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However, a terrific actor doesn't make for a terrific Bond necessarily. Overall, I was never too happy with his more brutish and perhaps more everyman variation on Bond. I'd like my Bond to be refined and elegant, and I found that largely missing in his portrayal.
In CR, even though a great film, he's a bit too overly arrogant at times (at least until we get to Venice), in SF he's so washed up and depressed I almost feel the same way watching him, in NTTD he's a bit more jovial but scenes like the ones where he's facing Blofeld or Safin are cringeworthy for me.
Controversially, I think his best Bond performances came in his two least-liked (not by me though) entries: QOS and SP. Love the down-to-business approach to QOS, when he chuckles when Mathis and his companion are arguing over the wine, when he refuses to stay in a bad hotel, when he wants Fields' bravery mentioned in the report, when he goes up on the roof in Mexico, when he waves to the baddie sidekicks, when he says he's "Topolino", during Madeleine's questionnaire, etc.
I really love his portrayal in these two films, and SP is for my money his most Bondian film partly also because he himself is at his most Bondian, the only one also where he's neither a rookie or a relic of the past, he's Bond in his prime in this single film, wish he had more films like it.
Alas, that's not the case. Craig came in penultimate for me. I'm sorry. I like all the cinematic Bonds, but I just like the others better than him. Regardless of his obvious qualities as an actor. I suppose I'd take his Benoit Blanc over his 007.
Sounds like you and I are in a bit of alignment on this one @GoldenGun. I see the merits in his performance of course but it’s a bit too much of a departure for my tastes. I’ll always hold CR and SF in high regard but the rest of his tenure is a bit tricky. I too also hold the opinion that his best performance as Bond was in QOS - it’s actually the best element in that entire film (sort of like how I always leave DAD thinking Pierce was the best thing about that movie.)
It would appear so indeed :)
Personally I would put his SP performance at the top, followed closely by his QOS one.
Well that depends on what you're expecting :p kidding of course ;)
I will proceed soon. Will continue with the next reveal this weekend :)
From his brutish debut in CT to his more refined SP, Craig, IMHO, never put in a poor performance. Craig has that ability to carry off the more taticurn aspects of Bond, alongside the usual charming persona. As others have said, Craig isn't a refined as my Bond should be, but hey ho.
Cheers mate! Was just bumping the thread back up, no pressure 😁
ROGER MOORE
Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in
Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985)
With the most EON Bond films under his belt out of all of them, Sir Rog has always been more appreciated by fans such as ourselves than by contemporary critics.
Almost as if only true Bond fans were able to see past the more jovial nature of his 007 and recognise those incredible moments that did need quite some acting range (i.e. confessing to Anya he killed her lover, confronting Orlov, etc).
Underrated perhaps by critics and general audiences, but not by us as he comes in 3rd best in total.
He received one gold medal, four silvers and four bronzes, in addition of another four 4th places and two 5th places.
No-one ranked Roger lower than 5th, only one other actor managed to do the same, and only one other one did better than that.
In total Roger Moore obtained 104 points.
20yrs ago I have no doubt Roger would have been my second favorite Bond, but while I don’t think he ever delivered a subpar performance, his age really started to show starting with FYEO, plus he was by far the less convincing Bond when it came to fight scenes.
By a hair, I put Rog 3rd. He may have been a bit too old in AVTAK, but he still does bring his a A-game actingwise, while Sean in YOLT just looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. In the end, that's where I decided to give the edge to Rog for the 3rd place.
Not saying that to compare Rog and Sean negatively to one another, but I think it's one of the reasons why Moore is a very important Bond. I know fans often like to claim that, say, without Dalton we never would have gotten Craig's portrayal of Bond. Perhaps, but I think without Moore it would have been difficult envisioning subsequent actors consciously giving Bond their own spin, nor can I see the character developing the way he did (I have a tricky time imagining, say, John Gavin or even Lazenby if he'd continued being able to do what Moore did).
Not the greatest of actors, but he carried off the role with great aplomb, and he did have strong dramatic moments ( wincing at Anyas mention of wife killed, confronting Orlov on the train!) The humour was always a sticky one, he could carry off a good one liner, but some of it got too silly to be present in a Bond movie! As a footnote, and I cant give him higher praise than this...if I'm ever conflicted on what Bond movie to watch, I inevitably go for one of Rog!
At #2, taking away the silver medal, rather impressively, is:
TIMOTHY DALTON
Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in
The Living Daylights (1987), Licence to Kill (1989).
Timmy D. proves yet again to be a firm fan favourite with no less than five gold medals. That makes him second only to this contest's winner, as well as one of just two candidates with more than one 1st place finish.
