Brosnan was in many ways a mix of all the other Bonds before him. In fact, if they mixed the DNA of all the pre-Brosnan actors in some horrid lab they would have created Pierce Brosnan )
As a result he isn't a bad James Bond, but neither is he one of the best.
There are three reasons I rate Brosnan as the weakest Bond:
1) He was the only actor not to put his individual stamp on the character, coming across as attempting to offer a mixture of Connery's toughness and Moore's humour. Connery was masculine and leonine; Lazenby was vulnerable and world-weary; Moore was polished and suave; Dalton was angry and intense; Craig is bitter and single-minded. However, I can only define Brosnan's interpretation in terms of other actors.
2) His acting was sometimes quite poor. The most obvious example is his scenes opposite Teri Hatcher in Tomorrow Never Dies, in which there is no chemistry whatsoever between the supposed former lovers. Contrast Lazenby's remarkable performance opposite Diana Rigg in OHMSS's barn scenes — that's how you play a love scene. However, Dalton, like Moore, seems to act well when given something interesting to do (he's genuinely excellent opposite Sophie Marceau in TWINE), which brings me onto my third point.
3) He was unlucky enough to get a bad collection of scripts. Every other Bond actor got at least one stone-cold classic. TWINE was Brosnan's best outing in my view, and it was merely quite good: I thought Goldeneye insanely overrated, consider Tomorrow Never Dies the dullest and most formulaic film in the series, and Die Another Day… well, it's Die Another Day, though I like it more than most people on here.
However, Dalton, like Moore, seems to act well when given something interesting to do (he's genuinely excellent opposite Sophie Marceau in TWINE), which brings me onto my third point.
I'm fairly sure it was Brosnan who was excellent in TWINE, not Dalton.
That'll be because this is a thread discussing Pierce Brosnan's contribution as Bond.
No, this is a thread about the 10 reasons why Brosnan was The Best James Bond
If you get to know me better, I hate off-topic chatter - I always stay on topic!
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
That'll be because this is a thread discussing Pierce Brosnan's contribution as Bond.
No, this is a thread about the 10 reasons why Brosnan was The Best James Bond
If you get to know me better, I hate off-topic chatter - I always stay on topic!
We'll have to agree to disagree on this. It's a thread about Pierce Brosnan — or Timothy Dalton as I inexplicably referred to him above. Of course, you could argue that only posts agreeing with the original premise are eligible, but that would be a pretty dull thread.
Brosnan was a great Bond. Not his fault that he was dealt a bad hand after Goldeneye.
I actually like TND better than GE.
And after my holiday Moore marathon, I put on DAD and *gasp* had a good time watching it! Sure, lots of nonsense in that one, but my boy Pierce plays it straight as an arrow. I watch Superman III in the same way... B-)
Just refreshing my memory of Remington Steele's 2nd season (series) 2hr opening episode (Steele Away With Me), and it looks like one big demo reel for Brosnan to do a Moore-type Bond movie, even the music. Of course it's my favourite ep. -{
Is this a favourite quotes from Planet Of The Apes thread?
I didn't think so...
In GE the way Brozz glanced away at that ricochet was ultimate cool.
In TND the breezy conversation he has with Michelle before they set out in search of Carver's stealth boat was priceless.
In TWINE his line "You shouldn't be here" was awesome.
In DAD his "Put your back into it" was pure Bond. Up there with the best of Connery IMO.
The most interesting thing to me about Bond is that my opinions really do change with every film released. I remember a time when Brosnan was my favorite Bond, and dare I say, in theaters, I found DAD to be quite wonderful.
Craig seemed to reorient my senses and I now probably list Brozzer somewhere between Connery, Craig, and Moore.
I will say something I liked about Brosnan was that he seemed to be the perfect combination of all the Bond's before him. He has Connery's masculinity, Moore's charm, and Dalton's seriousness. As the films went on, he became more comfortable with the role.
