Pierce Brosnan – The fans speak.

About a month ago I published an article on this site praising Pierce Brosnan, and detailing my thoughts and feelings about his films. I then asked you the readers to share your thoughts, the intention being that I’d release an article gathering those thoughts. Well, real life got in the way, my quarter was winding down and I had tests to be thinking about. Now with that out of the way (I passed my classes, btw), I can bring you the article (better late than never ;)).

I posed this question, first, in the CommanderBond.net forums, and then on the main page itself. So first off, let’s hear from the forum members:

DamnCoffee:

As much as I think Roger is my favourite and Connery was the best, for me, Pierce Brosnan, will always be MY Bond. However cringe worthy the dialogue, or how unrealistic the action was, Brosnan will always hold a very special place in my heart. The Brosnan era was my childhood. He was the Bond I grew up with, and no matter how many people bash the guy, and accuse him of being the worst Bond of them all, I will defend him because, as strange as it sounds, I love the guy.

Of course his era was plagued with problems. Acting, Scriptwriting, and at some times, total stupidity. The thing is though, no matter how bad that is, and how much I realise now that is NOT what makes a good film, at the time, I loved it. As a small child, seeing this brilliant hero, reinvented for the 90’s was just a total joy. ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ might have been my first Bond film, but Brosnan was my first true Bond. He will always hold a special place in my heart.

thecasinoroyale:

Timothy Dalton may have been the first actor I saw as 007 in ‘Licence To Kill’ on VHS tape as a young boy, but Pierce Brosnan was my first cinematic James Bond in 1997 with ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ – and he had me from his brilliant gunbarrel sequence. He saved the franchise from near ending and brought the character back for a whole new generation, and his films were simplistic 007 fun

Looking back, it is a shame the studios and the changing world made James Bond face uncertainty, and especially for someone so confident in the role who also was cut short before his time. Loud, proud and very Bond, Brosnan’s films still hold up no matter what the general view is of them. Passionate for the role and ever so suave and sophisticated, without our man Pierce Brosnan as 007, I doubt James Bond would still be with us today.

Nicolas Suszcycyk:

Pierce Brosnan. What do you say about a man like that?… I’ll start with the story I’ve always told everywhere: after being hooked up with the N64 “GoldenEye” game at 8, I saw this good looking Irishman on a street billboard in Buenos Aires. He was wearing a tux and holding a silenced Walther PPK, against a white background. The advertisement read “GoldenEye”. It was, apparently, the film that tied up to that memorable videogame, and it was it’s cable TV premiere. Some weeks later, on January 31st, 1998; mom, dad and I watched the film all together. From the gunbarrel sequence to the antenna cradle showdown, not forgetting the stunning Xenia Onatopp and the Tank Chase, the 17th Bond film turned me in a mad 007 fan!

The rest was history. “Tomorrow Never Dies” on the big screen by February ’98, “The World is not Enough” and “Die Another Day”, that was the weakest Pierce Brosnan film, but I can still remember how I run to my VCR to record all promos/TV spots on the old VHS tapes during the 40th anniversary fever back in 2002. I was quite shocked when Pierce was axed from the series, even when I enjoyed very much the Daniel Craig outings. He was the 90’s Bond and had a lot to give, he deserved a better farewell Bond flick instead of the poor “Die Another Day”. As I also say, there are many Bonds I’m fond of (let’s say Sean, Roger and Daniel) but Mr Pierce Brosnan was, is and will always be my James Bond.

Iceskater101:

Pierce Brosnan was the perfect Bond, he is the man that every man wants to be and the man that every women wants to be with. Even when I first started watching him as Bond, I wanted to be with him. I thought he was that swave and charming. My favorite memory of him as Bond would definitely be GoldenEye. It is my favorite bond film because he is very charming and he really solidified himself as an action star. He was charming, he looked great and he also beat everyone up. Again that being said Goldeneye is my favorite bond film that he was in.

