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

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  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    I appreciate that there are fans on here who place a premium on the Fleming books. Having never read them I am in no position to judge

    There really is no comeback to that is there?

    Well, not if you're going to cut and paste out of context there isn't, no.
  • lahainelahaine
    Posts: 161
    Getafix wrote:
    There is not enough appreciation generally on here for Sean. It does partly explain why some of the young folk are so carried away with DC.

    excuse me i'm 32 and i think Craig is the best bond simply cause he's given Bond back his coolness and suave that he lost with Bronson and Moore plus Casino royale and Skyfall and even QOS rival anything Connery done. Sean deserves the praise for his First three Bond films which are classics and he's the blueprint , he deserves out the ying yang but he's not perfect he has a stinker or two in his Bond canon.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Getafix wrote:
    DC is bizarrely hailed as the Second Coming.
    I agree. He's a great actor, but merely a very good Bond IMO.

    Ever see Marnie? Connery was okay in it...
    Ever see A Fine Madness? Connery shined.
    My point is that roles close to who Connery was were what he made into gold back then. And bizarrely, Bond was in many ways, close to Connery. THAT is inspired casting- seeing the diamond in the clay. Whilst Dalton is my favourite, and I prefer Brosnan's three to many of Connery's, really, Connery was incredible at what he did, and I agree with his sentiments that he should have been in as a partner seeing how ESSENTIAL his talents were in launching & flying the franchise.
    To me, TB is pure magic mainly because of Sir Sean. Slow as it can be in spots, it's absolutely mesmerizing. I'm hard tasked to find 4 other Bond movies that can stand next to it by that reckoning.




  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    lahaine wrote:
    QOS rival anything Connery done.

    I have no response to this.
  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    For me it's a simple fact that Connery was the only Bond I knew back in 1968. Everyone gets compared to him. Dalton and Craig close behind, then Sir Roger, after that flip a coin.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    lahaine wrote:
    QOS rival anything Connery done.

    I have no response to this.

    How do you think I feel?!?!?! :O
  • EllipsisEllipsis
    Posts: 20
    Dalton12 wrote:
    Sean Connery was the original Bond and set the benchark for the Bond series. He had the elegance and charisma that Bond should have, but at the same time wasnt afraid to get his hand dirty when the need presented itself. I personally think that he had everything that Bond should have, perfectly suited to the role.Because simply, he is James Bond. When i think on bond, i think on connery. Not only he was and he is a amazing actor, he has the look, the charm, the charisma,etc to play bond perfectly. Only see his first scene in doctor no saying" bond, james bond". Man, that guy IS james bond. He was perfect and the best bond ever. Connery is a legend as an actor because he is a great actor and was an excellent Bond as well.

    Sean Connery can never be described as a great actor, he may be a great "star" but a great actor...never. He made his name as Bond and lived off of that for the rest of his career.

  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    Ellipsis wrote:
    Dalton12 wrote:
    Sean Connery was the original Bond and set the benchark for the Bond series. He had the elegance and charisma that Bond should have, but at the same time wasnt afraid to get his hand dirty when the need presented itself. I personally think that he had everything that Bond should have, perfectly suited to the role.Because simply, he is James Bond. When i think on bond, i think on connery. Not only he was and he is a amazing actor, he has the look, the charm, the charisma,etc to play bond perfectly. Only see his first scene in doctor no saying" bond, james bond". Man, that guy IS james bond. He was perfect and the best bond ever. Connery is a legend as an actor because he is a great actor and was an excellent Bond as well.

    Sean Connery can never be described as a great actor, he may be a great "star" but a great actor...never. He made his name as Bond and lived off of that for the rest of his career.

    Well, that surely explains his 1987 Oscar and all the great performances he's had over the years. It took him awhile to move past Bond, but many fans identify with other things past Bond such as his Oscar winning role and his appearances as Indiana Jones' father, just to name a few, when you ask them.

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Ellipsis wrote:
    Dalton12 wrote:
    Sean Connery was the original Bond and set the benchark for the Bond series. He had the elegance and charisma that Bond should have, but at the same time wasnt afraid to get his hand dirty when the need presented itself. I personally think that he had everything that Bond should have, perfectly suited to the role.Because simply, he is James Bond. When i think on bond, i think on connery. Not only he was and he is a amazing actor, he has the look, the charm, the charisma,etc to play bond perfectly. Only see his first scene in doctor no saying" bond, james bond". Man, that guy IS james bond. He was perfect and the best bond ever. Connery is a legend as an actor because he is a great actor and was an excellent Bond as well.

