Home Opinion Midweek Mouth-off: The Great Bond Debate

Midweek Mouth-off: The Great Bond Debate

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The highly anticipated Skyfall opens this Friday as the 23rd official James Bond film, so it’s time for one of the most contentious debates of movie fandom…

Of the 6 actors who have played Ian Fleming’s smooth, martini-sipping spy, who is the best Bond, and what is the best Bond film? Likewise, who’s the worst 007 and which movie is the biggest turkey of this massively popular 60 year old franchise?

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.

Last Updated: November 28, 2012

15 Comments

  1. Uberutang

    November 28, 2012 at 11:04

    Really is no best Bond Actor. Each one was great for the era.

    Worse Movie is easy:Die Another Day.

    Best? Best movie so far: Casino Royale. But is it a true Bond movie?

    Reply

    • Matewis Jubilai

      November 28, 2012 at 11:07

      Worst bond theme song as well. Best was from Tomorrow never dies.

      Reply

  2. DieJason

    November 28, 2012 at 11:07

    Best Bond – I did favour Roger Moore in my youth but I think Connery takes the title overall for me now. Worst Bond…. most people’s obvious culprit, Lazenby, was okay, I think I started disliking Brosnan quite a bit in his last 1 or two movies, just because they were horrible.

    Best movie….. from the later movies Casino Royale was great, from earlier movies – Live or Let Die.

    Would actually LOVE to get my hands on the Bond Anniversary blu-ray set, watched a bit of Dr No in HD at a friend’s place on DSTV, the quality is quite remarkable.

    Reply

    • Uberutang

      November 28, 2012 at 11:33

      Bring n hdd na my huis toe ;P

      Reply

      • DieJason

        November 28, 2012 at 11:36

        MAAR DIE BOKS LYK SO MOOI

        Reply

        • Uberutang

          November 28, 2012 at 11:38

          Boks gaan vol stof raak en die hond gaan hom kou anyway. 😛

          Jare terug moes ek kies tussen a JB box set en n PS2…

          Reply

  3. Christo Kruger

    November 28, 2012 at 12:20

    Favorite Bond: Just because he was my first Bond, Pierce Brosnan with Daniel Graig a close second.

    Favorite Bond film: Goldeneye, Least favorite: Tomorrow Never Dies.

    Reply

  4. Kervyn Cloete

    November 28, 2012 at 12:33

    Best bond – Connery. No doubt. He was the perfect mix of charming and vicious. The ladies loved him, the guys wanted to be him.

    Worst Bond – Moore for me. He was far too old for the part for most of tenure, and upped the silliness factor a bit too much at times.

    Best Bond movie – This is a difficult one and probably would change by what mood I’m in, but these are probably the top 3 candidates: Casino Royale, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger.

    Worst Bond movie – Moonraker. An utterly ridiculous plot and script (and in the Bond franchise, that says a lot), with the completely unnecessary return and hokey fate of a previous character in Jaws, and some of the fakest low gravity scenes you will ever see.

    Special mention has to be made for George Lazenby and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He and that film take an awful lot of unnecessary flak. When it was released, many couldn’t look past the departure of Connery to review it fairly. And there seems to be this misconception that Lazenby played the role so poorly that he was kicked out after only one performance, when in actual fact he quit due to the studios not allowing him to have more say in the character.
    But he was actually a great Bond, and his characterization as well as the script of the movie are one of the very few to actually stay close to what Fleming wrote in his original novel. In fact, I’d say it’s the most faithful adaptation.
    It also featured the most character development we have ever seen in the franchise, barring Casino Royale. And one of the few times that the movies featured a real strong female character and not just a one-night stand Bond girl.
    That’s not even mentioning the always great Telly Savalas as Blofeld or director Peter Hunt’s gorgeous and atmospheric visuals.
    I always thought that I was truly in the minority of the film, but with Skyfall being released on the 50th Anniversary, a lot of Best/Worst lists have going up, and I was really pleasantly surprised to see OHMSS featuring very high up on a the majority of the articles I’ve read.

    Reply

  5. Kervyn Cloete

    November 28, 2012 at 12:35

    Oh and sorry for the wall of text. My James Bond fanboyism knows no bounds. 😀

    Reply

  6. Darryn_Bonthuys

    November 28, 2012 at 14:12

    My fave Bond? Pierce Brosnan. He combined the suave attitude of Moore, with the ruthlessness of Connery and the right level of intensity that Dalton brought to the franchise.

    Efficient, charming and lethal.

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      November 28, 2012 at 15:17

      Until Craig came along, Brosnan was my 2nd pick. Even when the movies he was in turned into jokes, he was still great as 007.

      Reply

  7. Noelle Adams

    November 28, 2012 at 14:19

    Fave Bond: That’s too close to call because I’ve liked them all (yes, even Lazenby and ice-cold-Craig-forerunner Dalton)… with the exception of Roger Moore. I hate Moore as Bond. His first few films were alright (Live and Let Die especially) but then they got more and more ridiculous. And like Kervyn mentioned, he really started showing his age towards the end, when he was supposed to be this irresistible heartthrob.

    Unsurprisingly then, my worst Bond movie of all time is the ultimate in silliness: Moonraker, followed by Die Another Day (stupid plot stolen from Batman & Robin and appalling CGI).

    My favourite Bond films are The World is Not Enough, Casino Royale, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Licence to Kill. Licence was the first ever Bond film I watched and to my memory, nothing has ever topped it in terms of cold-blooded, R-rated intensity. Casino Royale and OHMSS are mentioned because they are the 2 true, affecting love stories of the series.

    Reply

    • Noelle Adams

      November 28, 2012 at 14:23

      Oh, Quantum of Solace deserves a spot on the Worst list as well. Incoherent action scenes and a general “meh” attitude.

      I’m certainly not one of those people who accept the hype that the latest Bond film is “the best ever”, so I’m trying to rein in my expectations about Skyfall.

      Reply

      • Noelle Adams

        November 28, 2012 at 14:23

        Oh, and Quantum of Solace has hands down the worst ever Bond song.

        Reply

        • Kervyn Cloete

          November 28, 2012 at 15:16

          I hated QoS’ theme song initially, but since then as just a normal song, it’s grown on me.

          Reply

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