For me, Dalton’s Bond was always the closest to the written Bond. He’s much more of a machine. All the wit or flirtation is not how I remember Bond in the books. Raw, dangerous, and not movie-star handsome were my impressions. No woman would mistake him for a potential love interest. He was on the edge of society.
An Eight again? He has the anger but does he have the leadership? Dalton’s Bond also has another book quality: tenderness for the vulnerable. This Bond is a vengeful angel, smiting the wicked and stewarding the innocent. His Eight is very different from Connery’s. It’s a wired Eight, strung tight. In some ways he’s the most realistic of the Bonds. That slide to Two in strength, that gentle side in an otherwise stone cold personality, is well done.
He is the Bond with the fewest films, though. I wonder if his portrayal was ahead of its time.