It is often fun to rank things whether it be my favorite Stephen King books, the best US presidents, or the most beautiful states I have visited (for the record Idaho). It is also fun to do the same with film series. For these rank and file film articles, I will take series of films and rank them so that you can watch the best of the them and avoid the worst. Unlike most of these lists that start with the bottom of the list of work their way up in order to make you read through the entire thing, I'm going to start with the best and work my way to the bottom of the barrel.
The first series I am going to review is one that is near and dear to my heart. The James Bond series has been going strong for the past 60 years and has been through six actors with a seventh yet to the crowned in the next year or so. When I was a kid I loved watching Bond films and I wanted nothing more than to be a spy with cool gadgets and cars when I grew up.
A couple of biases before you read through my list. My formative years were spent firmly in the Roger Moore era of Bond so his films feature prominently near the top of my list. I am also partial to the Bond films that are gadget heavy since that was the drawing point for me so the stripped down back-to-basic films are not as high on the list as others might have them.
I do watch the entire series every ten years or so and make a reassessment. Certain films move up and down the list, but at best a film will make a hopscotch jump up the list, not a leapfrog one.
So here is the list. I will name the film and give a brief reasoning for its placement. The great thing about lists such as this is that others are going to disagree with my choices and this will lead to further discourse. But what might also happen is you might come to appreciate a film that you didn't before. This is what happened to me with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. This film was always the one-offer that they made with Bond-hack George Lazenby and I never took it very seriously. But in revisiting it, I realized it is a pretty solid Bond film with good action sequences and clever humor. It actually leapfrogged quite a bit from its original spot.
1 - The Spy Who Loved Me - This is the one that has it all. The funniest Bond, Roger Moore, cool gadgets (hello underwater car), one of the most beautiful Bond girls in Barbara Bach, a cool villain in Stromberg who lives in a fortress under the sea, and the best henchmen in all of Bond lore; Jaws.
2 - For Your Eyes Only - I know, I know, another Moore film at the top but hear me out. This has a very lean story concerning revenge and a great third act where they must attack a mountain fortress. It also has one of the best Bond theme songs sung by Sheena Easton (it was originally supposed to be Blondie whose song got rejected).
3 - Thunderball - the first Sean Connery film, the original Bond, to make the list. This is where the bad guy organization of Spectre gets its full introduction and the underwater action sequences in the final battle were ahead of their time.
4 - Casino Royale - the Bond franchise decided to go back to basics with the casting of Daniel Craig and going back to the beginning of Bond's career. Although it stretches our suspension of disbelief with its impossible final hand of poker, it is a great reintroduction of the character and a franchise that needed a rebooting.
5 - Die Another Day - I'm going to take some flack for this one because it is not reviewed very kindly, but this film has one of the best Bond ladies in Halle Berry, lots of cool gadgets such as the invisible car, and Pierce Brosnan who was born to play this role.
6 - Octopussy - I warned you the top was Moore heavy. Just the name alone warrants some recognition but the exotic locales, Maud Adams making a second go around as a Bond girl, and Louis Jordan as one of the slimier villains make for a good time.
7 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service - deciding to go in a different direction than Sean Connery, the producers hired a model with no acting experience by the name of George Lazenby to take on the mantle of Bond. Despite this the film is still really good. The action sequences are well staged and Lazenby manages to handle the humor of the character pretty well as well as the tragedy at the end of the film.
8 - From Russia With Love - one of the things Bond movies are well known for are their many exotic locations, and yet this film is almost entirely shot in the cramped confines of a train. And this serves the film well. Connery gets more comfortable with the role and the villains in this one are great including Robert Shaw as a Nazi poster boy henchman and Lotte Lenya with her shoe knife.
9 - Goldeneye - I was so excited when Pierce Brosnan finally got the chance to play Bond. And although this film could have been so much better, his debut was still pretty darn good. He fit into the Bond role as well as he fit into the tuxedos he wears so well. And Sean Bean makes a formidable foe as does Famke Janssen as one of the best henchwomen in Bond history.
10 - Dr. No - the film that started the series. This one established the formula that has worked so well for so many years. Hot Bond girl Ursula Andress, check. Evil bad guy Dr. No, check. The third act in the hidden base, check. Although still finding its footing, it was a good start for a great franchise.
11. Moonraker - the opening sequence with Bond falling from a plane without a parachute is worth the price of admission alone. Although this one can be a little cheesy with its third act battle taking place in space in order to capitalize on the popularity of Star Wars, it does have Moore at the peak of his game and a great send off to evil henchman Jaws.
12. The World is Not Enough - Denise Richards almost single handedly ruins what otherwise is a pretty good Bond flick. You have Robert Carlisle who is a villain who can feel no pain. You have the ever enchanting Sophie Marceau as one of the Bond girls. And you have Brosnan in his third Bond film becoming quite comfortable with the role.
