Favorite James Bond?

[The Batman]

Since today marks the 60th Anniversary of "Dr.No", and since we're a year removed from Daniel Craig's last Bond film, I ask the question: Who is currently your favorite James Bond, and why?

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

It's tough. Craig did a fantastic job, and it's tempting to go for him. But then I watch Connery in his prime (for me, From Russia with Love) and realise it's easy to forget just how great he was. Craig is a 9.99999 for me, but Connery is the 10.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Daniel Craig because he’s the first Bond I actually cared about, and made a fully three dimensional human being.

In terms of classic though, Sean Connery because he’s the icon. And even going back, he’s got so much presence it’s hard to compete.

 

[The Batman]

I voted for Roger, because he'll probably need the votes, and at this point, he's kind of underrated. I think online Bond fans forget how popular his Bond was, and that he was the one who truly proved that Bond could survive beyond Connery.

Also, "The Spy Who Loved Me" has one of my favorite portrayals of Bond in the series.

 

[Deck Rickard]

The first person to vote for Lazenby needs to be banned for blatant trolling.

I went with Craig. Because I think he faced the most adversity from the worst contingent of the fan base (I remember a website called CraigNotBond with a homepage that compared his face to that of a Neanderthal) and yet despite that, he turned in a performance that was so consistently good that Eon kept begging for him to come back even after he wanted to move on. And as others have said, his Bond was the most three dimensional; he gave the role a layer of depth that it didn’t have before and managed to steer the character toward modern sensibilities. Yet he still felt like Bond, sexy and badass as ever.

After that, I would rank them:

Connery (gotta love the original)

Moore (his films were often sillier but he was incredibly likable in the role)

Brosnan (he would probably be higher up on this list if any of his films after Goldeneye had been nearly as good as his first)

Dalton (underrated and underappreciated; he probably would be higher on my list had he done more films)

Lazenby (He appeared in one more Bond film than he should have.)

 

[Filmfreak]

Daniel Craig because he’s the first Bond I actually cared about, and made a fully three dimensional human being.

In terms of classic though, Sean Connery because he’s the icon. And even going back, he’s got so much presence it’s hard to compete.

All this.

 

[Drizzle]

It's a tough call between Connery and Craig for me. Connery made the character a household name and originated the most well-known persona of Bond while Craig probably gave the best performance in the role to date where he actually evolved as a character.

I also have a soft spot for Brosnan since he was my Bond growing up.

Really there isn't a bad choice. I've liked what each actor brought to the role.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I voted for Roger, because he'll probably need the votes, and at this point, he's kind of underrated. I think online Bond fans forget how popular his Bond was, and that he was the one who truly proved that Bond could survive beyond Connery.

Also, "The Spy Who Loved Me" has one of my favorite portrayals of Bond in the series.

Yeah, Moore did the impossible and made Bond his own which was a tall order after Connery. He also is Bond to an entire generation of people. That's not easy. Moore isn't my favorite Bond, but he's great for what he is and I appreciate his legacy. He shouldn't be overlooked because he is a lighter Bond.

 

[Iceman]

Moore isn’t my favourite Bond but he has quite easily the best catalogue of Bond films IMO.

 

[Filmfreak]

Moore isn’t my favourite Bond but he has quite easily the best catalogue of Bond films IMO.

Really? I still enjoy most of them but I think he and Brosnan definitely have the weakest films overall. Connery certainly was the most consistent and had the best movies, in my opinion. If only his last one was On Her Majesty's Secret Service instead of Diamonds Are Forever. Craig still has my very top Bond entries in his resume, though.

 

[Broseph44]

Brosnan and Craig are my favorites.

 

[Herofan]

I like Roger Moore as Bond a lot even though I admit a big part of it is nostalgia and Connery is in some ways better ... average Moore is a very little better than average Connery, if both putting in pretty little effort also about tied though peak Connery is a lot better than even Moore at peak (though latter is still quite good). But it felt like Connery was putting in little effort for longer and so felt more declined and Moore wins slightly again admitting part of it is nostalgia.

Brosnan was fine, pretty obviously and directly trying to be a combo, very uneven though with good moments, really not fond of the others. Lazenby much too little presence, the others too little fun and charm.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Connery and Craig are my favourites, though I don’t dislike any actor. They’re all varying degrees of good as far as I’m concerned.

YOLT and DAF tarnish Connery’s tenure a bit for me, but he’s the original, the most iconic and FRWL is one of the greatest films ever made.

