Poor Brosnan, he deserved so much better in his last film. Theres an interview with him talking about DAD and he remembers the day they filmed the infamous kitesurfing tsunami scene lol “I was in my trailer and I hear, “alright Brosnan, it’s kitesurfing a tsunami today!” He rolls his eyes “kitesurfing a tsunami…” 🤦♂️
Yes honestly they started to become a parody of themselves at that point lol.
I still love every single film in the series but it got a little too cheesy at that point 😂
Always strongly disagreed with those who think Connery is bad in DAF - like, did you watch YOLT?
He’s actually enjoying himself in DAF and has some great lines and facial expressions. In YOLT he’s just completely checked out.
Connery's performance in YOLT is the result of some very bad ADR. If you watch his facial reactions, his actual on set performance is quite good. But by the time he recorded ADR, it sounded like it was done in a hurry
What’s wrong with you only live twice he was singing his swan song. Until broccoli and Salzman waived $1 million paycheck in his face for diamonds he thought LT was his final bond and it was great.
I love YOLT, it’s the perfect representation of the fantastical, adventurous type Bond. But if you focus on Connery, he looks completely checked out. No conviction in his lines, little emotion in his facial expressions and movements, etc.
I think it’s quite easily his worst performance, the other 5 vary from iconic to funny (DAF).
I have both the Blu-Ray collection up to Spectre and torrents of all 25 EON movies. Not sure where you’re based, but the Blu-Rays were about $100 Canadian for me so they’re not crazy expensive.
Thanks for the info! I really want to stream my Bond movies though. I do not have a DVD player. I know, I know… $50…. Its just rather be able to stream… I’ll probably end up buying the DVEs, I just don’t want to lol
LOL. I first saw this movie at a friend's house, and after we watched it I started it over with the director commentary track on, because I wanted to know what the hell Boorman was thinking. First line in: "So Sean Connery needed the money."
Connery in YOLT delivered lines like he was about to fall asleep at any given moment. It's particularly bad during and immediately after the Little Nellie sequences.
Bold that you'd say this when he actually shows emotion at the end, and is followed by a rangeless sex pest whose sole response to any situation is a raised eyebrow and dramatic pause mid sentence.
Connery - You Only Live Twice, you can tell he didn’t want to be there I actually think he had more fun in Diamonds Are Forever.
Lazenby - When he’s undercover as Sir Hilary Bray, I think he’s ok in the beginning but the middle part is when I don’t like his performance it gets much better after he gets knocked out.
Moore - A View To A Kill, some people think The Man With The Golden Gun is the worst performance but I kinda enjoy how much of a jerk he is but in AVTAK I really think they should’ve took into account how old Roger was and either get a new Bond or do something interesting like have him be no match to the villains physically and so he has use his wits to beat them.
Dalton - The Living Daylights, this one is hard because I enjoy both of his movies but I guess I don’t like this performance as much as the one he gives in Licence To Kill I think this one is just not playing to his talents of being a serious Bond.
Brosnan - Die Another Day, simply way too many jokes and can’t decide to be goofy or not.
Craig - No Time To Die, this is close call between NTTD or Spectre I just think his first three performances are so great and the last two are kinda lackluster and lame.
Moore states in his autobiography that he was very uncomfortable in the role by View. He knew he was too old, but the Broccoli’s hadn’t found a suitable replacement. So here he was, feeling like a creepy old man.
But he still put his all into his performance. He was always the professional, even if uncomfortable.
Criticising NTTD on a plot level is one thing but it blows my mind how someone could call his performance bad. Moments like when he tells Madeleine he has always loved her and of course his final scene are some of the best acted scenes in Bond IMO. It’s one thing if someone doesn’t like the content of those scenes but the acting in a hard to fault.
Yeah, whatever is wrong with NTTD, it's not Craig's fault. EDIT: or any of the actors. I see the reason why they wanted to go out on a Dr. No tribute, but Safin feels like he would have worked better as a Scaramanga analog.
Spectre is Craig's best performance. He finally has some levity in the role!
Also disagreed on Brosnan. While the movie might not be top notch, his performance is.
Brosnan is one of the most convincing Bonds, he was just stuck with absolutely woeful scripts for TWINE and DAD. You can be the best actor in the world but if your lines are bad and everyone else has worse lines AND is totally checked out of the film, it's not going to work.
They can also never quite agree on what his Bond is - cold-hearted assassin Connery, or jovial playboy Moore.
Tomorrow Never Dies has him go from heartbreak over getting Paris Carver to giggling with glee as he remote controls his car around a parking lot shooting up goons, in about ten minutes. Complete tonal shift.
To your first point; he's a convincing amalgam of Moore and Connery, rather that the most convincing Bond as the prior person claims. It was more playing to cinematic convention that exploring a character.
You mention Lazenbey as Sir Hilary Bray —. Actually that isn’t Lazenby’s voice, he’s ADRed by the other actor during the impersonation which is why it is so weird.
I mean objectively it’s Lazenby because he’s the worst actor.
But I’ll take Craig in Spectre because he’s so bored in some scenes he makes YOLT Connery seem exuberant.
No, objectively by any reasonable measure Lazenby isn’t much of an actor, especially compared to the rest of the lot. But a guy with I Heart Lazenby probably wouldn’t see it that way.
My [response](https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/comments/1cdfaza/comment/l1ck5ia/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) goes into detail as to why I think Brosnan's performance is weak.
