George Lazenby was a rookie. According to IMDB, that's the first film we ever heard of him. For him to top other actors with far more experience, I think not.

This message has been deleted.

This message has been deleted.

You can tell how impactful Lazemby was as Bond in the how much we missed him in Diamonds Are Forever and in Live and Let Die.

This never happened to the other fella.

This message has been deleted.

Regardless of Sean Connery's reputation, George Lazenby made a great Bond too. He made that last scene. And I don't think any other actor could have done it any better, he proved that he had the right acting abilities. But people tend to judge his performance by the fact the he2000 did it only once, which is ridiculous. And so it happens that Lazenby is so underrated.
"What If" is a game for scholars.
Timothy Dalton, The Lion in Winter (1968)

This message has been deleted.

David Niven and Barry Nelson were the best Bonds

I do not really appreciate the writing style of OHMSS, it was poorly written. If it was written better, it could've been a better success. On another note: To say that Lazenby was the best Bond is going too far, why is it that you people don't see the effect that someone like Connery or Craig had/has on the Bond series? They were both incredible.
67% of statistics you see were made up on the spot

I appreciate the supportive words some of you have expressed. I'm also indirectly flattered by the antagonists here since their stance is presented infinitely more shakily; too many absolutes, very little indication of a position from which to judge one film or another.

Care to explain why exactly OHMSS is so bad, according to you?
You can't just say it's bad without 5b4giving a reason.
Oh and btw, 86% of statistics are made up on the spot!

Okay, I now retract what I earlier said about George being the worst Bond ever
Here's what I think:
I've never seen him in any other movie, so I can't really judge his acting abilities But On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the WORST Bond film ever, the script was so bad, and therefore, the movie (in my opinion) was crap.
67% of statistics you see were made up on the spot

This message has been deleted.

George is and allways will be the best Bond ever. He has allways been my favourite.

5b4Although I didn't like him at first, I am slowly starting to appreciate him.
"This never happened to the other fellow." Classic.

Ah the age old debate of who the greatest Bond is

1. Sean Connery (the classic Bond. he has the most great ones so he's gotta be #1)
2. Timothy Dalton (more serious and dangerous and I really wished he would've done more)
3. George Lazenby (its hard to judge Lazenby after just one movie but again, I would've like to see him do more)
4. Roger Moore (way too uneven and he stayed way too long. 7 movies over 12 years is much too long. had some great ones, had some bad ones)
5. Pierce Brosnan (sorry to all the fanboys, but this guy is b o r i n g. he has the same tone of voice and facial expression in every movie. Comple miscast)
   I think Daniel Craig's Bond will be along the lines of Dalton and hopefully he'll do more than 2. I think he'll do at least 3 since he doesn't want to make the same mistake as Lazenby and Dalton.

I am in 100% absolute in agreement with Stygian23. Hit the hammer on the nail.
I am looking forward to Daniel Craig though. I actually really excited about this movie.

Irrespective of anyone's analysis and or opinion, these actors played bond well in their respective eras, and I personally enjoyed their respective portrayals. No wonder the series has la1c84sted as long.. Now we have Daniel Craig and it would be interesting to see how his interpretation of bond will further the series..

To paraphrase at least 4 critics (Roger Ebert one of them) Brosnan became a better actor playing Bond.
Of course he did, and that isn't saying much. He was always a sh!tty actor, still is. As the papers said when he got the gig to begin with, he is a washed-up TV actor. I wouldn't call his portrayal perfect, nor would I say he brought ANYTYHING new to the role. I pretty much agree with most of your list, but I would alter it thus:
Worst: Moore - His scripts were crap (except FYEO, TSWLM, and to a lesser extent Octopussy), and he never looked like he could handle himself in a fight.
Second Worst: Brosnan - A glorified Moore. Left the role as the FATTEST actor to ever play Bond, even though he came in as the slimmest one. Took the series back toward the OTT crapfests of the Moore era, and played Remmington Steele the whole time, never once actually portraying Bond.
Middleman: Connery - Translated the role to film, but after Goldfinger his films got progressively worse. 3 good films out of 7 drags his ranking down.
Second Best: Lazenby - If he had staid in the role instead of listening to his agent his legacy would have been much better. For a non-actor who was playing Connery playing Bond, he did damn well. And he pulled off a portrayal that Connery would never have been able to handle.
Best: Dalton - The epitome of Bond. If he had a touch more of the early Connery wit he would have been perfect.
Smoking General's Warning: Surgery causes pregnancy and may complicate cancer.

Okay- let's get this straight:
First- the worst Bond ever was Moore. Proof: I could kick his ass.
2nd- The others all tie. I love Connery, but, come on- the guy's a movie star, not an actor.
3rd- Lazenby has to play scared when he's escaped Piz Gloria. In the book he was done. They were going to catch Bond and kill him. Lazenby did it right. Peter Hunt did a fine job directing. And, best of all, no gadgets.
4th Dalton rocked! Would love to have seen him do more, but
5th- Brosnan- perfect. The series is established, everybody knows everything about Bond, but Brosnan brought something else to it. To paraphrase at least 4 critics (Roger Ebert one of them) Brosnan became a better actor playing Bond.
It's all in the timing.
PS- Moore's best was "For Your Eyes Only." He did a good job. Likewise in "Octopussy." Not his fault though- the scripts were crap. One great moment though- When he kick's Loque's car off the cliff in FYEO- pure Bond. Nasty, righteous, powerful.
Casting Craig- seems like a huige mistake. Should've gotten Brosnan back.

Hard to say Lazenby was the best Bond when he appeared in only ONE movie.
As for his acting skills in the end when his wife died, I would say Connery (Oscar winner for Untouchables) and theater actor Dalton could have pulled it off.
While I can see why some people lke Lazenby, Connery (first is almost always best), and Dalton (came closest to the James Bond in the books), I don't understand why lots don't like Moore or Brosnan. They were better than OK, I think.
Worse may be this new Bond guy Daniel Craig, who got his teeth knocked out in the fight scene shooting and couldn't drive the Aston Martin since he didn't know stick shift.

This message has been deleted.

Lazenby the best bond? the thing's people come up with these days

You guys are terrible. Each Bond had something to bring to the table.
George Lazenby was the best fighter.
Sean Connery was the best actor.
Roger Moore had the looks.
Timothy Dalton was in the best movies.
and Pierce Bronson was the smoothest talker.