Being Fleming’s personal choice, I think David Niven was the ideal Bond. Connery and everyone after him were movie directors’ personal fantasies.
Pierce Brosnan will always be my favorite Bond because I’m 34 years old, a child of the 90s, and Goldeneye was “my” generation’s definitive James Bond movie, plus I went absolutely nuts at the Nintendo 64 game, along with all of my friends. The connection with the game cannot be overstated. I know some people lament that kids spend too much time indoors and not enough time playing outside, but long Goldeneye sessions are one of my most cherished childhood memories AND absolutely a form of group bonding also. I played the single player mode too, until I knew every detail of every level, and I played my Goldeneye VHS tape in my little bedroom TV with a built-in VCR until the tape was worn out. So Brosnan was THE Bond of my childhood. I didn’t give a shit about his other Bond movies after Goldeneye, though, and I still don’t.
The question of the OP is who was the BEST Bond, though. Not who was my favorite. As to that, I just don’t know, in a general sense. All I know is that for ME, Brosnan is the best.
A mild bump but with Sean Connery’s passing, this was a timely discussion. He was the best and he set the standard. Only Daniel Craig came close.
Rest in Peace, Sir Connery. And thank you for entertaining us.
Agreed on all points, Bullitt.
Despite some earnest attempts at watching a selection of them, old and new, I’ve never really been able to develop any admiration or affection for the Bond films. So can I cast my vote instead for Don Adams and Mike Myers? I somehow appreciate the spoofs a lot more than the source material.
Allowed. Those aren’t your only choices, Peter Sellers has always scored highly in this regard. Well not exactly highly, let’s say lowly, but it’s still an honor to be mentioned.
Agree with TriPolar, definitely allowed. A big part of it is, who did you grow up with, who did you grow up watching? There are other contributing factors too, depending on what’s important to you.
Don Adams (former US Marine!), Mike Myers, and Peter Sellers all, they entertained us well also. I was born in 1961 and during my youth I watched and enjoyed Sean Connery’s Bond ‘do his thing’. It’s like, for me, Johnny Carson is king, and yeah Jay Leno was a good replacement and I do like him a lot, but still Carson is king for me.
Yeah definitely allowed.
I’ve always loved Connery, but you’ve inspired me to rewatch a couple of Craig’s films.
Damn, he makes a great James Bond.
So I’m going with that theory that different agents inherit the identity of Bond, James Bond. That way I don’t have to choose, I can just think “I miss Sean, and I like when Pierce got promoted to 007, but what were they thinking, that time they recruited Roger?”
Or Taron Egerton, who is far more enjoyable to watch in films that combine real spy action and OTT spoof brilliantly.
Negative points, however, to Rowan Atkinson - the Johnny English films are absolutely dire.
If you haven’t seen them yet, I’d highly recommend the “OSS 117” movies (2). The first one is better than the 2nd, and it is hilarious. They’re both obvious spoofs of the 60’s Bond films (they’re set in the same time frame). In particular, the characterizations of the “shady characters” you always see shadowing “Bond” are great.
Archer on FX is also a very funny animated spy spoof, particularly in its early seasons.