Sean Connery was named the all-time best James Bond in a new poll seeking to find the best ever cinematic portrayal of the famous Ian Fleming spy character. Connery took in 56% of the vote in the Radio Times poll. Timothy Dalton was the surprise runner-up, taking in 32% of the votes, whilst, surprisingly, Pierce Brosnan finished third with 23% of the final tally. Trailing behind were Roger Moore, Daniel Craig, and George Lazenby in last place.
Connery, 89, was a cinch to win as the definitive 007, not simply because he was the first actor to take on the legendary role, in 1962’s “Dr. No,” but also because he is now seen as the blueprint of how Bond should act and look. Connery’s tenure lasted a total of seven movies.
Much to my surprise, current Bond, Daniel Craig didn’t fare too well in the poll, despite, in my books, starring in two of the greatest Bond films ever made (“Casino Royale,” and “Skyfall.”) “No Time to Die,” his fifth and final outing as Bond, is due for release in November, following its date delay from April, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before Craig’s two aforementioned exceptional Bond films, there were, really, only three Bond films that ever truly mattered to me and those were Connery’s “Dr. No” (’62), “From Russia With Love” (’63) and “Goldfinger” (‘64). These were the only Bonds that worked in both cinematic and artfully playful ways. The eventual exploitation of the franchise hadn’t yet arrived, and the budgets were still fairly lean — in other words, the legend started here.