When ranking the James Bond movies, the key question is how much you view them through modern eyes.
[Featured Image] James Bond over the years. Clockwise from top left: Daniel Craig, George Lazenby, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, and Roger Moore.
We wince now when Sean Connery slaps a woman, rips off a bikini top or holds her down until he can kiss her, but audiences seemed to find this unremarkable behaviour for a British secret agent in the 1960s. The series recognised how much times had changed when Judi Dench’s M called 007 a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur” in 1995’s GoldenEye.
For almost six decades of “official” Bond movies, the formula has proven enduringly popular: action-packed spy adventures in exotic locations, spectacular stunts, glamorous women who usually fall into bed with 007, gadgets, explosions, fast cars, and witty asides. But it has been reinvented repeatedly as Connery gave way to George Lazenby then Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
With the release of the secret agent franchise’s twenty-fifth film, No Time To Die, we take a look back at the over 50 years of James Bond films from Dr No to Spectre.
With No Time to Die finally opening in cinemas, here’s how the Bond movies rank.
24. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Lazenby has been the only Australian 007, but he is, unfortunately, also the worst. One of the best stories of the series had Bond facing perennial villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) over a plan to use his brainwashed henchwomen to destroy the world’s agriculture. But the movie suffers for Lazenby’s acting and the in-jokes. Iconic moments: the bobsled chase; Bond gets married.
George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.CREDIT:APIC/GETTY
23. Quantum of Solace (2008)
The Matrix sequels of Bond movies. After Craig re-energised 007 in Casino Royale, the follow-up was frantic, cold and grim. Seeking revenge for Vesper’s death, Bond teamed up with Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), who was on her own revenge mission, for a fiery showdown at a desert hotel. As well as the worst title, it had a script that was badly affected by a writers’ strike. Iconic moment: the dogfight with Bond flying a DC-3.
22. Octopussy (1983)
The switch to comedy went too far when Bond (Moore) defused a nuclear warhead dressed as a clown after earlier hiding in a gorilla suit. Investigating the death of a British agent, 007 tracked an exiled Afghan prince (Louis Jourdan) and his jewel-smuggling associate Octopussy (Maud Adams) and discovered a plot to explode a warhead. Iconic moments: Bond flies a mini jet through a hangar; he and henchman Gobinda fight atop a plane.
21. You Only Live Twice (1967)
Bond (Connery) was dispatched to Japan to confront Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) at his volcano lair in a movie with hokey space scenes, badly dubbed Japanese actors, weak double entendres and 007 getting a makeover to supposedly look Japanese. Iconic moments: the helicopter picking up a car with a magnet; Little Nellie’s dogfight; death by piranha pool; and the liferaft containing Bond and Kissy (Mie Hama) being collected by a surfacing submarine.
Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice. CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
20. A View to a Kill (1985)
In Moore’s final appearance, Bond faced crazed villain Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), who wanted to destroy Silicon Valley. It was a hit but Moore was showing his age at 57 and his love scene with Grace Jones as May Day was comically awful. Iconic moments: Duran Duran’s theme song; May Day parachuting from the Eiffel Tower; the climactic fight when Zorin’s airship crashed into the Golden Gate Bridge.
Roger Moore and Tanya Roberts in A View to a Kill. CREDIT: GETTY
19. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Bond (Moore) tracked down villain Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) who was using a stolen device to create a destructive solar energy cannon. While Lee classed up the movie, low points included Lulu’s theme song, Sumo wrestlers in Thailand, the bizarre reappearance of Sheriff J. W. Pepper, the clumsy product placement and Britt Ekland’s acting as agent Mary Goodnight. Iconic moments: the corkscrew car jump across a river; the flying car; the climactic shootout in Scaramanga’s fun palace.
18. Die Another Day (2002)
Things got wild for Brosnan’s final movie: Bond surfed a giant wave into North Korea, there was a hovercraft chase, Madonna was a fencing instructor, John Cleese was Q, a billionaire British businessman was really an exiled Korean terrorist in disguise, there was an invisible car and Bond kitesurfed another giant wave in Iceland. After 14 months of torture, 007 had to foil a plan to use a satellite’s laser power to unite the Korean Peninsula. Iconic moments: Bond being “saved by the bell”; Halle Berry as Jinx exiting the surf.
Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day. CREDIT: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
17. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
While protecting an oil heiress (Sophie Marceau) from a Russian terrorist (Robert Carlyle), Bond uncovered a plot to destroy Istanbul with a nuclear explosion. Brosnan’s third movie, which also stars Denise Richards as nuclear physicist Christmas Jones, was briskly entertaining but a step down from his previous two. Iconic moments: the jetboat chase down the Thames; Q’s lethal bagpipes; defusing a bomb in a pipeline; Bond’s line “I thought Christmas only comes once a year.”
16. Live and Let Die (1973)
Investigating the death of three British agents, Bond (Moore in his debut) hunted down a drug dealer who turned out to be the dictator of a Caribbean island in a ham-fisted take on blaxploitation. Iconic moments: Paul McCartney’s theme song; Bond seducing the psychic Solitaire (Jane Seymour) with a stacked deck of tarot cards; using alligators as stepping stones and flying a speedboat over a road.
Gloria Hendry, Roger Moore and Jane Seymour in a publicity shot for Live and Let Die. CREDIT: TERRY O’NEILL/ICONIC IMAGES
15. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
In a colourful Mediterranean travelogue, Bond (Moore) hunted for a stolen missile command system while helping crossbow-wielding Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) get revenge for her parents’ murder. Iconic moments: Bond escaping on a ski jump then a bobsled run; Q’s identigraph machine; Bond climbing a sheer cliff face; and, at the end, being thanked by Maggie Thatcher.
14. The Living Daylights (1987)
A new Bond (Dalton) teamed up with a Czech cellist (Maryam d’Abo) to investigate a KGB plan to kill British agents. The movie had a brooding darkness but little wit and arms dealer Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker) was a weak villain. Iconic moments: the snow chase on a cello case; Bond’s fight dangling off the back of a plane.
Timothy Dalton and Maryam d’Abo teamed up in The Living Daylights. CREDIT:UIP
13. Thunderball (1965)
Bond (Connery) headed to the Bahamas to track down two NATO atomic bombs stolen by Spectre. It was the biggest hit of the early Bond movies but now seems to have far too many underwater scuba-diving scenes. Iconic moments: Bond flying a jetpack; the plane hijack; the pool full of sharks; the foot chase during a Caribbean street parade; Bond and Domino (Claudine Auger) being hooked from a liferaft by a plane.
12. Licence to Kill (1989)
After the CIA’s Felix Leiter (David Hedison) had been dropped into a shark tank and his new wife killed, Bond (Dalton) went rogue to take down Colombian drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), with help from DEA informant Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell). Iconic moments: Bond and Leiter hook an escaping light plane to a helicopter; the helter-skelter truck chase.
Timothy Dalton and Carey Lowell starred in Licence To Kill. CREDIT: EON
11. From Russia with Love (1963)
Dispatched to Turkey for the defection of a Russian consulate staffer, Bond (Connery) discovered a plot by Spectre to avenge the killing of Dr No. With a McGuffin, a train scene and a chase in a field – it was all very Hitchcock. Iconic moments: Bond gets his first high-tech gadgets from Q; the first appearance by Blofeld (Anthony Dawson), villainously stroking a cat.
10. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Bond (Brosnan) had to take down a ruthless media tycoon (Jonathan Pryce) before a missile attack on Beijing. Michelle Yeoh impressed as sassy Chinese spy Colonel Wai Lin, who became 007’s ally. Iconic moments: a chase through a carpark with Bond driving remotely from the back seat; Bond and Wai Lin slide down a building on a tearing banner.
Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies. CREDIT:EON
9. Moonraker (1979)
Investigating the theft of a space shuttle, Bond (Moore) confronted an industrialist who wanted to repopulate the world with a master race. In a cheesy comical sci-fi adventure, the stunts stood out. Iconic moments: Bond being pushed out of a plane without a parachute; surviving being trapped in a centrifuge chamber; the gondola chase through Venice; the fight with Jaws in a cable car in Rio; Q’s droll line: “I think he’s attempting re-entry, sir”.
