Now we're getting into middle-of-the-pack territory, and it's getting harder and harder to differentiate these films from one another. In all honesty I could have written the choices from #11 to #20 about a dozen ways. There really isn't much separation between the Bond movies here, and I'm sure that if I go back and read this post a few months from now, I'll wonder why I ranked the films in this section the way I did.
11. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
Sean Connery's last "official" Bond film. A big comedown after ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. Instead of an embittered, revenge-obsessed 007 determined to kill Blofeld, we get an out-of-shape Connery who breezes through the movie as if he doesn't have a care in the world. Those who want to blame Roger Moore for what happened to the Bond series in the 1970s need to realize that path had already been taken with this production. It is entertaining, though.
12. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
For those who think I am ranking this too high, remember this list is of my personal favorite Bond films, not the greatest Bond films. Christopher Lee is the major reason this movie winds up where it does. And it has Marne Maitland in it too!
13. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
After the hugely expensive Space Madness of MOONRAKER, the series tried to go back to a more realistic, low-key tone. It doesn't quite work, due to a fake Blofeld at the very beginning, and a fake Margaret Thatcher at the very end. Still, I think Roger Moore acquits himself rather well in a more down-to-earth tale.
14. SKYFALL
This feels more like a Christopher Nolan film than a Bond entry--it's overlong, there's a number of impressive individual sequences, the villain's plot is so incredibly elaborate a thousand things have to go perfectly right for it to work, and the viewer doesn't feel much of an attachment to any of the main characters. Roger Deakins' cinematography is the real star here.
15. SPECTRE
What I said about SKYFALL basically applies to this movie as well. Both SPECTRE and SKYFALL are very well-crafted films, but for whatever reason I just can't get into them the way I think I should.
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