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But in the end, Connery and his performances, in a time of blue screens and film technology in its adolescence, can be appreciated today; he was so natural and commanding.
Rog was not my favourite Bond, but I enjoy his performances immensely because of his presence, despite the fact he started his tour of duty in '73...
Craig is a giant on the screen and makes it look effortless.
So, despite what you say, the what ifs, or the should haves, or asking us not to
compare acting from the 80s, we can only judge Dalton on his performances; he looked great (except shirtless), and had the right idea. But he was just too damn stagey and obvious in his performances. He lacked the screen charisma and presence. He was never natural, and was always "Acting" with a big A. It was a script and he "performed". And that's the problem: i can see the script through him. He was telegraphing lines and "emotions".
He was never natural, real or comfortable in the role.
A very good post.
Craig is a giant on screen?
Horses for courses. He just looks and acts like a normal bloke. Not my idea of Bond.
Where is the energy. So dull.
The more I think about it, Craig is more suited to the Bourne films. Great films. QOS is closer to Bourne and my favourite Craig..
You have given your options on Dalton and great. But I am the polar opposite. Roger Moore is better than Craig by a country mile.
Something just does not feel right about Craig.
I prefer the previous five Bonds.
Just my opinion of course.
I don't think there will be a proper critical assessment of Craig until he is replaced. That is the way of things. Only once a new actor delivers his first performance (which, as history shows, is normally amongst his best) will we be able to properly assess Craig's interpretation of Bond in the context of history. I truly believe that.
The incumbent always has certain advantages.
It's been one of the most bizarre threads I've ever read, with one man's obsession trying to drown out others with a tsunami of his personal
preferences, making rules of not comparing actors from the 80s to modern times since they're different techniques/styles (however, Willis, Gibson et al were natural actors with great screen presence that can still be enjoyed today; going back further, as stated earlier, Connery's natural and commanding presence could fit in with any film of today; Dalts just doesn't have what the aforementioned actors have; they are actors that are not dated. Dalton simply is dated since his style of acting belongs on the stage of the 1600s); making grand assumptions based on your own imagination that Babs wants to destroy Connery's legacy (?!?!?). How ludicrous! Did you see EverythingOr Nothing? Did you see how close to tears the woman was when she spoke of Connery's last conversation with an ailing Cubby?
Your opinion is indeed yours, you just don't have to tell fibs or embellish thoughts to persuade others to get on board with you.
Personally Dalton was a bust to me. One dimensional and stagey (plus he had a little boy's physique-- cmon, man-up and look the part!! Just get in a little bit of toned shape, just a little! Even Rog tried to tone up with a morning regiment and diet), and he lacked big screen presence.
You don't agree with this and that's fine. But be confident in your choices and stop the above mentioned hysteria of accusing Babs of this, or insisting if just this, or just that, and Craig is Putin, and you can't compare actors from the 80s to now... Just be done with it. Go on the Dalton appreciation thread and continue to wax poetic, you'll be happier there. After all this is a thread about controversial opinions, and, since, in your world, Dalts was the mostest and bestest Bond ever and ever, that's not such a controversial opinion, is it?
The Queens advisors made a great choice by arranging that scene. It no doubt boosted her exposure and appeal. However, your living in a dream world. She was wooden. Craig was class and charismatic as always.
+1. Although I still like Dalton and his films.
In terms of a physical "presence" though I think its fairly strong.
I remember Laz saying in an interview that Peter Hunt once told him to "stop that ridiculous swagger".
Get back to the CR/QoS way of doing things and I'll be happy. Otherwise, I'm firmly in the 'time for someone new' camp.
The swagger you speak of, I loved at the beginning;
The slowww crawl at Sciarra's funeral, not so much. However it seemed more like a visual direction, so staged and pronounced, like Mendes cued this...
It's not the actor. If anything, the reviews from Othello are telling us DC is at the top of his game; it's the ppl behind the camera failing-- too much flash to hide there was little substance (and I'm one of the few to defend SP as being the most beautiful, arty, failed experiment (I'm a lover of most of the scenes individually, minus 9 Eyes, yet see how, as a "whole", all the parts don't add up in execution).
