Having getting hyped for the new bond by reading the excellent Bonding With Bond series over at Rottentomato, I thought I would rank my personal favorite Bonds.
6: Timothy Dalton - While Dalton had plenty of veneer as a killer and cold blooded assassin, his acting was always just awful (especially him with the ladies). It didn't help that Dalton's movies were stupid beyond reason, but lacking any kind of ability to play Bond is certainly the main reason why I consider Dalton the worst Bond to ever grace the screen (excluding David Niven from the 67 Paraody of Casino Royale).
5: Roger Moore - Roger Moore was a skilled actor, but well beyond his prime for the character of Bond. Moore was a remarkable 46 when he starred in his first Bond film, which is just way too old to be believable as a suave, sexy secret agent. Some of Moore's films are also just the simple worst of the series (Man with the Golden Gun, to name just one). Regardless if his films are harder to watch than Dalton's, Moore still did also make one of the best in the series, which does redeem him a bit.
4: George Lazenby - Lazenby is the most underrated Bond next to Brosnan. While Lazenby only got to star in one Bond film, can you blame him for escaping the series? Look at all the Moore films and just try to think of how Lazenby could have even pulled half of that crap off. What gives Lazenby an edge (even over Connery) is that he had martial arts training from Bruce Lee, so his action scenes and stunts were all performed by him. His film also features the first true romance of the Bond character on film, which is a definite plus for a character like Bond.
3: Pierce Brosnan - Brosnan had everything in his acting ability to be the best Bond ever, he just lacked writers writers. While Goldeneye is one of my personal favorite Bond films (I actually rank it number 3), every subsequent movie is just bad. Brosnan had the suave veneer of the Connery era with the incredible action sorely lacking from the series to that point (1995). Brosnan also brought a bit more personal depth to the character, though he lost it through the decline of the series in the 90's and early 2000's. This is sad, too, since Brosnan is just such a fun actor to watch.
2: Daniel Craig - Craig may be the best Bond, but we need more films to see (Lazenby get's an exception since he only had one film). Regardless, his portrayal of the character in Casino Royale was the most emotionally depth filled since Lazenby's movie. While critics had called him cold and brutal (which is absolutely true), I saw a softer side to Bond. His love interest (which is the first in the actual novels)is stunning and beautiful, not to mention extremely troubled and emotionally scarred. We get to see Bond cradling her in a shower while she breaks down in tears, something you would never expect out of Bond from the Connery era (unless that cradling led to hot sex).
1: Sean Conney - Regardless of Craig's emotional and strong Bond, Connery still takes the lead for me. He started the franchise and kept the character of Bond powerful and suave for 5 entries consecutively (Connery had dropped the role after the 5th, but was paid to come back for the 7th after Lazenby left). Connery also acts in the best film of the series (Goldfinger) and not one of his series movie comes off as silly or stupid (though parts do exist). Connery also got lots and lots of attractive ladies to switch their morales simply by sleeping with them. That is definitely power!
I obviously put Conney at the top, but I do believe that if Craig can keep his streak of Bond films going, then he will be the best bond on screen (just like Heath Ledger stole the image and roll of the Joker from Jack Nicholson's portrayal).
