This feature originally ran in November 2015 and has been updated to include the latest 007 film, No Time to Die.
Despite its relatively rigid formulas, the past 60 years have seen 007 innovate and change with the times — from the swinging ’60s sophistication of Sean Connery to the wacky, winking camp of Roger Moore in the ’70s; from Timothy Dalton’s harder edge in the ‘80s to the slick, techno-infused commercialism of Pierce Brosnan in the ’90s. Even Daniel Craig’s macho navel-gazing has brought us a more sensitive, introspective Bond for a 21st century audience.
To that end, us agents here at Consequence decided to provide our own collective assessment of the Bond films from worst to best, along with our dissection of what makes each entry unique. So sit back with your vodka martini (you know the drill), loosen your bowtie a bit, and read on. Unlike Goldfinger, we fully expect you to talk and give us your own ranking in the comments below!
— Clint Worthington
Senior Writer
25. Die Another Day (2002)
Runtime: 2 hr. 13 min.
For Your Eyes Only: Bond gets captured in North Korea, re-emerges with a beard, squares off with an enigmatic British millionaire, and eventually gets turned into shite CGI so he can fight yet another villainous laser.
Bond, James Bond Is… Pierce Brosnan.
Property of a Lady: Halle Berry, fresh off an Oscar for her devastating work in Monster’s Ball, played Jinx Johnson (cue the light giggling over alliteration). While Berry’s visual allusion to Ursula Andress’ Dr. No bikini and her mysterious, butt-kicking demeanor made for a nice touch, the fact remains that Jinx was a misshapen second fiddle to Bond. Jinx kinda feels like the initial, ironic jinx on Berry’s career since 2001.
SPECTRE of Death: Bond villains have never been strangers to physical deformation and odd quirks. Here, Die Another Day doubled down with gene therapy. For one, Toby Stephens was the evil Richard Branson-like Gustave Graves, formerly (twist!) Colonel Moon from North Korea! He changed his face and appearance and devised a laser and diamond scheme that seems like way too much effort. Speaking of diamonds, Rick Yoon played Zao, a pasty henchman with diamonds embedded in his face. Anyways, these bad guys are exhausting to describe as their motives and transformations are very convoluted. What’s wrong with just robbing Fort Knox, you know?
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: John Cleese was officially the new Q, after playing R in The World Is Not Enough. Honestly, it would have been fun to see master-wit Cleese play Q for a handful of Bonds, but rebooting gave him the, er, boot.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: David Arnold went, like, full trip-hop with his score. Brass and machine drums.
Tsunami Surf Suckage: When Brosnan rides the waves in wobbly early 2000s computer effects fashion, Bond fanatics immediately gave Roger Moore snowboarding to The Beach Boys a pass. The iceberg-sailing surf is up there with fake-rubber Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man and wiggly Neville Longbottom in The Sorcerer’s Stone. Fans should have sent letters expressing their displeasure to the glut of effects houses that thought CGI-surfin’ Bond was a good idea — maybe they did.
Moore Says: Roger Moore says a lot of things about Bond these days, but perhaps the most inarguable comments he’s ever made were his thoughts on Die Another Day that he gave to The Times in 2008: “I thought it just went too far– and that’s from me, the first Bond in space! Invisible cars and dodgy CGI footage? Please!”
Quantum of Analysis: Director Lee Tamahori brought a certain inept splashiness to Bond, opting to mix the series’ signature ultra-budget flashes (endless locales, stunts, and effects) with the series’ sense of camp grandeur and silliness. In trying to please all contingents of the fan base, Die Another Day is the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Bond, too big and too damned goofy for its own britches. It prompted the 2006 reboot and became known as the breaking point in a franchise where the hero had been shot into outer space, avoided STD’s and alcoholism for 40 years, and had been re-cast several times. Die Another Day finally made Bond what he’d avoided for so long: D.O.A.
— Blake Goble
24. A View to a Kill (1985)
Runtime: 2 hr. 11 min.
For Your Eyes Only: Bond retrieves a stolen microchip that is capable of withstanding the magnetic pulse from a nuclear explosion. He soon uncovers a plot by the evil entrepreneur Max Zorin to destroy Silicon Valley, wiping out all his competitors. 007 must spring into action with the aid of a San Francisco City Employee … yep, that’s right!
Bond, James Bond Is… Roger Moore. Bond: “Hello. My name is James St. John Smythe. I’m English.” Stacey: “I never would have guessed.” Yikes.
Property of a Lady: Tanya Roberts plays Stacey Sutton, a San Francisco City Employee who aids 007 in his attempts to take down Max Zorin. Yes, that’s still correct and says a lot about the badass city workers in the Bay Area. And then there is May Day (Grace Jones), personal bodyguard to Zorin who is one of the most complex henchmen in Bond history, like it or not! May Day is the one who actually foil’s Zorin’s plan where Bond kind of ties up loose ends.
SPECTRE of Death: Christopher Walken plays the villainous Max Zorin. Walken truly shines here as the eccentric businessman and yet is sadly wasted on this installment in the Bond franchise. It’s safe to say we’ll probably never see Mr. Walken in another Bond film, but the way business is these days, we could always see him return as Zorin’s twin brother, seeking revenge!
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: Robert Brown, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewelyn reprise their roles as M, Moneypenny, and Q, respectively. Solid lineup once more, however, no Felix in this one.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: In the snowcapped ski-action sequence harkening back to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, John Barry’s intense and underrated View score is sadly interrupted with The Beach Boys’ “California Girls” when Bond is forced to use one ski as a makeshift snowboard. This is one of the rare times the use of the electric guitar not only blends well with the Bond score, but seems a perfect fit for the era in which it was produced (unlike the score to GoldenEye, but more on that later). This opening doesn’t flow into the film’s title sequence, but does set the tone for the film’s choppy pacing and odd presentation. Duran Duran’s title track is rad, to say the least. Ah, the 80’s…
Top 25 Golden Gate Bridge Fight Sequences: Say what you will about the film, but the Golden Gate Bridge fight is easily one of the most memorable Bond scuffles in the series. Who could possibly forget the Zorin blimp, the dynamite-wielding, old Nazi, or Zorin’s strange laugh just before his fatal fall?
