Bond-movies: from best to worst according to me
Many of us grew up with them. The good thing about Bond-films is that the violence are quite mild and non-gory. I actually think my first grown-up movie was "Goldfinger".
So for many it has been a family thing. And the thing is: over a couple of decades my idea of which are the best, has varied, although I've always thought Roger Moore was the worst Bond, and they let him continue for far too long. I also think Timothy Dalton could have made a few more. He is a classic actor like Craig, and i think he could have developed the darker sides of the character a lot more.
Actually, lists like these are somewhat useless, because there will always be a day when it feels better to watch "The man with the golden gun" rather than "Skyfall". And i really love these movies (well, not the bottom three).
Note: i don`t include "Never say never again" and Nivens "Casino Royale" since i don`t think many people recognize them as part of the Bond canon.
So for many it has been a family thing. And the thing is: over a couple of decades my idea of which are the best, has varied, although I've always thought Roger Moore was the worst Bond, and they let him continue for far too long. I also think Timothy Dalton could have made a few more. He is a classic actor like Craig, and i think he could have developed the darker sides of the character a lot more.
Actually, lists like these are somewhat useless, because there will always be a day when it feels better to watch "The man with the golden gun" rather than "Skyfall". And i really love these movies (well, not the bottom three).
Note: i don`t include "Never say never again" and Nivens "Casino Royale" since i don`t think many people recognize them as part of the Bond canon.
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- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsDaniel CraigEva GreenJudi DenchAfter earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.My kind of Bond is back! In an interview with Connery about Craig in the role, it was obvious that he felt that these two hade very much in common in their role interpretations and that Craig "nicked" a lot from him, wich he was flattered by. And the Aston Martin DB5 is back! For good as it turns out.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsDaniel CraigChristoph WaltzLéa SeydouxA cryptic message from James Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover the existence of a sinister organisation named SPECTRE. With a new threat dawning, Bond learns the terrible truth about the author of all his pain in his most recent missions.I didn't like this at first, but the darkness in this and mr Whites part in it , feels very "Bond".
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsGeorge LazenbyDiana RiggTelly SavalasBritish agent James Bond goes undercover to pursue the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is planning to hold the world to ransom.Well paced and one of the best scripts. Very beautiful Bond girl - classic of the period. And he marries her! Louie Armstrongs "We have all the time in the world" as lead motive leaves a bittersweet aftertaste when you know the ending. Bond skiing for the first time and wears a kilt. The villain Blofeld, played by Telly Savalas, is introduced.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsDaniel CraigJavier BardemNaomie HarrisJames Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.Bond in Scotland - with the Aston. And i love Kincaid: - "I was ready since before you were born, laddie". Good titlesong. This is one of those few Bond-movies that sort of tie the story of Bond together and therefor are more significant. The others being On Her Majestys Secret Service, Licence to kill and Casino Royale.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsDaniel CraigAna de ArmasRami MalekJames Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter, an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.The film where most of us thought: "where can they go from here in a way that Bond will still be Bond? I think it is still possible, but it will have to be a very convoluted solution for it to work out the way i'd like to. I just keep asking myself: why? It's one of the greatest Bond movies, but I will enjoy it much more when Bond is "resurrected" again in a future entry. I just hope that that doesn't mean a female Bond, or something equally silly. Would be really stupid and incoherent especially after what is introduced in Skyfall. Not mentioning the case in wich you have read the books (written in 2023).
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsSean ConneryRobert ShawLotte LenyaJames Bond willingly falls into an assassination plot involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E.The most classic spy movie of the Bond films. No arguing about that.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsPierce BrosnanSean BeanIzabella ScorupcoYears after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. James Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.Well, Brosnan arrives as Bond, after being thought of once before, when Dalton took up the mantle. And it's a hit! Most places this in their top five. It was for me too before Bond 25.
Roles like Remington earned him the part.
Perhaps the third most interesting Bondgirl ever (after Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Eva Green in Casino Royale) - Izabella Scorupco. Another swedish Bond-girl. Her comment "Boys with toys" is great. One of the best titlesongs. - DirectorTerence YoungStarsSean ConneryUrsula AndressBernard LeeA resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.The first. And a lot more low key than the rest. Much in common with "From russia with love". Both are from before "Goldfinger" set the formula.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryGert FröbeHonor BlackmanWhile investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.THE classic Bond movie that set the standard and fomula for years to come.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonMaryam d'AboJeroen KrabbéJames Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.For me, Dalton as Bond represents a "going back" to being what Bond is - a coldblooded killer. That's the way Connery played it. Nice tiitle song by a-ha.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreCarole BouquetTopolSecret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.One of two Bond movies with a classic cold war plot. But Moore is already to old here and he should have stopped after this one.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsPierce BrosnanSophie MarceauRobert CarlyleJames Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while protecting an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonRobert DaviCarey LowellA vengeful James Bond goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near death.Cool start with Felix and Stellas wedding and the comment from Felix that Bond was once married.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsPierce BrosnanHalle BerryRosamund PikeJames Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.Lots of good stuff here. The only swordfight i can think of in a Bond movie.
Note: the villain here makes a bold entrance in the same way Bond did in "Licence to kill". - DirectorLewis GilbertStarsSean ConneryAkiko WakabayashiMie HamaJames Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.I like this. I know many don`t.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsSean ConneryClaudine AugerAdolfo CeliJames Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.The Aston appears once more..
The underwater scenes are a bit lengthy. - DirectorLewis GilbertStarsRoger MooreBarbara BachCurd JürgensJames Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. agent whose lover he killed.The reason i think many people like Moore as Bond. And he is in his prime in this one.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsRoger MooreChristopher LeeBritt EklandJames Bond is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin, while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.Good villain.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsDaniel CraigOlga KurylenkoMathieu AmalricJames Bond descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organisation from eliminating a country's most valuable resource.What the hell happened here?
One explanation could have been that the scriptwriters felt they had to spice Bond up with more action and cool shaky camerawork, instead of trusting in what makes Bond what it is. But after what they managed to do in "Casino Royale"? The movie that revived Bond in an really old school way. And nobody objected! And to follow that up with this?? - DirectorLewis GilbertStarsRoger MooreLois ChilesMichael LonsdaleJames Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle, and discovers a plot to commit global genocide.Bond in space. Not my thing. Blandning on ludicrous. This one has not aged with grace.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsRoger MooreYaphet KottoJane SeymourJames Bond is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organisation and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.And the era of more campy renderings of Bond that doesn't really take Bond seriously, but rather makes a parody of the character, thereby attracting an entirely different audience. Also, the manchauvinism in some of these movies (a sign of the times) sometimes just feels too over the top.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreMaud AdamsLouis JourdanA fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.It's nothing particularly wrong with this. It's just not very engaging. And Moore is to old.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreChristopher WalkenTanya RobertsThe recovery of a microchip from the body of a fellow British secret agent leads James Bond to a mad industrialist scheming to cause massive destruction.The best thing about this is the title song by Duran Duran. Moore is older still.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryJill St. JohnCharles GrayA diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.Perhaps i should see it again, but i don't like this. It's just too corny and campy for a Bond movie. Connery was practcally coherced into making one more when they should have let Lazenby do a few more and perhaps avoided Moore alltogether.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsPierce BrosnanJonathan PryceMichelle YeohJames Bond sets out to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.Dull plot. Dull girl. Dull villain. Only thing good about this entry is the intro (but this really is one of the best ever), where Bond destroys an entire weapon supply of some arms dealer and escapes by jetfighter.