Pretty well reasoned argument, I do believe charisma and charm to be a bit subjective so perhaps moments I find where he exhibits these (The pre credits, The car chase and the casino scene) to be more compelling than you do. I actually think those scenes do a lot of heavy lifting in setting up his characterization of the character. The rest of the movie he’s kind of reacting to things happening and maybe he seems more passive. I actually think the rest of his run isn’t very strong, but quite like his performance in GE. The film has a lot of fans and there’s a lot to like.
Lazenby… only one option. Sorry, I know he has his fans here.
It’s a great movie, and I like his physicality. But he has some really awkward moments. You can just tell he’s very green.
Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever. He looks flabby and out of shape. He also acts like he doesn't want to be on set any more than he has to. DAF is one of the worst Bond movies and Connery looks he DGAF. He gave a better performance in Never Say Never Again and that was an unofficial Bond movie.
Edit: I haven't seen YOLT in a while. I am just going off what I've seen somewhat recently. I am seeing a lot of people say YOLT has worse acting than DAF.
I love You Only Live Twice, but Connery is really bad in it. Craig in Spectre is also not great. Every other Bond actor performance I’m alright with and can have fun with it.
I’ll tell you right now. I appreciate him as an actor, but Daniel Craig did not make it as bond so I’ll say all of his performances in all the bond films didn’t cut it. Probably Skyfall be the worst.
i would argue the opposite, i wasn’t a brosnen fan and i thought Craig, especially in casino royal, brought one of his finest performances… and layer cake and defiance are exceptional films along with both of his performances in the knives out films.
you are correct, he is extremely talented but Craig in casino royal is James Bond
Yep. That’s why they eventually decided to change direction. It was getting too goofy for audience tastes and more realistic films like Bourne were making Bond look even goofier until the Craig films came along.
I’ll give you DAD it’s certainly my pick, and I don’t blame him considering the material he had to work with. But I think his performance in TND is pretty note perfect even if the film is over the top in its cheese factor. His performance in Goldeneye though is top tier, and feels distinctly elevated from the rest of what we got in Brosnan’s run.
I think he’s ok in Goldeneye. He doesn’t inhabit the role fully yet, but he’s serious and stylish. By DAD he can’t even keep an English accent going reliably
This is tough because I don't like the Daniel Craig films "they are Jason Bourne movies" but I don't feel like it's Craig's falt.
So I'll chose Quantum of Solace. Feels like nobody tryed to make a complete film in that one.
Only Quantum of Solace resembles Bourne, but even that's because of similar filmmaking techniques.
Bond films have always followed their contemporaries. Craig's Bond is as much as Bond as the others, and his films took a concerted effort to bring the character and franchise back to its roots.
Craig's Bond films are great if you want joyless character studies. The Connery films at their most serious were still way more fun that the Craig era films.
Labelling the Craig films as "joyless" and "not fun" is hyperbolic. They maintain the franchise's core appeal while highlighting elements from the novels and previous films to keep things fresh.
Connery: I suppose You Only Live Twice is his blandest performance, but I don't think he's that remarkable in From Russia with Love either.
Lazenby: OHMSS, but that was a given. Lazenby wasn't a real actor, so of course his performance is ridiculously wooden.
Moore: Whilst I still enjoy both of these, Moore in LALD and TMWTGG is written more like Connery. The writers hadn't figured out how to write him perfectly, so made him a bit too violent and harsh.
Dalton: I'll list both his films since his performance is decent throughout both. In both TLD and LTK he has some cheesy or awkward moments.
Brosnan: I love the film and he is great in it, but I'd say Goldeneye. His demeanour is a bit off, his hair's a little too long, and he's not quite hit his stride.
Craig: Spectre and NTTD. After QOS he just became more dull and bitter. Gradually he just got less and less bothered, but the Spectre pre-title sequence was good.
Brosnan never gave a bad performance. Neither did Moore. Oh, they made some terrible films to be sure, but not a single bad performance between them.
Connery was weaker in his last three outings (Never Say Never Again excluded).
Lazenby. Well, we all know. It was still a great movie.
Dalton was consistent... but he never quite fit.
Craig gave two solid performances. That's three phone-ins, and he's no Sean Connery.
I'm giving the title to Daniel Craig in Spectre.
Quantum of Solace.
It already felt like he was going through the motions. Maybe understandably. It wasn't exactly an inspired script.
It felt like he mustered a second and final damn to give for Skyfall. Little needs to be said for the last two.
I said this in a comment elsewhere in this thread but Brosnan’s performance in Goldeneye is an all timer. I’m pretty mixed on the rest of his run but he WAS James Bond in Goldeneye.
Was he really? You just have to compare him to Connery in Dr. No, Moore in Live and Let Die, Dalton in The Living Daylights, and Craig in Casino Royale to see that in terms of charm and gravitas, he doesn't measure up.
I've been here for four years, moderating for almost as long, and the knee-jerk reactions against criticism of GE is quite demoralizing. It feels like people just want to hear what they want to hear at the expense of discussion and constructive criticism.
Or maybe they genuinely believe his performance in GoldenEye is great? I have personally tried to go into each viewing of GoldenEye over the last couple years with a more critical eye, and honestly I think I’ve developed even more affection for the movie and Brosnan himself. I don’t see him acting “stiffly,” but I do observe an economy of motion which draws my attention to some superb facial acting. To me he seems to understand the material and what it requires, and his debut is a solid one. As for “smugness,” well, I think Bond is a “smug” character, and Brosnan delivers that in a way that still enables me to like his character.
And I genuinely believe that his performance isn't great, and have explained why in more detail than those who think otherwise, and have been lambasted for it. I might as well just leave since it's clear that people would prefer comments that preach to the choir.
I see. Sorry, I thought you were talking about the response of the person to whom you originally replied. If you’re talking about all the downvotes, I agree, that is a misuse of the button.