When is Max Zorin Happiest?
Quantum of Analysis: This clocks in as the second worst Bond Film yet it’s hard to place A View to a Kill right next to Die Another Day. We still get Walken’s iconic performance, not to mention a killer Duran Duran song. Unfortunately, Roger Moore was 57 when this one was shot, though to his credit, even he felt too old for the role. It didn’t help that Bond films were being pushed into a new age of violence that didn’t sit well with Moore. When describing that all Bonds are different, he affectionately said, “I was a lover. Daniel Craig’s a killer.” Goodbye, Sir Roger. Next up, Mr. Dalton.
— McKenzie Gerber
23. The World is Not Enough (1999)
Runtime: 2 hr. 8 min.
For Your Eyes Only: With the aid of an American nuclear physicist, James Bond faces off with a noted terrorist while trying to protect an oil heiress.
Bond, James Bond Is… Pierce Brosnan.
Property of a Lady: Sophie Marceau was Electra King, a kidnapped oil heiress, but really, everyone remembers Denise Richards as the short-shorts-sporting nuclear physicist Christmas Jones. Uh oh, did someone go to the Sylvester Stallone school of screenwriting and character naming? Christmas Jones, a character named solely for the purpose of a cringe-worthy sex pun from Bond about “Christmas coming only once a year.” Nice work, fellas. Everyone involved in this film can go home now.
SPECTRE of Death: They got freaking Begbie from Trainspotting (Robert Carlyle) to play Renard, a man with a bullet lodged in his brain. Normally, the prognosis is death for something like that, but Renard actually feels no pain.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: Desmond Llewelyn bid farewell to his famous gadget-meister Q. It was time. He was 85 upon this film’s release, and Llewelyn passed away a month later on December 19, 1999. Q was given a heartfelt and bittersweet farewell in the film, and it’s arguably the highlight. “Always have an escape plan.”
Shaken and Stirred by Score: David Arnold was getting comfy emulating the brassy Barry sound. Yet he was also coming into his own with his electronic, very ’90s beat-heavy flourishes.
Peter Jackson’s James Bond. Wait. For real? Yes, Peter Jackson was in the running for this Bond entry. Even more curiously, so was Joe Dante, the old Gremlins and Innerspace whiz. But eventually the Broccolis made the totally obvious, very safe, commercially reliable action-director choice and hired Mr. Nell himself, Michael Apted. Who wouldn’t love to be in on that Broccoli meeting? “Well, Apted made all those sensitive, experimental Up films and Gorillas in the Mist, but I’ve gotta feeling about this chap.”
Pretty Long Pre-Credit: With explosions, a boat chase, and multiple locations, The World Is Not Enough had the longest pre-credit sequence of any Bond film (until it was beat by 2021’s No Time to Die). And find anyone to tell you what actually happened in those 14 minutes. Wait, Bond adjusts his collar in cheeky fashion while his boat’s underwater? What the hell was that?
Quantum of Analysis: For a movie riddled with stunts and effects, you’ll be hard-pressed to remember anything that actually happens in The World Is Not Enough. The 1999 Bond is a blitz and ultimately a blur, noteworthy for attempts at giving pathos to the Bond persona and actual psychology to its villains, but in the end, all the effects and characterization aren’t enough for Bond’s world.
— Blake Goble
22. Quantum of Solace (2008)
Runtime: 1 hr. 46 min.
For Your Eyes Only: After the death of Vesper Lynd, Bond seeks revenge on the organization responsible. In his search, he discovers a diabolical figure whose secret plans will leave a country in the hands of a warlord and its natural resources at his fingertips.
Bond, James Bond Is… Daniel Craig. M: “Bond, I need you back.” Bond: “I never left.”
Property of a Lady: Camille Rivera Montes, played by Olga Kurylenko, is a Bolivian Agent gone rogue in hopes to exact revenge on the man responsible for the murder of her family. I do love when the “Bond Girl” is an actual intelligence operative and doesn’t have to exist via a sexual relationship with Bond. They’re few and far between. Gemma Arterton plays MI6 Agent Strawberry Fields (ha-ha), but more on her later…
SPECTRE of Death: Dominic Greene, played by Mathieu Amalric, is a member of Quantum, the criminal organization that has ties to the people who murdered Vesper in Casino Royale. Mathieu plays the slimy businessman well but doesn’t quite break any new villain ground here, although he gives it his all when channeling Max Zorin’s axe-murdering tendencies.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: The brilliant Judi Dench returns as M. Moneypenny and Q remain to be seen in the Craig movies at this point. We are, however, graced with the second sighting of Bond favorite, Felix Leiter, once again played by the cool Jeffrey Wright.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Quantum’s opening sequence picks up right where its predecessor left off, something the franchise had never done before. After an exciting car chase, we get the not-so-great opening credits sequence with the title track performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys. It just doesn’t capture the tone of the film. Oddly enough, the great Shirley Bassey (“Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Moonraker”) recorded a song with composer David Arnold titled “No Good about Goodbye,” though it was rejected. Using elements of the Quantum of Solace score, Bassey’s song just rings more true. Too bad.
James Bond or Jason Bourne: Competing with heavy-hitting spy thrillers at the time, some of the action in Quantum (not to mention Casino Royale) seems to pull directly from the style of the Bourne films. Too much Parkour? We’ll let you decide.
“Oil-fingah/ He’s the man, the man with the…wait.” One of the best nods and sequences in this film pays homage to another cruel death in the Bond series. Poor Agent Fields. I’ve heard of oil baths, but this is ridiculous!
Quantum of Analysis: This film was in production during the great writers strike of 2011, leaving director Marc Forster and Daniel Craig himself to flesh out a barebones script. It’s all about the story, and unfortunately without writers, this film suffers from a very wonky narrative. Craig admits to not being a writer and that they were “fucked.” Performances are strong, but we’re left with a skeleton of a Bond film that could have been one of the greats.
