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2. Craig
3. Connery
4. Lazenby
5. Brosnan
6. Moore
2) Moore
Three thru five are all interchangeable
3) Lazenby
4) Dalton
5) Craig
6) Brosnan
1) Connery
2) Craig
3) Moore
4) Dalton
5) Brosnan
6) Lazenby
As far as my personal list goes...
1) Moore
2) Connery
3) Craig
4) Brosnan
5) Dalton
6) Lazenby
1.Sean Connery 328 p
2.Daniel Craig 248 p
3.Timothy Dalton 213 p
4.Roger Moore 118 p
5.Pierce Brosnan 84 p
6.George Lazenby 15 p
Personally I would have swapped George and Pierce, but some of you will be happy to see that you are in the majority with your ranking, others not so much.
Overall (strength of movies combined with all other factors):
1. Dalton
2. Connery
3. Craig
4. Brosnan
5. Moore
Portrayal (how the character is approached and acted):
1. Dalton
2. Craig
3. Connery DN-TB
4.Brosnan
5. Connery YOLT/DAF
6. Moore
Douchiness (an often overlooked but IMO important characteristic of Bond)
1. Connery
2. Craig
3. Brosnan
4. Dalton
5. Moore
Action (Including Lazenby)
1. Craig
2. Lazenby
3. Dalton
4T. Brosnan/Connery
6. Moore
Swagger:
1. Brosnan
2. Connery
3. Craig
4. Moore
5. Dalton
Sex Appeal:
1. Connery
2. Brosnan
3. Craig
4. Moore LALD-TSWLM
5. Dalton
6. Moore MR-AVTAK
Acting Credentials (strength outside Bond):
1. Connery
2. Dalton
3. Craig
4. Moore
5. Brosnan
6. Lazenby
Dalton
Connery
Craig
Moore
Brosnan
Lazenby
Portrayal
Dalton
Connery
Craig
Moore
Lazenby
Brosnan
Action
Craig
Moore
Brosnan
Connery
Dalton
Lazenby
Swagger
Brosnan
Craig
Moore
Connery
Lazenby
Dalton
Appeal
Connery
Dalton
Moore
Craig
Lazenby
Brosnan
Acting credentials
Dalton
Connery
Moore
Brosnan
Craig
Lazenby
2. Craig
3. Dalton
4. Connery
5. Moore
6. Lazenby
I actually saw Connery ranked worst one time. Only one time, ever.
perhaps they had only seen DAF and NSNA.
One has to wonder. Maybe it was his wife?
2. Sean Connery
3. Roger Moore
4. Timothy Dalton
5. Pierce Brosnan
6. George Lazenby
1. Moore
2. Connery
3. Brosnan
4. Craig
5. Lazenby
6. Dalton
So what’s wrong with it? George Lazenby, but not for the reasons you might think. I actually like him—a lot—and think he could have made a terrific Bond had he continued (allegedly he decided before the shoot was over he would only play the part once). What seems obvious to me, though, is no one was helping him during the shoot or the edit (they won’t even let him finish a fucking sentence onscreen). It feels like everyone was so focused on what he wasn’t (Sean Connery) that they didn’t take the time to figure out what he was (a cool-looking dude with genuine presence and great physicality). For instance, they should have known that a lot of the one-liners that would have worked with Connery don’t work with Lazenby. This isn’t because he’s bad, it’s because his entire affect is different, less glib. This, to me, is a lack of sensitivity and understanding on the part of the filmmakers and not a shortcoming of the lead actor, because Lazenby has one thing you can’t fake, which is a certain kind of gravitas. Despite this, there is no attempt to bring it out or amplify it, which is a huge missed opportunity. Also, Lazenby has a vulnerability that Connery never had—there are scenes in which he looks legitimately terrified and others in which he convinces us that he is in love with Tracy (particularly in the final scene), which brings us to another reason OHMSS is so distinctive—it’s the only Bond film with a female character that isn’t a cartoon, and the only film in which Bond is so completely frustrated with his bosses he wants and tries to quit. In fact, everything about the film suggests a reboot before the idea of rebooting was even in the air, much less fashionable (especially the ending, which you could never get away with today).
So are you Italian? Go ahead and post it. Not off topic here.
Barely edging out the original for me is the current Bond - Mr. Craig. Fans were initially outraged to hear Craig was cast, mostly because of the way he looks (ex: blonde hair); Craig silenced most of his critics, delivering a spectacular performance as 007 in 2006's Casino Royale. So far he's also done Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, and was terrific in both. The most hard-edged and serious, if I ever imagined the most realistic Bond, it would be Craig's. In my opinion, actually, CR was his best performance, followed swiftly by SF and finally QoS (still the best part of all 3 films). Craig is perfect as the modern Bond, and I expect more great things from him in Bond 24 and 25.
