"killers, cranks, cads and gigolos pull off the role of a tall, dark, handsome and suave secret agent? "

Aside from possibly "gigolo", how do these not apply to Brosnan?

A guy who plays killers playing Bond? Heresy! And the cad/gigolo thing? Bond? Slick? A sexual negotiator? Love them and leave them? NEVER.

and how can an actor who has a history of playing "killers, cranks, cads and gigolos pull off the role of a tall, dark, handsome and suave secret agent? ".

And how can the man who played King Philip in The Lion in Winter (who, the movie made obvious, had a sexual relationship with Richard) play the lady-killer Bond?

Oh, wait, that was Timothy Dalton.

On another subject, any buzz about She's the Man? I saw an ad for it, and it looks like Shakespeare's Twelfth Night reworked as a teen comedy. Which could be fun or could be a disaster.

Oh, wait, that was Timothy Dalton.

And the prettiest, fey-est Timothy Dalton evar. His film debut, no less, and he plays all three princes like marionettes.

(And if you're looking for more Bond justification, how the hell did the dude from Darby O'Gill and the Little People end up as a fricken secret agent?)

You can't take James Bond personally. Although I'm happy West lost out, a little, to get McNutty back.(He mostly plays drunk, womanizing cads with vulnerable hearts, ftr.) Spies lie all the time...why wouldn't somebody with a criminal resume play one...I'm worried about letting folks that innocent on the streets, you know?

BBC America's been running episodes of The Saint (Simon Templar played by Roger Moore). He steals from rich bad guys and keeps it all for himself, while frequently wearing these amazing beruffled shirts. I watched an entire episode just for the costume changes (and, as I understand it, Moore designed his own character's wardrobe). It's something of a leap from that to Die Another Day, but Moore did have 9 years to let people forget.

Timothy Dalton was probably my favorite Bond. I understand that this makes me something of a heretic, but I'm ok with that.

I also really liked Dalton. I thought Brosnan was like a parody of Bond-- for god's sake, his first role was as an actor hired to play a smooth investigator! What's more, I never found Sean Connery sexy-- isn't young Connery similarly joli-laid?

I really liked Dalton, but I hated those movies. Brosnan isn't Bond, and never was. He was like Bond Lite or something.

Some of the Moore movies were decent, but since I started watching Bond with Moore, I never got the whole Bond fandom thing.

Lazenby, anyone?

And the prettiest, fey-est Timothy Dalton evar. His film debut, no less, and he plays all three princes like marionettes.

Also Hopkins', who played Richard.

I thought Brosnan was like a parody of Bond-- for god's sake, his first role was as an actor hired to play a smooth investigator!

First starring role, but he'd already appeared in a small but significant role in THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY by that point.

He had nine credits before Remington Steele and five before The Long Good Friday.

I like Bosnan's Bond. If we weren't going to get a Conneryesque Bond (and I don't think he's laid (well, maybe here, but I think he was a weathered but goodlooking guy)), I think Dalton does the smooth a lot better than Moore who lacked all menace for me. I did love the pretty, but then I learnt of true pretty, and other Bonds.