogue That's one reason Brosnan comes off particularly poorly. He has ten times the amount of bad line deliveries than any other actor because some of the lines he had to say are painful. I watched his run recently and nearly every line he speaks is some form of idiom or innuendo or pun. It's truly awful stuff for the most part. Poor bloke.

    Craig's lines in the seduction scenes always really clang for me too.

    The reason Dalton and Craig are so poor at delivering puns is because their interpretation of the character doesn't really find them amusing. So they feel forced. Whereas you get the sense that Moore's version is genuinely amusing himself at times.
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    Posts: 699
    Connery:
    Best: "I doubt if the Miami Beach police would take kindly to what you're doing. Nod your head if you agree." (GF)
    Worst: "Hello Base One. Little Nellie got a hot reception. Four big-shots made improper advances towards her, but she defended her honor with great success. Heading for home." Yikes. Dude was totally checked out of the role by then.

    Lazenby:
    Best: "Indubitably!" Kind of sad, it's like the only scene in any Bond movie where he's truly happy.
    Worst: "That´s quite an inducement, but I don´t need a million pounds, and l've a bachelor´s taste for freedom." Very stilted and awkward.

    Moore:
    Best: "A water pistol?" (TMWTGG, to Ms. Anders) Moore pulled off sarcasm perfectly.
    Worst:""Brilliant. I'm almost speechless with admiration." He was going for anger over Zorin's cold-blooded murder, but he came off more like an offended parent.

    Dalton
    Best: "More of a problem eliminator." (LTK, to Sanchez). Self-explanatory.
    Worst: "Time to leave!" An eye-rolling line delivered not particularly well.

    Brosnan:
    Best: - "Oh, I think you do. It's caIIed StockhoIm Syndrome. Common in kidnappings. Young, impressionabIe victim. SheItered, sexuaIIy inexperienced, a powerfuI kidnapper, skiIIed in torture, manipuIation. Something snaps in the victim's mind. The captive faIIs in Iove with her captor." (TWINE, to Elektra)
    I have no idea why this is so hated by fans. I think Brosnan plays it perfectly, simultaneously accusing her and mocking her, and taking delight in it as he does it. Shades of the cruelty of Fleming's Bond.
    Worst: "I know the rules, and number one is, no deals. Get caught and you're given up.
    The mission was compromised. Moon got a call exposing me. He had a partner in the West. Even his father knew about it.." (DAD, to M). Not his worst dialogue, but his most uneven delivery. What makes it worse is that it's such a critical scene in the movie, and for the most part he's fine in the rest of the scene.

    Craig:
    Best- "Oh, well then we have all night." (QOS, to Fields at the airport). Very charismatic, with a bit of old school Bond mischievousness mixed in. They did a disservice to Craig by not making him more charming. He could do when it the script called for it.
    Worst: "Of course! Mr. White!" Yeesh. How about a second take, Mendes?
  • Posts: 12,521
    @slide_99 This is a really good list, well-explained and especially good picks on the worst ones.
  • Posts: 16,223
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Mathis1 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Sean
    Best: “No well-dressed man should be without one.” (TB)

    Worst: “I love you.” (YOLT)

    George
    Best: “It's all right. It's quite all right, really. She's having a rest. We'll be going on soon. There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world.”

    Worst: “Let’s head for the trees!”

    Roger
    Best: “A water pistol?” (TMWTGG)

    Worst: “Would you like me to drive?” (TSWLM)

    Timothy
    Best: "Stuff my orders. I only kill professionals. That girl didn’t know one end of a rifle from the other. Go ahead, tell M what you want. If he fires me, I’ll thank him for it. Whoever she was, I must have scared the living daylights out of her." (TLD)

    Worst: “Come on!!!!!” (LTK)

    Pierce
    Best: “They’ll print anything these days.” (TND)

    Worst: “Especially when you’re bad.” (DAD)

    Daniel
    Best: "We are teachers on sabbatical, and we have just won the lottery." (in Spanish, QOS)

    Worst: “ I have no armor left. You stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me... Whatever is left of me, whatever I am... I'm yours.” (CR)

    BONUS: David
    Best: “I remember your chap Lenin very well. First class organizer. Second class mind.”

    Worst: “All this trouble just to make up for your feelings of sexual inferiority? I'm beginning to think your a trifle neurotic.“

    Hey GoldenGun, in LTK are you talking about the pts where Bond is ushering them into the helicopter? I absolutely love that moment, its a bit like the scene in QOS where Craig is trying to get the plane to climb higher!

