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

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  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    NSNA fails to improve on TB on any conceivable level that I can see.
    I totally agree, but I'll take a very bad remake over a ludicrous, not-even-as-serious-as-Flint, insult to the fans like Moonraker.

    But.... yeah, I'd watch DAD before NSNA, so there we agree. :)>-
  • chrisisall wrote:
    NSNA fails to improve on TB on any conceivable level that I can see.
    I totally agree, but I'll take a very bad remake over a ludicrous, not-even-as-serious-as-Flint, insult to the fans like Moonraker.

    But.... yeah, I'd watch DAD before NSNA, so there we agree. :)>-

    Ah, but there are some things about MR that are more positive and quite serious as well as being original. Same for DAD. They have their moments, as many or more than NSNA. Since everyone knows or should that NSNA isn't an official film, to me it's a pointless comparison past TB and we know it can't compare. Fair and more accurate comparisons would be to the other unofficial films like the first two CR's, or another copycat entry or series.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited December 2012 Posts: 17,789
    Ah, but there are some things about MR that are more positive and quite serious as well as being original.
    Sorry, but my hatred (yes, correctly chosen word) of MR goes back 33 years, and Buddha KNOWS I've given it a second chance (back in the VHS days), but aside from a really fine John Barry score, there is nothing to admire about it as a motion picture. >:P
  • edited December 2012 Posts: 3,494
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ah, but there are some things about MR that are more positive and quite serious as well as being original.
    Sorry, but my hatred (yes, correctly chosen word) of MR goes back 33 years, and Buddha KNOWS I've given it a second chance (back in the VHS days), but aside from a really fine John Barry score, there is nothing to admire about it as a motion picture. >:P

    You're preaching to the choir now, I'm firm that MR and DAD are the worst official films and I could entertain arguments for DAD being better.

    Past the Barry score, throw in gorgeous locations and cinematography, the standard characters doing their usual good job plus it being Bernie Lee's finale, the centrifuge scene, Corinne going "to the dogs", and a tense finale including Q's infamous "re-entry" line that was the perfect antidote to the seriousness of the death spewing space globe turkey shoot. NSNA was "been there, seen that, not wasting my money on this far inferior remake, nor supporting Sir Sean humiliating himself further than DAF for a buck and the benefit of McClory".

    Besides, my hatred is only reserved for unofficial films ;)

    P.S- Almost forgot Ken Adam's spectacular sets!



  • Laz was put into a Kobe Yoshi Maru (no win situation) being cast in OHMSS. After 5 incredible films as has been stated in those early years, Sean Connery was James Bond. It has always been my opinion that OHMSS was THE BEST Bond book of all. The movie is a kind of paradox because equally it's an incredible story that transfers well to the screen. Laz is dogged throughout by the ghost of Connery. Even John Barry said that while scoring the film, he couldn't get the image of Sean out of his head. Most Connery fans would've preferred he had done OHMSS and leave DAF to someone else. So although OHMSS is a superb movie, Laz as 007 is weak, especially in the shadow of Sean. The movie was enormous and engulfed Laz. My Dad however liked Laz and always felt he could have grown into the role given the chance. He actually liked Laz better. As far as movie fight scenes, I have always maintained that Connery's fight scene on the train in FRWL w/ Grant (Robert Shaw) was and still is the best.
  • Posts: 1,107
    Pizzaman wrote:
    Laz was put into a Kobe Yoshi Maru (no win situation) being cast in OHMSS. After 5 incredible films as has been stated in those early years, Sean Connery was James Bond. It has always been my opinion that OHMSS was THE BEST Bond book of all. The movie is a kind of paradox because equally it's an incredible story that transfers well to the screen. Laz is dogged throughout by the ghost of Connery. Even John Barry said that while scoring the film, he couldn't get the image of Sean out of his head. Most Connery fans would've preferred he had done OHMSS and leave DAF to someone else. So although OHMSS is a superb movie, Laz as 007 is weak, especially in the shadow of Sean. The movie was enormous and engulfed Laz. My Dad however liked Laz and always felt he could have grown into the role given the chance. He actually liked Laz better. As far as movie fight scenes, I have always maintained that Connery's fight scene on the train in FRWL w/ Grant (Robert Shaw) was and still is the best.

    Its Kobayashi Maru not Kobe Yoshi Maru :D
  • Besides, my hatred is only reserved for unofficial films ;)

    Of course if one admits to hating something, one also has generally acknowledged they've stopped thinking rationally about whatever is the target of their ire, too. ;)


  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Of course if one admits to hating something, one also has generally acknowledged they've stopped thinking rationally about whatever is the target of their ire, too. ;)
    Yes, I will acknowledge that.

