Piere Brosnan is the best Bond by far; it's not even close. Then, again.... I've only see the Bonds that he's in. I don't know how any other movie could be better than Goldeneye, though; that movie's awesome. Lazenby, da hell? Never heard of 'em.
Connery is the best, at least from Dr. No through Thunderball. He was ok in You Only Live Twice and sleepwalked through Diamonds Are Forever(he also looked fat and old in that movie). Lazenby could've been a damn good Bond if he hadn't been such a schmuck and walked away from the series. He was easily the best from a physical standpoint. I could buy him beating the crap out of anyone who messed with him. Which is more than I can say for..... Roger Moore. Aside from For Your Eyes Only, he was mediocre as Bond. That's not to say I didn't enjoy some of his films, but his almost satirical approach to the character was totally wrong. Dalton is my 2nd favorite. I love Licence to Kill. Like Connery in Dr. No and the pretitle sequence in Diamonds Are Forever, he portrayed Bond as cold blooded and a dude you did not want to cross. It's a shame he didn't get to do a couple more. Brosnan I've never been a big fan of. I think he's ok in the role, but he seems too much of a pansy as Bond. I wish he were more like Connery than Moore. And it doesn't help that Goldeneye is the only good movie he's been in. The other three sucked, especially Die Another Day.
I've heard Timothy Dalton seemed the most like Bond from the books. I don't know why people hate him as Bond so much. License to Kill owned and he deserved at 2 more flicks before they switched to Pierce for Goldeneye.
You have to remember that UA/MGM were fighting some serious legal battles between 1989-1994. There were no Bond films during that time, and the franchise was kind of in a semi-decline. They wanted to generate more interest in the series and bring on a whole new aura to Bond. To me, Brosnan fit that role perfectly in Goldeneye. Dalton was just too serious.
This is just the same as the 'best rock group' playdowns. From the outset there is only one conceivable outcome. Beatles Sean Connery But I have to say I think Pierce Brosnan is really just as good, just not THE original to which all others are compared.
Moore's demeanor and looks made him the Bond that was most faithful to the original idea of Bond as he was written... not flashy, very much just-another-guy-in-the-crowd. The idea of a secret agent is, after all, to blend in. Of course, I liked Connery's over-the-top portrayal best, just like everyone else.
Connery..in the early films...looked like he could go from a bar fight to a tuxedo formal without missing a beat. I've actually liked them all. But Connery has no equal.
Connery is undoubtably the best. He was no nonesense cold blooded when called for. Moore ranks second although he was a little too flippant for me compared to Connery and View to a Kill and Octopussy were terrible. Dalton absolutely blew - both the scripts and his portrayal of Bond. Brosnan was pretty good I thought - a distant third to Connery and Moore. HMSS doesn't really deserve mention since it was one flick.
