Pierce Brosnan Appreciation

[Neverending]

I feel bad for Pierce Brosnan. Dude got a bad rap. He was supposed to be Roger Moore's replacement and star in The Living Daylights. But when his TV series, Remington Steele, which was expected to be cancelled, was suddenly renewed for an extra season, Cubby Broccoli fired him. He didn't want a Bond actor to be tied to a TV show even though the producers were 100% willing to make accommodations for the conflicting schedules. Brosnan could have easily done both without any issues.

Then, he gets a second shot at Bond with GoldenEye. The film is one of the best in the series and all wrongs seemed to be have been corrected. But no, he gets three follow-ups that underwhelm fans and ultimately makes him no better than George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton. Then to add insult to injury, he gets fired again for no reason whatsoever. I've never understood why there couldn't have been a 5th Brosnan movie in 2004. He deserved a proper exit. They owed him that. And the sad thing is that he was a GREAT Bond. To me, he's the second best to play the role. He had the charm of Sean Connery, the silliness of Roger Moore, and the cold-heartiness of Timothy Dalton. He had something for everyone to enjoy. But he only made one truly great Bond film so as time goes on, he will be become a footnote in the franchise history. Daniel Craig already has two great Bond movies under his belt. You think audiences still care about Brosnan? They probably don't even remember him anymore.

So, let's use this thread to honor the man who introduced an entire generation to Bond. The man who made Bond relevant in the post-cold war era and kept him alive till the world changed once again after 9/11. That Irish lad who'll always be associated with one of the greatest video games of all-time. Mr. Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan.

[Justin]

I completely agree with your assessment. He's been one of my favorites for a long time. Brosnan had the unfortunate experience of being in several bad Bond films, that had nothing to do with his ability to portray the character. GoldenEye is still one of my favorite Bond films to this day, and represents his ability to take over that character completely.

[PG Cooper]

I'm not a huge fan of Brosnan as Bond. Not that he's bad, he isn't, but I just find him sort of boring. You mention that he feels like an amalgamation of other Bonds and I agree, that's sort of where my problem lies. He never carved his own identity as Bond. He got some of the elements of his predecessors, but he didn't bring much else to the table.

I will say that I do like the man as an actor (I loved him in The Ghost Writer) and Goldeneye is a great Bond film.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by PG Cooper

He never carved his own identity as Bond.

Neither has Daniel Craig. He's just a more charming version of Timothy Dalton. But Craig has two great Bond films on his resume, so people will let it slide.

[PG Cooper]

Originally Posted by Neverending

Neither has Daniel Craig. He's just a more charming version of Timothy Dalton. But Craig has two great Bond films on his resume, so people will let it slide.

I see where you're coming from, but I feel Craig gives the character his own distinct stamp separate from Dalton, but still similar.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by PG Cooper

I see where you're coming from, but I feel Craig gives the character his own distinct stamp separate from Dalton, but still similar.

I guess Craig is tougher than Dalton. But they're still ripping the same page from the same book.

[Brock Landers]

Originally Posted by Neverending

Neither has Daniel Craig. He's just a more charming version of Timothy Dalton.

Thank you. I've been trying to think of a way to describe Craig's take on Bond, but you've summed it up perfectly.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by Brock Landers

Thank you. I've been trying to think of a way to describe Craig's take on Bond, but you've summed it up perfectly.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[JBond]

"...because I'm going to bang this chick."

[Brock Landers]

You're a wizard.

[Dracula]

Originally Posted by Neverending

Then to add insult to injury, he gets fired again for no reason whatsoever. I've never understood why there couldn't have been a 5th Brosnan movie in 2004. He deserved a proper exit. They owed him that.

Agreed, I think they totally overreacted to Die Another Day's critical failure. Imagine if they'd fired Roger Moore after TMWTGG or Moonraker and he'd never been given the chance to make The Spy Who Loved Me or For Your Eye's Only. Granted we probably would have been spared Octopussy and A View to a Kill, but the point is that in the past there have been bad Bond movies and the producers didn't respond by resorting to the nuclear option of "rebooting" the series.

Anyway cheers to Pierce Brosnan. Too me he's pretty much the perfect balance of what James Bond is supposed to be like.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by Dracula

they totally overreacted to Die Another Day's critical failure.

Sony, essentially, took over the franchise. And this is the same studio that rebooted Spider-Man just for the heck of it. MGM needs to get its s--t together and take full control again.

Imagine if they'd fired Roger Moore after TMWTGG or Moonraker and he'd never been given the chance to make The Spy Who Loved Me or For Your Eye's Only.

Cubby was a lot smarter than his kids. Firing Roger Moore after TMWTGG would have been admiting that the franchise couldn't survive without Sean Connery. He had to stick with Moore, for better or worse. As for Moonraker, keep in mind it's the 4th most successful Bond film. Cubby and United Artists rewarded success. There was no reason to fire Roger Moore after he starred in the biggest Bond film since the Sean Connery era.

