I grew up with Roger Moore, as Bond. Whilst I
like Live and Let Die, TSWLM, Moonraker, and For Your Eyes Only, they're not my favourite Bond movies.
My favourite actor is, *shock! horror!* Daniel Craig. At first, I hated the idea of Craig being Bond. The initial teaser trailer did nothing for me. but that all changed with the main trailer. Specifically, it was the scene where Bond avoids Vespa on the road and totals the Aston Martin. It was something in Craig's eyes that made me think that's Bond. Casino Royale was genius, in my view. This movie went back to the essence of the Fleming novel and was a necessary reboot of the franchise. Quantum of Solace was just a very good epilogue to that story.
Timothy Dalton is the dark horse, but I liked his portrayal of a harder edged Bond. The Living Daylights mixed what we'd seen before in a Bond movie with a look to the future and how the Brosnan Bonds would shape. License to Kill, which should have been titled
Licence Revoked, was a stab at getting more adult with the series and it failed but ultimately is an entertaining movie.
Next, must be George Lazenby; more for what he could have been. Every Bond fan knows the story of Lazenby's Bond. The "actor" has recounted it enough times
OHMSS was a great story. Lazenby was fine in the role. Ok, so he wasn't an experienced actor but he got by. Had he continued, I think he might have grown into the role very well.
The Brosnan era was more hit than miss, but Tomorrow Never Dies is one of the most forgettable Bond movies of the lot. I hate Octopussy and dislike A View to a Kill but at least they're memorable for something. TND is just ordinary, despite having a kick-ass pre-credit sequence. The World Is Not Enough is one of my favourite Bond movies, spoilt by stupid casting (Denise Richards). It's also a missed opportunity. I felt it was a kind of sequel to OHMSS in that the main female character emulated Tracey in lots of ways and that's why Bond fell for her. But, I've seen no mention of that parallel anywhere.
Die Another Day was great fun, but dumb fun. Casino Royale was a breath of fresh air after that.
Next up: Sean. Need I say anymore? Despite him being fifth in my list, he was the most consistent Bond. I just think that gone are the days for anyone under 45 to think that Sean C was
the Bond. He was brilliant, but not my favourite actor. *ducks rocks thrown by the Scotch Labbers
Last but not least (out of a great bunch) is Roger Moore. Some fun movies but he can't be compared with the above.
More wooden than a piece of MFI furniture (actually, that's not difficult).
I've given an honest, but what I think will be an unpopular, view