#002. Sean Connery
If I could cheat, I'd say #1 and #2 are tied; Craig may overall be my favorite, but Connery is the most well-rounded Bond; he's good-looking, suave, lethal, charming, cunning, and smart all in one package. Though he didn't seem as excited to play Bond in YOLT and DAF, you couldn't ask for better in his first four films. Connery is legendary as the first man to play 007, and has rightfully been picked as the favorite/best Bond among many fans.
#003. George Lazenby
My most controversial placing pins the one-hit-wonder George Lazenby high at #3. Why? Well, first of all, he handled action sequences exceptionally well. He was certainly handsome enough for the role. He had the awesome, funny quips and charm. But most importantly, he innovated in the sense that he was the most human and compassionate Bond; examples include when he's worn and scared at the village, his marriage proposal to Tracy, and the heartbreaking final scene with his wife's death. I'm not sure any other Bond actor could have pulled off those scenes as well as the under-appreciated Lazenby.
#004. Pierce Brosnan
It was hard to pick between 4 and 5; again, if I could have a tie, these two places would be. I give the advantage to the sometimes underrated Pierce Brosnan, who played Bond for four films. The issue is that 3 of his 4 films are generally regarded as some of the series' weakest films; though it may be true, it has nothing to do with Brosnan. GoldenEye, his debut Bond picture, is widely regarded as a series' classic, and he's one of the movie's biggest merits. It's just so easy to accept him as Bond, from his good work in action sequences to his funny and memorable lines. My biggest issue with Brosnan is that I felt like he didn't innovate in the role as Bond as much as he could have, likely the least different of all the actors. Overall he was a very solid Bond though.
#005. Roger Moore
I'm definitely not a Roger Moore hater, but it's no secret the Roger Moore era was not the best time of the Bond series. Actually, LALD/TMWTGG/TSWLM are my favorite films of his tenure, with the last four being some of the series' weakest in my opinion. The problem is simply that he was too silly a lot of the time, and also too old in his last couple films. He's still charming and mostly believable as Bond, just not the character Ian Fleming created.
#006. Timothy Dalton
Don't get me wrong, I also don't hate Timothy Dalton; I enjoy all the Bond actors to some extent; it's simply that I prefer the other 5. Timothy Dalton is even closer to Fleming's Bond than Moore and Brosnan, but I just feel like he came up flat a lot of the time. Also, it could just be me, but I didn't think he was that good/Bond-looking. The action scenes he did were good, but I thought he was the most wooden and dull of all 6 (don't jump on me Lazenby haters). He's still not that bad though, but always the most forgettable and dull of all 6 to me. Still a decent Bond.
Tier 1
Timothy Dalton
Dalton is Bond. As well as being a fantastic actor, who portrays the dark violent side of the character just as well as the light-hearted side (people who say he has no humour clearly haven't watched his films, or at least are judging him solely on LTK). He also looks great in the action scenes. He is what every Bond should be, and I don't think anyone will ever top him as Bond.
Tier 2
Daniel Craig and Sean Connery
These two switch places depending on which I have seen more recently. They are good for completely different reasons, but they are fantastic. Sean Connery is the actor who defined the role, and no-one can beat his portrayal of the smooth womanizing agent, whereas Craig takes his role as a blunt instrument perfectly. I can't differentiate between these two, but at the moment, Craig edges it slightly into the No. 2 spot.
Tier 3
George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan
Brosnan is definitely a better actor, but Lazenby just about does it better for me as he feels less like a cardboard cutout of a secret agent and much more human. Also it does help Lazenby that he was in one fantastic film, whereas Brosnan was in one very good, one okay, one not great and one downright awful film. All in all, Lazenby manages to take No.4 for me at the moment, but as I am due to rewatch the Brosnan films soon, that could change.
Tier 4
Roger Moore
Oh dear. What happened here. If they were trying to go for humour, I never found Moore funny. If they were trying to go for attractive/womanizing, I never found him convincing (I mean, which woman in their right mind would want to have sex with a 50+ year old Roger Moore?). He's also very wooden, although in his defence he did have some very poor material to work with. The endless quips just got boring after about five minutes, and you can pretty much play 'Spot the Stunt Double' from his third film onwards. And this is of course ignoring the most important thing - he got way, way too old. If you see what he was like in The Saint, he should have been the perfect Bond. Unfortunately, it was the exact opposite.
2.MOORE
3.CONNERY
4.BROSNAN
5.DALTON
6.LAZENBY
2. Craig
3. Dalton
4. Moore
5. Brosnan
6. Lazenby
Give us another CR or SF performance, and Danny moves into the top spot.