    Oh no, I love the PTS moment as well, I was referring to the ‘come on’ after he says ‘Looks like he came to a dead end.’

    To be honest though, I really struggled to find something for Tim.

    Me, toooooooooo (written in Brosnan's voice).
    I used the "dead end/ come on" line for Dalton and felt I was scraping the bottom of the barrel to find something for him that was weak. IMHO Tim delivered all his lines superbly.
    Interestingly, there was a time when his "Bond, James Bond" delivery in TLD was criticized. I always felt he delivered it in character for the situation at hand and not as a wink to the audience. A great version of that classic intro!
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,605
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Mathis1 wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Sean
    Best: “No well-dressed man should be without one.” (TB)

    Worst: “I love you.” (YOLT)

    George
    Best: “It's all right. It's quite all right, really. She's having a rest. We'll be going on soon. There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world.”

    Worst: “Let’s head for the trees!”

    Roger
    Best: “A water pistol?” (TMWTGG)

    Worst: “Would you like me to drive?” (TSWLM)

    Timothy
    Best: "Stuff my orders. I only kill professionals. That girl didn’t know one end of a rifle from the other. Go ahead, tell M what you want. If he fires me, I’ll thank him for it. Whoever she was, I must have scared the living daylights out of her." (TLD)

    Worst: “Come on!!!!!” (LTK)

    Pierce
    Best: “They’ll print anything these days.” (TND)

    Worst: “Especially when you’re bad.” (DAD)

    Daniel
    Best: "We are teachers on sabbatical, and we have just won the lottery." (in Spanish, QOS)

    Worst: “ I have no armor left. You stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me... Whatever is left of me, whatever I am... I'm yours.” (CR)

    BONUS: David
    Best: “I remember your chap Lenin very well. First class organizer. Second class mind.”

    Worst: “All this trouble just to make up for your feelings of sexual inferiority? I'm beginning to think your a trifle neurotic.“

    Hey GoldenGun, in LTK are you talking about the pts where Bond is ushering them into the helicopter? I absolutely love that moment, its a bit like the scene in QOS where Craig is trying to get the plane to climb higher!

    Oh no, I love the PTS moment as well, I was referring to the ‘come on’ after he says ‘Looks like he came to a dead end.’

    To be honest though, I really struggled to find something for Tim.

    Me, toooooooooo (written in Brosnan's voice).
    I used the "dead end/ come on" line for Dalton and felt I was scraping the bottom of the barrel to find something for him that was weak. IMHO Tim delivered all his lines superbly.

    I guess technically you'd have to mark him down a bit for the famous "Things were just about to turn naasty" line where his Derbyshire accent pops back through for a second :)

    I think he has the same thing in the "I'll do anything for a woman with a knife" line earlier, although I might be wrong about that.
  • Posts: 2,402
    I actually like "things were about to turn nasteh" for that exact reason, like Bond is still shaken from the events of the night before and the fact that he is mere inches from a man whose death he desires, and his roots are inadvertently coming through in that moment.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 16,605
    Yeah, I guess that works, I can work with that :) . Bond isn’t from Belper though :D (I guess this version just is! Skyfall Lodge was in the Peak District for Dalton’s Bond!)
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    Posts: 699
    On second thought, I change my worst Brosnan line to "It's a bit of a miiinefield out there." Forgot about that one but it always makes me chuckle. I don't think he had any idea how to say that one, and I don't think Tamahori gave him any ideas.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,605
    I’m like you though, I find Brosnan’s odd intonation and squint-based acting so endearing that I can’t bring myself to call any of them ‘worst’! :D
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    edited November 2021 Posts: 2,641
    Craig
    Best : I've got a little itch...down there, would you mind? (CR) Such a badass Bond moment

    Worst : Tanner...relax. (NTTD)
    I cringed on first viewing and worse with subsequent viewings. The delivery is poor and the writing is worse.

    Some of the lines in NTTD are awful in conception and worse in execution
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    edited November 2021 Posts: 3,497
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    Craig
    Best : I've got a little itch...down there, would you mind? (CR) Such a badass Bond moment

    Worst : Tanner...relax. (NTTD)
    I cringed on first viewing and worse with subsequent viewings. The delivery is poor and the writing is worse.

    Some of the lines in NTTD are awful in conception and worse in execution

    The "Tanner relax" line is also pretty cringe, together with "HERE" the only one in the movie tho.
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,731
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    AceHole wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...

