Did the previous 3 actors get the same praise that Craig has now?

13

Comments

  • David SchofieldDavid Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    There is a big difference between the 'cool' new kid on the block and something 'out of date with EVERYTHING' (as you say).

    The past has taught me (Tom Ford QoS sunglasses) me not to engage further into discussions with you :s

    The why start here - do you expect everyone to agree with your every bon mots?

    Difference of opinion and freedom to express such are a reasonable expectation, no?
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    One of the strengths of Bond mentioned in another thread, is that
    Bond is a genre of its own, so doesn't have to strictly follow fashion. ;)

    Thats actually true. Bonds never competed against the others. Like this Bourne business - it rose above it...
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    I want to try Dalton, Moore and Brosnan.

    I'm wondering what I should do.

    Should I watch them in order, finishing out Connery? Or should I mix it up and do one movie from each actor.

    Also, I'm wondering whether I should go for the acclaimed films (like Goldeneye) first or chance on a few (like Die Another Day) spread them out to give myself something to look forward to. To be fair, I was expecting a grueling punishment while watching Quantum of Solace but I enjoyed it.

    I agree with what everyone is suggesting, watch everything in sequence. However, since you've already gone against sequence and watched the Craig movies and if you are time crunched by your schedule, I'd suggest the following samplers, The Spy Who Loved Me for Moore, The Living Daylights for Dalton and Goldeneye for Brosnan. I recommend these because I find with the debut movies, you get the most sincere interpretation from the actors with the exception of TSWLM (not being Moore's debut), which is his quintessential performance as Bond, IMO.

    I don't remember if you've mentioned watching On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but IMO, that film epitomizes the Bond character more than any other because it's the perfect marriage (in more ways than one!) between the books and film series and if you are one to celebrate Christmas, it is perfect viewing for this time of the year.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    I'm going to finish up Connery and Lazenby first. Then, I'll decide whether I want to go in order from there.
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    I'm going to finish up Connery and Lazenby first. Then, I'll decide whether I want to go in order from there.

    Here's all you need to know - I'm very old and Connery IS Bond! :D
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    The oldest here I think :v
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I thought we had agreed the term " classic" was much better. ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    Depends on the Context :))
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    He's the oldest classic bond fan. ;) :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    Yes -{
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    I thought we had agreed the term " classic" was much better. ;)

    no, he's old - plain and simple :D
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    He's the oldest classic bond fan. ;) :))

    I'll take it! :))
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • FiremassFiremass AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
    I'm going to finish up Connery and Lazenby first. Then, I'll decide whether I want to go in order from there.

    Great opportunity to watch the films with a fresh set of eyes and without the baggage of decades of opinions that will prejudice your viewing experience. Although, it's probably too late if you're already reading posts on AJB.
    My current 10 favorite:

    1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    I thought we had agreed the term " classic" was much better. ;)

    no, he's old - plain and simple :D

    Hey!!!! Who says I'm plain! :))
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • GrindelwaldGrindelwald Posts: 1,294MI6 Agent
    "LTK made heaps of money"

    No , it didn't.......it made average at best biz.

    Next people are gonna claim TMWTGG was a b.o hit , too :p
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    "LTK made heaps of money"

    No , it didn't.......it made average at best biz.
    I *think* that was meant to say that it made heaps compared to most moderately budgeted films of that era.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,988Quartermasters
    chrisisall wrote:
    "LTK made heaps of money"

    No , it didn't.......it made average at best biz.
    I *think* that was meant to say that it made heaps compared to most moderately budgeted films of that era.

    It turned a tidy profit, as all Bonds do, but undeniably got its hat handed to it by the likes of 'Batman' and other tentpole pictures that summer...there's a reason Bond films have all been Autumn releases since then...!
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    LTK suffered from poor Advertising and Promotion :#
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    Not exactly, at least not in the U.S. I recall that summer, and it seemed to have gotten as much advanced buzz as its predecessor. I recall quite a bit in magazines, and there were TV commercials and movie trailers.

    What Licence to Kill did not get, though, was good word of mouth. While The Living Daylights had not sparked the way the producers had hoped, the buzz about it was generally good, even if the public wasn't quickly warming up to Timothy Dalton as Bond. Licence to Kill, on the other hand, did not get much more than so-so word of mouth. I was in college at the time, and it was not the go-to movie of the summer.

    More than a few things hurt Licence to Kill. For starters, it seemed too much like a Miami Vice episode. That TV series was winding down, having used up much of its initial appeal and lost its way, and audiences were weary of the whole drug kingpin thing. The Bond film seemed a Johnny-come-lately.