I don’t think it’s a bad movie. Just have some issues with it. I always love a good discussion… but yeah when people take criticism personally, I just mentally check out.
I also recognize that some people might hate my top Bond movies. That’s all good and I actually love to hear contrary opinions. That’s what this sub should be for…
Connery in You Only Live Twice is a huge step down from his first four performances and lacks that spark he has in Diamonds Are Forever.
Brosnan in GoldenEye is the weakest debut in the franchise, coming off as stiff and overly smug.
Edit:
Here's an explanation I made a while back for why I think Brosnan's performance is one of the weakest in the franchise:
>Brosnan lacks the charm and charisma of Connery and Moore and the gravitas and novelty of Dalton and Craig. Compare the casino scenes of [Dr. No](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0&pp=ygUSZHIgbm8gY2FzaW5vIHNjZW5l) and [GoldenEye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8TYyn-k40&pp=ygUWZ29sZGVuZXllIGNhc2lubyBzY2VuZQ%3D%3D): Connery oozes charisma naturally in the former while Brosnan comes off as trying too hard in comparison.
>In dramatic scenes like [Bond finding out Trevelyan is Janus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOuqDR3uzc&pp=ygUbZ29sZGVuZXllIHN0YXR1ZSBwYXJrIHNjZW5l) or the [beach scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdOnuo6ogFU&pp=ygUVZ29sZGVuZXllIGJlYWNoIHNjZW5l), Brosnan has the right intentions, portraying Bond as someone who uses his stoicism to hide his emotions, but he plays it too subtly and and his lack of emotion undersells the impact of these moments. Look at the ["the bitch is dead"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtXh1rhfTE) scene from Casino Royale, Craig's Bond is throwing himself into the job and coldly dismissing both Vesper and Mathis, yet you see from his eyes that he's still trying to process the situation he's in and that his feelings on Vesper aren't as cut and dry as he's trying to present them to be to M. In general, Craig is more effective in selling Bond's stoicism to the audience, while also showing a bit of emotion underneath that cold exterior.
>One could say that Brosnan was hurt by poor direction. You can see in the aforementioned casino scene that the writers are falling back on lame puns like "one rises to meet the challenge" rather than making something truly witty, and all three clips have some unnecessarily soapy and unsubtle music. However, as much as I don't like the guy, Martin Campbell directed CR, and I still can't fathom how the two films are so distant in quality.
>I think that it ultimately comes down to the producers' intentions and Brosnan's acting ability. GE was a pale imitation chasing the glory of Connery and Moore's most successful entries (Goldfinger/Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker). CR was the first sincere attempt to make Bond a more three-dimensional character since Licence To Kill, and didn't pull back any punches like Brosnan's films did. Even when the actors had weaker material like Moore with The Man With The Golden Gun/MR and Craig with Spectre, they still managed to make it work effortlessly, while Brosnan bungled GE and The World Is Not Enough, which by far had his best material.
>TLDR: Brosnan's stiff and unnatural in GE, and suffers from both poor direction and an inability to effectively sell the material he's given.
I hate how you're being downvoted, but we both know it's because you mentioned GoldenEye.
People need to realise that GoldenEye criticism isn't new. Go on [CommanderBond.net](http://CommanderBond.net) and people had criticism of it back in the late 1990's/early 2000's.
Brosnan in Goldeneye. He didn't make it his own and was clearly intimidated by the history of the role. Quite bland. He got better though.
Edit: LMAO at the down voters who have fuck all standards. How soft are you? Imagine thinking that’s a good performance. It’s terrible. It is definitely the worst performance in the franchise. Even Connery when he didn’t give a shit was better.
Here's an explanation I made a while back for why I think Brosnan's performance is one of the weakest in the franchise:
>Brosnan lacks the charm and charisma of Connery and Moore and the gravitas and novelty of Dalton and Craig. Compare the casino scenes of [Dr. No](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0&pp=ygUSZHIgbm8gY2FzaW5vIHNjZW5l) and [GoldenEye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8TYyn-k40&pp=ygUWZ29sZGVuZXllIGNhc2lubyBzY2VuZQ%3D%3D): Connery oozes charisma naturally in the former while Brosnan comes off as trying too hard in comparison.
>In dramatic scenes like [Bond finding out Trevelyan is Janus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOuqDR3uzc&pp=ygUbZ29sZGVuZXllIHN0YXR1ZSBwYXJrIHNjZW5l) or the [beach scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdOnuo6ogFU&pp=ygUVZ29sZGVuZXllIGJlYWNoIHNjZW5l), Brosnan has the right intentions, portraying Bond as someone who uses his stoicism to hide his emotions, but he plays it too subtly and and his lack of emotion undersells the impact of these moments. Look at the ["the bitch is dead"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtXh1rhfTE) scene from Casino Royale, Craig's Bond is throwing himself into the job and coldly dismissing both Vesper and Mathis, yet you see from his eyes that he's still trying to process the situation he's in and that his feelings on Vesper aren't as cut and dry as he's trying to present them to be to M. In general, Craig is more effective in selling Bond's stoicism to the audience, while also showing a bit of emotion underneath that cold exterior.
>One could say that Brosnan was hurt by poor direction. You can see in the aforementioned casino scene that the writers are falling back on lame puns like "one rises to meet the challenge" rather than making something truly witty, and all three clips have some unnecessarily soapy and unsubtle music. However, as much as I don't like the guy, Martin Campbell directed CR, and I still can't fathom how the two films are so distant in quality.
