The Official James Bond Films--My Best To Worst (Part Five)

 

And now we come to the end of my personal ranking of the James Bond films. 

21. MOONRAKER
An absolutely ridiculous film. But...
If one adjusts for inflation, this still has one of the highest budgets of any Bond film. And it looks it--the money is all up there on the screen, with several spectacular sequences. There's plenty of dopey elements here, especially the STAR WARS wannabe climax, but at least it isn't boring. 

22. NO TIME TO DIE
This is a perfect summation of the Daniel Craig era. It's overlong, dour, and obsessed with what happened in the other Craig/Bond films. And what happens at the very end is no way to get on my good side. 

23. DIE ANOTHER DAY
This movie got a lot of attention due to it coming out in 2002, the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Bond movie franchise. It wasn't much of a tribute, with idiotic CGI stunts, an invisible car, and too much emphasis on Halle Berry. 

24. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Essentially nothing more than a very weak epilogue to CASINO ROYALE, with a very underwhelming villain. 

25. A VIEW TO A KILL
My pick for the worst overall Bond film. You can't pin all the blame on Roger Moore--everything about this movie is bad, except for the title song. 

The Official James Bond Films--My Best To Worst (Part Four)

 

We're entering very mediocre territory here. The films are not the worst of the Bond series (at least from my perspective), but they have in common an overall inconsistent tone. 

16. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
A sorely-needed change of lead actor highlights this film, with the younger, more serious Timothy Dalton replacing a past-his-prime Roger Moore. At this point in the series, an overall reboot was needed, but Dalton was placed in a typical Bond adventure that doesn't know whether to be hard-edged or silly. There are plenty of great action scenes here, a specialty of 1980s Bond director John Glen. 

17. OCTOPUSSY
After an attempt at toning the series down with FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, this is another wild 007 extravaganza with an India that feels like it comes from a 1940s Hollywood B movie, a troupe of circus girls who look like supermodels, and Bond disarming a nuclear bomb while dressed up as a clown. 

18. LIVE AND LET DIE
Roger Moore's 007 debut is now best remembered for its blaxplotation elements, which date the film badly. (Ironically, all the 1970s Bond films have aged far worse than the ones made the previous decade.) 

19. TOMORROW NEVER DIES
This is basically a remake of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, which was a reworking of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. Jonathan Pryce as an evil media baron seems like a great idea, but he all but ruins the story. Michelle Yeoh is the best thing in the film. 

20. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
It has a fantastic pre-credits sequence, and having Sophie Marceau turning into the villain is unique idea, but this has way too many goofy elements. 

The Official James Bond Films--My Best To Worst (Part Three)

 

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. 

The Official James Bond Films--My Best To Worst (Part Two)

 

In this round, we deal with numbers 6 through 10. 

6. DR. NO
Through 21st Century eyes this movie might seem a bit quaint. But considering it was the very first James Bond film, it's quite effective, with Sean Connery already defining the role in his debut as 007. With tone-setting performances by Joseph Wiseman (as the first main Bond villain) and Ursula Andress (as the first main Bond girl). 

7. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
THUNDERBALL tried to out-do GOLDFINGER, and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE tries to out-do THUNDERBALL. It succeeds with such elements as Blofeld's incredible volcano lair, the best villain's headquarters in the entire series. There's also Freddie Young's cinematography, "Little Nellie", John Barry's music, and the exotic Japanese locations. Unfortunately Connery seems bored throughout most of the film, and the attempt to disguise Bond as a poor Japanese fisherman is ludicrous. 

8. THUNDERBALL 
I've read somewhere online that when adjusted for inflation, this is still the highest-grossing Bond film. It was also the first true Bond epic. It might have worked better if it was a more tightly constructed story, like the earlier three films in the series. The climatic underwater battle seems to drag on forever, and there's some surprisingly mediocre effects work here as well. It's still better than most of the Bond films made in the next two decades. 

9. GOLDENEYE
Legal issues put the Bond series on hiatus for about half a decade after LICENCE TO KILL. When the series started up again, a mini-reboot was in order, with Pierce Brosnan brought in as a more mainstream 007 as compared to Timothy Dalton. I liked Brosnan's Bond a lot--I've always felt he was a cross between Connery and Roger Moore. GOLDENEYE is the best Brosnan outing by far--his era would steadily decline after this. 

10. LICENCE TO KILL
This movie gives a hint as to what a Timothy Dalton run as Bond might have looked like if the series had totally committed to him. 007 gets to go rogue here, but that aspect of the plot isn't followed through enough. The movie also feels very much like an enlarged MIAMI VICE episode. It does have some of the best stunt work of the series. 

The Official James Bond Films--My Best To Worst (Part One)

 

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. 

My Favorite James Bond Vehicles

 

MY FAVORITE JAMES BOND VEHICLES: 

Aston Martin DB5 (used in GOLDFINGER)

You HAVE to pick the classic DB5 as the greatest James Bond vehicle. 007 will be forever linked to Aston Martin, although for various eras in the Bond movie series the company's cars did not appear. 

Aston Martin DBS (used in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE)

No major gadgets, but it's the car Bond was driving when he first saw his great love Tracy, and sadly when he lost her. 

Lotus Esprit (used in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME)

For whatever reason Roger Moore's Bond didn't drive Aston Martins, but he did have this unique-looking speedster that could go underwater. Moore is associated with the Esprit the way Sean Connery is associated with the DB5. 

Aston Martin DBS V12 (used in CASINO ROYALE)

A fantastic vehicle, but Daniel Craig's Bond only gets about five minutes use out of it before it gets totaled. (When you think about it, that's what happens to every Aston Martin that is used by Craig's Bond.) 

AMC Matador Coupe (used in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN)

It's not just a AMC Matador...it can be converted into a flying car, and it's used by Christopher Lee. What more do you need?

My Favorite/Least Favorite James Bond Music

 

THE BEST JAMES BOND SOUNDTRACK COMPOSERS:

1. John Barry
2. David Arnold
3. Everyone else

MY FAVORITE JAMES BOND SOUNDTRACKS: 

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, John Barry
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, John Barry
GOLDFINGER, John Barry
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, John Barry
CASINO ROYALE (1967), Burt Bacharach

Yes, I know this movie isn't part of the official Bond series, but on my blog I can do whatever I want. 

MY FAVORITE JAMES BOND OPENING CREDIT SONGS: 

"Goldfinger", performed by Shirley Bassey in GOLDFINGER
"A View To A Kill", performed by Duran Duran in A VIEW TO A KILL

The best thing about the movie by far. 

"Live and Let Die", performed by Paul McCartney in LIVE AND LET DIE

Does anyone else think it ironic that the "nice Beatle" wrote and sang such a misanthropic tune?

"Nobody Does It Better", performed by Carly Simon in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
"You Know My Name", performed by Chris Cornell in CASINO ROYALE (2006)

An off-the-wall pick, but it stands out over the recent mediocre Bond title songs.  

MY LEAST FAVORITE JAMES BOND OPENING CREDIT SONGS:

"The Living Daylights", performed by a-ha in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

If you can understand the lyrics to this song, you should apply for a job as a translator at the United Nations. 

"All Time High", performed by Rita Coolidge in OCTOPUSSY

A fitting song for AM Easy Listening radio, but not for a Bond film. 

"Die Another Day", performed by Madonna in DIE ANOTHER DAY

What's worse--the song, or Madonna's cameo in the film?

"Writing's On The Wall", performed by Sam Smith in SPECTRE
"No Time To Die", performed by Billie Eilish in NO TIME TO DIE

I watched this movie less than a week ago from writing this, and I literally remember nothing about the title song.