— McKenzie Gerber
21. Moonraker (1979)
Runtime: 2 hr. 6 min.
For Your Eyes Only: An industrialist space nut wants to re-populate the Earth with his disco-dressed race of Aryan blondes and starts hijacking space shuttles to make his plan come to stupidly expensive fruition. Someone needs to cut the crap. Send in Bond.
Bond, James Bond Is… Roger Moore. Covered in tin foil. Sporting a Union Jack flag on his arm.
Property of a Lady: Lois Chiles played CIA agent Holly Goodhead (ask me about it when you’re older).
SPECTRE of Death: Michael Lonsdale was Hugo Drax, the Hitler-esque megalomaniac looking to create a perfect Earth with handsome teeny boppers. Seriously, James Bond villains must have to put so much damned effort into their cockamamie schemes. Re-populating the Earth? Strangelove pitched that 15 years earlier and was laughed out of the room, Drax!
Oh, and Jaws was back! With a pig-tailed girlfriend!
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: M. Q. Moneypenny. They’re all here. As they’ve been many times.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: The bold and beautiful Barry, at it again. However, come 1979, Barry had to be like, “Enough with the brass and swank, guys.” For Moonraker, he employed rich, melodic string work. At times the score feels like the love child of Bond and the 2001 soundtrack.
Bond. Space Bond. Initially the Broccolis were ready to produce For Your Eyes Only. Then Star Wars happened.
Crash Landing: In spite of the burdensome visual effects, Moonraker still boasts one of the greatest opening action scenes in a Bond film. Kicked out of a plane without a chute, Bond must dive to nab a bad guy’s chute to save himself. It took 88 dives and innovative camerawork, and in the end, the scene’s a total rush.
Quantum of Analysis: Moonraker can be brushed off as a cynical cash grab on the popularity of Star Wars; that much is true. Yet it’s got a certain amount of camp and pricey panache. Jaws bombs into a circus. A gondola turns into a hovercraft. Bond dons lasers. Moonraker benefits from a sense of self-awareness of the fact that everything is a little silly in this movie. Oh, and pigeon double-take.
— Blake Goble
20. Octopussy (1983)
Runtime: 2 hrs. 11 min.
For Your Eyes Only: James Bond tracks the trail of a Fabergé egg and a dead double-0 agent to a group of circus performers in India, led by the yonically named Octopussy.
Bond, James Bond Is… Roger Moore. [after meeting a tiger in the forest] “Sit!”
Property of a Lady: Octopussy is played by Maud Adams, the rare Bond actress to come back for a second role (she was in The Man with the Golden Gun), but it’s at least semi-refreshing to see Moore interacting with a woman closer to his own age. Kristina Wayborn plays the thinly-characterized double-agent Magda, who gets the cringe-worthy title drop (“Oh, that’s my little Octopussy”) and is otherwise completely unremarkable.
SPECTRE of Death: The rogue’s gallery in India is particularly mediocre: the late Louis Jourdan tries to spice up proceedings as Afghan prince Kamal Khan, but Steven Berkoff’s General Orloff doesn’t curry much favor with his over-the-top barking. The twins Mischka and Grischka have a neat little gimmick with their knife-throwing skills, but Kabir Bedi’s Gobinda is just Oddjob with a turban.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: The whole crew is back, with Q getting a bit more to do this time, accompanying Bond on his mission to India. One big misstep (and a sign of the franchise’s aging core crew) is the hiring of the young Miss Penelope Smallbone (Michaela Clavell) as a potential replacement for Moneypenny in future installments. Based on the two lines of dialogue we got, I’m glad we dropped her: nobody does it better than Lois Maxwell.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Barry’s back as usual, but his scoring is a bit limper this time, lazily throwing in some Indian flavors to make it seem like he’s trying. Rita Coolidge’s “All Time High” is yet another entry in Moore’s repertoire of mall-walking Bond anthems, but at least it’s aged marginally better than “For Your Eyes Only”:
Highest Body Count: Based on this awesome supercut from Auralnauts, Octopussy features the single highest instance of mass murder that Bond is directly responsible for, making up nearly half of Moore’s total kills. In the pre-credits sequence, Moore drives his tiny Bede BD-5J jet through an open airplane hangar, the missile chasing him blowing up said hanger and killing approximately 50 people. 007: now officially a mass murderer.
From India, 1-Love: In a weirdly charming bit of stunt casting, tennis pro Vijay Armitraj becomes Bond’s sidekick for the Indian portion of the movie, playing an MI6 agent named – get this – Vijay. He quips gleefully along with Moore, takes out hoodlums with a tennis racket, and even gets a tragic death to fuel Bond’s desire for justice. In a pretty weak Bond entry, at least Vijay stands out.
Quantum of Analysis: Octopussy is Moore-era Bond at its most rote: a wrinkly star purring icky double entendres into the ears of women half his age, disappointing villains, corny jokes (including a Tarzan yell!), and an almost desperate veneer of self-awareness. Octopussy feels like Cubby Broccoli and the rest just kind of shrugging their shoulders at the audience and saying, “What do you want from us?”
— Clint Worthington
19. Spectre (2015)
Runtime: 2 hr. 30 min.
For Your Eyes Only: Bond is on a personal mission to track down a mysterious organization that may be the key to every mission dating back to Casino Royale. A mysterious ring and a tucked-away past all lead to one thing: SPECTRE.
Bond, James Bond Is… Daniel Craig. “Stay!”
Property of a Lady: Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swan, daughter to one of Bond’s enemies. Seydoux is good as per usual, but her character suffers a second-half lapse of logic thanks to the writers, and she feels out of place in the end. Faring better is Monica Bellucci’s Lucia Sciarra, a widow to an assassin who feels destined to be assassinated herself. She is strong but unafraid to show how frightened she is. Her chemistry with Craig is bonkers, but alas her time on screen is short. In an even smaller role is Stephanie Sigman, who unknowingly assists Bond in the excellent pre-credits sequence. Sigman co-starred in FX’s The Bridge. I miss that show.