Furthermore two silver medals and another five bronzes were awarded to him. One 4th and two 5th places rounded out his tally. He's also one of three who had no-one ranking him lower than the top 5.
As limited as this contest in the grand scheme may be, it is remarkable nonetheless that an actor who is always ranked fairly low by self-proclaimed film critics and general concensus websites ends up considerably higher in rankings by Bond fans. With only two films under his belt, that's quite an achievement.
Timothy Dalton obtained 117 points in total.
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This brings me to our #1, the gold medalist, our contest's winner, who else can it be but:
SEAN CONNERY
Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in
Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Never Say Never Again (1983).
The only Bond to appear in both EON Bond films as well as a non-EON 007 entry, Sir Sean is a film legend and a cinema icon, and is forever considered the one who invented the cinematic James Bond as we still know him today.
Therefore no-one will be surprised he ends up on top, though it's all the more impressive that he does so, since anything lower than 1st would be considered an underperformance. This is the pre-game favourite who takes home the victory with flying colours.
In this particular contest, he obtained the highest number of gold medals: seven! He came in second on three occasions and third on two. He also has the highest lowest score of them all, with three 4th places.
In total Sean Connery collected 126 points.
It makes sense that Connery came out on top. He's pretty much the default number one in most of these polls. To his credit he's a huge part of how we see James Bond today. He brought the character to life with his charisma and screen presence in a way I don't think any other actor or even Fleming could do.
That said, I'm of the opinion there's no definitive Bond. I'd also argue Connery's tenure as Bond wasn't consistent. His performances in TB, YOLT, and NSNA are pretty lacklustre, and there's a case to be made he was never able to apply his talent to Bond in a way his successors were granted. His performances in FRWL and GF are top tier in my opinion.
Is him being 1 on most of these lists deserved? Debatable, but he has a very good case. Whatever way I can't see Connery slipping in the majority of these polls any time soon.
And, of course, Dalton is my number 1. I'm delighted to see him do so well here. I never get tired of watching him as Bond, for me he IS James Bond, and I think he will always remain so!
Thanks for the game @GoldenGun , always done well, here's to the next one!
Number one is a no-brainer. Connery could have danced his way through YOLT and DAF wearing a tutu and he still would have been top dog on account of his first 4 performances being utterly flawless.
Everytime I watch DN I am astounded at the level of assuredness, sophistication and cool he was able to convey from the very first moment onscreen.
And I dare say that a bored/slightly out of shape/older Connery is still worth watching… the man was the definition of sheer magnetism (with all due respect to Rog).
Thanks @Golden Gun for hosting yet another entertaining round, looking forward to the next one.
Tim came in first for me, it's no secret that he's my favourite Bond. He mixes that human side of the character with a sense of danger, without losing that class 007 should always have. The perfect mix for me, and a damn shame he didn't do more. Glad that I'm not alone on this one :)
As for Sean, obviously love his Bond portrayal as well. Elegant, charming and with just the right amount of self-confidence. Those first four performances were perfect. I'd say YOLT is the only small hiccup in his run, as I think in both DAF and NSNA he also brings an excellent and entertaining self-awareness to the role, without overdoing it.
Speaking of Dalton - I had him placed at #2 as well! But after rewatching his two films back to back last Friday that could change and he could certainly become my #1 as well (though it’s hard to bring myself to dethrone Pierce from that spot.) I always felt that Dalton was the most intelligent and tactical of all the Bonds. He’s resourceful and cunning - dangerous and romantic. He’s also 10 steps ahead of the people he’s facing - as evidenced by his infiltration of Sanchez’s operations. Yeah he struggles with humor at times but he isn’t the brooding figure that people make him out to be - at least not in comparison to Craig. After having seven films with a more jovial Bond, Dalton’s portrayal still feels very welcomed to this day and while I’m slightly disappointed that my favorite Pierce seems to be going lower in people’s estimations around here - I am happy seeing Dalton propel his way up the rankings for many people! Great Bond indeed.
Thank you @GoldenGun!
I think Connery had an axis of three really good performances: FRWL and GF because of his balance of confidence, cool and also vulernability and a broad range of emotions, and TB based on just how cool he is in the performance.
In DN, Connery is too unlikeable, and he's always in control, in YOLT Connery is so obviously bored and in DAF and NSNA I think he loses a bit of the professional side and thus the believability of him as Bond.
He fell just slightly before Moore, who had more consistent performances, and quite a few stand out ones: like FYEO.
Dalton however was always going to be my personal number 1. For me he brings quite a bit of Fleming to the screen. He hates killing but at the same time he acts to protect those close to him. He cares about the women he comes across. He acts with a mix of preparedness and knowledge but he also gambles on intuition and on hunches. Especially in LTK, where the slightest error could blow he cover, and Dario's return would spell imminent doom.