James Bond

Pierce Brosnan made his debut as 007 in spectacular fashion as Bond returned to the big screen after a six-year absence in Goldeneye, rejuvenating the critical and commercial reputation of the franchise in the process. However, despite Brosnan's consistently strong performances in the lead role, the movies themselves suffered from a steady decline in quality. Even though they earned a combined total of over a billion dollars at the box office, Brosnan's final three outings as Bond became increasingly overstuffed and resulted in three forgettable entries in the franchise, in spite of the actor's best efforts. While his tenure as James Bond didn't provide the strongest movies, there is no denying that Pierce Brosnan was a great choice to play the character. As well as looking the part, his take on 007 balanced the wit and humour of Roger Moore, the charm and charisma of Sean Connery and the actual acting of Timothy Dalton to deliver a take on cinema's most famous spy that revived the flagging series as both entertaining escapism and a culturally relevant blockbuster franchise.

In just three outings as cinema's most famous spy, Daniel Craig has already established himself as one of the top big-screen 007's thanks to his modern, humanised and frequently tough take on the character. After years of legal battles, EON finally managed to secure the rights to Casino Royale and delivered a movie that took the series back to basics, stripping away the quips and gadgets in favor of a more realistic approach, and by the end of the black-and-white prologue, Craig had already put any doubts to rest about his suitability for the role. While one of the major criticisms of Craig's take on the character is a relative lack of humour, although he did turn The Queen into a Bond girl, Skyfall saw the actor deliver his most charismatic performance as 007 yet. James Bond needs to be constantly reinvented in order to stay relevant, and Daniel Craig brings a physicality and magnetism to the role that sees his version stand as arguably the most well-developed and complex big-screen 007.

The original and still the best; it's very unlikely that the Bond series would still be going strong over 50 years later if it wasn't for Sean Connery. Of course, it has become Hollywood legend that the producers of the fledgling franchise were reluctant to cast the actor in the lead role, but in Connery’s hands, James Bond instantly became a cultural icon. From the moment he utters the immortal introduction of 'Bond... James Bond,' a star was born. With a strong screen presence and abundance of charisma, Connery almost effortlessly established 007 as one of the coolest characters in the movie business; suave and charming, with the innate ability to deliver a perfectly-timed and witty one-liner. Growing into the character as his time in the role progressed, the actor’s first three outings as Bond still rank as three of the very best movies in the franchise.

Timothy Dalton's run as James Bond saw the iconic spy become a more complex and three-dimensional character, toning down the one-liners and gadgets in favour of a more realistic approach to Ian Fleming's source material. Dalton made for a convincingly intense 007, taking the franchise in a more mature direction that was unfortunately cut short after just two movies thanks to protracted legal disputes. Instead of the suave playboy that the character had become in the previous few movies, Dalton played Bond with a harder edge, making the character equal parts reluctant and ruthless. While the actor's Bond movies would definitely have benefited from a little more levity, Dalton’s dedication and commitment to his take on the character make his portrayal of 007 perhaps the most underrated in the 50-plus year history of the iconic franchise.