  • As far as I am concerned? Yes Connery is overated. I came to Bond via Roger Moore so to me Bond is supposed to be smooth, charming and likeable. Connery as Bond was a borderline sleazy pig who just seemed to win at everything effortlessly. And while I maintain that Brosnan is my favourite Bond. I will admit that Dalton’s Bond is closest to the books. Not Connery. He just seemed to be a stand in for heterosexual males so they could live vicariously through him. He didn’t strike me as a real person.
  • In the end of course, there is no denying Connery was a great actor and made a fantastic Bond and everybody has to deal with his legacy first. But let's not forget others who followed him did a more then respectable job filling his shoes.
    Roger Moore is my favorite James Bond and I also prefer Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig over Sean Connery as well. I like all Bond actors and I would lump Sean Connery, George Lazenby (he was in my #1 Bond film OHMSS), and Timothy Dalton as being equal in terms of performance as Bond. I know it is sacrilege to say that Sean Connery is not better than any Bond but that is how I feel. That is not to say I don't like Sean Connery as James Bond because I do and in fact I think he was great in Doctor No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger and certainly deserves the credit for establishing the cinematic Bond but to me he has never been the end all be all, not him nor his movies. So yes I do feel that Sean Connery is overrated, as James Bond anyways, certainly he is the best actor of non-Bond roles of all the Bond actors and I almost like some of his non-Bond roles better such as Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or his role in the Untouchables. It does irk me when I hear people say "there will never be another Sean Connery" when referring to James Bond, not because I can't respect a difference of opinion but rather I feel that such a statement has become a self-fulfilling prophecy to many, people are told Connery is the best and thus they believe it and don't look at all the James Bond films and actors objectively as a result IMO.
  • sean connery and daniel craig are the best because they have both played bond with
    the hardest edge. connery, however, is a more charismatic actor than all of the other 'bonds'. star quality is a key element to his portrayal. you also see that in his other film roles. craig has charisma, but he is not on connery's level. sean connery's star quality is comparable to humphrey bogart and cary grant. none of the other actors are in that stratosphere. charisma is hard to define, but you know it when you see it.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Connery is the best because he bloody well is.
  • Posts: 1,548
    Connery is without doubt the best Scottish Bond there has ever been.
  • edited January 2013 Posts: 11,189
    This is why, for many people, he is their favourite Bond:



    He has a playfulness which none of the other actors matched.

    Basically he makes everything look easy.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    That whole bathroom scene with him and Fiona in TB was just so unbelievably smoothe. From the way he casually nudges the door open with his foot, his playful hello, the way he comfortably sits down abd hands over her sandals as she requests fir something to put on. He knows she's a villain and yet he couldn't careless, he taps that ass regardless....all for, "Queen and country".
  • Posts: 269
    I agree with moore44 who created the post.
    I love Connery and he definitely is James Bond. But it's not with this actor that I had the most thrills watching a Bond movie. Connery is terrific, but the Bond of an era which is gone since a long time. I wouldn't want to see this kind of Bond on the screen today, even if Connery was the age he was in 1962.

    Sean Connery IS James Bond, but I had some stronger emotions with actors which were less convincing, but did more with their character. I guess it's because Connery's Bond does not look to give a damn about anything. When he frowns, it is not so much because he's feeling something, but because the situation requires it.
    I love this smoothness, but I don't think it makes him the best Bond. Just the First Bond (on screen that is), and that already is a lot!
  • sean connery is the best because of his charisma and style. he plays bond with a hard edge that seems effortless and natural to him. yet he still has this elegance and physical grace. craig is rugged and athletic but he doesn't move on screen as gracefully as connery. it is a thoroughly masculine grace as well. like a big jungle cat on the prowl.
  • AliAli
    edited January 2013 Posts: 319
    Getafix wrote:
    Don't forget The Name of the Rose - awesome.

    Is that where he thought he was playing a Scottish secret agent amongst a cast who all knew they were playing Italian monks?

  • I can't believe there's even a question who the best Bond is. I think the true litmus test is who has become the bigger star and which Bond has had the most worldwide reaction. Has anyone really cared what DC has been doing off screen since wasting the use of three Bond films? I can only imagine that where there is the belief Connery is not the definitive Bond it must have to do with the generation gap or a lack of appreciation the full range of emotive skills an actor can bring to a part. I think every Bond in the franchise has been rated logically by every Bond aficionado...except DC. I truly cannot understand why anyone enjoys watching a Bond actor like DC carry a character in the same way a decoy duck might quack its way out of a lake, or a cardboard cut-out might waver in the wind. I have no doubt DC is a good actor in the right role. I just don't think James Bond is the right one. Maybe playing Bullitt would be more suitable.

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  • edited January 2013 Posts: 2,598
    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.

    Yes, Connery had it all. There is yet to be an actor following Connery who has been able to portray both that utterly convincing cool suaveness coupled with that raw brutality. All of the actors have displayed one or the other and had a small portion of the other at the same time but Connery pulled off both of these character traits in equal measure and had them in spades. Me thinking he is the best Bond has nothing to do with the fact that he's the original. Besides, he's not the first anyway. Barry Nelson is. ;)

    That's not to say, I don't like the other Bond actors (with the expception of Bronsan maybe), because I do, but for different reasons. They had their charms but they just don't pull it off the way that Connery did. As for Brosnan, I think he is passable in Goldeneye but I really don't like him in the other three Bond films he did.

    Connery and Dalton are my second favourite but they're still not up there with Sean Connery.

