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Which Bond is the smartest?
Which one?
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You took the words right out of my mouth. The main deficit of OHMSS for me is George Lazenby constantly looking as thick as a brick (the German expression famously translating as "dumb as a bean straw"), never even giving the slightest impression he was even smart enough to pass the entry test for SAS, not to mention MI6. I just don't "buy" him as a sophisticated secret agent, and never have. His facial expressions range from A to...uh, B. I don't know how Connery (after 6 years) would have played the role, but Lazenby was clearly not up to it for the reason mentioned. This is indeed the main factor that keeps OHMSS from competing for the title of Best Bond Movie Ever. And it is indeed one of the marvels of the franchise that OHMSS still turned out such a great movie in spite of him.
Smartest? As a pure guess, the Craig or Dalton Bond. Maybe Rog on a different level, maybe Sean. But certainly not George.
Check NTTD again. He sure was taken in a lot by those bad bastards, a few times.
Moore was the smartest screen Bond.
Connery may be second, he can also do some serious spying as well as investigating, he only failed in Goldfinger where he's not given anything to do.
Dalton is third, he's calculated.
Craig, I put him in here, 4th place, he's convincing as an operative in both CR and QoS, but his last three Bond films where he's no longer convincing in such field, villains knew him completely, he also reduced to an action man like Brosnan.
Brosnan was more of an action man than a thinker or a brain man, though in Goldeneye, he could still think of tactics like the way he and Natalya could get out or escape, so that would put him ahead of Moore, at least, but I've never saw Brosnan's Bond used brains in doing his missions, he's mostly kiss kiss bang bang.
Then Moore in last, he's witty in lines, but in terms of professional intelligence, he did some sort of failed 😅, think of his failed Scaramanga impersonation, or when Zorin instantly recognized him, and he always gets knocked, Moore is probably the least believable in doing spy things really 😅.
Brosnan's Bond would have never took Saffin's word that he was infected, and would have escaped that island,
As would Moore, but on a jet-ski.
The biggest dumb ass Bond? Sadly Craig. He gets M killed, himself killed, and Felix killed. Well he didn't really get Felix killed, but I'll blame him anyway. That whole situation could've been handled better.
:D
Yeah, I could see that. Bond escaping danger really thrills. It's very reassuring and makes the everyday man live in hope.
* Then the next film had him fooled by Hai Fat, when he had made such dumb decision that just putting a third nipple would easily make him Scaramanga, even if their faces are different.
* He's not that good in anticipation of things.
* He's not even aware that there were some baddies watching at him in Beirut, he's unaware, while he's making out with Saida, instead of doing a real spy thing by secretly observing the area (looking) for some suspicious people, he'd just went there feeling like an ordinary customer, careless and unaware, and again, smitten by Saida and the bullet attached to her stomach.
* Then the fact that he brought the real Fabergè egg when he went to a date with Magda, Magda easily fooled him, she seduced him and won against him when she sneaked her hands to his dinner jacket pocket to get the Fabergè egg, and because he's so clumsy that he forgot that he had left the Fabergè egg in there because he's happy making love with Magda, until he'd slept.
* He's even fooled by Zorin, Zorin already knew who he was, but Bond still not aware of it?
* And the fact that he's super reliant on gadgets killed any believability for me.
* And the fact that he's knocked out many times because he's being smitten by a woman, think of when Anya knocked him out using a fake cigar powder, and when Gobinda knocked him out because of him being smitten by Magda, or even when he's knocked out by Nick Nack, a man who's hundred times smaller than him, like really? 😅
I had said this before, and I will say it again, Moore's Bond is the least believable spy.
He's not just that believable.
If he's not believable in action scenes, then what more in doing some sort of intelligence?
He's the type of Bond that could be easily fooled and manipulated.
He just comes off to me as a Pretty boy superhero.
Moore Bond's weakness is a woman, just give him a beautiful and sexy woman, and he's already weak.
I've enjoyed watching his films, but in the (serious) espionage concept of things, man, is he probably one of the worst spies? 😅
He's fun and I don't take him seriously, he's just fun, that's all, you can watch his Bond films with your brain turned off.
