Bond..James Bond.

[SnootyEnglishman]

As a person who likes stealth and many other types of espionage and sabotage through use of gadgetry..i've enjoyed me many a Bond film.

Now over the years there have been many many actors playing the role of this classic character. Some good and some not so good. What i am asking of you is who is your favorite out of them.

But i don't want just a plain old "i like this person" type answer. I want to know exactly what about that actor playing the role drew you to liking them.

In addition to saying who you think did the best as the character i would also like to know who you think has done the worst job of playing Bond.

I'll start off by saying my favorite is Pierce Brosnan. I know it probably seems a little off kilter and that i should be saying "OMG Sean Connery is teh best LOL" but there was something about the dialogue Pierce gave out. It had a nice charm, a form of sarcastic wit that also combined some innuendo when it came to the ladies. Perhaps that's just me.

On the other side of the coin, my choice for the worst would be Daniel Craig. I've seen both of the movies he's done and to me it just seems way to "go in guns-a-blazing" and then ask questions later for my taste. Not the type of bond i'd like to see.

But enough of my incessant rambling it's time for y'all to start talking.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I liked in order

Sean Connery
Timothy Dalton/Pierce Brosnan
Roger Moore
George Lazenby
Daniel Craig

Seasn Connery is Bond to me, I has watched all of his movies twice before I even heard of Roger Moore. Pierce Brosnan was the next I saw and I have to admit that Goldeneye, despite all its flaws, remains one of my favourites of the entire series. Brosnan I've always found weirdly compelling, I don't quite know what it is about his contribution to the Bond films but I just love watching them.

I've only seen one or two of the Moore ouevre because I decided after Octopussy that the movies had unfortunately sunk deep into the 80s a few years early. They were where the series just got a bit too silly, it was almost like watching Austin Powers before they were a parody. You can tell that Austin Powers wasn't based on Bond so much as based on Roger Moore as Bond.

I've never seen On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the one and only Lazenby) but I can say without a doubt that I would enjoy it more than Daniel Craig.

As far Craig all I will say is this: If I wanted to watch Jason Bourne I'd rent the Bourne Identity, now start giving me my over the top death rays and villain's bases inside of volcanos you aggravating psychotic.

And don't tell me Craig's Bond is more like the books' Bond because he's not. I had read all (yes all, even the really unknown short stories) of the Ian Fleming's books before I even set eyes on Doctor No, the first movie I saw. Craig's Bond is a brit atempting to be Jason Bourne and getting stuck on the psycho-assassin part of the character without any further development. Bond of the books is a hard man, often cruel, but he is not psychotic, and as the narration reminds us often he doesn't like killing and feels it gets harder every time.

Spoiler

In fact by the final few books there are definite hints that Bond would have been retiring anyway if Fleming hadn't died, and the reason is that the killing and violence has gotten too much for Bond. Craig's Bond explicitly states that it gets easier to kill, Fleming's Bond says it gets harder.

 

[BonsaiK]

Roger Moore was the first Bond I saw and I thought he was the best because unlike Connery, Moore seemed to take it less seriously, and let's face it how can you take Bond seriously. Connery gave off an air like he actually believed in Bond, which to me is gross. Dalton was crappy and I haven't seen any of the Bonds after that. To me the franchise was a 60s-70s phenomenon and watching the new ones just doesn't feel right somehow.

I've never seen On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the one and only Lazenby) but I can say without a doubt that I would enjoy it more than Daniel Craig.

Don't be so sure. I haven't seen Craig but Lazenby is horrible as Bond. However, that film he's in is one of the best Bonds, maybe even the best one of them all, so it's worth a look regardless.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

My favorite Bond is undoubtedly Sean Connery. He's just so natural as the character. If someone described James Bond to you without you knowing who that is, Sean Connery is the guy you'd imagine

However, I'm not going to lie, the guy who is permanently associated with James Bond in my mind is Roger Moore. Yeah, he's pretty bland, but he's also really awesome. He's much, much more likeable than Connery's Bond, the movies are much less serious and they win from that in my opinion.

So, yeah, the best one is Moore.

 

[Knusper]

My favourite is a tie between Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery. I like Pierce because he looks like my dad and has brilliant charm. I like Sean Connery because he is so classy and well suited to that sort of character.

My least favourite is Daniel Craig because he just isn't like the others, is a bit too brutal and not really a gentleman that we might expect of Bond. He's just not really how you'd imagine James Bond.

 

[Kermi]

I'd say mine in order go Connery, Brosnan, Craig, Moore and Dalton. I've never seen the movie Lazenby was in.

I'm also not really a bond fan, I just tend to catch movies from time to time.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Roger Moore was the first Bond I saw and I thought he was the best because unlike Connery, Moore seemed to take it less seriously, and let's face it how can you take Bond seriously. Connery gave off an air like he actually believed in Bond, which to me is gross. Dalton was crappy and I haven't seen any of the Bonds after that. To me the franchise was a 60s-70s phenomenon and watching the new ones just doesn't feel right somehow.