I think with hindsight, the scripts he was given probably all missed the mark in certain ways, but were strong in others. His delivery of certain lines were regrettable, particularly the silly one liners that seemed too forced than off the cuff and improvisational as Moore's.
The reason his tenure deteriorated was NOT due to his faults, but one crucial mistake made by the writers. Where Brosnan's films differed to their detriment to Moore's films was that in Brozzer's films, not only did Bond have his dry, witty, silly sense of humor, BUT SO DID EVERYONE ELSE.
EVERYONE HAD BOND'S SENSE OF HUMOR.
EVERY.SINGLE.CHARACTER.
...
James Bond: You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.
Zao: [punching Bond in the stomach] How's that for a punch line?
...
Verity: I see you handle your weapon well.
James Bond: I have been known to keep my tip up.
...
Miranda Frost: Mr. Bond. And Miss...?
Jinx: Swift, "Space and Technology" magazine.
Miranda Frost: Really? I take it Mr. Bond's been explaining his Big Bang theory?
Jinx: Oh yeah, I think I got the thrust of it.
...
Reporter: Are you going to try out for the British fencing team? We hear you have been training furiously.
Graves: I never get furious. As we say in fencing, "What's the point?'
PUN.PUN.PUN.PUN.PUN
It's one thing if Bond is silly. Defense mechanism? Sure! But everyone? EVERYONE???
Take that one element away and I think time would have been far more forgiving of his performances. He had the look, he had the talent, he had the delivery, just not the written words in his scripts.
The most interesting thing to me about Bond is that my opinions really do change with every film released. I remember a time when Brosnan was my favorite Bond, and dare I say, in theaters, I found DAD to be quite wonderful.
Craig seemed to reorient my senses and I now probably list Brozzer somewhere between Connery, Craig, and Moore.
I will say something I liked about Brosnan was that he seemed to be the perfect combination of all the Bond's before him. He has Connery's masculinity, Moore's charm, and Dalton's seriousness. As the films went on, he became more comfortable with the role.
I think with hindsight, the scripts he was given probably all missed the mark in certain ways, but were strong in others. His delivery of certain lines were regrettable, particularly the silly one liners that seemed too forced than off the cuff and improvisational as Moore's.
The reason his tenure deteriorated was NOT due to his faults, but one crucial mistake made by the writers. Where Brosnan's films differed to their detriment to Moore's films was that in Brozzer's films, not only did Bond have his dry, witty, silly sense of humor, BUT SO DID EVERYONE ELSE.
EVERYONE HAD BOND'S SENSE OF HUMOR.
EVERY.SINGLE.CHARACTER.
...
James Bond: You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.
Zao: [punching Bond in the stomach] How's that for a punch line?
...
Verity: I see you handle your weapon well.
James Bond: I have been known to keep my tip up.
...
Miranda Frost: Mr. Bond. And Miss...?
Jinx: Swift, "Space and Technology" magazine.
Miranda Frost: Really? I take it Mr. Bond's been explaining his Big Bang theory?
Jinx: Oh yeah, I think I got the thrust of it.
...
Reporter: Are you going to try out for the British fencing team? We hear you have been training furiously.
Graves: I never get furious. As we say in fencing, "What's the point?'
PUN.PUN.PUN.PUN.PUN
It's one thing if Bond is silly. Defense mechanism? Sure! But everyone? EVERYONE???
Take that one element away and I think time would have been far more forgiving of his performances. He had the look, he had the talent, he had the delivery, just not the written words in his scripts.
I never thought about it, but your point is well-taken. And I agree that Brosnan is generally fine as Bond, but the scripts are a problem.
Comments
As a result he isn't a bad James Bond, but neither is he one of the best.
1) He was the only actor not to put his individual stamp on the character, coming across as attempting to offer a mixture of Connery's toughness and Moore's humour. Connery was masculine and leonine; Lazenby was vulnerable and world-weary; Moore was polished and suave; Dalton was angry and intense; Craig is bitter and single-minded. However, I can only define Brosnan's interpretation in terms of other actors.