    Those of us who'd seen it weren't all that impressed. I found the film strange -- campy in parts like a Moore film and over-the-top violent in others. It was the 80s, and a lot of entertainment was hokey and uneven like that, but the combination -- complete with Dalton's unerring seriousness -- made this film seem especially a mish-mash. There were scenes I really liked, such as Bond's assassination attempt on Sanchez and his resulting interrogation scene, but they were offset by the whole Wayne Newton character and three Bond women who weren't all that appealing -- the generally insufferable Priscilla Barnes, who'd underwhelmed on Three's Company; the generally talentless Taliso Soto, who was vapid and listless; and the generally Amazonian Carey Lowell, who seemed so intent on being a member of NOW that it was hard to believe she and Bond could work together at all.

    Steven Spielberg had already made better Bond films with Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and his Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was light years ahead of Licence to Kill in this regard, too.

    But probably the biggest problem for the Bond series was the VCR. By the late 80s, people could just watch an older, superior Bond film and not even have to bother to go to the theater. And they knew that within a few months, the film would be available on cable or video. So, if it wasn't all that great, why bother?

    There's no doubt that Brosnan, who was already familar to American audiences from Remington Steele, reinvigorated the franchise after Dalton's departure, but even he couldn't overcome the weaker scripts and paint-by-numbers approach to the character. That's why, in part, Daniel Craig knocked it out of the park and put Bond back in the spotlight. It took a few decades, but he returned Bond to the public eye in a way people hadn't seen since Connery's days.
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Thanks, Gassy Man.

    A pretty much spot-on analysis of the situation back then - without the tinted glasses of a Timboy -{

    Let me add that this "summer competition" stuff never convinced me.
    Yes, there were strong competitors but obviously only LTK was cannibalized by the competitors - which went very well on the B.O - every single one of them.

    So there was a good reason why LTK performed like it did - competition is hardly one of them. There have been times when a new 007 movie blew the competition out of the window!
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    {[]
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    Gassy Man wrote:
    There's no doubt that Brosnan, who was already familar to American audiences from Remington Steele, reinvigorated the franchise after Dalton's departure, but even he couldn't overcome the weaker scripts and paint-by-numbers approach to the character.
    I was with you up 'till here. It seemed like you were commenting on popularity/public perception, and suddenly you gloss over the fact that ALL of Brosnan's films hit it out of the park in that area in favour of commenting on script originality...? ?:)
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    After watching LTK in the cinema I though Bond was dead ! :#
    I liked Dalton but the film was a shock to the system after the
    Moore years. For whatever reasons When Pierce Brosnan came
    along the films did indeed seem reborn. I can remember leaving
    The cinema this time thinking Bond was back. Although I do agree
    He ended up with little to work with, some weak scripts. :# although
    I do think he is undeserving of some of the more vicious attacks he
    Seems to get.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    Film Bond was dead whilst Book Bond was very much alive.
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Did you mean Brooke Bond ? :))
    http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FtWAC5HJsKs
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    :)) I love the old PG Tips Adverts -{
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Although you are right at least we had J Gardner's Books. But the gap
    Between LTK and GE , seemed very, very long. In fact although there
    Was no announcement, I thought they had indeed stopped making
    The Bond films. :# so hearing that GE was in production was brilliant
    News. {[]
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Moore ThanMoore Than EnglandPosts: 3,173MI6 Agent
    After watching LTK in the cinema I though Bond was dead ! :#
    I liked Dalton but the film was a shock to the system after the
    Moore years. For whatever reasons When Pierce Brosnan came
    along the films did indeed seem reborn. I can remember leaving
    The cinema this time thinking Bond was back. Although I do agree
    He ended up with little to work with, some weak scripts. :# although
    I do think he is undeserving of some of the more vicious attacks he
    Seems to get.

    I never thought Bond was dead. I've always liked Timothy Dalton and LTK. Undoubtedly, a switch from Roger Moore to Pierce Brosnan would have been more palatable for the general public, and LTK would likely have been better received. For me, Dalton was the right man at the wrong time.

    I agree that Brosnan generally did not have a lot to work with. I also agree that he gets some undeserved and unnecessary criticism, but that also applies to the other actors (with the possible exception of Sean Connery). Doesn't justify it though.
    Moore Not Less 4371 posts (2002 - 2007) Moore Than (2012 - 2016)
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I agree with " The right man at the wrong time" {[] I'm a Dalton fan
    And LTK is now my third favourite Bond film. Connery doesn't take
    Any flak for Bond but everyone after him, gets it in the neck from
    Their detractors. Which is a little unfair, I do think every actor who
    Has played Bond has given 100%. -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    Dalton has always been my favorite Bond -{
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
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