It definitely comes down to the director to make the most of the actor's strengths and underplay any limitations.
I may seem like I'm nitpicking, but the swagger is definitely not working for me. It's quite self conscious and looks like his pants are too tight (which they may in fact be, given recent trends in his clothing). His purposeful walk of CR (in the casino) or QoS (at the Opera) are long gone it seems.
That's why I acknowledge that Dalton may not have had the directorial 'service' which he needed to shine. Glen may have still been stuck in the Moore/Brosnan days (who knows whether Glen wanted Brosnan or not)?
And, and I am making a guess here, there is a reason Dalton never had the big screen, leading man experience: film producers had seen he just wasn't that material!
However, I'm not a huge defender of Craig's charisma either. I think his screen presence comes from his intensity. When he dials that back, then he becomes less of a presence (to me at least).
Keep in mind that I am not confusing screen presence with acting ability. I think Craig is more suitable as an actor for Bond than Dalton for the reasons that have been mentioned before (namely his ability to suggest a lot in subtle ways, including via his eyes. That's something I thought Moore could do well also, although he rarely did).
Considering some of the directors Arnold and the Rock have had, they still SHINE THROUGH THE PEDESTRIAN SCRIPTS AND FILMMAKING.
Dalton never could. In fact, IMHO, what we got in TLD is probably the best we will ever get out of Dalton (on the big screen).
However (and I realize you will disagree with me on this), I don't think Craig is all that charismatic outside of Bond either. There is some validity to the argument that he had a superb supporting cast operating at the absolute top of their game in his first three outings, which elevated his performances (which were formidable, there is no question about it) and allowed him to shine on the big screen as Bond.
I found all of that lacking in SP (it's not just the poor script, music, action etc. etc. It's also the absolutely dull performances by nearly everyone - except Christensen).
Craig is, to an extent, as much of a small screen actor's actor (speaking strictly from a charisma perspective) as Dalton is. Again, I'm sure you'll disagree.
This. It looked very effortless and cool in the first two installments, but lately, it's looked incredibly forced and overdone.
Although the supporting cast was exceptional in the DC era, the man bulldozing through walls, drowning someone in the sink, facing off against a nemesis while naked and being beaten; the man who was getting drunk on his lover's namesake, and who told a hotel concierge that he was part of a group of teachers who had won the lottery; the guy getting drunk at a bar with a scorpion on his hand, or tied to a chair when his wits are put to the test; the man who murdered three assassins in cold blood and then remarked on the view, who seduced a "grieving widow" or marched a long the rooftops... This was a man that commanded my attention because he brought these scenes (and more) alive; he crackles with heat.
I would respectfully say the man has oodles of charisma.
That is when I started to have a feeling that 007 would be okay in this man's hands...
EDIT: When I saw Hiddleston in Episode 1 of The Night Manager, all I could think of was that EON need to sign him as James Bond asap. Speaking of swagger, he really had it there. I feel the same way about him now as I did about Craig after Layer Cake.
Two clips:
I think Mendes and his team failed the actor. Some of that may have come down to the knee injury and surgery, but I do believe they lost their way and made a film that was the path of least resistance.
We have an outstanding actor as Bond. We need to give him material that will give him that hunger again, that takes this role and challenges him (it's like any film script: create characters that actors WANT to play).
If they have that, DC, being the type of actor we both agree he is (and with the most recent reviews of his work ("masculine" "testosterone driven"), and we are half way there to having a great Bond adventure.
Otherwise, I say hurry up and cast Hiddleston, and let's move on.
I apologize, there's just something so inauthentic and fake about him. I can't put my finger on it; is it the pursed lips? The raised brow? I don't know. All I know is, as a package, or as Bond, I'm not buying this actor.
There is no doubt that Hiddleston is a little silkier than Craig, just as Brosnan and Moore were a little smoother than their respective predecessors. I miss that aspect of Bond, but I can appreciate others wanting the 'Hard'y route.
Just as Craig has to watch trying to act smug (he doesn't do it well), a prospective Hiddleston Bond has to watch acting too silky. The first clip above shows what he can do dramatically. The second clip (towards the end) shows the smoother side, but if he gets the part, he has to watch overdoing the Loki grin.