8. GoldenEye (1995)
Brosnan’s debut was the series’ first real blockbuster – with more action, comedy and gravitas with Dench playing M. Bond uncovered a plot to use a satellite to destroy London. While the movie revived the series, the product placement was over the top. Iconic moments: the spectacular attack on a chemical weapons facility; assassin Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) crushes a target with her thighs; the climatic fight with 006 (Sean Bean) on a satellite dish.
7. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Bond (Moore) teamed up with Russian agent XXX (Barbara Bach) to track reclusive megalomaniac Karl Stromberg (Curd Jurgens) who was stealing British and Russian subs. In a return to form for the series, Bond was more English and smoother. Iconic moments: Carly Simon’s song Nobody Does It Better; the ski chase that ended with Bond opening a Union Jack parachute; henchman Jaws; Stromberg’s ocean lair; the Lotus Esprit that became a submarine.
Roger Moore and Barbara Bach in The Spy Who Loved Me. CREDIT: MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
6. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Connery’s final movie as 007 – enticed back by a huge fee – had Bond uncover a plot by Blofeld (Charles Gray) to use smuggled diamonds in a space laser. While the plot took a long time to unfold, it was entertaining, colourful and witty. Iconic moments: Shirley Bassey’s theme song; camp assassins Mr Wint and Mr Kidd; Bond’s meeting with Plenty O’Toole; his near-cremation then later burial in a pipeline; the chase in a lunar buggy; Bond tilting a car to get through an alley; bodyguards Bambi and Thumper.
5. Dr No (1962)
For the first Bond movie, director Terence Young reputedly cast Connery, introduced him to his tailor and showed him how to walk, talk and eat as 007. Investigating the disappearance of MI6’s station chief in Jamaica, Bond confronted Dr No (Joseph Wiseman). Hokey, cartoonish, ridiculously sexist but still entertaining. Iconic moments: the famous Bond theme; the first “Bond, James Bond”, witty banter and trademark martini; 007 is nearly killed by a tarantula; sees Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) emerging from the sea; and, at the end, kisses her in a boat.
Sean Connery in Dr No. CREDIT: DANJAQ, LLC AND UNITED ARTISTS
4. Spectre (2015)
Bond (Craig in his fourth movie) tracked a secret organisation and came face-to-face with Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) who wanted access to the world’s official surveillance. Dramatically gripping, well acted and with a contemporary theme, it only suffered for the unconvincing links to Bond’s childhood and multiple endings. Iconic moments: the Day of the Dead opening scene; Sam Smith’s theme song; the Aston Martin DB10 chase through Rome; Bond crashing a plane in the snow; Blofeld drilling into Bond’s head.
Daniel Craig in Spectre. CREDIT: EON
3. Skyfall (2012)
A broken-down Bond (Craig third time out) confronted flamboyant former MI6 agent Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) who wanted revenge on M. It had dramatic intensity but not quite the wit and dynamism of Casino Royale or the iconic moments of Goldfinger. And two key female characters, Moneypenny and Severine, were wasted. Iconic moments: Adele’s theme song; the rooftop chase in Istanbul; Bond being shot; the train crashing through a Tube tunnel; Bond returning in the classic Aston Martin to his childhood home in Scotland.
2. Goldfinger (1964)
Bond (Connery) had to stop Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) infiltrating Fort Knox. Iconic moments: the first great theme song by Shirley Bassey; Jill Masterson’s death by gold paint; manservant Oddjob throwing his deadly bowler hat; the modified Aston Martin DB5; the exchange “Do you expect me to talk?” – “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die”; the introduction of Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)and the bomb countdown that cut off at “007”.
Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. CREDIT: EON
Casino Royale (2006)
Craig’s debut as 007 is, without doubt, the best Bond movie to date. It had him confront one of the series’ great villains, blood-eyed banker to terrorist Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), in a masterfully shot card game. Iconic moments: the bathroom fight; the parkour chase; Bond being mistaken for a parking valet; Bond emerging from the surf; the witty banter between Bond and Vesper on the train; Bond self-defibrillating in his Aston Martin; the crash that had it rolling seven times; Le Chiffre torturing a naked Bond; Vesper’s drowning.
No Time To Die opens in cinemas on November 11. The first 24 films are available to rent or buy on YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft and Apple TV+.