Craig, I think had the best arc of any Bond and put in the best performance. To me he’s the first truly iconic Bond we’ve had since Moore abdicated the role and he’s left the franchise in an incredible place.

then it’s probably Roger Moore, for the simple fact that he kept the franchise going post-Connery and defined Bond for a generation. He was charm incarnate and probably the best ambassador the franchise ever had.

Then Dalton, because of his dedication to playing the role as a proper actor rather than a movie star and aiming to bring Fleming’s character to life as accurately as he could.

Lazenby, considering he wasn’t an actor did pretty damn well with a film that was in all honesty probably more emotionally mature than Connery or Moore could have handled. He’s not great, but he captured the arrogance and charm of book-Bond and was vulnerable when he needed to be.

Brosnan…he’s good. But he’s basically playing an amalgamation of Connery and Moore and there’s less of a personal stamp on the role. It didn’t help that none of his films post-GoldenEye really allowed him to stretch his legs and do something with the part. But still, he kept the franchise alive in the turbulent Post-Cold War era and he deserves props for that.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Gee...I wonder....looks at avatar. But anyways Connery had a charm about him,an arrogance and sauveness covering his true brutish nature. He's the one who everyone looks at when he enters the room because he radiates cool. Also, I think those first five films are all great. None of the others come close to that track record. It took Moore, Brosnan, and Craig combined to match those five with their best films, IMO. FRWL and Goldfinger alone may be the two best films in the entire series.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Really? I still enjoy most of them but I think he and Brosnan definitely have the weakest films overall. Connery certainly was the most consistent and had the best movies, in my opinion. If only his last one was On Her Majesty's Secret Service instead of Diamonds Are Forever. Craig still has my very top Bond entries in his resume, though.

I have Moore and Craig about equal. Both have two movies I really like and a couple near the very bottom, although I would probably consider Moore's worst a little more enjoyable than Craig's worst. Moore has a handful of midrange ones versus Craig's one, but both of them suffered from.consistency problems. Craig especially twice followed one of the very best films in the franchise with one of the very worst.

 

[MarvelFan]

First to vote for Pierce

My first 007 movie was Die Another Day.

Though Connery and Craig had some of the best films in the series but Pierce is definitely my favorite.
IMO he is the most handsome of them all (in my country, he is often called "ikemen" (means "cool and good looking" terms specifically for boys and men)

 

[Dark Raven]

In this order:

1. Sean Connery
2. Roger Moore
3. Timothy Dalton
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. Daniel Craig
6. George Lazenby

I don't really like the Brosnan movies but I find them slightly more rewatchable than the Daniel Craig ones which I've never really enjoyed and would only really watch once for completion's sake. I enjoyed the Roger Moore movies more and could easily watch them again and again. I do find TMWTGG one of the weakest entries though but still would rather watch that than Craig's films.

I do wish Dalton did another movie or two. Also I would've liked to have seen him in Casino Royale which could've been really classic with him in the role, even looking like the literary Bond.

Connery's movies are iconic (although I'm not really a fan of Diamonds Are Forever). I'd still watch DAF though over the Craig movies.

OHMSS seems like a serious Bond movie with a spoof Bond actor in the role, so there almost feels this disconnect, especially when he's dubbed for parts of his dialogue.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Yeah, the part where he's undercover as Hilary Bray is brutal.

 

[The Joker]

I think they all brought something to the role but my favorite is and always has been Sean Connery. He defines Bond for me.

 

[Demon_28]

Dan. Casino, Skyfall, Spectre, NTTD are great action blockbusters.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

This looks to be a two-horse race. I kinda thought it would be.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, the part where he's undercover as Hilary Bray is brutal.

That's painful. Was he dubbed? It sounded like it.

 

[Dark Raven]

That's painful. Was he dubbed? It sounded like it.

He was dubbed by George Baker who played the real Hilary Bray. Shouldn't have even bothered with an imitation. If Connery had been in the role I don't see him trying to put on a posh English accent or being dubbed over. Even Roger Moore (who did sound posh) wouldn't have been dubbed.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Seaniel Craigery with the lead!

 

[Gothamsknight]

Considering I've only seen maybe 1 or 2 of the connery films, and all of the Brosnan (goldeneye more than once, and the other Brosnan movies only once when I was young) and Craig movies, I'm gonna have to go with Craig. I love what he brought to the role, and he managed to make the character more layered, contemporary, and interesting. That, and I think Casino Royale is one of the best action films ever.