Ranking Agent 007: One Through Six

Quantum of Solace, the 22nd official James Bond movie, is out on DVD today. So I'm going to put something out there that I hate: a list.

I get bugged every time someone or magazine puts out one of those 50 Greatest Movies or 25 Best Ways to Kill a Saturday in Pelzer lists.

So here goes. You know where to send the complaints:

001. Sean Connery
Wow, what a shocker! I always figured if James Bond was a real guy, he’d want to be Sean Connery. Real simple test: guys want to be like Connery's 1960s era Bond and women want to be with him, too. Also backing up my case: Connery remained an above-the-title movie star for the four decades after he left the Bond role (I'm not counting the dreaded Never Say Never Again mistake) and he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award.

002. Daniel Craig
He also passes the Connery test, based on the reactions to him from about a dozen women I know since he took the part for Casino Royale. I like his more serious take on 007.

And my quickie review of Quantum of Solace: a good, but not great Bond outing. Finished up the loose ends left by the superior Casino Royale, but lacked the great storytelling of Craig's debut. Here's a suggestion: how about a return for Q and Moneypenny in Bond 23.

003. Roger Moore
I was going to have Moore tie with Pierce Brosnan, but didn't want to wimp out. Never bought Moore as a tough guy, but he was Bond from before my teenage years until I was in my mid 20s. So it's a sentimental choice. The Spy Who Loved Me was his perfect 007 film. It utilized his humor with huge stunts and the ski chase/parachute jump is the best Bond opening ever. But he shouldn't have done the four films that followed. They let him star until he looked like double-oh-70.

004. Pierce Brosnan
Seems unfair to rank him this low considering he saved the franchise in the 1990s. Made Bond relevant again after six years hiatus (even longer when you count Timothy Dalton's two efforts). Many call him a combo of Connery and Moore, but he reminded me more of James Coburn's secret agent Derek Flint from the 1960s. However, I thought Brosnan's last two 007 movies were pretty weak. Not his fault.

005. Timothy Dalton
Known as "that other guy" by non-Bond fans who may recall his two efforts. The Living Daylights was a good start, but License to Kill (which was supposed to take advantage of his harder take on Bond) was lousy. Dalton wasn't great, but the producers and creative team were out of gas and let him down.

006. George Lazenby
The weakest of the Bonds, but he got to star in one of the best five 007 movies: On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

No votes received
Barry Nelson - played American agent "Jimmy" Bond in a live CBS-TV version of Casino Royale in the 1960s
David Niven - played Bond in the horrible spoof version of Casino Royale in 1967