13. The Man With the Golden Gun - what a great premise. Her majesty's finest versus the best assassin in the world played by Christopher Lee, the guy famous for playing Dracula? Well, this results are mixed. There are some good parts but also some parts that strain credibility. Britt Ekland does not make for a great Bond girl and Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack seems like more of a joke than a threat as the henchman.
14. Goldfinger - a lot of Bond purists will gasp at me having this supposed classic so low on the list. Considered by many to be the best of the Bond films, I just don't see it. I've watched it four times and I think its just OK. There are times where I think the characters act dumb and where the plot defies logic. Oh well, to each their own.
15. Diamonds Are Forever - after taking a film off, Connery decided to come back and give it another whirl. It's a mixed bag at best. The henchmen of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are more creepy than scary. Jill St. John is an annoying Bond girl. And the third act on an oil rig is not the greatest. Jimmy Dean gives a good supporting role and Bambi and Thumper are quite entertaining. It's still a good way to spend two hours.
16 - Skyfall - one of the more overrated Bond films. This Craig film is confusing at times and I feel wastes the bad guy of Javier Bardem. Maybe this is because he was so evil in No Country for Old Men he seems tame by comparison. Even the finale seems sort of lame but it did make over a billion dollars and is the highest grossing Bond film ever.
17. Living Daylights - the producers have always cast the right person for the part except for this one misstep. Timothy Dalton tried hard but he just never embraced the Bond persona. He doesn't even get the iconic opening shot correct. This was his first attempt and like any first try, it has it bumps. But it is still a fairly good movie.
18. Spectre - I never thought I would say this but a movie with Christoph Waltz as the bad guy is kind of boring. Maybe I had too high of expectations because I always liked the Spectre organization, but nothing much seems to go on and I was confused by the whole brother thing. It just left me wanting more.
19. A View to a Kill - everyone has their shelf life (yes Tom Cruise will eventually get too old to be in the Mission Impossible movies). Roger Moore just seems old and out of shape in this one. Although it has Christopher Walken as the bad guy, he actually chews the scenery too much and Grace Jones as the henchwoman also is not convincing. It does have a killer theme song though by Duran Duran.
20. Live and Let Die - anytime a new Bond takes over it takes a little while for them to get their footing in the franchise (which exception to Craig whose best movie was his first). This is no exception as Moore took over the reigns and while he did an adequate job, did not find his stride until his third and fourth film. The bad guy in this one is completely forgettable which is bad because the bad guys are just as important as Bond in these films.
21. No Time to Die - look, I know what the Bond folks were trying to do. They were trying to have some continuity with the Craig Bond films, tying them all together with characters across multiple films and an arc storyline across them all. But the best thing about the Bond films is that each one is like a reboot. They bring in a new Bond girl, usually a new bad guy with his own agenda, and the only characters that carry over are Q, M, and Miss Moneypenny. I think my biggest problem was that I like my Bond films with a little fun and these were a little too serious.
22. You Only Live Twice - look it was bound to happen. Bond films were originally a bit misogynistic so of course some of them wouldn't age well. But along with Live and Let Die, this one ages the worst. Thinking that they could make Sean Connery look Asian by giving him some eye implants is akin to having him wear blackface. Although the film isn't that great even taking this aspect out of the picture.
23. Tomorrow Never Dies - there's nothing wrong with this Bond flick, there just is so much that could have been more right. Jonathan Pryce cast as the bad guy really isn't that effective. They don't even scratch the surface of Chinese legend Michelle Yeoh's capability. And the plot concerning a media mogul who uses the news to start a war is rife for social commentary but they don't do much with it. Such a shame to waste a Pierce Brosnan performance too.
24. Quantum of Solace - the only problem with this film is that after watching it, you immediately forget about it. It hits all of the hallmarks of a Bond film but with its sleek running time of just over 90 minutes it goes by so fast that you feel that you blinked and missed it.
25. License to Kill - the good news is that even the worst Bond film is still completely watchable and enjoyable. Timothy Dalton's second turn as Bond has him quitting MI6 in order to seek revenge on the drug dealer that nearly killed his CIA best friend Felix Leiter. Although Dalton tries his best he really can't pull off the intensity needed for this darker Bond. It was almost like this film was trying to compete with other gritty action films that came out in the late 1980s like Lethal Weapon and 48 hrs instead of just being a Bond film.
So there you have it. Twenty-five James Bond films ranked from best to worst. I'm sure you won't agree with all of my picks and I fully embrace my biases. I'm sure this list will change when I watch these in another few years but only a little and I know the top ten will most likely stay the same. Here's looking forward to whoever they choose as the new Bond and a hopeful return to some of the playfulness the Craig series lacked.
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