I really enjoyed this look at Pierce Brosnan’s career. Especially the section where the author discusses how despite, seeming to be the ideal James Bond, Brosnan’s run in the series always seemed lacking.
Mostly, the Brosnan Bonds feel like a franchise trying to figure out how to pivot back to relevance, casting a seemingly perfect Bond who, unfortunately, symbolized a bygone idea of the secret agent. Craig was given the latitude to shock us with his 007, whereas Brosnan was largely there to maintain a status quo — to uphold a musty vision of who the character used to be. For four films, Brosnan did his best to make Bond seem cool — it took his successor to break the mold.
Pierce Brosnan Was Meant to Be James Bond. But Then He Was Meant For More
Coincidentally, baseball writer and noted “man with opinions” Keith Law just shared his thoughts about Bond series after wrapping up a full run through it. His conclusions are very much in-line with mine.