2) His acting was sometimes quite poor. The most obvious example is his scenes opposite Teri Hatcher in Tomorrow Never Dies, in which there is no chemistry whatsoever between the supposed former lovers. Contrast Lazenby's remarkable performance opposite Diana Rigg in OHMSS's barn scenes — that's how you play a love scene. However, Dalton, like Moore, seems to act well when given something interesting to do (he's genuinely excellent opposite Sophie Marceau in TWINE), which brings me onto my third point.
3) He was unlucky enough to get a bad collection of scripts. Every other Bond actor got at least one stone-cold classic. TWINE was Brosnan's best outing in my view, and it was merely quite good: I thought Goldeneye insanely overrated, consider Tomorrow Never Dies the dullest and most formulaic film in the series, and Die Another Day… well, it's Die Another Day, though I like it more than most people on here.
not sure why this is posted in a thread named:
10 reasons why Pierce Brosnan was The Best James Bond
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
A great Bond. -{
I'm fairly sure it was Brosnan who was excellent in TWINE, not Dalton.
I remember having seen a misty eye or 2
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
No, this is a thread about the 10 reasons why Brosnan was The Best James Bond
If you get to know me better, I hate off-topic chatter - I always stay on topic!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Yeah... right... 8-)
And those rose-coloured glasses of yours clash with the green trainers, which may have caused your eyes to mist!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Dalton opposite Sophie Marceau in TWINE would have been cool!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
And after my holiday Moore marathon, I put on DAD and *gasp* had a good time watching it!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
But, in DAD, he didn't quite look like someone who was imprisoned in North Korea for 14 months either.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Maybe he was on the Kim Jong-Un diet.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
OOOPS! We are now targets!!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I didn't think so...
In GE the way Brozz glanced away at that ricochet was ultimate cool.
In TND the breezy conversation he has with Michelle before they set out in search of Carver's stealth boat was priceless.
In TWINE his line "You shouldn't be here" was awesome.
In DAD his "Put your back into it" was pure Bond. Up there with the best of Connery IMO.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Craig seemed to reorient my senses and I now probably list Brozzer somewhere between Connery, Craig, and Moore.
I will say something I liked about Brosnan was that he seemed to be the perfect combination of all the Bond's before him. He has Connery's masculinity, Moore's charm, and Dalton's seriousness. As the films went on, he became more comfortable with the role.
I think with hindsight, the scripts he was given probably all missed the mark in certain ways, but were strong in others. His delivery of certain lines were regrettable, particularly the silly one liners that seemed too forced than off the cuff and improvisational as Moore's.
The reason his tenure deteriorated was NOT due to his faults, but one crucial mistake made by the writers. Where Brosnan's films differed to their detriment to Moore's films was that in Brozzer's films, not only did Bond have his dry, witty, silly sense of humor, BUT SO DID EVERYONE ELSE.
EVERYONE HAD BOND'S SENSE OF HUMOR.
EVERY.SINGLE.CHARACTER.
...
James Bond: You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.
Zao: [punching Bond in the stomach] How's that for a punch line?
...
Verity: I see you handle your weapon well.
James Bond: I have been known to keep my tip up.
...
Miranda Frost: Mr. Bond. And Miss...?
Jinx: Swift, "Space and Technology" magazine.
Miranda Frost: Really? I take it Mr. Bond's been explaining his Big Bang theory?
Jinx: Oh yeah, I think I got the thrust of it.
...
Reporter: Are you going to try out for the British fencing team? We hear you have been training furiously.
Graves: I never get furious. As we say in fencing, "What's the point?'
PUN.PUN.PUN.PUN.PUN
It's one thing if Bond is silly. Defense mechanism? Sure! But everyone? EVERYONE???
Take that one element away and I think time would have been far more forgiving of his performances. He had the look, he had the talent, he had the delivery, just not the written words in his scripts.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I never thought about it, but your point is well-taken. And I agree that Brosnan is generally fine as Bond, but the scripts are a problem.
Its what I have been saying from the beginning. Brosnan was passable but scripts and directors let him down.