Mercurius
Legend
Like many Gen X American/European males, I grew up with a fondness and idolization of James Bond - the original "badass JB" (followed by James Brown and then Jason Bourne). I grew up with Roger Moore being the Bond, so I associated his wise-cracking aged face with Bond, although grew to appreciate the great Sean Connery's classic depiction and even appreciated George Lazenby. Timothy Dalton was OK, underrated in a way but kind of boring, and Pierce Brosnan was too slick, too perfectly Bondish and thus lacking the off-centeredness from the archetype that characterized the best Bonds. Anyhow, to me Daniel Craig was a revelation - not only was Casino Royale arguably the greatest Bond film ever, but it had a modern sensibility while remaining true to the essence of Bond, and Craig made the character his own, with a hard yet somehow deeply vulnerable quality. The Vesper Lynd tragedy made his character all the more believable and even forgiveable.
I recently re-watched both Skyfall and Casino Royale, and plan on re-watching Quantum of Solace - which was so forgettable that I can't even remember anything about it. It is probably best viewed as an extended addendum, or out-takes, for Casino Royale. Anyhow, I'm convinced that both Casino Royale and Skyfall are among the five best Bond films ever made. I'd have to re-watch a lot of the Connery and Moore films to tell for sure, but I'd probably round out the top five with two from Connery and one from Moore. I may even re-watch the entire run and have nerdy fun ranking them all.
Anyhow, what are your favorite Bond films and why? I'll include a poll where you can vote for five, but feel free to include your list. While we're at it, which are the worst?
As I said, I'd like to re-watch some of the older ones, but if I had to pick right now I'd say:
Five Best Bond (chronologically): From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, Casino Royale, Skyfall
Five Worst Bond (chronologically): Octopussy, Never Say Never Again, A View to a Kill, Licensed to Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies
I recently re-watched both Skyfall and Casino Royale, and plan on re-watching Quantum of Solace - which was so forgettable that I can't even remember anything about it. It is probably best viewed as an extended addendum, or out-takes, for Casino Royale. Anyhow, I'm convinced that both Casino Royale and Skyfall are among the five best Bond films ever made. I'd have to re-watch a lot of the Connery and Moore films to tell for sure, but I'd probably round out the top five with two from Connery and one from Moore. I may even re-watch the entire run and have nerdy fun ranking them all.
Anyhow, what are your favorite Bond films and why? I'll include a poll where you can vote for five, but feel free to include your list. While we're at it, which are the worst?
As I said, I'd like to re-watch some of the older ones, but if I had to pick right now I'd say:
Five Best Bond (chronologically): From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, Casino Royale, Skyfall
Five Worst Bond (chronologically): Octopussy, Never Say Never Again, A View to a Kill, Licensed to Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies