... And destroying the very thing he was sent to retrieve....
I always thought Bond was sent out to make sure that the ATAC didn't fall into the wrong hands. Because the ATAC was a British invention I always had the idea that they had more than one. Had one on every ship actually.
What way to introduce yourself better than by putting your rankings of James Bond films, see what people think!
1) The Spy Who Loved Me
2) From Russia With Love
3) Octopussy
4) Live and Let Die
5) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6) Thunderball
7) The Living Daylights
8) Diamonds are Forever
9) Moonraker
10) For Your Eyes Only
11) Licence To Kill
12) You Only Live Twice
13) Goldfinger
14) A View To A Kill
15) GoldenEye
16) Casino Royale
17) The Man With The Golden Gun
18) Dr No
19) The World Is Not Enough
20) Die Another Day
21) Tomorrow Never Dies
22) Quantum of Solace
What way to introduce yourself better than by putting your rankings of James Bond films, see what people think!
1) The Spy Who Loved Me
2) From Russia With Love
3) Octopussy
4) Live and Let Die
5) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6) Thunderball
7) The Living Daylights
8) Diamonds are Forever
9) Moonraker
10) For Your Eyes Only
11) Licence To Kill
12) You Only Live Twice
13) Goldfinger
14) A View To A Kill
15) GoldenEye
16) Casino Royale
17) The Man With The Golden Gun
18) Dr No
19) The World Is Not Enough
20) Die Another Day
21) Tomorrow Never Dies
22) Quantum of Solace
Hi, I just signed up recently aswell. We have 3 films in the same place, we both had The Spy Who Loved me at number one, I can't knock your judgement there. We both have A View To A kill at number 14, I feel it's underrated and we both have Tomorrow never dies at number 21, I agree, it's dull in my opinion although I will re-watch it. I like the fact you've put octopussy high up, although a little high I feel, I also think Thunderballs top ten, not top six though. I feel youv'e underrated The world is not enough, Dr. No, Casino Royale and definatley Goldeneye. Interesting list though.
aaahhgh!...Thud..(sorts out tie) what a helpful chap
What way to introduce yourself better than by putting your rankings of James Bond films, see what people think!
1) The Spy Who Loved Me
2) From Russia With Love
3) Octopussy
4) Live and Let Die
5) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6) Thunderball
7) The Living Daylights
8) Diamonds are Forever
9) Moonraker
10) For Your Eyes Only
11) Licence To Kill
12) You Only Live Twice
13) Goldfinger
14) A View To A Kill
15) GoldenEye
16) Casino Royale
17) The Man With The Golden Gun
18) Dr No
19) The World Is Not Enough
20) Die Another Day
21) Tomorrow Never Dies
22) Quantum of Solace
Hi, I just signed up recently aswell. We have 3 films in the same place, we both had The Spy Who Loved me at number one, I can't knock your judgement there. We both have A View To A kill at number 14, I feel it's underrated and we both have Tomorrow never dies at number 21, I agree, it's dull in my opinion although I will re-watch it. I like the fact you've put octopussy high up, although a little high I feel, I also think Thunderballs top ten, not top six though. I feel youv'e underrated The world is not enough, Dr. No, Casino Royale and definatley Goldeneye. Interesting list though.
The Spy Who Loved Me is perfect. Can't fault it at all. A View To A Kill is a guilty pleasure, a good solid Bond movie. Tomorrow Never Dies is awful, I don't like it.
I love Octopussy, watched it tonight and it doesn't ever get old at all! It's terrific. I done a review on another Bond site and like I say, I just can't get enough of it. The World is Not Enough is just plodding nonsense and the emergence of the Dench era of movies where she dominates. Dr. No is the first and lacks Bond elements and can get boring. GoldenEye has potential to rise to 12th but it wont break into my top 11 unless there is monumental change. CAsino Royale is a great action movie...but it's not James Bond!
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
... And destroying the very thing he was sent to retrieve....
I always thought Bond was sent out to make sure that the ATAC didn't fall into the wrong hands. Because the ATAC was a British invention I always had the idea that they had more than one. Had one on every ship actually.
I thought that the British would have had blueprints or something - there would have been another one or they would have been able to get another one. It was presumably quite expensive so they would rather Bond brought the original back, but it was more important that, as Peppermill says, the ATAC didn't get into the wrong hands.
Now that I've seen Skyfall, I'll try to go with an updated ranking of 23 Bond movies.
The list is proberbly due to change many times, but here goes:
1. License to Kill
2. Skyfall
3. Goldeneye
4. Goldfinger
5. Casino Royale
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Thunderball
10. The World is Not Enough
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Octopussy
13. The Man With The Golden Gun
14. The Living Daylights
15. From Russia with Love
16. Moonraker
17. Dr. No
18. A View To A Kill
19. Live and Let Die
20. On her Majesty's Secret Service
21. Die Another Day
22. Quantum of Solace (I guess somehow Skyfall made me see how much better it was then this mess of a film.)
23. Diamonds are Forever
Yes, I enjoyed Skyfall THAT much! I feel like it was a true milestone in the Bond franchise! I walked out of the cinema with a grand and proud smile on my face! Although having only seen it yesterday, I could still be blinded a little bit by my own excitment.. In the long run it might go down on my list a little bit.. But for now, I feel like this is okay.
I wont bore you with all the details/reasoning this time around - just a list :007)
1 - Live And Let Die
2 - A View To A Kill
3 - Octopussy
4 - Skyfall
5 - Licence To Kill
6 - Dr No
7 - For Your Eyes Only
8 - You Only Live Twice
9 - Goldeneye
10 - The Living Daylights
11 - The Spy Who Loved Me
12 - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
13 - From Russia With Love
14 - Diamonds Are Forever
15 - The Man With The Golden Gun
16 - Goldfinger
17 - Quantum Of Solace
18 - Casino Royale
19 - The World Is Not Enough
20 - Tomorrow Never Dies
21 - Thunderball
22 - Die Another Day
23 - Moonraker
I actually think that SF is 'better' than my top three. However, those top 3 are my 'favouritres'. Skyfall is technically a better film, but it is very difficult to rank with LALD, AVTAK and OP anyway, which are completely different kinds of bond films to that of SF.
But having said this, I've only seen SF twice. But from those 2 viewings, that is where I rank it.
Now that I've seen Skyfall, I'll try to go with an updated ranking of 23 Bond movies.
The list is proberbly due to change many times, but here goes:
1. License to Kill
2. Skyfall
3. Goldeneye
4. Goldfinger
5. Casino Royale
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Thunderball
10. The World is Not Enough
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Octopussy
13. The Man With The Golden Gun
14. The Living Daylights
15. From Russia with Love
16. Moonraker
17. Dr. No
18. A View To A Kill
19. Live and Let Die
20. Die Another Day
21. Quantum of Solace (I guess somehow Skyfall made me see how much better it was then this mess of a film.)
22. Diamonds are Forever
Yes, I enjoyed Skyfall THAT much! I feel like it was a true milestone in the Bond franchise! I walked out of the cinema with a grand and proud smile on my face! Although having only seen it yesterday, I could still be blinded a little bit by my own excitment.. In the long run it might go down on my list a little bit.. But for now, I feel like this is okay.
You seem to be missing OHMSS from your list. I know you're not keen on it, but doesn't it even get rank number 23? )
With the exceptions of positions 6 and 7, my list has rarely if ever changed...but please note that I have NOT seen Skyfall; I will see it in nine days or so, but just not yet...but here are my rankings for now...note that I edited this post to put an extra space between each film to make the list more readable...
1. From Russia With Love. Favorite Bond film, and just about as close to flawless as I think there IS a Bond film.
2. Goldfinger. Mainly for sentimental reasons, as this was the first Bond film I ever saw. Still, this was classic Bond and of superb quality. I should say that it was the best "fomulaic" Bond.
3. Dr. No. Mostly for Connery's ruthlessness and lack of cracking jokes compared to pretty much every other film prior to the continuity reboot. You can tell they were still kinda feeling their way around (Bond has a girlfriend, the music that came with stomping a spider to death...), but it HAD to be good to start the franchise. Also, Jack Lord's Felix Leiter will always be Felix Leiter to me.