I will always have respect for Pierce holding the role, because he provided action and still kept up the image of James Bond. He will always be remembered. He was a great follow up after Timothy Dalton.

elizabeth:

Pierce Brosnan was my Bond. And when I say “my Bond,” I mean I grew up with him. I was born in 1991, and Brosnan was the first Bond I ever saw. He was part of my “90s kid” childhood. Whether he was a good Bond or a bad Bond, he’ll always have a piece of my heart for being a part of my childhood. I think he was a great Bond, and unlike most people here, I liked DAD, and he will forever be a big part of my life.

 Trevelyan 006:

 First impressions are often considered to be near everything. With that said, it was Pierce Brosnan who introduced himself, the character of James Bond and a series I would come to enjoy (presumably) the rest of my days, to a young me. I played 1995’s GoldenEye in my built-in TV VCR until the tape literally unraveled. To not credit my interest in the entire Bond lot, partly Pierce Brosnan himself, would be a huge injustice. As Bond, he had the answers, he had the girls and he definitely had my attention. 

Brosnan seemed to refresh and own the Bond role in each of his four outings. Some great lines, villains and Bond moments all pit Pierce in the center. I can proudly claim Brosnan’s first film as one of my favorites of them all. For me, there are really only two appropriate words I could utilize to summarize Mr. Brosnan’s outings as Agent 007… fond memories.

OOHockey Mask:

Six men became Bond but it was always Pierce Brosnan’s destiny.

SecretAgentFan:

It was not “Remington Steele”, actually, but the wonderfully entertaining action movie “Live Wire” that made me think: this guy could and should be James Bond. In it Pierce Brosnan displayed charme, toughness, wit and grace – qualities that seem to come easy but really are a major feat to translate to the screen. Many actors have tried and failed to display that kind of charisma, only a few can really project it. Brosnan definitely belongs to that group. And when he finally became Bond he delivered big time. His Bond seemed to be close to Moore´s, with his obvious good looks and dry disarming humor. But he also channelled the ruthlessness and brutality of Connery´s Bond, making his Bond not just a “best of both worlds”-mix but an exciting new interpretation which, again, was looking effortlessly but really is difficult to achieve. Brosnan also added a vulnerability that paved the way for Daniel Craig´s portrayal. Without Brosnan, the franchise would have been in deep water. Thanks to him he not only made audiences care about 007 again, he also finished the Bond 1.0 era, establishing the appeal of the character firmly in times that had changed considerably.

Conlazmoodalbrocra:

Pierce Brosnan’s debut as Bond could not have been more brilliant. Goldeneye introduced a new Bond – one for the post Cold War era. A Bond who now took on the world’s terrorists rather than the KGB or Soviet sympathisers. Goldeneye displays Brosnan’s brilliant ability to display both a humorous side to Bond and a threatening and dangerous side to him, reminiscent of the early Connery movies. Brosnan knew exactly what audiences wanted at the time, and he delivered it. Goldeneye is undoubtedly Brosnan’s finest Bond film, though both Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough are brilliantly entertaining Bond films, with interesting villains, fantastic action sequences and most importantly, great performances from Brosnan.

Pierce will always be a special Bond to me. He was the first Bond i ever saw on the big screen (The World Is Not Enough in December 1999), and the first Bond I ever had chance to react to their departure from the series. Die Another Day is my least favourite Bond film, but this has little to do with Brosnan’s performance. In my opinion, the man was let down by the film makers and it is a terrible shame that his tenure as Bond had to end on such a low point. Nevertheless, I’ll always look upon Brosnan’s first three films with great affection, particularly Goldeneye which remains to this day my favourite bond film of all time.

Sondreho:

Pierce is the James Bond who I grew up with. I remember when I was six years old and was ill, and my mother rented me the new James Bond film ‘The World is not Enough’ – and that saved my day. I saw it over and over again, and from that day, Pierce was my Bond.

You can say what you want about his Bond films (personally I think they are great Bond films), but you can’t say he wasn’t dedicated to his role. And that’s why I think of Pierce’s Bond when I think of James Bond!

Thanks for the insights guys. Stay tuned for the follow up to this article, that will include insights from the e-mails that I received from some of our readers.

 

Unfortunately I could not include every post here from our forum members, some of them were just so long and I didn’t want to edit out a single detal.