    Sean Connery can never be described as a great actor, he may be a great "star" but a great actor...never. He made his name as Bond and lived off of that for the rest of his career.

    That's a joke. Sean is brilliant in everything, not just Bond. Even if the film is horrible that he is in, he is the best thing about it and makes it a must watch just because he is in it. He improves every film he is in by 100%.
  • AliAli
    Posts: 319
    Ellipsis wrote:
    Sean Connery can never be described as a great actor, he may be a great "star" but a great actor...never. He made his name as Bond and lived off of that for the rest of his career.

    Oh, come now, his portrayal of the Egyptian/Spaniard/Scotsman in Highlander was rivalling Olivier in Hamlet.......oh wait, that was rubbish too......
  • PizzamanPizzaman
    Posts: 7
    W/out Sean Connery, there may have never been the 007 we've come to know, love & cherish these past 50yrs. He set the foundation taking a fictional, literary, character and gave him the essence, the body & the spirit. Connery breathed life into James Bond. You had to be there in the beginning to fully understand the Connery fascination. To millions he simply WAS James Bond. Often 007 was Sean's nemesis. He was grateful for the recognition, the wealth the independence & fame but got so typecast in the role he felt no one would ever take him seriously as an actor. His best outing as Bond and the closest to the book at that time was FRWL. You have to understand the frightful, shocking, reverberations felt by EON Productions and worldwide fans when Sean wanted out. Every Bond that's followed has given homage to Connery in hopes of measuring up to the standard he set. There has always been a disconnect between the literary Bond & the movie Bond. For years fans of the books have yearned and cried for a closer characterization to Ian Fleming's creation. With all due respect, Roger Moore's Bond was too pretty, too much a fop, too much a model with a droll sense of humor who never got bloodied or his hair mussed in a fight. Moore said he had to take his Bond to the extreme because he knew he could never compete with Sean's interpretation. The other Bonds have had some very good moments but Daniel Craig has taken what Connery created to the highest level. Under extreme criticism for being chosen as PB's replacement, Craig has singlehandedly brought James Bond full circle satisfying both fans of the books & the movies. For this fan I'm so glad Casino Royale took as long as it did to make because both story and hero are finally right. Skyfall kicks it up further to the highest notch.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Ellipsis wrote:
    Dalton12 wrote:
    Sean Connery was the original Bond and set the benchark for the Bond series. He had the elegance and charisma that Bond should have, but at the same time wasnt afraid to get his hand dirty when the need presented itself. I personally think that he had everything that Bond should have, perfectly suited to the role.Because simply, he is James Bond. When i think on bond, i think on connery. Not only he was and he is a amazing actor, he has the look, the charm, the charisma,etc to play bond perfectly. Only see his first scene in doctor no saying" bond, james bond". Man, that guy IS james bond. He was perfect and the best bond ever. Connery is a legend as an actor because he is a great actor and was an excellent Bond as well.

    Sean Connery can never be described as a great actor, he may be a great "star" but a great actor...never. He made his name as Bond and lived off of that for the rest of his career.

    Can't really argue with that Ellipsis.

    There's a huge difference between movie star and actor.

    I would say the only two films in which Sean inhabits the part and is not just playing Sean Connery are The Hill and The Offence.

    Dalton and Craig are far better actors than Sean but he beats them for sheer star power.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Ali wrote:
    Oh, come now, his portrayal of the Egyptian/Spaniard/Scotsman in Highlander was rivalling Olivier in Hamlet.......oh wait, that was rubbish too......
    Ramirez was one of his finest moments!! God that was great!!!
  • AliAli
    edited December 2012 Posts: 319
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ali wrote:
    Oh, come now, his portrayal of the Egyptian/Spaniard/Scotsman in Highlander was rivalling Olivier in Hamlet.......oh wait, that was rubbish too......
    Ramirez was one of his finest moments!! God that was great!!!

    So convincing as he announces, in a broad Edinburgh accent: "I am Juan Sánchez Villalobos Ramírez, Chief metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain. And I'm at your service."
    :))

    Don't get me wrong, I love that movie. Just as much as I love Sam Jones' Flash Gordon, because it's so bad it's brilliant!
  • PizzamanPizzaman
    Posts: 7
    I guess Ellipsis never saw The Hill, The Man Who Would Be King, Finding Forrester, The Untouchables, The Hunt For Red October, Medicine Man, Woman of Straw, The Molly Maguires or Marnie, just to name a few. What an ignorant, uninformed, asinine, statement!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Ali wrote:
    "I am Juan Sánchez Villalobos Ramírez, Chief metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain. And I'm at your service."

