Welcome Back To James Bond Fun With Polls Week!
Today is the exciting conclusion to Fun With Polls Bond Week!
Of course, I’ve saved the best for last. The eternal question that everyone argues about: Who played the best Bond?
I anticipate a lot of arguments in the comments on this one.
Before we get started, I want to report yesterday’s results. You were able to vote for up to five Bond Villains. The top vote-getter was: Auric Goldfinger. The top five were as follows:
- Goldfinger – Auric Goldfinger – 14 votes
- You Only Live Twice – Ernst Stavro Blofeld – Donald Pleasence – 12 votes
- Live And Let Die – Dr. Karanga – 11 votes
- Skyfall – Raoul Silva – 10 votes
- Goldeneye – Alec Trevelyan – 9 votes
Back to today’s simple task. I’ll give you a brief listing of the movies in which each actor appeared. A representative gif for each candidate will follow and then the poll.
The fate of the free world depends on you.
This time, you will get a chance to vote for three actors. The top vote-getter wins.
In roughly chronological order,
Sean Connery – Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, and Never Say Never Again.
George Lazenby – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Roger Moore – Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, and A View To A Kill.
Timothy Dalton – The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill.
Pierce Brosnan – Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day.
Daniel Craig – Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre.
The poll is below and will be open until midnight Pacific time.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.(47/69)
Daniel Craig has no charisma and no sense of cool about him (as Bond, which is doubly sad because he does in other roles). It’s like they took the “damaged and introspective” moments from Brosnan’s characterization, distilled them and gave them a perpetual squint.
Dalton is an amazing Shakespearean actor tragically miscast and then stuck with most of the weakest material. His films are only good because they provide a much-needed break to do other shit during Bond Movie Marathons.
Moore had a few funny moments, and I’m all for incorporating humor to break up the grimdark of most actiony spy movies. But his Bond isn’t good, the humor overall isn’t good, and his films represent a lot of wasted material.
I know this will just encourage some asshole, but I am relieved that so far no one has chosen Lazenby. He was shit, with the charisma and emotional range of a week-old avocado. His material was shit. His costuming and production design was shit. I’m betting the catering on set was shit. I will personally identify any contrarian fartsniffer who votes for Lazenby, come to your house and hunt you for sport.
Both Connery and Brosnan are defensible choices.
Counterpoint: Daniel Craig gets to bang Rachel Weisz.
I disagree about Craig, but to each their own Bond.
Hey I once smoked a cigarette with Timothy Dalton in the crowded non-smoking lobby of a theater on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City! No one told us to stop because I was with a former James Bond and that was that, folks. We’ve been best friends ever since and today is Friday so he usually calls me and we talk for a few hours and laugh and reminisce about that time we smoked a cigarette in the lobby at Sony and our eyes met.
Anyway I voted for Sean Connery.
From what I hear you shouldn’t have let Dalton bareback you.
Why don’t we get to vote for five?
Because we aren’t voting on the next Bond girl, Ivanna Pfister.
Damn re-writes, I thought her name was going to be Goldie Showers.
Moore irritated me in the way he played Bond, especially since I had read all the books. Brosnan to me was playing Remington Steele playing James Bond – I kept expecting Stephanie Zimbalist to show up in the movies. I think Lazenby never got a fair shake and it was unfortunate that he actually got the one film where Bond actually has a real love interest instead of another bedpost notch, it was an unfair introduction to his being in the series.
I’m tempted to say Craig without a doubt because he’s the only Bond who actually ACTS in every one of his movies without simply intentionally being a caricature (exceptions: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, License to Kill, the last five minutes of OHMSS) but that’s more a result of the writing and directing than the actor. Having said that:
Connery is the original master.
Craig is the student who in some ways surpasses him.
Moore was the cartoon hero version (that’s not necessarily damning him.)
Brosnan was all style no substance.
Dalton was all substance no style.
Lazenby was a sacrificial lamb who was at least likable if not exciting…and it’s a shame that Connery didn’t get to play that last scene with Tracy.
To me Craig seems like the only one who read the books and enjoyed them.
Moore realized how absurd the whole thing was an in on the joke.
Brosnan was the perfect Bond for the Blair era.
Lazenby-, well I couldn’t take him seriously as Bond once I saw this image.
The Scottish wealthy attire probably pisses off Scots even more.
Perfect summary. I really liked Dalton, but his smile was creepy. Moore was, by far, the most charming Bond.
I like Craig too, but I think his best work was in Layer Cake and i have wanted to see that type of performance in his Bond films and have been left wanting.
Dalton, however, is the definitive Mr. Pricklepants.
Ditto Simon Skinner
From all the stories Moore was the nicest IRL.
Agreed for sure. 007 is a “license to kill”* and Connery and Craig are the only ones, to me anyway, that seem like the type to pop two in the chest and one in the head and not think twice about it where the other ones seem more like poisoners. Agree about Brosnon, but would add that he had some of the worst scripts.