SPECTRE of Death: Christoph Waltz is Oberhauser. Who am I kidding? He’s Ernst Stavro Blofeld! He’s been retconned into a boy from Bond’s childhood who grew jealous of his father’s affection towards the man who would become 007. More on him later, but before then let’s discuss Dave Bautista’s silent thug, Mr. Hinx. After making a memorable entrance, his character slowly transforms into Bond’s version of The Terminator. After Bautista’s performance in Guardians of the Galaxy, he is underutilized here. Andrew Scott plays a jerk-ish MI5 higher-up whose agenda turns out to be associated with evil. Not worth getting into. Dissect elsewhere.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: Ralph Fiennes settles in for his first full-time gig as M. Joining him are returning associates Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw as Q. They are a great team, the best trio since Moonraker gave us Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewelyn. No Felix, but he is mentioned in a promise made to the widow Sciarra. Spin-off with Felix protecting Lucia, please!
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” doesn’t hold up as a single, but fits in quite well in the context of the movie’s opening credits. Fire. Octopuses. Bond. Shadowy figures. It’s a solid sequence. Thomas Newman’s score uses its melody and gives the film a bit of old-school class with its use of strings as a dominating instrument.
John Harrison: Remember when everybody and their mother knew that Benedict Cumberbatch was playing Khan in Star Trek into Darkness, but everyone involved kept insisting that he was no-name John Harrison? Like that movie, when Spectre’s villain is revealed to really be someone else (here he changed his name to Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Groan.), it’s supposed to be “the moment” of the movie. Instead we’re left saying “yes, and” without an improviser in sight. It’s one of a few “surprise” moments that turned out to be predictable from the day Spectre was announced.
Day of the Dead: The pre-credit sequence is a technical marvel: a “single-take” thanks to tricks of the filmmaking trade. We walk through a parade into a hotel, up an elevator and into a guest room, out the window, and across a roof to a kill shot. Director Sam Mendes doesn’t rest on his laurels here, and it’s one of the best Bond openings of them all…
Quantum of Analysis: …it’s too bad about the back half. Spectre’s strong, gorgeous front half features intense introductions and a proper “fun” take on Bond we haven’t seen from Craig before. Classic elements from Bonds of yesteryear return before the movie loses itself to prequelitis, ridiculous acts of retcon, and an anti-climactic finale. There are bad Bond movies and good Bond movies, but Spectre may be the most frustrating of them all. So much potential squandered by what turns out to be poor storytelling.
— Justin Gerber
18.The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Runtime: 2 hr. 5 min.
For Your Eyes Only: There is a man with a golden gun and a determination to kill a 00-agent who cannot be killed: James Bond!
Bond, James Bond Is… Roger Moore. “I am now aiming precisely at your groin. So speak, or forever hold your piece.”
Property of a Lady: There is good with the bad. The less said about Britt Ekland’s Agent Mary Goodnight the better, but I will mention that at one point she finds herself locked in the trunk of a car. A much more mysterious performance comes courtesy of Maud Adams as Scaramanga’s lover, Andrea Anders. Adams was so good that producers cast her as the titular role in Octopussy years later.
SPECTRE of Death: Christopher Lee is excellent in the role of Scaramanga, a most formidable foe for our James. He has a fun house designed to engage in shootouts with fellow hit men, so he’s just the right kind of sick for the franchise. He has both a dwarf sidekick in Hervé Villechaize’s Nick Nack and a third nipple. Are there inappropriate jokes about Nick Nack throughout the film? It was filmed in the early ‘70s, where such jokes were basically required.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: Q is back! After missing out on the Blaxploitation-egads-adventures of Live and Let Die, Llewelyn’s gadget guru meets with Moore’s Bond for the first time. Don’t worry. He’s as unimpressed with him as he was with the Bonds that came before. No Felix this go-round.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: With guns and ladies in a shimmering-water effect, the credit sequence is disappointingly bland. Lulu’s title track doesn’t help much (we have it at the bottom in our Ranking: James Bond Theme Songs), but what if it was replaced by Alice Cooper’s version? Hmmm. Not much better.
G.D. Sheriff J.W. Pepper: Everyone’s favorite (?) walkin’, talkin’, good ol’ boy caricature is back! After appearing exasperated to the point of human combustion in Moore’s first outing, the vacationing sheriff just so happens to be vacationing in Bangkok when he runs into 007 once again. “Now, if you pointy-heads would get out of them pajamas, you wouldn’t be late for work!” Ladies and gentlemen, your 1970s!
James Bond Was Kung Fu Fighting! While Live and Let Die embraced/ripped off the Blaxploitation films of its era, Golden Gun embraces/rips off the Kung Fu craze happening around the same time. This may help explain the pointless sequence in an actual dojo, not seen since the days of Connery going full Asian in You Only Live Twice. At least Moore’s Bond has the decency to come as he is. Probably a double entendre in there somewhere.
Quantum of Analysis: Not good, HQ. Not good. It’s a MOR-Moore Bond adventure in a set of films that tend to veer off the cliff. The locales, as always, are beautiful, and Lee is a classic Bond villain. Unfortunately for Ian Fleming’s cousin, he’s trapped in an overlong movie with one of Bond’s worst leading ladies and worst scores. Moore’s next movie would not only be better, but one of the best Bond movies of them all.
— Justin Gerber
17. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.
For Your Eyes Only: Bond must stop a maniacal media mogul from starting World War III between England and China – all to sell more physical copies of newspapers and more subscriptions to satellite news networks (wha?).
Bond, James Bond Is… Pierce Brosnan. “They’ll print anything these days.”
Property of a Lady: Despite its weaknesses, Tomorrow features one of the strongest “Bond Girls” of all time: Michelle Yeoh’s Wai Lin. She kicks ass with the best of them and has the rare distinction of being treated like a colleague instead of yet another item in Bond’s inventory. She and Bond get some thrilling, collaborative action scenes together, including an extended set piece where they’re literally handcuffed to each other.