    Stop. I get chills!!! He was being awesome icing on an awesome cake. One of his best roles, along with that of Henry Jones.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Jim Malone gets top honors for his best performance outside of his Bond era.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited December 2012 Posts: 6,390
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    Ellipsis wrote:
    Dalton12 wrote:
    Sean Connery was the original Bond and set the benchark for the Bond series. He had the elegance and charisma that Bond should have, but at the same time wasnt afraid to get his hand dirty when the need presented itself. I personally think that he had everything that Bond should have, perfectly suited to the role.Because simply, he is James Bond. When i think on bond, i think on connery. Not only he was and he is a amazing actor, he has the look, the charm, the charisma,etc to play bond perfectly. Only see his first scene in doctor no saying" bond, james bond". Man, that guy IS james bond. He was perfect and the best bond ever. Connery is a legend as an actor because he is a great actor and was an excellent Bond as well.

    Sean Connery can never be described as a great actor, he may be a great "star" but a great actor...never. He made his name as Bond and lived off of that for the rest of his career.

    Well, that surely explains his 1987 Oscar and all the great performances he's had over the years. It took him awhile to move past Bond, but many fans identify with other things past Bond such as his Oscar winning role and his appearances as Indiana Jones' father, just to name a few, when you ask them.

    I see Connery's Oscar win for The Untouchables as pure snobbery--the Academy should have given him an Oscar for Bond (his defining role, and perhaps the defining character of the '60s) but they'd never award a Bond movie with an acting Oscar.
  • GetafixGetafix
    edited December 2012 Posts: 11,425
    Don't forget The Name of the Rose - awesome.

    Craig and definitely Dalton have never done anything outside Bond to rival Sean's non-Bond achievements. Practically every film Craig stars in (as opposed to being part of an ensemble) disappoints at the box office. As noted above, he lacks the star power. He is a decent actor and a good Bond, but I find myself coughing into my cerials every time I read how Craig has now superceded Connery as the best. Hilarious. Not quite as funny as when they were saying it about Brosnan, but hilarious all the same.
  • identigraphidentigraph
    Posts: 1,052
    People say that Connery is the same in everything and that may well be true but he is superb at playing Sean Connery and has improved countless mediocre films with his presence, for all the talk of DC being a great actor, I so far haven't seen a great deal of variation in his performances outside of Bond.
  • GetafixGetafix
    edited December 2012 Posts: 11,425
    identigraph wrote:
    People say that Connery is the same in everything and that may well be true but he is superb at playing Sean Connery and has improved countless mediocre films with his presence, for all the talk of DC being a great actor, I so far haven't seen a great deal of variation in his performances outside of Bond.

    Yep.

    I suppose to be fair he should be given the 13 years or whatever it was that Connery had before he did The Untouchables after DAF.

    That said, Connery was doing stuff like The Hill way back, which IMHO wipes the floor with anything Craig has done.

    If I'm entirely honest, after Connery, Brosnan is the actor I've enjoyed most outside of Bond. I hated him as 007, but he's given some entertaining performances in other stuff.

    Craig is kind of dull to watch for me. He's a bit one note. Don't get me wrong, he's not bad, just not as amazing as people make out.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited December 2012 Posts: 11,189
    Getafix wrote:
    identigraph wrote:
    People say that Connery is the same in everything and that may well be true but he is superb at playing Sean Connery and has improved countless mediocre films with his presence, for all the talk of DC being a great actor, I so far haven't seen a great deal of variation in his performances outside of Bond.

    Yep.

    I suppose to be fair he should be given the 13 years or whatever it was that Connery had before he did The Untouchables after DAF.

    That said, Connery was doing stuff like The Hill way back, which IMHO wipes the floor with anything Craig has done.

    If I'm entirely honest, after Connery, Brosnan is the actor I've enjoyed most outside of Bond. I hated him as 007, but he's given some entertaining performances in other stuff.

    Craig is kind of dull to watch for me. He's a bit one note. Don't get me wrong, he's not bad, just not as amazing as people make out.