    Yeah, it's so bad. A shame, because his performance was good enough.
  • Posts: 2,171
    Dalton: You were just in time, things were about to get nastehy.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 16,605
    AceHole wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...

    A bit like his, I'm sure, totally natural and not affected at all accent here ;)

  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    I love Ireland and the Irish accent, but he just let it slip for no reason.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231
    mtm wrote: »
    AceHole wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...

    A bit like his, I'm sure, totally natural and not affected at all accent here ;)


    There's a documentary on the legend of Robin Hood from the 80s that he narrated and it is truly a wondrous thing.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    mtm wrote: »
    AceHole wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...

    A bit like his, I'm sure, totally natural and not affected at all accent here ;)


    There's a documentary on the legend of Robin Hood from the 80s that he narrated and it is truly a wondrous thing.

    Slaìnte ;-)
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    AceHole wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...

    A bit like his, I'm sure, totally natural and not affected at all accent here ;)


    There's a documentary on the legend of Robin Hood from the 80s that he narrated and it is truly a wondrous thing.

    Slaìnte ;-)

    Go dte tú slán!
  • DavidWebbDavidWebb Somewhere
    Posts: 20
    The armor bit from CR always gets me to raise an eyebrow or chuckle a little bit. Either way, definitely one of the worst lines I've heard come out of Craig's mouth.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    DavidWebb wrote: »
    The armor bit from CR always gets me to raise an eyebrow or chuckle a little bit. Either way, definitely one of the worst lines I've heard come out of Craig's mouth.

    It's not the best line of the film, but Craig's delivery makes it ok imho.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 16,605
    mtm wrote: »
    AceHole wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    A couple of duffers from Craig 🤣

    OF COURSE! Mr White (rolls eyes)

    Madeleine, how did they know I was HERRRE?


    The worst lines Bond has ever spoken are imho SO I'M GOING AFTAH HIM and This never happened to the other fella.

    Craig's worst is the HERRE line.

    +1 yes.
    Also Pierce often had his Irish brogue come through at rather unfortunate key moments, which often took me out of the suspension of disbelief...

    A bit like his, I'm sure, totally natural and not affected at all accent here ;)


    There's a documentary on the legend of Robin Hood from the 80s that he narrated and it is truly a wondrous thing.

    Yes it's absolutely hilarious. It's actually from the 90s to tie in with Prince of Thieves, but you wouldn't know it from Pierce's chosen look in it! :D
  • DavidWebbDavidWebb Somewhere
    Posts: 20
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    DavidWebb wrote: »
    The armor bit from CR always gets me to raise an eyebrow or chuckle a little bit. Either way, definitely one of the worst lines I've heard come out of Craig's mouth.

    It's not the best line of the film, but Craig's delivery makes it ok imho.

    What's the worst of CR, in your opinion, then?
  • Posts: 12,521
    I haven't had the time to think through all of them yet, but I think my least favorite from Craig has to be "that all sounds lovely" from SP when talking to C. I hate that.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    DavidWebb wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    DavidWebb wrote: »
    The armor bit from CR always gets me to raise an eyebrow or chuckle a little bit. Either way, definitely one of the worst lines I've heard come out of Craig's mouth.

    It's not the best line of the film, but Craig's delivery makes it ok imho.

    What's the worst of CR, in your opinion, then?

    Hmm...

    That might actually be the worst written line, but again, his delivery makes up for it.

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,605
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I haven't had the time to think through all of them yet, but I think my least favorite from Craig has to be "that all sounds lovely" from SP when talking to C. I hate that.

    Oh really? I like that one! :)
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited November 2021 Posts: 13,999
    Connery
    Best: "That's a Smith & Wesson, and you've had your six."
    Worst: "Now?"

    Lazenby
    Best: "Gate crasher, i'll leave you to tidy up."
    Worst: "Just keep my mind on your driving!"

    Moore
    Best: "That's for 009."
    Worst: "That's not the soap."

    Dalton
    Best: "Salt Corrosion"
    Worst: Ok, so I know I am bending the rules, as they aren't line deliveries, but but I have to pick the odd sideways glances that Dalton does after delivering some of the one liners.

    Brosnan
    Best: "Your not retiring anytime soon..... are you?" < One of, it not the, most sincerely (delivered) lines in the series
    Worst: Put your back into it.

    Craig
    Best: "I won't be long."
    Worst: "Oh no."
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