Oh, and Teri Hatcher’s in it too for, like, a couple minutes.
SPECTRE of Death: Jonathan Pryce’s Elliot Carver is equal parts Steve Jobs (complete with portrait), Rupert Murdoch, and Donald Trump, which makes a great idea for a villain. Unfortunately, despite Pryce’s lively presence and that lyrical delivery, he makes for a pretty limp baddie. Vincent Schiavelli brings a much-needed jolt of humor as his fastidious assassin Dr. Kaufman (“I feel like an idiot. I don’t know vat to say”), and Gotz Otto is imposing, if not remarkable, as this installment’s required Aryan strongman Stamper.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: Judi Dench is all spit and vinegar as M, Samantha Bond offers her wry sharpness as Moneypenny, and Desmond Lllewelyn is in fine form in his last full-on role as Q (he shares Q duties with Cleese in The World Is Not Enough). Our good buddy Joe Don Baker is back as Jack Wade, too.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: This was David Arnold’s first Bond score of the five he would do for the series, and I love it. Much like the plot, its focus on electronica is extremely ‘90s (working with the Propellerheads, who did the lobby-scene fight cue from The Matrix), but his strong orchestral backing and penchant for big, big, big in his music fits Bond well. Arnold essentially auditioned for the part by making a CD of Bond theme song covers that’s well worth a listen.
As for the theme song, it’s … okay, I guess? Sheryl Crow gives it that swaying, lounge-y feel that fits Bond’s high-class lifestyle, but it’s not nearly as brassy as the original pick: k.d. lang’s incredible “Surrender.” Stick around for the end credits to listen to that and wonder what could have been.
Backseat Driving: After GoldenEye spent a whole scene telling us about the fancy new BMW only to drive it down a single road, Tomorrow makes up for that with an excellent chase scene involving a parking garage, henchmen with rocket launchers, and Bond remote-driving a BMW 750 from the backseat. (Who brings rocket launchers just to, as far as they know, break into a car?)
Gee Pee Ess: Another strong indicator of just how dated Tomorrow Never Dies has become is its obsession with that newfangled technology known as GPS. The first act’s major MacGuffin is a GPS encoder, personified by a slim, blinking red box with a long series of numbers that’s meant to symbolize … something, I’m sure. Looking back on it now, it’s just adorable how many people introduce GPS in the film as if it’s a new thing. “Through our global positioning satellites … the GPS system,” says Colin Salmon’s Robinson, smugly.
Quantum of Analysis: After Austin Powers was released to much success, the self-reflexive Bond of GoldenEye was out. People wanted the goofy, campy 007 back, and Tomorrow feels like a step in that direction. Brosnan’s having a bit more fun, and Pryce throws himself into his hammy villain with gusto. It’s rather low in this list, but strong set pieces, Arnold’s awesome score, and the presence of a truly kick-ass Bond girl in Wai Lin give it some charm. As you’ve by no doubt read, Brosnan’s certainly done worse.
— Clint Worthington
16. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Runtime: 2 hr.
For Your Eyes Only: Bond faces off with Blofeld. Again. And has to stop a giant laser. Again. But now it’s the ‘70s, baby! Vegas! Amsterdam!
Bond, James Bond Is… The well-publicized return of Sean Connery who was given a then-record $1.25 million to come back. “That’s quite a nice little nothing you’re almost wearing. I approve.”
Property of a Lady: Jill St. John was Tiffany Case, a small-time smuggler unwittingly working for SPECTRE. However, and more to Bond’s pun and one-liner ends, Lana Wood played Plenty O’Toole, a name designed solely for the purpose of setting up Bond for dorky humor. “I’m Plenty!” “But of course you are.”
SPECTRE of death: Charles Gray played a rather lame variation on Blofeld. He wasn’t Donald Pleasance. Or Telly Savalas. Or the uncredited voice work of Eric Pohlman in From Russia with Love or Thunderball. Gray played Blofeld like the dweeby, high-strung old man that thinks he’s really cool with his cat and no-collar suit but everyone secretly makes fun of behind his back. He’s a pompous Blofeld. A preening Blofeld. A stick-up-his-ass Blofeld.
For fun villains here, look no further than Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith) — two total hench-nerds. They’re arguably the movie’s funniest and campiest components, like high school A.V. club resentfuls that got into crime with an eye on getting revenge on the world.
Oh yeah, Bambi and Thumper, too. They’re femme fatales that Bond turns into pool toys. It’s, well, the less said, the better.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: M. Q. Moneypenny. They’re all here. Again. Ooh, wait, hold on a second. Diamonds Are Forever has another new Felix Leiter. Norman Burton was Bond’s American ally this time. Who’s Norman Burton? IMDB says he was known for Planet of the Apes, The Towering Inferno, and Bloodsport. Still don’t know who he is? Umm … neither do we, come to think of it. He looks like Bond’s grumpy neighbor.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Barry returned for his sixth go-round of composing for Bond. This time, Barry put in a touch of swanky jazz, sexy saxophones, and a nightclub atmosphere. You can probably still make out to it.
In fact…
West. Kanye West. Yeezy’s 2005 hit, “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” now famously sampled Shirley Bassey’s Diamonds Are Forever theme. Bassey apparently really dug this. Diamonds, whatever. Shirley Bassey theme songs from James Bond movies, those are truly forever.
The Aviator Connection: Albert Broccoli was good friends with Howard Hughes in the ‘70s, and because of that friendship, you see a lot of Hughes’ hotels in this movie. Hughes even got local enforcement to go lax on the production, allowing Connery and company to play in the streets with much more ease.
Quantum of Analysis: Guy Hamilton’s Diamonds Are Forever is basically the beginning of the camp era for Bond films. And that was alright. Still is. The film feels like the curious attempt to deconstruct and have a laugh at Bond’s growing familiar in mainstream culture. The subplots about multiple Blofelds, the gauche, excessive Vegas locales, the overall glibness of Connery, it’s all at odds with prior installments. Weary, yet weird, and ultimately kind of wacky.
