It's finally come to this--my ranking of all 25 of the official James Bond films. I'll be revealing these in increments of five, starting out with my very favorites first.
There were a number of other Bond film posts I was going to write, but I started to realize that all these "Favorite-Least Favorite" entries did was just reaffirm my admiration for the classic, earlier Bonds. With October coming to an end, I figured I better get to the heart of the matter and rank the entire Bond series, which was the whole point of these 007 movie posts to begin with.
One thing I must mention is that this isn't deadly serious critical analysis, it's just my own personal opinion, and it's meant to be film-geekish fun.
So let's get started with my favorite Bond film of all time.....
1. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Before the series got too gimmicky, over-the-top, and expensive, there was FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, the second Bond film, and probably the closest adaptation of any Ian Fleming novel. There's no end-of-the-world scenarios, or outlandish villains with elaborate secret bases. What we do have is a realistic espionage tale, with Sean Connery in his absolute prime as 007, and Daniela Bianchi, my pick as the most delectable Bond girl of all. It has a fantastic supporting cast, and a superb John Barry score. Everything came together on this one.
2. GOLDFINGER
Some now say that this film is overrated, and some say that it wound up hurting the Bond series as a whole. I don't believe those things at all. GOLDFINGER is THE Bond film, and it still influences the series to this day. It's an extremely enjoyable movie--which is what a great Bond film, in my opinion, is supposed to be.
3. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
I think we have reached the point where we can safely say that this movie is no longer "underrated". It's not just a great Bond film, it's a great film period, with outstanding direction by Peter Hunt, whose editing on earlier Bonds had a major effect on the entire series as a whole. The fact that George Lazenby was a complete newcomer to movie acting actually helps the story--Lazenby's Bond seems like a believable human being here, not an indestructible superhero. (The Connery and Moore Bonds certainly would have bedded Diana Rigg's Tracy, but you wouldn't buy the idea that those two would marry her.) OHMSS also has magnificent stunt and action sequences and John Barry's best overall Bond soundtrack.
4. CASINO ROYALE (2006)
With this film, the Broccolis finally did something that should have been done a long time ago--they totally rebooted the series and started from the beginning, by going to Ian Fleming's very first Bond novel. Ironically Daniel Craig, in his 007 debut, seems more assured playing the character here than he would in his later films. Eva Green is a knockout as Vesper Lynd, and the action sequences are spectacular. As for the rest of the Craig-Bond era, well......
5. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
The best Roger Moore Bond film, by far. After two mediocre outings starring Moore, Cubby Broccoli (who had full control of the series by this time) decided to shoot the works and bring Bond back to epic status. This is basically a remake of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, but it's big, bold, and fun.
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