James Bond is the superspy who has become the most well-known and loved (by women anyway) in the entire world. All men wish that they could have the dangerous life where they can live with the enemy’s daughter and save the entire world in one day. Six men were given the opportunity to portray the legend, leading to debates as to who the best actor was and who wasn’t.
Sean Connery is, of course, the original James Bond. Many would say that Connery is the greatest James Bond. Connery was a Bond who wasn’t so focused on going to the enemy base with his guns drawn and more interested in playing cards or winning a game of golf with them. Bond, in his early years of life was a skilled orator. His emphasis was less on oneliners (though they still existed) and more on outwitting his enemies. Connery kicked off his character in style. One of the greatest scenes in all of television is Connery’s Bond movie introduction. “Dr. No.”
Roger Moore took Bond in a new direction. Connery’s machismo was gone. Instead, one-liners, humor, and amusing villains emerged. Moore was confronted with the Jaws, his metal teeth and Shaman Baron Samedi on several occasions. Moore was able to play Bond very well and the action escalated, although he did so in a different manner than Connery. The tone of movies such as Octopussy, Moonraker and other early Bond movies was less serious than in the earlier movies. This led to some questioning the direction that the Bond movies were heading.
Pierce Brosnan was the representative of the guns that were blazing into James Bond’s base. With all of the film technology available in the 1990s, Bond saw more action and far less interaction with enemies. It seems that conversation and action had moved to the forefront from Sean Connery’s days. Brosnan gave Bond a debonair appearance and romanticized many women, whether with him or not. Although his films got somewhat stale in the World is Not Enough movies, he still represented James Bond well. However, the movies did not have the same human dimension that the more intricately plotted tales of From Russia to Love or Goldfinger.
Daniel Craig, the new James Bond. He has not yet appeared in Casino Royale so it is difficult to know if he will be able to live up the Bonds legacy. However, he’s certainly got a good start. Casino Royale provided a welcome dose of adrenaline with its mix of Chase scenes and Texas Holdem’ Poker. Craig combined the best elements of old and new to create a character smart and debonair that could chase men across roofs and through construction cranes. We also felt for the man and his girlfriend in the film. It is shown how Bond rose to 007 status, and also how he was able to become the cold-blooded agent with the right to kill which viewers have fallen in love over the decades.
You may be wondering why six Bond actors were mentioned in the beginning, but only four for each of the others. I eventually decided to remove George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton from my list. The three films they made together were not very good and, in my opinion, do not stand up to the four other performances by the famous British MI6 agent.