Pierce Brosnan by Jon Winkler
Tenure as Bond: 4 movies
Essential Adventure: GoldenEye (1995)
Let’s be honest, the 80s were not a place for 007. Timothy Dalton’s two outings as James Bond weren’t particularly memorable, trying to compete with the muscle-headed machismo of Stallone and Schwarzenegger. When the 90s came about, Bond needed to be retooled to bring back his suave style and focus on cool espionage. James Bond tried being tough, but he needed to be cool again.
Enter Pierce Brosnan, who had lost the chance to play Bond previously but still managed a successful film career. Brosnan was my first Bond when my dad, a huge Bond fan, took me to see 2002’s Die Another Day in theaters. Despite seeing all the other actors who played Bond, including Connery, I still think Brosnan was the man who physically embodied Bond best. Whenever there’s that black silhouette-outline of Bond on posters or magazines or video games, the outline was clearly Brosnan: the slicked back black hair, the stern pose, the tall head. I played video games as Brosnan’s Bond, I saw promo art of Brosnan’s Bond, I see Brosnan’s later movies as Brosnan’s Bond. Despite Goldfinger being my favorite movie of all time, I will go to bat every time I claim Brosnan was the perfect outline of who James Bond is supposed to be. His subtle confidence, focused attitude and suave style is the blueprint for Bond.
Much like what Daniel Craig did with Bond in Casino Royale, Brosnan rebooted the Bond character trying to add some levity to the films that Dalton had drained but without going overboard like some of Moore’s films. GoldenEye had a near perfect balance of sex appeal, thrilling action and a compelling story with Bond fighting his former friend, 006 (Sean Bean). Brosnan felt like he was never trying to impress audiences, he’s just naturally this charismatic. He even makes time to straighten his tie while he’s chasing down enemies through the streets….in a tank. Bond is about balancing the suave and the struggle, saving the world while trying to keep others out of this life with little chances for a future. Brosnan was the Bond that cared, laying down the idea that Bond could have a soul until Daniel Craig fully-formed it.
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Fun fact: The last two reboots of Bond (GoldenEye and Casino Royale) were both directed by Martin Campbell. Maybe he could come back for the next Bond reboot and go for a hat trick?
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