Roger Moore. One of several James Bond's has left us.

[JMolina]

He was the second best at that role after Sean Connery, in my opinion. RIP.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40018422

[Dale E Wetzel]

Roger Moore was my least favorite Bond, by a long way. (I never saw the George Lazenby movie, and I am not counting David Niven in the Casino Royale spoof).

My personal rankings:
1. Daniel Craig
2. Sean Connery
3. Timothy Dalton
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. Roger Moore

[HudsonHawk]

Moore was a total clown as Bond. But he was still James Bond. RIP.


On a side note, I'd say Connery was the most iconic, Dalton was the truest to the literary character, and Craig in Casino Royale may be the best (the rest of Craig's films...eh). Lazenby and OHMSS is very underrated.

[barnbird]

Moore's films were so far out they became unbelievable I started out with Dr. No, From Russia with love then Goldfinger amd Thunderball after that the films became more of a fantasy . Craig did a decent job in Casino Royale but Connery was my ideal 007..

[sabertooth5185]

Connery was great, and for my generation and those older, he is the Bond we're supposed to say was the greatest. He was for a long time, but no more. Craig is Bond.

RIP Roger. Your Bond films were fun, but the best character was the Louisiana sheriff playing Wile E. Coyote.

[John D]

Moore's films were so far out they became unbelievable I started out with Dr. No, From Russia with love then Goldfinger amd Thunderball after that the films became more of a fantasy . Craig did a decent job in Casino Royale but Connery was my ideal 007..

Brosnan was a pompous ass, but the shower scene with Michelle Yeoh was entertaining

[RHinSD]

Interesting.....Roger Moore was very much anti-gun despite his swashbuckling roles. What WOULD "Q" say about that....?

[Oz-iz-God]

Roger Moore was my least favorite Bond, by a long way. (I never saw the George Lazenby movie, and I am not counting David Niven in the Casino Royale spoof).

My personal rankings:
1. Daniel Craig
2. Sean Connery
3. Timothy Dalton
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. Roger Moore

This post is correct.

Lazenby goes ahead of Moore but that's it. He was incredibly wooden but had a great movie to work with.

Moore was the worst by a lot and Dalton was great, just ahead of his time. He was Craig before Craig; wildly underrated.

[barnbird]

My personal favorite was From Russia with love Shaw was a great villian

[The Iguana]

This post is correct.

Lazenby goes ahead of Moore but that's it. He was incredibly wooden but had a great movie to work with.

Moore was the worst by a lot and Dalton was great, just ahead of his time. He was Craig before Craig; wildly underrated.

That's probably my list as well. If only Dalton had had some good scripts to work with.

The Spy Who Loved Me was actually a pretty decent Bond film. It's not Goldfinger or Casino Royale, but actually a very serviceable action spy movie. Otherwise...too many gadgets, too much tongue in cheek in the Moore movies. After For Your Eyes Only, he was really too old for the role anyway.

But everything I've heard about Moore was that he a true gentleman, always kind to fans. R.I.P., Roger.

[Ogge]

I grew up with Moore and will always have a soft spot for him. I like my Bond suave yet sleazy, proper British and dapper, and willing to kick a car off a cliff.

In fact, I think the new Bond films could use a little cheekiness as they gotten too far away from gentleman spy to brute assassin. I like Craig, but I hate what they've done to the character. He's basically a glorified SAS agent, not MI6, that goes rogue every movie. Yawn. Kingsmen was more fun and re-watchable than Spectre, that's for sure.

[Oz-iz-God]

My personal favorite was From Russia with love Shaw was a great villian

Probably my favorite, also. Kerim Bey is a great 'sidekick', SPECTRE is more fully fleshed out and Sylvia Trench even makes an appearance.

Romanova is probably my favorite Bond girl to boot (though Rosamund Pike is up there as well, she was in a TERRIBLE move, though).

Yeah, that's almost certainly my favorite one.

[Oz-iz-God]

That's probably my list as well. If only Dalton had had some good scripts to work with.

The Spy Who Loved Me was actually a pretty decent Bond film. It's not Goldfinger or Casino Royale, but actually a very serviceable action spy movie. Otherwise...too many gadgets, too much tongue in cheek in the Moore movies. After For Your Eyes Only, he was really too old for the role anyway.