— Blake Goble
15. License to Kill (1989)
Runtime: 2 hr. 13 min.
For Your Eyes Only: After Felix Leiter is viciously attacked by a ruthless drug lord, Bond turns in his license to kill, but not his intention … to kill.
Bond, James Bond Is… Timothy Dalton. “Don’t you want to know why?” Chills.
Property of a Lady: Carrie Lowell plays Pam Bouvier, an ex-CIA agent who joins Bond on his quest for revenge. She’s actually given material and plays a pivotal role during the film’s big finale (flies a friggin’ plane!) Talisa Soto is given less to do as Lupe Lamora, girlfriend of the evil Sanchez. She inevitably falls for Bond, but who cares? Lowell and Soto would go on to portray different types of powerful figures in Law & Order and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, respectively. Fun fact: Annihilation beat L.A. Confidential at the box office its opening weekend. America!
SPECTRE of Death: Robert Davi was a bad dude in Goonies, but he takes it to a whole other level as drug kingpin Sanchez in License. He gets arrested knowing he’ll get out. He smokes cigars. He beats his girlfriend. He blows up people’s heads via decompressed pressure chambers. He engages in machete fights. He’s effective, to say the least. His secondhand man, Dario, is played by a very young Benicio del Toro. He’s as cold as we’ve come to expect from the Academy Award-winning actor.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: Leiter usually comes into a Bond movie long after the plot has been established, but he’s never been more important than he is in License. What happens to him and his wife is the launching point of the entire movie’s existence. Leiter is played by returning champion David Hedison (Live and Let Die). Also of note: the final performances from Robert Brown as M and Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny. Llewelyn’s Q wouldn’t go anywhere for a long time.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: A snoozefest. Gladys Knight has a great voice, but not even her Pips could save her from this bland retread of Goldfinger. The track that plays during the closing credits is “If You Ask Me To” with vocals by Anita Baker (that song was made famous a few years later by Celine Dion). As for the credit sequence, there are a lot of allusions to photography for some reason. Did I miss something here?
Lethal Weapon 007: Bond movies often reflect the era in which they were produced (Shaft–Live and Let Die, Star Wars–Moonraker). License to Kill is from the era of Lethal Weapon, and it’s as brutal as Bond has ever been. The drug catalyst, the violence, the unwavering thirst for vengeance, and, to top it all off, a score by Michael Kamen. All that’s missing is Murtaugh, who was apparently too old for this shit. I’ll see my way out.
Bigger Is Better: There is a really cool stunt at the end of this movie that pays homage to Diamonds Are Forever. In Connery’s swan song, Bond drives a car tilted to one side to get through an alleyway. Here, he tilts an 18-wheeler to avoid an explosion. Nice driving!
Quantum of Analysis: Dalton was ahead of his time. His take on the character often led to criticism of being too serious and not “fun” enough. However, there’s a reason that his movies hold up better than most of Brosnan or Moore’s. He’s as blunt an instrument as the character ever was in the Fleming novels. License to Kill would be his last performance as 007 (thanks to fun lawsuits over rights), but he goes out with a bang. Or two. Or three. Or four.
— Justin Gerber
14. No Time to Die (2021)
Runtime: 2 hrs. 43 mins.
For Your Eyes Only: After retiring at the end of Spectre, James Bond tries to leave the life of gadgets, guns, and girls behind (save for his paramour, Madeleine Swann). But he’s roped back into a plan to stop yet another madman from completing yet another world-ending scheme, this time by Felix Leiter and the CIA. Along the way, he’ll have to reckon with the sins of the past, and figure out whether he fits in this new, sleeker, egalitarian future.
Bond, James Bond Is… Daniel Craig, in what is definitively his fifth and final performance as Bond.
Property of a Lady: Bond is fully cuffed, as the kids say, to Lea Seydoux’s Madeleine in this installment, carrying on a romantic relationship and the first flirtations with family life. But there are plenty of women kicking ass in his periphery — from Ana de Armas’ sultry Cuban CIA agent (with whom Craig shares a delightful, if too-short, camaraderie) and his slick, professional replacement as 007 (Lashana Lynch).
SPECTRE of Death: Sure, Christoph Waltz’s Blofeld is back in this installment as well, offering sinister advice from beyond a glass cell like so many villains have since The Avengers popularized it. But the film’s true baddie is Rami Malek’s Lyusifer Safin, a scarred ghost from Madeleine’s past who vows revenge on SPECTRE and cares little for what collateral damage may stand in his way. Malek seems like a solid Bond villain on paper, but in practice, he’s all bog-standard bug-eyed menace, bon mots about how he and Bond aren’t so different, and so on. A real damp squib of a villain.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service… and Felix Leiter: The whole crew is here — M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), and Q (Ben Whishaw), who finally clues us in on what “Q” might just stand for. Plus, Jeffrey Wright’s cavalier take on Felix Leiter gets a welcome reprise (and final bow for Craig’s turn at bat), alongside an excitable CIA protege and Bond superfan (Billy Magnussen) who’s more than he seems.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Hans Zimmer takes the reins from Thomas Newman, and delivers a score that’s appropriately big and booming and Zimmerian alongside the typical brassy Bondian flourishes. Most delightfully, he ropes in themes from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service from time to time, subtextually reminding us of the last time a film explored what it means for Bond to finally hang up his hat and settle down.
As for the title song, Billie Eilish delivers an appropriately brittle, haunting ballad in “No Time to Die.” Her version of midtempo works a lot better than Sam Smith’s inert title track from Spectre, with Eilish’s signature crackle snaking around the chutes-and-ladder nature of her melody.
Armas and Dangerous: It really can’t be overstated how much fun de Armas and Craig have on screen together in their too-brief collaboration; so much of No Time to Die is navel-gazey and self-serious, which makes their sparkling back and forth a welcome respite from the fog. There’s a moment where they take a break from a gunfight in a Cuban club to pour a couple of shots and toast each other that reminds you that, oh yeah, these movies are meant to be entertaining.