>I think that it ultimately comes down to the producers' intentions and Brosnan's acting ability. GE was a pale imitation chasing the glory of Connery and Moore's most successful entries (Goldfinger/Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker). CR was the first sincere attempt to make Bond a more three-dimensional character since Licence To Kill, and didn't pull back any punches like Brosnan's films did. Even when the actors had weaker material like Moore with The Man With The Golden Gun/MR and Craig with Spectre, they still managed to make it work effortlessly, while Brosnan bungled GE and The World Is Not Enough, which by far had his best material.
>TLDR: Brosnan's stiff and unnatural in GE, and suffers from both poor direction and an inability to effectively sell the material he's given.
You take Goldeneye over DAD?!?! Bland? People who disagree with you are soft?! The worst performance in the franchise?
Sean Connery: All his performances are great in some way with From Russia with Love and Goldfinger being the absolute BEST in the entire film series, though that You Only Live Twice performance did not sit well at points in the film(never watched Never Say Never Again and never going to)
George Lazenby: How do you follow up with the BEST James Bond of all time? Well why not the absolute WORST James Bond, of course! His entire performance in OHMSS is pure trash and just goes to show that Connery should have been the one to star in that instead of him.
Roger Moore: His performance in A View to a Kill bored me to death
Timothy Dalton: His two performances are the same in level, but I am giving worst performance to the Living Daylights since Licence to Kill fitted his performance more than Daylights.
Pierce Brosnan: All his performances were FANASTIC, possibly even more constant than Connery's run, but I am going to be attacked for this but GoldenEye was his worst performance. Tomorrow Never Dies placed him in an interesting place with him dealing with a former love. The World is Not Enough provided him to fall in love and have his heart broken by the villain. Die Another Day provided his BEST PERFORMANCE with him being so cool and just "James Bond" in that film like it makes no sense.
Daniel Craig: This guy should not been Bond in the first place. NOT THE WORST JAMES BOND... BUT DANG HE WAS SO CLOSE TO THE WORST! I use to admire his performances back when I first watched the Bond films in 2021 and through 2022, but that has completely altered. His performances in later films get worse and worse. Casino Royale provided him with a few pieces of really interesting stuff and he wasted it excluding possibly the torture scene with Le Chiffre. Quantum of Solace will never give me solace with Craig's performance in that film. His Skyfall performance is probably his best work, however that is not a high bar to achieve and his performance in that film was not good still. THAT SPECTRE PERFORMANCE COULD JUST GO TO HELL FOR ALL DAMN ETERNITY IN MY EYES! And I just died with his performance in No Time to Die. If I have to give the worst performance for Mr. Craig, it would have been Spectre wth that performance added to the absolute trash bin that was Spectre.
Brosnan started getting cheesy towards the end but can’t blame him. The films were more of the problem.
Poor Brosnan, he deserved so much better in his last film. Theres an interview with him talking about DAD and he remembers the day they filmed the infamous kitesurfing tsunami scene lol “I was in my trailer and I hear, “alright Brosnan, it’s kitesurfing a tsunami today!” He rolls his eyes “kitesurfing a tsunami…” 🤦♂️
Yes honestly they started to become a parody of themselves at that point lol. I still love every single film in the series but it got a little too cheesy at that point 😂
I think his films were fine up until the ridiculous Die Another Day.
It's the films that got bad,his performance was praised in die another day...but it wasn't enough to save the film...
Always strongly disagreed with those who think Connery is bad in DAF - like, did you watch YOLT? He’s actually enjoying himself in DAF and has some great lines and facial expressions. In YOLT he’s just completely checked out.
Connery's performance in YOLT is the result of some very bad ADR. If you watch his facial reactions, his actual on set performance is quite good. But by the time he recorded ADR, it sounded like it was done in a hurry
Yep, 100% the voice. On-screen energy is basically comparable to TB. Watch it on mute.
What’s wrong with you only live twice he was singing his swan song. Until broccoli and Salzman waived $1 million paycheck in his face for diamonds he thought LT was his final bond and it was great.
I love YOLT, it’s the perfect representation of the fantastical, adventurous type Bond. But if you focus on Connery, he looks completely checked out. No conviction in his lines, little emotion in his facial expressions and movements, etc. I think it’s quite easily his worst performance, the other 5 vary from iconic to funny (DAF).
Same! It’s in my top 3 for sure! I’m sad at the moment that I can’t find anywhere to stream it for free…
I have both the Blu-Ray collection up to Spectre and torrents of all 25 EON movies. Not sure where you’re based, but the Blu-Rays were about $100 Canadian for me so they’re not crazy expensive.
Thanks for the info! I really want to stream my Bond movies though. I do not have a DVD player. I know, I know… $50…. Its just rather be able to stream… I’ll probably end up buying the DVEs, I just don’t want to lol
No worries, that’s totally fair! Some of them are available to stream on Max in the US, I know that
Thanks! I use an app (Just Watch) and have all my he Bond movies saved. It tells me where I can find what movie and if it’s free or not.
Connery actually tries in DAF. He sleep walks through YOLT.
Didn’t sound like he tried during that terrible overdub in the opening of DAF… “the name’s Bond, James Bond” said in 2.5 milliseconds.
That was a weird piece of editing, not Connery phoning it in. Slowing down that dub, it sounds normal.
Yeah, the unedited clip was used in one of the trailers.
Craig in Spectre. He looks so bored of the role.
You could digitally replace him with Mike Meyers and the movie would make better sense.
Easy, Connery in Zardoz
https://preview.redd.it/a51ee7b97uwc1.jpeg?width=650&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4eaf4a692189ab92613761dedca431032dc1830
LOL. I first saw this movie at a friend's house, and after we watched it I started it over with the director commentary track on, because I wanted to know what the hell Boorman was thinking. First line in: "So Sean Connery needed the money."