But everything I've heard about Moore was that he a true gentleman, always kind to fans. R.I.P., Roger.

The Spy Who Loved Me is a solid one, agreed.

Maybe I just hold "A View to a Kill" against him too harshly. He was sooooo ooooold in that movie and of course they have him pursuing Tanya Roberts who, 30 years old at the time or not, looked like she was 17 and the whole vibe was just creepy as hell. That movie is as bad as any of Brosnan's later, terrible efforts.

[Oz-iz-God]

I grew up with Moore and will always have a soft spot for him. I like my Bond suave yet sleazy, proper British and dapper, and willing to kick a car off a cliff.

In fact, I think the new Bond films could use a little cheekiness as they gotten too far away from gentleman spy to brute assassin. I like Craig, but I hate what they've done to the character. He's basically a glorified SAS agent, not MI6, that goes rogue every movie. Yawn. Kingsmen was more fun and re-watchable than Spectre, that's for sure.

Kingsman is awesome. Loved that movie.

The sequel looks like it could be crap, though. The trailer has me seriously concerned. Kingsman is up there alongside John Wick as among my favorite pure entertainment movies of the last 10 years or so and John Wick's sequel managed to be nearly as good. Kingsman looks like they've just gone way too Hollywood with it.

[CheapSeats]

He was the second best at that role after Sean Connery, in my opinion. RIP.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40018422

All the worst Bond films are either Roger Moore or Dalton. The late Moore films are simply unwatchable.

[CheapSeats]

Roger Moore was my least favorite Bond, by a long way. (I never saw the George Lazenby movie, and I am not counting David Niven in the Casino Royale spoof).

My personal rankings:
1. Daniel Craig
2. Sean Connery
3. Timothy Dalton
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. Roger Moore

I flip Connery and Craig and Brosnan and Dalton.

[JMolina]

That's probably my list as well. If only Dalton had had some good scripts to work with.

The Spy Who Loved Me was actually a pretty decent Bond film. It's not Goldfinger or Casino Royale, but actually a very serviceable action spy movie. Otherwise...too many gadgets, too much tongue in cheek in the Moore movies. After For Your Eyes Only, he was really too old for the role anyway.

But everything I've heard about Moore was that he a true gentleman, always kind to fans. R.I.P., Roger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-c8aAntWA

[The Iguana]

I grew up with Moore and will always have a soft spot for him. I like my Bond suave yet sleazy, proper British and dapper, and willing to kick a car off a cliff.

In fact, I think the new Bond films could use a little cheekiness as they gotten too far away from gentleman spy to brute assassin. I like Craig, but I hate what they've done to the character. He's basically a glorified SAS agent, not MI6, that goes rogue every movie. Yawn. Kingsmen was more fun and re-watchable than Spectre, that's for sure.

Honestly, though, Craig's Bond is actually closest to the one Ian Fleming wrote.

Of course, you may say: So much the worse for Fleming. But I'm just saying it's actually not a departure from the source material; it was the late Connery, Moore films (and Brosnan, too, frankly) that really moved far off the books.

[The Iguana]

The Spy Who Loved Me is a solid one, agreed.

Maybe I just hold "A View to a Kill" against him too harshly. He was sooooo ooooold in that movie and of course they have him pursuing Tanya Roberts who, 30 years old at the time or not, looked like she was 17 and the whole vibe was just creepy as hell. That movie is as bad as any of Brosnan's later, terrible efforts.

A View To A Kill might well be the worst Bond film of all time, for just those reasons. Broccoli kept him around too long.

How bad do you have to be to screw up a Bond film with Christopher Walken as the villain, anyway?

[The Iguana]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-c8aAntWA

One of the best theme songs.

[HudsonHawk]

In fact, I think the new Bond films could use a little cheekiness as they gotten too far away from gentleman spy to brute assassin.

But that's who Bond is, as Fleming envisioned him and wrote him. He's a brute, not necessarily good or evil, just a necessity of the times. Fleming himself said Bond wasn't intended to be particularly likeable. This idea of him being a "gentleman spy" is a product of the 60s movie censors and Moore's clown act, not Bond as he was created. Personally, I think Dalton comes the closest to being the true James Bond, but probably had the worst scripts.