Even Longer Pre-Credit: Befitting its bigger scope, No Time to Die breaks the previous record of “longest Bond pre-title scene” from World is Not Enough; there’s a solid half hour before Daniel Kleinman’s stylish titles hit us. Prior to that, we get a genuinely exciting Hanna-esque flashback to a pre-teen Madeleine fighting to survive her first encounter with Safin, before seeing her and Bond’s vacation in the present disrupted by a thrilling gun/car/motorcycle chase with SPECTRE agents across the cobblestone streets of a Grecian village.
Quantum of Analysis: No Time to Die has a lot riding on it — it’s the final film for its deeply popular star, a celebration of the 25th anniversary, a rare direct sequel to the previous installment, and a postmodern deconstruction of Bond’s place in a sociopolitical atmosphere that doesn’t need him any more. Not only that, it’s suffered through both the departure of its previous director (Cary Joji Fukunaga took over for Boyle, who left partway through production) and the myriad release delays that came from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given all the expectations it’s saddled with, No Time to Die offers a modest, even entrancing success: The highs hit really nicely, from Linus Sandgren’s textured cinematography to a career-best performance from Craig, stretching the limitations of Bond to their limit and beyond. Specific lines, sequences and motifs are really wonderful to behold, and it truly feels like both one of the biggest and most personal Bonds to date.
The problem, then, comes from the film having to serve too many masters: The bits of Spectre they keep aren’t that interesting, so hanging unexpected emotional resonance for Bond’s journey on them really doesn’t work. Add to that a limp villain and a nearly three-hour runtime that really strains the pacing of its admittedly-well-staged action scenes, and it’s hard not to feel a bit disappointed by No Time to Die.
— Clint Worthington
13. You Only Live Twice (1967)
Runtime: 1 hr. 57 min.
For Your Eyes Only: When American and Russian spacecrafts go missing, 007 is sent to Japan to investigate. Are the Japanese responsible for pitting these two superpowers against each other? Or is there a more sinister force behind it all?
Bond, James Bond Is… Sean Connery. “Oh, the things I do for England.”
Property of a Lady: Aki, played by Akiko Wakabayashi, is a Japanese spy and one of the most capable Bond companions. She works for Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese Secret Service, and rescues Bond at one point in her slick Toyota 2000GT. A relationship begins to blossom, but an attempt to poison Bond misses the target, killing Aki instead. Kissy Suzuki, (Mie Hama) the agent assigned to Bond after Aki’s death, “marries” 007 when he goes undercover (more on that soon) and helps him foil Blofeld’s plot in the end!
SPECTRE of Death: Ernst Stavro Blofeld, portrayed here by Donald Pleasence. Though he appeared in earlier entries, this marks the first time we actually see the iconic villain. Bald head, scar over his eye, and white cat, to boot! Look familiar? He sets the pace for all Blofelds to come.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: M, Q, and Moneypenny are back, played once again by Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, and Lois Maxwell, respectively. No Felix Leiter to be found here.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Barry continues his streak of powerhouse bond themes with You Only Live Twice. The title song is performed by Nancy Sinatra, clocking in at number 7 in our Ranking: James Bond Theme Songs from Worst to Best. It was also recently featured in the fifth season finale of Mad Men.
You can’t do that today: When viewing classic Bond films, one must adapt to the mindset of the time in which the film was released. Having said that, there are some moments here that just don’t quite work and are incredibly hard to watch. For instance, Bond attempting to go undercover in Japan. Yeesh.
Cats Just Love Blofeld:
Quantum of Analysis: At times lost in the Bond formula of beautiful women, exotic locations, and revolutionary gadgets, You Only Live Twice suffers at the expense of its spectacle. However, giving us the first on-screen interaction between Bond and Blofeld is enough to secure its place in Bond history. This would also be Connery’s first “final” Bond film before returning two movies later for Diamonds Are Forever.
— McKenzie Gerber
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Runtime: 2 hr. 8 min.
For Your Eyes Only: A submarine has sunk to the bottom of the ocean with a device that could change the Cold War forever. Bond must determine whether or not his enemies are his friends … and whether or not his friends are his enemies.
Bond, James Bond Is… Roger Moore. “All right, keep your hair on!” Pat, pat.
Property of a Lady: As is so often the case, we have two roles here of varying quality. Carole Bouquet is the out-for-revenge Melina Havelock, a character that is as capable a “Bond girl” as has ever been written. She’s deadly with an arrow and never loses sight of her goal, even when she takes time out for a roll in the waves with Bond. Unfortunately, Lynn-Holly Johnson plays an annoying, aspiring Olympic figure skater desperate to grow up. Why she’s here is anyone’s guess.
SPECTRE of Death: Walter Gotell returns as General Gogol, but the KGB aren’t the real baddies here. We get strongman Kriegler (John Wyman) who answers the question, “What if Rocky Horror played a henchman in a Bond movie?” The creepiest is Gothard, a silent, calculating assassin who receives the most brutal death via Moore’s Bond, one that Sir Roger believed was too cruel for his take on 007. The man who ties them all together is Greek businessman Kristatos, played by Julian Glover. The actor has played the main villain in a Bond movie, an Indiana Jones movie, and two Doctor Who stories. A genre legend.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: R.I.P. Bernard Lee. The man who was M passed away before he could shoot his scenes, so for the first and only time, M does not feature in a James Bond film (we’re told M is on leave). Llewelyn’s Q and Maxwell’s Moneypenny are back at it, but no Felix.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: Great song sung by Sheena Easton, who is also the only artist to appear in the opening credits of a Bond movie. It’s the third and final time the franchise gets an Oscar nomination for Best Song until Adele won for “Skyfall” 30 years later. The score saw Bond going a different way with the hiring of Bill Conti (Rocky). I’ll just say this was definitely produced during the disco era, albeit its death throes.
That’s Blofeld, but Not Really, but Yeah, It’s Him: Thanks to rights issues (see: Kevin McClory), supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his evil organization, SPECTRE, had not been seen since final days of Connery’s Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. As a “fuck you” to those tying up the use of the character, a bald man with a gray suit and white cat are seen tormenting Bond in the pre-credit sequence before being dispatched down a chimney (the cat lives). The character’s name is never said, but the character is finally dead.
