Bond... James Bond

No secret. I am a huge fan of Ian Flemming's 007.

In fact, as I blog tonight, I am in the process of viewing most of the 007 collection. On right now, 'A View To a Kill'. (...and somewhere Matty is making a comment about Duran Duran, Rio, my baldness, and other jokes he's beat into the ground.)

Now, I will get very little argument over who the best James Bond was-- Sean Connery, he made the role... he is the role. I can even forgive him for 'Never Say Never Again'. Beyond Connery, I say next in line is Pierce Brosnan. For some reason I wish they could have gone from Connery to Brosnan and skipped George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Daulton. For all intents and purposes, Brosnan revived the role-- and had he been the original, he'd get serious consideration for Best Bond Ever.

As for Lazenby, I think he gets a raw deal. OK, the role became a one-off for him, but he did it on his own, feeling that the role would fade with the times. Maybe he saw where the role was headed, and wanted no part of it.

Lazenby was a victim of a poor script. I'm sure someone reading here is going-- are you kidding me... he cried! James Bond, Jack Bauer, Chuck Norris, and the Lone Ranger never cried... Lazenby cried as Bond. So Lazenby showed an emotional side of Bond-- I don't think anyone would have said much if it had been Connery crying. Besides, it was scripted, not just him on his own.

Bond is a movie character, not strictly a sexual icon like Fabio. I mean, we all laughed our asses off then Fabio had his nose broken on a rollercoaster. That's just justice for most men.

Then again, I can't see Connery crying. That's more of a Roger Moore thing. Even Albert Broccoli said Lazenby had the potential to be the best Bond.

It's just that our final memory of Lazenby was of him crying in his car, dead wife in his arms. And then he walked away from Bond. Really, it just wasn't a good script for a new actor in an established role.

Now before I get too far and someone asks what I think of Daniel Craig... I should say that Casino Royale is next up on the viewing list, and it will be the first time I've seen it. I'll get back to you on Craig.

As for Roger Moore. I'm convinced he nearly ruined the role. Seriously, he's just not a good actor... he didn't have the witicisms of Connery, and just wasn't tough enough for the role. That, and he held on to it way too long. 'A View To a Kill' belongs in the same pile as 'Never Say Never Again'... aging actor, probably shouldn't have been in the role.

Now maybe Moore was a victim of bad production. But much of it was bad acting. Have you ever seen the opening scene from 'The Spy Who Loved Me'? Moore is skiing down hill-- and while it's obvious he's in front of a green screen (though, at the time it was probably blue), and he's got this dopey look on his face. I swear I can hear the director yelling: 'hey moron, you're supposed to be skiing!'

Like I said, maybe it's the production team. The stunts in the Moore movies sucked, and were totally unbelievable-- though, that could just be those courses in Film Theory and Criticism shining through.

Of course, Moore would later appear in 'Spice World'. (Thank you to imdb.com for that little tidbit.)

Let's put it this way: Moore had the best woman in 'supporting roles' and I still don't care much for his movies. Barbara Bach, Jane Seymour (yes, Dr. Quinn), and Carole Bouquet... all knockouts (Bouquet and Bach being my #1 and #2 Bond Girls of all time... with Brosnan foil Famke Janssen #3)-- I don't know a single straight man that would pass on any of them... and I just get this sick feeling that Moore got to star with them. Can we give them to Connery?

With that in mind, I rank Daulton ahead of Moore. Daulton just happened to luck into the role, when Brosnan was not available due to a commitment to 'Remington Steele'. Like Lazenby, Daulton gets a raw deal. Obviously he couldn't fix the damage Moore had done to the role. But he held the fort until Brosnan could take on the role.

'Goldeneye' is by far the best Bond movie ever. 'Goldfinger', 'Dr. No', and 'From Russia With Love' are great, but not quite the best. 'Goldeneye' saved the franchise... and gave us Famke Janssen (as Xenia Onatopp) with her best way to die, ever-- ironically the first actual intimate scene in a Bond movie.

So there you have it: Connery, Brosnan, Lazenby, Daulton, and Moore... in that order, with Craig yet to be seen.

And for Joel: Bouquet, Bach, Janssen, Hatcher, and Andress as the five best Bond Girls.