You can't be too hard on the Moore Bond. The technology was a bit more primitive in those days:
I find it kind of funny how Bond is often recognised throughout the 70s and 80s films to the extent where his basic information is on file, as per this scene. Fast forward to 2012 and this essentially the nightmare scenario that Silva's releasing of the MI6 list resulted in in SF.
Anyway, back on topic, I don't think this necessarily means Moore's Bond lacked intelligence in this or TMWTGG. I'd argue he outwits Zorin at pretty much every step until he had to whip out the deus ex machina computer. Just seems that MI6 in those days seemed to lack a sufficient level of security.
But Moore's Bond had lack of urgency, I mean he's not aware that those Bad Guys sometimes outwitted him.
He's careless, I'm not taking Moore's Bond seriously as the others, he's just fun, but other than that, if one may think deeply into how he functioned as a spy or an operative, he's kinda lame and to the lesser extent, not that all believable.
His weakness was even more possible once he's smitten by a woman, once his charm gets in the way, his incompetence as a spy shows.
He's fun, that's why I'm seeing him more as a charismatic action hero more than as a spy or an operative.
He just wasn't convincing in that serious espionage aspect.
His Bond was just meant for fun and entertainment, or sometimes comic relief.
One thing I love about all the Bond's is despite being highly intelligent and calculating, they're all still impulsive, which is an element of the character that separates him from the rest
I think all of the Bonds make stupid decisions when you actually sit down and think about it. Most of it to do with women.
I mean, take Connery's Bond when he first uncovers Goldfinger's gambling scheme in Miami. Did Bond really think he'd get away without any sort of consequence? Not only did he get into Goldfinger's suite - a rich and powerful man - in the most brazen and stupid way (the reason Goldfinger probably knew how to find him is because the maid most likely told someone Bond had barged into that room), but he decided to have sex with Jill (Goldfinger's assistant, presumably known to the staff) in that same hotel.
Bond deciding to have sex with Fiona Volpe in TB is pretty stupid as well. He seemed to have his suspicions about her and yet he essentially walks into a trap with Largo's men getting the upper hand and nearly killing him.
Like I said, Craig's Bond had a tendency to go into situations on impulse. On paper the idea of luring Silva - who has a small army of armed men - to his house to take them on alone is daft. And indeed it results in M's death.
I'd also argue it's part of the appeal of Bond as a character. He's not a Jack Reacher or even Sherlock Holmes type character who is always one step ahead. Often Bond gets himself into situations - indeed, usually based on impulse or a weakness for women - and has to use his wits to escape them.
Yes, the other Bonds might do that, but at least in certain situations there's a sense in their actions where one may believe them as a spy, like being calculated, investigating things, able to counter problems in an intelligent way of thinking, they have tactics, they used to infiltrate something, they don't seemed to act a bit like incompetent towards the audience, they tend to act professionals, they can be taken seriously, and they act without getting noticed by the bad guys sometimes.
With Moore, I just sort of laughed and laughed (which is not a bad thing), he's not the sort of spy that I would have taken seriously, he's just meant to be fun and entertaining, that's all.
* I mean I cannot imagine Moore doing some spying like using a hair strand for example in Dr. No and From Russia With Love, or putting a device inside of his shoe sole.
* I can't also imagine him putting a ruler in a closed door frame while measuring it when he's in his room in OHMSS or heck even the Gumbold scenes.
* I can't also see him in the Goldeneye scene when he's in the interrogation room with Natalya, I mean that whole scene when both of them are detained.
* Or even in Casino Royale when he's talking to another MI6 operative in Madagascar via earpieces.
I just couldn't imagine Moore's Bond doing those.
I liked Moore's Bond as much as the other Bonds, I liked them all, but when it comes to the smartest (in a professional way), he's got to be my least.
I liked Moore's Bond in the way that he's fun and entertaining, I can watch his Bond in all types of mood, he's very enjoyable to watch, but that's it, I just don't take him seriously as the other Bonds.
Or doing a three sixty barrel roll in a car?
Or Skiing off a cliff and opening a parachute?
Or defusing a nuclear warhead, so calmly?
Or shooting an assassin up a tree?
Or using his boot laces to climb a rope?
Or disguising himself as a clown to gain entry to a circus to stop an atomic bomb from exploding?