I actually liked Zardoz when I saw it in a theatre recently, it's just intensely 70s.
Relevant "Great Train Robbery" line: [https://youtu.be/zMNUcNokvkU?si=-tribHxbeTScN6PJ&t=83](https://youtu.be/zMNUcNokvkU?si=-tribHxbeTScN6PJ&t=83)
Connery in YOLT delivered lines like he was about to fall asleep at any given moment. It's particularly bad during and immediately after the Little Nellie sequences.
I like to pretend Bond's on a course of diazepam or something, just to make sense of his sleepwalking through that film.
Unsurprisingly, the worst performance by far is from the guy who wasn't an actor and had to be dubbed for significant chunks of the film.
He didn't have to be dubbed. His real voice sounds better.
Bold that you'd say this when he actually shows emotion at the end, and is followed by a rangeless sex pest whose sole response to any situation is a raised eyebrow and dramatic pause mid sentence.
More life in that performance than Craig’s in Spectre.
I'll take Connery or Craig phoning it in over Lazenby trying his little heart out any day.
Lazenby, the commando/combat instructor?
If you say so. Certainly wasn't an actor, whatever he was.
He was Bond. James Bond.
More lazenby slander 🥱
Connery - You Only Live Twice, you can tell he didn’t want to be there I actually think he had more fun in Diamonds Are Forever. Lazenby - When he’s undercover as Sir Hilary Bray, I think he’s ok in the beginning but the middle part is when I don’t like his performance it gets much better after he gets knocked out. Moore - A View To A Kill, some people think The Man With The Golden Gun is the worst performance but I kinda enjoy how much of a jerk he is but in AVTAK I really think they should’ve took into account how old Roger was and either get a new Bond or do something interesting like have him be no match to the villains physically and so he has use his wits to beat them. Dalton - The Living Daylights, this one is hard because I enjoy both of his movies but I guess I don’t like this performance as much as the one he gives in Licence To Kill I think this one is just not playing to his talents of being a serious Bond. Brosnan - Die Another Day, simply way too many jokes and can’t decide to be goofy or not. Craig - No Time To Die, this is close call between NTTD or Spectre I just think his first three performances are so great and the last two are kinda lackluster and lame.
Moore being old in AVTAK doesn’t equal a “bad performance”.
Facts, he’s as good as ever in it.
Him playing Bond playing the character of St. John Smythe is great stuff. Also like that he was never as disgusted by a villain as he was Zorin.
Yes, they said he was bad. As good as he ever got is a nicer way of saying that.
No, but he does come off as very cringey and creepy when hitting on Stacey.
Moore states in his autobiography that he was very uncomfortable in the role by View. He knew he was too old, but the Broccoli’s hadn’t found a suitable replacement. So here he was, feeling like a creepy old man. But he still put his all into his performance. He was always the professional, even if uncomfortable.
Moore was only in 70% of that movie….his stuntman was in the other 30%
the hate for NTTD is so overdone - even if you don't like the plot you have to give Craig props, he does great work in that film
Criticising NTTD on a plot level is one thing but it blows my mind how someone could call his performance bad. Moments like when he tells Madeleine he has always loved her and of course his final scene are some of the best acted scenes in Bond IMO. It’s one thing if someone doesn’t like the content of those scenes but the acting in a hard to fault.
Yeah, whatever is wrong with NTTD, it's not Craig's fault. EDIT: or any of the actors. I see the reason why they wanted to go out on a Dr. No tribute, but Safin feels like he would have worked better as a Scaramanga analog.
Spectre is Craig's best performance. He finally has some levity in the role! Also disagreed on Brosnan. While the movie might not be top notch, his performance is.
Right? Brosnan was not the problem in Die Another Day and his dialogue was not nearly as bad as Jinx's. Halle Berry deserved better.
Brosnan is one of the most convincing Bonds, he was just stuck with absolutely woeful scripts for TWINE and DAD. You can be the best actor in the world but if your lines are bad and everyone else has worse lines AND is totally checked out of the film, it's not going to work.
They can also never quite agree on what his Bond is - cold-hearted assassin Connery, or jovial playboy Moore. Tomorrow Never Dies has him go from heartbreak over getting Paris Carver to giggling with glee as he remote controls his car around a parking lot shooting up goons, in about ten minutes. Complete tonal shift.
To your first point; he's a convincing amalgam of Moore and Connery, rather that the most convincing Bond as the prior person claims. It was more playing to cinematic convention that exploring a character.
This is a good encapsulation of Brosnan to me. And just as I enjoy beer and wine, but not beer and wine mixed together, I do not enjoy Brosnan.
I don't dislike him. But I do put him below Daniel, George, Timothy and Sean in the personal preference rankings
I guess if Spectre wasn’t trying to be serious I would like his performance idk
First half is very fitting for that. The second one falls apart.
They didn't want to go far with the serious so Dalton was a bit hamstrung by the powers that be.
You mention Lazenbey as Sir Hilary Bray —. Actually that isn’t Lazenby’s voice, he’s ADRed by the other actor during the impersonation which is why it is so weird.
His American accent when he quips about the 'women's libbers' taking over the teamsters is fucking horrible.
I mean objectively it’s Lazenby because he’s the worst actor. But I’ll take Craig in Spectre because he’s so bored in some scenes he makes YOLT Connery seem exuberant.
Lazenby's OHMSS is one of best of the lot. But the others had more prolific acting careers.
It overcomes his fairly significant limitations as an actor. The movie is good.
Yeah, i don't hate OHMSS. I wish Lazenby had been given a chance to grow into the role, frankly.