[Oz-iz-God]

But that's who Bond is, as Fleming envisioned him and wrote him. He's a brute, not necessarily good or evil, just a necessity of the times. Fleming himself said Bond wasn't intended to be particularly likeable. This idea of him being a "gentleman spy" is a product of the 60s movie censors and Moore's clown act, not Bond as he was created. Personally, I think Dalton comes the closest to being the true James Bond, but probably had the worst scripts.

Agreed.

Dalton was Bond as written. Pretty much a soulless, task-oriented machine.

As you've noted, likeable ain't in the literature. And while I understand folks that say "well that's just dour and not Bond as he hit the screen" - sure. Perhaps the debonair Bond is more entertaining, but that's not exactly who he was ever supposed to be.

And as you've also noted, early Connery was pretty heavy-handed in his own right. He flat out murders a guy in Dr. No. He'll smack a woman around if he feels so inclined. Connery, at least until he played an Asian (that movie could NEVER get made now), was pretty damn hard-edged.

[The Iguana]

The first few Connery movies were reasonably close to Fleming's books. Of course, he was alive for most of them, and even spent time on the sets.

But by the time you get to YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the one-liners, over the top plots and gadgets have started to dominate the series. At least it helped make Mike Myers a lot of money.

[Ogge]

But that's who Bond is, as Fleming envisioned him and wrote him. He's a brute, not necessarily good or evil, just a necessity of the times. Fleming himself said Bond wasn't intended to be particularly likeable. This idea of him being a "gentleman spy" is a product of the 60s movie censors and Moore's clown act, not Bond as he was created. Personally, I think Dalton comes the closest to being the true James Bond, but probably had the worst scripts.

I don't disagree with anything you said... but, at the same time, movieBond and bookBond are two completely different animals, esp at this point. Often the characters evolve based on the medium and popular will, whether that makes the character better or worse is up for interpretation. After 50+, which Bond is the real Bond? Likewise, which version of Batman is the definitive one?

[barnbird]

The first few Connery movies were reasonably close to Fleming's books. Of course, he was alive for most of them, and even spent time on the sets.

But by the time you get to YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the one-liners, over the top plots and gadgets have started to dominate the series. At least it helped make Mike Myers a lot of money.

Live and let Die was a great book ruined by Moore and his producers as a movie.

[The Iguana]

I don't disagree with anything you said... but, at the same time, movieBond and bookBond are two completely different animals, esp at this point. Often the characters evolve based on the medium and popular will, whether that makes the character better or worse is up for interpretation. After 50+, which Bond is the real Bond? Likewise, which version of Batman is the definitive one?

It's a fair point. The most important objective to the Broccolis has been to make Bond into something that appeals to a mass audience. In the early 60's, and over the past ten years, that just happened to be congruent to a greater degree with what Fleming wrote the character to be.

As the 60's turned ugly, audiences wanted more escapism from their action movies, and Bond delivered. In the 00's...well, you had Jason Bourne, and gritty was back in.

But I will say that I think the early Connery installments have aged better than Roger Moore's movies have. I think Daniel Craig's best Bonds will age pretty well, too.

[HudsonHawk]

I don't disagree with anything you said... but, at the same time, movieBond and bookBond are two completely different animals, esp at this point. Often the characters evolve based on the medium and popular will, whether that makes the character better or worse is up for interpretation. After 50+, which Bond is the real Bond? Likewise, which version of Batman is the definitive one?

Understood. And the analogy to Batman is appropriate. To some, Batman is, should be, and always will be the campy, cartoonish Adam West version and they really can't relate to the Dark Knight. Likewise, people who grew up on Moore's wink and a nudge Bond will always see that as the better version. I just happen to like the grittier realistic version because 1) that's how he was created, and 2) as Iguana points out, I think that character makes for a better film over the long haul.

[Dale E Wetzel]

A sweet story about a 7-year-old's encounter with Moore in a Paris airport.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...-a7752636.html

[Dale E Wetzel]

At last, an academic journal worth reading.
http://jamesbondstudies.roehampton.ac.uk/