    Connery, Craig and Brosnan have all worked with distinguished film directors away from Bond. Connery with Hitchcock, John Huston and Brian De Palma, Craig with David Fincher and Brosnan with Roman Polanski

    Sadly it seems that Dalton has not judging by his imdb page.

    I've actually just read on Wikipedia that Dalts was going to appear in Polanski's film Pirates but was replaced because the two didn't get on - interesting!
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Untouchables, Red October, Indy 3, The Rock - all basically him playing Sean Connery.

    The only films where I really feel he was embodying the part were The Hill, The Offence and The Name of the Rose.

    I largely think his good but nothing special by his standards performance in The Untouchables was rewarded with an Oscar because they realised they should've given it him for Name Of The Rose. If Untouchables was Oscar worthy then so are Red October, Indy and the Rock as all four are just prime examples of him playing Sean Connery.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited December 2012 Posts: 11,189
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Untouchables, Red October, Indy 3, The Rock - all basically him playing Sean Connery.

    Yep :p


    I must admit sometimes even as Bond I thought "ooo, Sean Connery"
  • actonsteveactonsteve
    Posts: 1,492
    BAIN123 wrote:
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Untouchables, Red October, Indy 3, The Rock - all basically him playing Sean Connery.

    Yep :p


    I must admit sometimes even as Bond I thought "ooo, Sean Connery"

    The RP accent so strong in DN seems to vanish forever halfway through TB.

  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    actonsteve wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Untouchables, Red October, Indy 3, The Rock - all basically him playing Sean Connery.

    Yep :p


    I must admit sometimes even as Bond I thought "ooo, Sean Connery"

    The RP accent so strong in DN seems to vanish forever halfway through TB.

    Be fair his Spanish/Irish/Russian accents are spot in though. Or there's always that other classic - hastily rewrite the character to include a clunky reference to him being from Scotland.

    I've always wondered why Sean and Michael Caine are always allowed to get away with this. If I'm paying the kind of fee they command I expect them to have a vague stab at an accent at least.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    actonsteve wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Untouchables, Red October, Indy 3, The Rock - all basically him playing Sean Connery.

    Yep :p


    I must admit sometimes even as Bond I thought "ooo, Sean Connery"

    The RP accent so strong in DN seems to vanish forever halfway through TB.

    Be fair his Spanish/Irish/Russian accents are spot in though. Or there's always that other classic - hastily rewrite the character to include a clunky reference to him being from Scotland.

    I've always wondered why Sean and Michael Caine are always allowed to get away with this. If I'm paying the kind of fee they command I expect them to have a vague stab at an accent at least.

    Yeah, accents (or lack there of) can ruin things. I love Dan to pieces, but his English accent in the Swedish set Dragon Tattoo (where he is supposed to be Swedish as well) just throws me off a bit.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited December 2012 Posts: 11,189
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    actonsteve wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    TheWizardOfIce wrote:
    The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Untouchables, Red October, Indy 3, The Rock - all basically him playing Sean Connery.

    Yep :p


    I must admit sometimes even as Bond I thought "ooo, Sean Connery"

    The RP accent so strong in DN seems to vanish forever halfway through TB.

    Be fair his Spanish/Irish/Russian accents are spot in though. Or there's always that other classic - hastily rewrite the character to include a clunky reference to him being from Scotland.

    I've always wondered why Sean and Michael Caine are always allowed to get away with this. If I'm paying the kind of fee they command I expect them to have a vague stab at an accent at least.

    Yeah, accents (or lack there of) can ruin things. I love Dan to pieces, but his English accent in the Swedish set Dragon Tattoo (where he is supposed to be Swedish as well) just throws me off a bit.


    I think Dan's American accent in Cowboys and Aliens in C&A is a bit dodgy too

    Other real accents include Dalton's occasional Coronation Street voice in LTK and Brosnan's occasional American twang.
  • bondsumbondsum
    Posts: 3,334
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    Yeah, accents (or lack there of) can ruin things. I love Dan to pieces, but his English accent in the Swedish set Dragon Tattoo (where he is supposed to be Swedish as well) just throws me off a bit.
    I'm glad someone has brought this up. If we're going to bash Connery for not changing his accent when playing a foreign national then we have to apply the same standards to Craig. Then again, if it's anything like his Polish accent in Defiance then it might be just as well he didn't attempt Swedish.

    Also, didn't Craig get a bit of flack for his accent in Munich?
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Other real accents include Dalton's occasional Corronation Street voice in LTK

    'Things were about to get nasty!' Brilliant
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