Pierce Brosnan as James Bond 007 - 1995-2002
The Fifth Bond Ignites the Screen as the 90s Secret Agent 007
Jun 13, 2009
Originally intended to take the Bond mantle from Roger Moore in 1987, Brosnan found himself contracted to TV series Remington Steele and so missed out on his chance to play 007. It would take Timothy Dalton to bow down from the role in 1994 for Brosnan to final live a childhood ambition and become the Bond of the nineties.
The Best Bond Since Connery?
Undoubtedly Brosnan brought the sophistication and the sincerity of James Bond home in his subsequent four film tenure and at the time was perceived as the best Bond since Connery. Apart from Roger Moore's outings in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, Brosnan's Bond was also the most successful at the box office since the early Connery films. Goldeneye would mark the return of the character James Bond to the big screen over 40 years since his inception on the pages of Fleming's novels.
Bond Vs.Titanic - Two Box Office Giants Do Battle
Brosnan's debut in 1995 was a taut, post-Cold War thriller containing many nods to Fleming's original novels - the title itself is adopted from the name of Fleming's Jamaican retreat where the Bond novels were written - as well as a degree of humour that was lacking in Dalton's films. The sequel, Tomorrow Never Dies, had the misfortune of opening at the box office in the fall of 1997, mere weeks apart from James Cameron's Oscar winning, mammoth production Titanic; still one of the biggest box office successes in film history today. Bond still performed well however, and is itself a high octane action adventure with Brosnan arguably looking more comfortable in the role second time around.
More Is Less? - 21st Century Bond And Die Another Day
To see in the new millennium, Bond 19 was given the apt title The World Is Not Enough and boasted an intelligent plot and a fine cast including French actress Sophie Marceau (best known for her role in the Oscar winning Braveheart) as the first principal female villain of the series. The promise that James Bond will return was proved in unprecedented fashion with the 20th adventure, Die Another Day in 2002. Ultimately Brosnan's last time as 007, he conclusively left the world successful series with a bang as we see Bond back in personal vendetta mode, going against the system and being tortured for the first time - and not by Madonna's dirge theme song!
Four films and total box office grosses over $1.9 billion comfortably declared Brosnan the first 'Billion Dollar Bond'. Though he is not often found in the big budget films in his post-Bond years, save perhaps for big UK smash hit Mamma Mia last summer, he has proved the most commercially successful Bond actor of the five up to this point, starring in big successes such as Dante's Peak, The Thomas Crown Affair and Evelyn whilst making his Bond films. Brosnan's Bond proves that depsite being tortured and being branded 'no use to anyone now' by M, this is far from the truth. Bond will live to 'Die Another Day' as Daniel Craig resurrects Bond for 21st century audiences.