That is what's so head-scratching about Pierce Brosnan getting fired. Die Another Day is the 5th most successful Bond movie, and obviously, the biggest since 1979. How can you fire the guy who starred in the biggest Bond movie in over 20 years? That's insane. Pierce Brosnan, with only 4 movies, managed to surpass Roger Moore at the box office. All his films were more successful except for Moonraker. In terms of box office, it's Sean Connery and then Pierce Brosnan. Skyfall is currently doing excellent at box office. So, it'll be interesting to see where it ends up ranking. At this rate, I think Daniel Craig has surpassed Roger Moore as well.

[saveus1011]

Brosnan was far from the problems with his films.

And to be fair, The World Is Not Enough isn't that bad. Neither is Tomorrow Never Dies.

Die Another Day though...woo eee.

[Neverending]

"Tomorrow Never Dies" and "The World Is Not Enough" are FLAWED but, you're right, they're not bad. I would take both of those over "Quantum of Solace." I think if real effort would have been made to give Brosnan a 5th installment with a proper exit, he would have had a pretty good legacy. But now, with Craig's roaring successful, he's in danger of landing in Lazenby-Dalton territory. All he really has to standout is "GoldenEye." Craig is gonna be around for another 2 or 3 movies. Assuming they go back to the standard bi-annual release schedule. By then, that ONE movie will represent the whole Brosnan era. He'll be a footnote.

[JBond]

Originally Posted by Neverending

That is what's so head-scratching about Pierce Brosnan getting fired. Die Another Day is the 5th most successful Bond movie, and obviously, the biggest since 1979.

...

Skyfall is currently doing excellent at box office.

Uh-oh.

Originally Posted by Neverending

"Tomorrow Never Dies" and "The World Is Not Enough" are FLAWED but, you're right, they're not bad. I would take both of those over "Quantum of Solace."

Agreed.

[Neverending]

check this out:

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[JBond]

I liked how I would constantly see in interviews that Brosnan really wanted the Bond movies to be rated R. Mostly for sex scenes.

[Neverending]

And, Daniel Craig wanted Bond to be bisexual. I guess he got his wish.

[saveus1011]

I am probably the only person on Earth that likes Quantum.

[JBond]

And Roger Moore wanted Bond to only speak Spanish and wear a beanie.

[Nilade]

Originally Posted by saveus1011

I am probably the only person on Earth that likes Quantum.

For me, its one of those movies that's better when you're flipping through the channels at 2 in the morning and it happens to just be starting. It's hard to follow up Casino Royale, but Quantum isn't all that bad. I do think Tomorrow Never Dies was a better follow-up to Goldeneye than Quantum was to Casino Royale. I have yet to see Skyfall.

[Dracula]

Originally Posted by Neverending

That is what's so head-scratching about Pierce Brosnan getting fired. Die Another Day is the 5th most successful Bond movie, and obviously, the biggest since 1979. How can you fire the guy who starred in the biggest Bond movie in over 20 years? That's insane. Pierce Brosnan, with only 4 movies, managed to surpass Roger Moore at the box office. All his films were more successful except for Moonraker. In terms of box office, it's Sean Connery and then Pierce Brosnan. Skyfall is currently doing excellent at box office. So, it'll be interesting to see where it ends up ranking. At this rate, I think Daniel Craig has surpassed Roger Moore as well.

Well, to be fair, there's been a lot of inflation since Roger Moore was making movies but on the substance I 100% agree. All Brosnan's films were very financially successful and Brosnan deserved better. Part of the problem with this series is that people give way too much credit/blame to the actors for the creative/financial success of the films. It's not Brosnan's fault that Lee Tamahori thought the series needed more invisible cars, nor is Daniel Craig the re-incarnation of Sean Connery just because he happened to come along during an era when the producers decided to get more ambitious with their projects.

[Mikey-Bizzle]

TBH I liked all of Brosnan's bond films when I saw them when I was a kid. They are the ones that got me into Bond in the 1st place

[Henri Ducard]

Almost everyone here got into Bond because of Brosnan. Our generation will carry his legacy. The same way kids of the '70s & '80s have a soft spot for Roger Moore.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by Dracula

there's been a lot of inflation since Roger Moore

Ticket Sales

Live & Let Die - 20 million
TMWTGG - 11 million (second lowest in franchise history)
TSWLM - 21 million
Moonraker - 28 million
FYEO - 19 million
Octopussy - 20 million
AVTAK - 14 million

GoldenEye - 24 million
Tomorrow Never Dies - 26 million
The World Is Not Enough - 24 million
Die Another Day - 27 million

Casino Royale - 25 million
Quantum of Solace - 23 million
Skyfall - 14 million AND COUNTING

Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig are a lot more consistant and popular than Roger Moore. The days of "Connery vs. Moore" are long gone. As for Brosnan vs. Craig, one can make the argument that increased ticket prices, plus a failing economy, is why he hasn't quite passed Brosnan. But it'll be interesting to see where Skyfall ends up. I could see it surpassing Die Another Day and maybe Moonraker.