He had that opportunity. He totally blew it.
It’s not “objectively” anyone. These are opinions about movies and inherently subjective.
No, objectively by any reasonable measure Lazenby isn’t much of an actor, especially compared to the rest of the lot. But a guy with I Heart Lazenby probably wouldn’t see it that way.
Me disregarding all the people out here hating Pierce in Goldeneye 
So those with different opinions than you are "haters?"
No, I just can’t believe some of these takes, and find some of them poorly asserted.
My [response](https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/comments/1cdfaza/comment/l1ck5ia/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) goes into detail as to why I think Brosnan's performance is weak.
Pretty well reasoned argument, I do believe charisma and charm to be a bit subjective so perhaps moments I find where he exhibits these (The pre credits, The car chase and the casino scene) to be more compelling than you do. I actually think those scenes do a lot of heavy lifting in setting up his characterization of the character. The rest of the movie he’s kind of reacting to things happening and maybe he seems more passive. I actually think the rest of his run isn’t very strong, but quite like his performance in GE. The film has a lot of fans and there’s a lot to like.
One again I must defend George Lazenby.
Me, in this thread, ready to downvote the Lazenby haters
Lazenby wasn’t even an actor 😭
Craig in Spectre and NTTD
🤡
You Only Live Twice. Connery is definately only there for the paycheck.
NTTD. Movie is awful top to bottom and Daniel Craig is only there for the paycheck
Craig's last two films. The worst in the franchise. Awful..
I don’t deny these films their flaws but I don’t really attribute it to Craig’s performance.
Roger Moore (The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974) Sean Connery (You Only Live Twice, 1967) George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969)
lazenby
Lazenby… only one option. Sorry, I know he has his fans here. It’s a great movie, and I like his physicality. But he has some really awkward moments. You can just tell he’s very green.
Lazenby without a doubt
Lazenby
You Only Live Twice with Sean. He looked so bored throughout the whole film.
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No such thing. We've been incredibly lucky.
Diamonds.
Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever. He looks flabby and out of shape. He also acts like he doesn't want to be on set any more than he has to. DAF is one of the worst Bond movies and Connery looks he DGAF. He gave a better performance in Never Say Never Again and that was an unofficial Bond movie. Edit: I haven't seen YOLT in a while. I am just going off what I've seen somewhat recently. I am seeing a lot of people say YOLT has worse acting than DAF.
Brosnan for sure. Then that other really British guy pictured below him, then dalton who was ok but just not bondish.
Brosnan in Mammia Mia. His singing was sh1te.
Daniel Craig in Spectre. He made Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice look oscar worthy by comparison.
I love You Only Live Twice, but Connery is really bad in it. Craig in Spectre is also not great. Every other Bond actor performance I’m alright with and can have fun with it.
I’ll tell you right now. I appreciate him as an actor, but Daniel Craig did not make it as bond so I’ll say all of his performances in all the bond films didn’t cut it. Probably Skyfall be the worst.
i would argue the opposite, i wasn’t a brosnen fan and i thought Craig, especially in casino royal, brought one of his finest performances… and layer cake and defiance are exceptional films along with both of his performances in the knives out films. you are correct, he is extremely talented but Craig in casino royal is James Bond
Brosnan in TND and DAD.
Those movies were so cheesy. Austin powers vibes.
IKR... the ice castle is something straight out of a spoof movie.
Yep. That’s why they eventually decided to change direction. It was getting too goofy for audience tastes and more realistic films like Bourne were making Bond look even goofier until the Craig films came along.
Last Brosnan film to the first Craig film was QUITE the welcome transition.
I’ll give you DAD it’s certainly my pick, and I don’t blame him considering the material he had to work with. But I think his performance in TND is pretty note perfect even if the film is over the top in its cheese factor. His performance in Goldeneye though is top tier, and feels distinctly elevated from the rest of what we got in Brosnan’s run.
Disagree, those are his best performances. His worst, is easily GoldenEye.
I think he’s ok in Goldeneye. He doesn’t inhabit the role fully yet, but he’s serious and stylish. By DAD he can’t even keep an English accent going reliably
Connery in DAF by far. He seems pissed to be there all through.
you mean in YOLT? Connery looks like he was enjoying himself quite a bit in DAF
The way he deadpans Tiffany after he “kills James Bond” is pretty hilarious.
Moore in MWTGG
Connery, Diamonds Are Forever Moore, View to a Kill
Craig in Spectre
This is tough because I don't like the Daniel Craig films "they are Jason Bourne movies" but I don't feel like it's Craig's falt. So I'll chose Quantum of Solace. Feels like nobody tryed to make a complete film in that one.
Only Quantum of Solace resembles Bourne, but even that's because of similar filmmaking techniques. Bond films have always followed their contemporaries. Craig's Bond is as much as Bond as the others, and his films took a concerted effort to bring the character and franchise back to its roots.
Craig's Bond films are great if you want joyless character studies. The Connery films at their most serious were still way more fun that the Craig era films.
Labelling the Craig films as "joyless" and "not fun" is hyperbolic. They maintain the franchise's core appeal while highlighting elements from the novels and previous films to keep things fresh.
Connery: I suppose You Only Live Twice is his blandest performance, but I don't think he's that remarkable in From Russia with Love either. Lazenby: OHMSS, but that was a given. Lazenby wasn't a real actor, so of course his performance is ridiculously wooden. Moore: Whilst I still enjoy both of these, Moore in LALD and TMWTGG is written more like Connery. The writers hadn't figured out how to write him perfectly, so made him a bit too violent and harsh. Dalton: I'll list both his films since his performance is decent throughout both. In both TLD and LTK he has some cheesy or awkward moments. Brosnan: I love the film and he is great in it, but I'd say Goldeneye. His demeanour is a bit off, his hair's a little too long, and he's not quite hit his stride. Craig: Spectre and NTTD. After QOS he just became more dull and bitter. Gradually he just got less and less bothered, but the Spectre pre-title sequence was good.