Milos on the Roof: Topol steals every scene he’s in as Milos Colombo, a smuggler who we’re led to believe is the film’s heavy before big reveals start a’happenin’. The actor, most famous for playing the titular Fiddler on the Roof both on Broadway and in its film adaptation, is very smart, capable, and most important of all: funny. Echoes of his character can be found in Robbie Coltrane’s Zukovsky of the Brosnan Bonds.
Quantum of Analysis: Easily the darkest Bond in the Moore series of films, For Your Eyes Only is an example of a movie blowing things up in order to survive. That this came out only two years after the over-the-top space silliness of Moonraker is unbelievable. It’s a bit long in stretches, but easily in the upper half of the Bond movies and one of Moore’s best efforts.
— Justin Gerber
11. Live and Let Die (1973)
Runtime: 2 hr. 1 min.
For Your Eyes Only: A suspicious island nation is under investigation, but every MI6 agent that gets close winds up dead. It’s up to Bond to bust up an international heroin conspiracy and liberate the island of San Monique from its dictator’s voodoo-enforced rule.
Bond, James Bond Is… Roger Moore. “Sheer magnetism, darling.”
Property of a Lady: Jane Seymour is Solitaire, the mystic beauty under willing captivity of dictator Dr. Kananga. She reads the tarot and assures Kananga’s success so long as she remains a virgin and thus retains her powers. In this case, Bond doesn’t just seduce her, but actually tricks her into thinking it’s their destiny to hook up when he stacks her deck with The Lovers. Pretty sleazy, even by Bond standards. Gloria Hendry plays the short-lived Rosie Carver, an inexperienced and easily startled CIA agent. She’s Bond’s first on-screen black liaison and pays the lethal price of betrayal.
SPECTRE of Death: Dr. Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) is a complicated dude. He runs an island nation with weaponized scarecrows and controls his own incarnation of Baron Samedi, the Loa of Death (played by the incredible Geoffrey Holder). Meanwhile, Kananga also gallivants around the States in a latex mask as drug lord and restauranteur “Mr. Big.” His plan is to distribute the heroin grown on San Monique through his nationwide restaurant chain for free. Get people hooked, destabilize America’s drug economy, and get even richer. His arsenal of henchmen includes the claw-armed Tee-Hee, the near-mute Whisper, and an actual deity depending on how you read the outcome with Samedi.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service…and Felix Leiter: No trip to the US of A is complete without a visit from Felix Leiter! David Hedison plays a particularly active and very likable iteration of Bond’s CIA pal — a role he’d become the first to reprise when he returned years later in License to Kill. Q is MIA, but Bond shares a gadgeteering moment with M when the Director makes an unexpected house call. That same scene also offers one of the most memorable Moneypenny moments on record, wherein the ever-overlooked secretary helps out Bond’s girl-of-the-moment by keeping her secreted from M’s sight. Also along for the ride is Quarrel Jr., son of the Cayman Islander who helped Bond in Dr. No.
Shaken and Stirred by Score: “Live and Let Die” was the first rock song to grace the hallowed halls of Bond’s themes. Paul McCartney and Wings’ ruthless jam, combined with lavish orchestration from Beatles producer George Martin, ushered in a bold new age of Bond. In fact, Martin’s work on the song so impressed the producers that they asked him to fill in for the busy John Barry. Martin’s rock- and funk-infused orchestrations compliment the film’s aesthetic well, but it’s the cues that are to die for. The title sequence unfortunately is 50/50. The opening shot of a wide-eyed woman, head on fire, erupting into a burning skull will make for lasting nightmares, but the rest of the video’s wind-tousled dancing girls are forgettable.
Race Relations: “White face in Harlem, good thinking Bond,” chides black CIA Agent Strutter. Live and Let Die is a strange film for many reasons, but you’ve got to hand it to them. Adapting Fleming’s most racist novel into Blaxploitation-cum-Bond was a bold move. But was it empowering? With the exception of Quarrel Jr. and Strutter, every other black person in this film, from shoe shiner to stage performer, is an active participant in a massive conspiracy of murder and drug smuggling. Kananga is in many ways The Man – he enslaves San Monique by turning their voodoo belief against them and plans on starting his drug enslavement of America in black cultural centers. On the other hand, all black characters are interesting and generally respectful, whereas the film’s biggest stereotype is the racist comic-relief heel Sheriff J.W. Pepper. Discuss.
The Dream-Quest of James Bond: One of the most endearing qualities about Live and Let Die is how unabashedly surreal it is. In one of Kananga’s restaurants, Bond’s booth cycles into a secret room, in another his table lowers into the floor. In his hotel, turning on the cold water opens a trap door, and turning on the hot lets in a snake. CIA agents are swallowed up by coffins with dummy bottoms and whisked away in funeral processions. Flutes turn into two-way radios; scarecrows are wired into a jungle CCTV network. And then of course there’s the lair underneath the graveyard with a secret elevator that would suggest everything about Baron Samedi was a scam – except the part where Bond shoots his head, and it cracks like a clay pot. Samedi’s eyes glance upwards as if to inspect the damage, and then his entire body shatters with further bullets. Let us not forget the haunting end of Kananga who turns into a human balloon and explodes.
Quantum of Analysis: In the Bond lineup, Live and Let Die is a daringly different entry that sees Moore (in his first outing) and company nimbly walking a line between slapstick and sinister. Whereas the series’ most memorable films focus on threats as big as nuclear annihilation, a low-key mission with its own brand of sensationalism is a welcome change. Plus it’s got no shortage of Bond moments: smashing the top off a double-decker bus and making a narrow escape by running across three live crocodiles. Though an awesome boat chase is irreparably mucked up by Sheriff Pepper’s shoehorned B.S., it’s just part and parcel of Live and Let Die’s so-bad-it’s-good insanity.
— Cat Blackard