I think that's because playing that type of character just came so natural at him, hence why he's my personal favourite. I never got the idea that he took it seriously, just that he found it damn easy to play him.

It's also why Pierce Brosnan is a close second as he too gave me that feeling, that the character really fitted him. He felt like Connery, but an updated, fresh version.

As for Roger Moore...well:

I mean, there's over-the-top suaveness and silliness, and there's...that. Cracked.com summed Moore up nicely for me:

Also, apparently someone thought being the embodiment of every male fantasy wasn't enough anymore, so during the 70s Bond got with the times (and dare we say, downright funky) with blaxplotation, Smokey and the Bandit-esque antics and even a trip to outer space in honor of Star Wars tossed in. Add to this the generally goofy, self-deprecating tone of most Moore-era Bond movies and you had a series that felt as if it was ashamed to be itself even though, ironically, their desperate attempts to make Bond something he wasn't produced many of the series most embarrassing moments.

Still liked them though.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Well I grew up with Pierce Brosnan so I'll always have a soft spot for his films; even Die Another Day. But despite growing up with Brosnan's slick style, smooth one-liners and perfectly styled hair I realised from an early age that there's only one true Bond: Sean Connery.

I don't remember where exactly I heard this, but it certainly sums up why Sean Connery is the perfect Bond: he walks like a panther. There's just something about the way in which he walks; whether he's striding confidently into Miss Moneypenny's office, cautiously into his empty hotel suite, or stealthily into the enemies secret base.

As for the worst? You could argue that Roger Moore turned Bond into a completely different character; but he brought something to Bond that I find perversely enjoyable. Ridiculous innuendos and woman-beating aside, Roger Moore is actually one of my favourite Bonds. I've never really liked Timothy Dalton as Bond, though I'm not exactly sure why. I just get the impression, when I'm watching his films, that he's doing everything he can to forget that he's in a Bond film. That isn't my sole reason for disliking him but it's part of it.

Now I'm going to be honest, I haven't seen On Her Majesty's Secret Service all the way through, so I can't really fairly judge George Lazenby as Bond. I think he had the hardest job though - preceding Sean Connery. I do seem to just brand him as 'the guy that only did it once.'

Now then - Daniel Craig. The internet seems to be the place to give your opinion on this controversial man. I like him - I really do. Whether you're a fan of Craig's style or not, Casino Royale was the best Bond films since Goldeneye. And if you overlook Goldeneye and look further back, Casino Royale is the best film since... A View to a Kill? You could even go further back; The Spy Who Loved Me? I can understand why people might not like Quantum of Solace because I think it's a film that gets better after you've seen it a few times. What I like most about Daniel Craig is that he's proud of the films he's in and wont settle for a mediocre film. I'm certain he wont agree to do another one unless it's up to his high standards. This is why I think the Bond series is in fairly safe hands.

I find it hard to rank them in a list because I like all the Bonds for different reasons. But here goes:

Sean Connery
Pierce Brosnan / Daniel Craig
Roger Moore
George Lazenby / Timothy Dalton

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Top three:

Connery
Craig
Brosnan

Sean Connery is just Bond. He is.

I prefer Daniel Craig over Peirce Brosnan because Pierce Brosnan was too slick (like a good version of Roger Moore), and would crack one-liners in the middle of a firefight. Craig can turn off the suave when he needs to, but also can be very smooth when he's in a casino or whatever. he has the same walk about him as Sean Connery did too.

 

[Sephychu]

Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig for me.
Not sure what it is about Craig, but I think he brings a much more gritty realism and believability to the role than previous bonds.
Dalton is brilliantly suave and a wonderful actor.

 

[Marter]

I'm probably going to be in the minority, but I liked Craig the best. His films were the most entertaining for me, at least, out of the ones I've seen. (Admittedly not that many)

 

[Edorf]

While I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, and it has been quite some times since I last saw a Bond film (must've been atleast 5 years since I saw some of the older ones!) I must say that this is how I'd rate them:

1. Connery/Brosnan: Connery has such style, and pretty much defined the character. Brosnan was the first James Bond I ever saw, and I think he delivers the role with such an awesome style

2. Craig: I really enjoy the movies, but I dont feel he's quite as "James Bond" as Connery and Brosnan, Craig is more of a monkey in a suit than a agent.

3. Moore: I... I... I just really dont like his face, or his way of acting

4. Dalton/Lazenby: Please...

 

[Geekosaurus]

Pierce Brosnan was too slick (like a good version of Roger Moore)

You know, I'd never thought about it like that; but you're absolutely right! He is actually a less camp, more suave, less woman beating version of Roger Moore.

2. Craig: I really enjoy the movies, but I dont feel he's quite as "James Bond" as Connery and Brosnan, Craig is more of a monkey in a suit than a agent.

This is something I'd really like to see more of in the next Bond film; more of a feeling that he's a spy. That being said, I don't think spying is completely absent in the Craig films; it's there, but there are only glimpses.