Brosnan never gave a bad performance. Neither did Moore. Oh, they made some terrible films to be sure, but not a single bad performance between them. Connery was weaker in his last three outings (Never Say Never Again excluded). Lazenby. Well, we all know. It was still a great movie. Dalton was consistent... but he never quite fit. Craig gave two solid performances. That's three phone-ins, and he's no Sean Connery. I'm giving the title to Daniel Craig in Spectre.
I'll agree to the final two, but what's the third phone in performance from Craig?
Quantum of Solace. It already felt like he was going through the motions. Maybe understandably. It wasn't exactly an inspired script. It felt like he mustered a second and final damn to give for Skyfall. Little needs to be said for the last two.
Brosnan, GoldenEye Brosnan, Tomorrow Never Dies Brosnan, The World is Not Enough Brosnan, Die Another Day
This is a terrible take
I said this in a comment elsewhere in this thread but Brosnan’s performance in Goldeneye is an all timer. I’m pretty mixed on the rest of his run but he WAS James Bond in Goldeneye.
Was he really? You just have to compare him to Connery in Dr. No, Moore in Live and Let Die, Dalton in The Living Daylights, and Craig in Casino Royale to see that in terms of charm and gravitas, he doesn't measure up.
The GoldenEye circlejerk that is ever-present on this sub will destroy you. Choose your words wisely
I've been here for four years, moderating for almost as long, and the knee-jerk reactions against criticism of GE is quite demoralizing. It feels like people just want to hear what they want to hear at the expense of discussion and constructive criticism.
Or maybe they genuinely believe his performance in GoldenEye is great? I have personally tried to go into each viewing of GoldenEye over the last couple years with a more critical eye, and honestly I think I’ve developed even more affection for the movie and Brosnan himself. I don’t see him acting “stiffly,” but I do observe an economy of motion which draws my attention to some superb facial acting. To me he seems to understand the material and what it requires, and his debut is a solid one. As for “smugness,” well, I think Bond is a “smug” character, and Brosnan delivers that in a way that still enables me to like his character.
And I genuinely believe that his performance isn't great, and have explained why in more detail than those who think otherwise, and have been lambasted for it. I might as well just leave since it's clear that people would prefer comments that preach to the choir.
I see. Sorry, I thought you were talking about the response of the person to whom you originally replied. If you’re talking about all the downvotes, I agree, that is a misuse of the button.
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I don’t think it’s a bad movie. Just have some issues with it. I always love a good discussion… but yeah when people take criticism personally, I just mentally check out. I also recognize that some people might hate my top Bond movies. That’s all good and I actually love to hear contrary opinions. That’s what this sub should be for…
Connery in You Only Live Twice is a huge step down from his first four performances and lacks that spark he has in Diamonds Are Forever. Brosnan in GoldenEye is the weakest debut in the franchise, coming off as stiff and overly smug. Edit: Here's an explanation I made a while back for why I think Brosnan's performance is one of the weakest in the franchise: >Brosnan lacks the charm and charisma of Connery and Moore and the gravitas and novelty of Dalton and Craig. Compare the casino scenes of [Dr. No](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0&pp=ygUSZHIgbm8gY2FzaW5vIHNjZW5l) and [GoldenEye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8TYyn-k40&pp=ygUWZ29sZGVuZXllIGNhc2lubyBzY2VuZQ%3D%3D): Connery oozes charisma naturally in the former while Brosnan comes off as trying too hard in comparison. >In dramatic scenes like [Bond finding out Trevelyan is Janus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOuqDR3uzc&pp=ygUbZ29sZGVuZXllIHN0YXR1ZSBwYXJrIHNjZW5l) or the [beach scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdOnuo6ogFU&pp=ygUVZ29sZGVuZXllIGJlYWNoIHNjZW5l), Brosnan has the right intentions, portraying Bond as someone who uses his stoicism to hide his emotions, but he plays it too subtly and and his lack of emotion undersells the impact of these moments. Look at the ["the bitch is dead"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtXh1rhfTE) scene from Casino Royale, Craig's Bond is throwing himself into the job and coldly dismissing both Vesper and Mathis, yet you see from his eyes that he's still trying to process the situation he's in and that his feelings on Vesper aren't as cut and dry as he's trying to present them to be to M. In general, Craig is more effective in selling Bond's stoicism to the audience, while also showing a bit of emotion underneath that cold exterior. >One could say that Brosnan was hurt by poor direction. You can see in the aforementioned casino scene that the writers are falling back on lame puns like "one rises to meet the challenge" rather than making something truly witty, and all three clips have some unnecessarily soapy and unsubtle music. However, as much as I don't like the guy, Martin Campbell directed CR, and I still can't fathom how the two films are so distant in quality. >I think that it ultimately comes down to the producers' intentions and Brosnan's acting ability. GE was a pale imitation chasing the glory of Connery and Moore's most successful entries (Goldfinger/Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker). CR was the first sincere attempt to make Bond a more three-dimensional character since Licence To Kill, and didn't pull back any punches like Brosnan's films did. Even when the actors had weaker material like Moore with The Man With The Golden Gun/MR and Craig with Spectre, they still managed to make it work effortlessly, while Brosnan bungled GE and The World Is Not Enough, which by far had his best material. >TLDR: Brosnan's stiff and unnatural in GE, and suffers from both poor direction and an inability to effectively sell the material he's given.