  • dominicgreenedominicgreene The Eternal QOS Defender
    Posts: 1,756
    For me, Sean Connery is objectively an amazing actor to watch play James Bond. He really owned the part, but I'd rather watch any other Bond film over any of Connery's outings, which are only worth watching to see Connery and his interactions with other people, though I can appreciate them as good movies. Maybe because I'm part of Generation Z, but I find that every other Bond was much more enjoyable to watch. Even AVTAK and DAD.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    For me, Sean Connery is objectively an amazing actor to watch play James Bond. He really owned the part, but I'd rather watch any other Bond film over any of Connery's outings, which are only worth watching to see Connery and his interactions with other people, though I can appreciate them as good movies. Maybe because I'm part of Generation Z, but I find that every other Bond was much more enjoyable to watch. Even AVTAK and DAD.

    Wow.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    I personally have Craig on a level with Connery as a performance and for pure enjoyment in the role (for the record I'm 43 and not a kid) but Connery was first and iconic and those first 4 films (even though I can't worship GF like some) he was Bond personified.

    No not much depth but suave as hell and he looked the part, although all this Craig has never topped anything Connery has done outside of Bond, I'd say that is poppy cock. No other Bond has delivered as multi layered and truly heartbreaking performance as Daniel in Our Friends In The North.

    It's still his best performance and sadly nothing as come near it, Daniel has actually somewhat underwhelmed outside of Bond, he's great in TGWTDT, as far as the accent he said he had friends from Sweden who speak in cut glass British accents so he wasn't going to risk sounding like the Swedish chef from the Muppets (his words). For evidence have look at some of the Danish, Swedish etc actors when they launch into English, Sidse Babett Knudsen for instance in Borgen speaks almost accent perfect English.

    Anyway I digress, I'm hoping once he relinquishes the role we'll get some great character acting and less of him trying to be in blockbusters or ill advised roles, he had a lucky escape from Monuments Men.

    Although as far as star power Connery is always going to win, he's a household name, he's the first Bond and is Hollywood royalty. Craig is never likely to match his stature Although as far as delivering a better performance in a Bond film, I'd say he's already done it.

    Not a better James Bond but for depth and insights into the character (I know some of you would prefer this was dropped) Craig has by far been the best, he's delivered an all round portrayal that frankly Dalton for all his Flemingness didn't. Yes he knows IF better than any other actor and also influenced Craig's 007 but at times is stiff and maybe he didn't get the material DC got, his entries aren't that great, he is without a doubt with his shortcomings though but I guess we'll never know and can speculate to the cows come home.

    Connery though is regarded as highly as he is because he's the first and left an indelible mark on the character which all other actors will be measured by it's that plain and simple but he needed to be moulded and for that we have Terence Young to thank.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Roger is my favourite, but Connery IS Bond. DC is a terrific actor, probably the best actor to inhabit the role, but no one touches these two for me.
  • ThomasCrown76ThomasCrown76 Augusta, ks
    Posts: 757
    Sean Connery and Timothy dalton and Daniel Craig have played James Bond. The rest played Jimmy bond
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I may be in agreement with you @RC7. It's difficult for me to pick between Rog & Sean. Both great in their own way...but Sean is the definitive Bond no doubt. With DC, I really respect him and his acting, but those two long serving Knights are also it for me.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Craig imo is the best actor to take on the role in general but when it comes to James Bond Connery is in a league of his own. No contest. Where the other 5 actors are acting Bond Connery is Bond...with a ridiculously effortless ease. He's that damn iconically good.
  • dominicgreenedominicgreene The Eternal QOS Defender
    edited July 2015 Posts: 1,756
    RC7 wrote: »
    For me, Sean Connery is objectively an amazing actor to watch play James Bond. He really owned the part, but I'd rather watch any other Bond film over any of Connery's outings, which are only worth watching to see Connery and his interactions with other people, though I can appreciate them as good movies. Maybe because I'm part of Generation Z, but I find that every other Bond was much more enjoyable to watch. Even AVTAK and DAD.

    Wow.

    Maybe Goldfinger. Like I said I've watched and appreciated them, simply for enjoyment I prefer other Bond films.
  • 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.

    He was in the best films, he has the most charisma, he believably is the 'hardest' (yet smooth at the same time) Bond, he is very close to Fleming's Bond. On a global basis I bet he is perceived as the best 007.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    RC7 wrote: »
    For me, Sean Connery is objectively an amazing actor to watch play James Bond. He really owned the part, but I'd rather watch any other Bond film over any of Connery's outings, which are only worth watching to see Connery and his interactions with other people, though I can appreciate them as good movies. Maybe because I'm part of Generation Z, but I find that every other Bond was much more enjoyable to watch. Even AVTAK and DAD.

    Wow.

    Maybe Goldfinger. Like I said I've watched and appreciated them, simply for enjoyment I prefer other Bond films.

    It's probably an 'age' thing. You're from a different generation and Connery's Bonds can seem dated. Having said that, watch TB again.. that's the one that does not date for me, because it's set in the Caribbean, which looks very much the same today.
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