Or using the air from the tyres of a submerged car to stay alive underwater, because the oh so smart bad guys are still watching?
And those are just some of the smart ways Sir Roger Moore Bond outsmarted his opponents.
I'd argue Moore's Bond behaves in a way that's in-keeping with the behaviour and precedent of Bond as a character (both the early film versions and the Fleming novels).
Take the TMWTGG example. For Bond it's a calculated risk to go further with his investigation, regardless of outcome. Ok, perhaps it was a reckless thing to do pretending to be Scaramanaga only using a fake nipple. But in another sense there was a logic. As far as Bond knew Scaramanga never showed his face to any of his employers. Why would this one be any different? Plot reasons of course, but nonetheless it's a pitfall I can easily imagine Fleming's Bond getting into. And indeed, despite getting captured he escaped. Actually having read stories of spies during WW2 and the Cold War I can also imagine real life spies falling into a similar sort of trap.
Well keep in mind, Connery's Bond saw that the hair strand was missing and seemed to do very little apart from opening a new bottle of vodka for fear it might have been poisoned (logically I'd have moved hotel rooms by that point for fear of being compromised). The device in the shoe is more of a Q-Branch thing, but Bond does use it for a second hand purpose of contacting Leiter (which incidentally fails).
I'd argue Moore's Bond showed similar ingenuity in LALD when he managed to escape the lake using the crocodiles (when his watch failed). Heck, he even adapted said watch as a hacksaw in order to escape which shows a similar level of intelligence, plot contrivance as it is.
Moore's Bond did stuff like using the lamp/the electricity against Jaws during the train fight in TWSLM. He was able to use the mundane stuff available to him to get out of situations.
I do agree that by MR it was a thing where the gadgets seemed to provide an all too implausible convenience without even being sign posted first (the inflatable Gondola and his watch bomb are examples of this). But you can also see these sorts of gadget related contrivances that come from nowhere in many Bond films. The TLD chase with the Aston's gadgets is an example.
Do you mean Bond deducing who Natalya was/her connection to the Goldeneye? Moore's Bond had his share of deducing those sorts of plot details (him working out Holly is CIA in MR being one).
It's also worth noting that Brosnan's Bond acts pretty childishly, certainly arrogantly, towards the Defence Minister. Not the smartest thing to do to try and annoy someone who presumably thinks you're the enemy. Hell, it's only because of Natalya that the guy even comes around to the idea of Bond's innocence. That's not a criticism of the writing in that film by the way. It's how Fleming's Bond acted at certain points when captured by enemies too.
Craig's Bond seemed to know what he was doing (and yes, the chase only happens because the other guy bungled it with the earpieces) but the idea was that Bond was the underdog in that chase, and had to find ways of keeping up with the experienced parkour expert. Not sure I see anything where Moore's Bond was outright incompetent, and he had his share of fights where he was clearly the underdog and had to get the upper hand.
I don't think Bond should be one step ahead of everyone in these films/novels. Again, it's why he's so much more interesting than a Jack Reacher type (to my mind one of the most boring characters of all time) who is always the smartest person in the room and able to inexplicably pre-plan for every scenario. Often it takes Bond time to work stuff out, he is usually the underdog in fights/chases, and because of his vices and impulses he'll often walk into traps. Hell, often times he'll even know it's a trap. The fun part is seeing him use his wits to get out of these situations.
It's there in the Fleming novels too where Bond makes some pretty daft decisions. Take GF when he's at the titular character's house - Goldfinger makes up a clearly implausible excuse to step out and even gives him a weirdly specific time frame. He turns on the lights to the point where it's inconceivably bright. Of course Bond is being filmed. But Bond decides to snoop around anyway taking that risk, and indeed finds one of the cameras in a closet. He gained nothing from this snooping, Goldfinger seems just as suspicious of him as he was before, and Bond has to figure out a way of simply keeping that pretence of innocence (if I remember correctly by throwing a cat at the camera and spoiling the film).
I could go on, but I would argue Bond isn't smart, but is cunning when it comes to how he uses his brain!