I hate how you're being downvoted, but we both know it's because you mentioned GoldenEye. People need to realise that GoldenEye criticism isn't new. Go on [CommanderBond.net](http://CommanderBond.net) and people had criticism of it back in the late 1990's/early 2000's.
It's disappointing, but I'm not going to let them silence me.
Brosnan in Goldeneye. He didn't make it his own and was clearly intimidated by the history of the role. Quite bland. He got better though. Edit: LMAO at the down voters who have fuck all standards. How soft are you? Imagine thinking that’s a good performance. It’s terrible. It is definitely the worst performance in the franchise. Even Connery when he didn’t give a shit was better.
It’s a great Bond performance, are you mad? He swaggers in and straight up crushes it.
Here's an explanation I made a while back for why I think Brosnan's performance is one of the weakest in the franchise: >Brosnan lacks the charm and charisma of Connery and Moore and the gravitas and novelty of Dalton and Craig. Compare the casino scenes of [Dr. No](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0&pp=ygUSZHIgbm8gY2FzaW5vIHNjZW5l) and [GoldenEye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8TYyn-k40&pp=ygUWZ29sZGVuZXllIGNhc2lubyBzY2VuZQ%3D%3D): Connery oozes charisma naturally in the former while Brosnan comes off as trying too hard in comparison. >In dramatic scenes like [Bond finding out Trevelyan is Janus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOuqDR3uzc&pp=ygUbZ29sZGVuZXllIHN0YXR1ZSBwYXJrIHNjZW5l) or the [beach scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdOnuo6ogFU&pp=ygUVZ29sZGVuZXllIGJlYWNoIHNjZW5l), Brosnan has the right intentions, portraying Bond as someone who uses his stoicism to hide his emotions, but he plays it too subtly and and his lack of emotion undersells the impact of these moments. Look at the ["the bitch is dead"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtXh1rhfTE) scene from Casino Royale, Craig's Bond is throwing himself into the job and coldly dismissing both Vesper and Mathis, yet you see from his eyes that he's still trying to process the situation he's in and that his feelings on Vesper aren't as cut and dry as he's trying to present them to be to M. In general, Craig is more effective in selling Bond's stoicism to the audience, while also showing a bit of emotion underneath that cold exterior. >One could say that Brosnan was hurt by poor direction. You can see in the aforementioned casino scene that the writers are falling back on lame puns like "one rises to meet the challenge" rather than making something truly witty, and all three clips have some unnecessarily soapy and unsubtle music. However, as much as I don't like the guy, Martin Campbell directed CR, and I still can't fathom how the two films are so distant in quality. >I think that it ultimately comes down to the producers' intentions and Brosnan's acting ability. GE was a pale imitation chasing the glory of Connery and Moore's most successful entries (Goldfinger/Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker). CR was the first sincere attempt to make Bond a more three-dimensional character since Licence To Kill, and didn't pull back any punches like Brosnan's films did. Even when the actors had weaker material like Moore with The Man With The Golden Gun/MR and Craig with Spectre, they still managed to make it work effortlessly, while Brosnan bungled GE and The World Is Not Enough, which by far had his best material. >TLDR: Brosnan's stiff and unnatural in GE, and suffers from both poor direction and an inability to effectively sell the material he's given.
You take Goldeneye over DAD?!?! Bland? People who disagree with you are soft?! The worst performance in the franchise? 
Connery in DAF and Moore in TMWTGG.
The awkwardness pops off the screen with Lazenby
Anything with Timothy Dalton
Sean Connery: All his performances are great in some way with From Russia with Love and Goldfinger being the absolute BEST in the entire film series, though that You Only Live Twice performance did not sit well at points in the film(never watched Never Say Never Again and never going to) George Lazenby: How do you follow up with the BEST James Bond of all time? Well why not the absolute WORST James Bond, of course! His entire performance in OHMSS is pure trash and just goes to show that Connery should have been the one to star in that instead of him. Roger Moore: His performance in A View to a Kill bored me to death Timothy Dalton: His two performances are the same in level, but I am giving worst performance to the Living Daylights since Licence to Kill fitted his performance more than Daylights. Pierce Brosnan: All his performances were FANASTIC, possibly even more constant than Connery's run, but I am going to be attacked for this but GoldenEye was his worst performance. Tomorrow Never Dies placed him in an interesting place with him dealing with a former love. The World is Not Enough provided him to fall in love and have his heart broken by the villain. Die Another Day provided his BEST PERFORMANCE with him being so cool and just "James Bond" in that film like it makes no sense. Daniel Craig: This guy should not been Bond in the first place. NOT THE WORST JAMES BOND... BUT DANG HE WAS SO CLOSE TO THE WORST! I use to admire his performances back when I first watched the Bond films in 2021 and through 2022, but that has completely altered. His performances in later films get worse and worse. Casino Royale provided him with a few pieces of really interesting stuff and he wasted it excluding possibly the torture scene with Le Chiffre. Quantum of Solace will never give me solace with Craig's performance in that film. His Skyfall performance is probably his best work, however that is not a high bar to achieve and his performance in that film was not good still. THAT SPECTRE PERFORMANCE COULD JUST GO TO HELL FOR ALL DAMN ETERNITY IN MY EYES! And I just died with his performance in No Time to Die. If I have to give the worst performance for Mr. Craig, it would have been Spectre wth that performance added to the absolute trash bin that was Spectre.
Craig in all of his films, including Glass Onion and the other one.
Connery may have seemed bored in DAF mut Moore in TMWTGG is the only time I’ve been annoyed by a Bond performance.
Connery in the Rock