(taken from a hilarious IMDB user comment)
This movie is somewhat watchable if you manage to convince yourself that the hero is Ronald Bond, brother of the more famous and successful James Bond. Ronald of course, unlike his brother, is not the suave charmer and rascal type, but has more of a polish wrestler look and demeanor. This makes for some light comedy when Ronald is shown to be one of the few men that can't look smart and elegant wearing a suit, which incidentally only make him look more silly and distinctly out of place. Ronald also has to rely on fools luck more than skill and intelligence to save his ill conceived ways of handling things. At the start of the movie for instance, he manages to raze two entire blocks of houses whilst trying to perform the simple task of taking out a bad guy with a snipers rifle. Not only that, but he also manages to miss the intended target.
He then proceeds to chase said villain into a helicopter that takes off and flies around over a huge crowd of people. Unlike his brother James, who would simply have disposed of the bad guy and then asked the pilot to land at some convenient location, Ronald finds it a good idea to also try and take out the pilot at the same time although should he succeed, the heli would undoubtedly crash into the crowd. Fools luck saves him this time though.
We get another show of his ineptness later on when he escapes out of a window. Since the bad guys chasing him would have no option but to follow him the same route, his brother would undoubtedly just turned around, wait for them to exit and them pick them off one by one with his Beretta. Ronald here of course just continues running and tries to speed off in his car resulting in a car chase. Fortunately someone must have called in a bomb threat because the city, Rome, is almost completely devoid of people. I know this, because I have been in Rome, and there's people and cars everywhere.
Later on when a woman he has, like only an idiot can, fallen in love with at first site gets kidnapped by bad guys he proceeds to go after them in an aeroplane. His brother would of course just kept his distance, landed close to where the kidnappers cars stopped, and then snuck over to take care of business. Not so Ronald, he proceeds to attack them with the plane itself, seemingly without a plan. After failing miserably, as predicted, the plane crashes through a wood. Sheer luck however, not skill, eventually makes it so that he ends up at the same place as the baddies, most of them disposing of themselves in a crash, and thus lets him save the girl.
Ronalds plan for the end game has to be seen to be believed. After finding out somehow where the bad guy has his bad guy compound, Ronalds plan is simple; even though the villain knows his name, what he looks like and who he is, he will just go there, waltz right in, hope to be taken to the villain, tell him that he has come to kill him, and then do so. That's it, that's the whole plan. For some reason bringing a girl along also seems like a good idea.
The villain first does the obvious to thwart this "plan": send someone to dispose of this idiot en route. When this fails (on a train, incidentally also most likely bomb threatened, because like Rome before it, it's empty) this villain changes his mind for some reason, and instead of shooting the fool right in the face on sight when he arrives, proceeds to house him, give him a guided tour of his lair and then hit him over the head and torture him for a while whilst revealing some back story so ridiculous it must have had the writers rolling on the floor with laughter. One can't help wonder what Ronalds contingency plan was throughout all this.
The plot on it's whole is incomprehensible and stupid, apparently all the intelligence agencies in the world are about to pool into one giant data base that NONE of all the experts that thus must have been involved, with all their vast resources, have managed to find out is controlled by the bad guy. Incidentally, on the plus side, the bad guy also turns out to be an idiot who makes it only through luck. (watch how he miraculously survives not only the explosion of a hand grenade type watch (don't ask) thrown at him, but also the explosion of his whole bad guy hideout. (no explanation is of course given as to how he managed this) There's a fun sequence near the end that can only work if we assume that said bad guy spent some time printing out Ronald Bonds passport photo, as well as those of various friends and colleagues of his, and spent what must have been a considerable amount of time walking around a building taping these up presumable to unnerve Ronald when he arrives there. He also apparently went out to buy a spray can so the could spray "Bond" and an arrow on the wall. The latter implies that his plan actually hinged on the certainty that Bond would escape from the henchmen that captured him earlier on. There is however nothing that shows that the henchmen were intended to let him go so that he could reach this target, so why anyone would bother with the printing, spraying and taping when the odds of Ronald Bond actually getting there are extremely slim, is any ones guess.
All great fun though but watching James Bonds brother clown and clumsy his way through an adventure like this makes one long for an actual James Bond movie, it has been too long!
Thus killing Madeline, his daughter, and however many millions that were programmed into the nanobots. Oops! ;)