4. Casino Royale. Despite despising Quantum of Solace (1. Slow the film down!!! 2. Although Daniel Craig probably helped this film, some of the plot devices brought the phrase "huh...?" to mind...), Casino Royale made perfect sense. New, true-to-Fleming Bond, the few gadgets that do appear are well-done, and the simple fact that the film had my 100% attention throughout the poker scenes...despite the fact that I find poker really boring to watch (albeit not to play).
5. GoldenEye. Again, really for sentimental reasons since it was the first Bond I saw in the theater. Since I collect East Bloc model cars in 1/43 scale, you may also understand why I likee a certain scene from this film. Also, I'll say this for Sean Bean: despite his flawed age, I really have always liked him as a villian.
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Is fixed firmly in sixth place, JUST above Thunderball/pretty much tied with it. It will likely never make my top five, although it will likely never drop below 7 and keep switching places with Thunderball. However, I should note that I had little to no problems with Lazenby. I didn't particularly warm to Telly Savalas' Blofeld (huge Kojak fan growing up, plus I'd seen several other street-smart/wiseguy Telly Savalas films), but could definitely understand him. No, my big problem was Blofeld in a neck brace while Irma "I never show up again" Bunt tries to kill Bond and kills Tracy instead. That has ALWAYS bugged me (in the novel, it was Blofeld behind the trigger and Irma Bunt driving the car). Had Blofeld been behind the trigger, I may have rated this one considerably higher.
7. Thunderball. Despite some uneven pacing and an incredibly weak Felix Leiter, we have a good villain, good Bond girls (well, one good good Bond girl and one good bad Bond girl), and Connery still taking the role seriously. The special effects with the Avro Vulcan were impressive for their time, as well; I'm not sure why no one ever points this out. It's the first Bond where we see Q outside the office, where he's like a fish out of water but also clearly supposed to be that way. I've always imagined that him despising fieldwork (he has a similar performance in YOLT) is what Q "should" be like.
8. You Only Live Twice. Simply because this one's my "guilty pleasure film". I thought Aki was a terrific Bond girl, although the actress who played Helga Brandt was totally wasted (she has a much bigger role in the Hitchcock Cold War thriller Topaz, where she's very good) and Mie Hama was just, umm, there, albeit pretty hot. I genuinely enjoyed the real gadgets of Wing Commander Kenneth Wallis and Gyrojet rocket gun inventor Bob Maynard on display. Bond turning Japanese is absolutely ridiculous (I had trouble believing this one when Ian Fleming wrote it, to be honest) and has to the film's low point. Still, it's a great "popcorn cruncher" that has nearly endless watchability, bored Connery and all. Q's brief scenes are vastly underrated by just about everyone; he stays completely in-character with himself. The trying to cool off and swatting at bugs are exactly what you'd expect from Q without devolving into comic relief.
9. Live and Let Die. Despite its sometimes-odd plot and comical villain death (might as well employ forcing him to watch CR '67 over and over as a torture method while you're at it...), Roger Moore is surprisingly serious and surprisingly human in his first outing as Bond. He's not yet become a near-self-parody (or alternately, just getting by on wits alone) and has a few ruthless moments. My second favorite Felix Leiter, David Hedison, also features rather prominently in this one. Quarrel Junior is quite frankly what Quarrel should have been in DN and Harold Strutter's sarcastic "good thinking, Bond" dress-down humanizes Bond more than a bit. Also, despite Geoffrey Holder's chewing the scenery as Baron Samedi, most of the other henchmen (Adam, Tee Hee, and Whisper) play their roles well, especially the underrated Adam. Add that in with a terrific (until the last moment) performance by Yaphet Kotto and it makes up for Voodoo, Jane Seymour's near-camera-shy performance, and some of the scenes where Roger Moore is still very clearly getting the hang of the role.
10. The Spy Who Loved Me. Although Stromberg does very little, Jaws is very threatening in this film. He plays things straight, unlike in MR, and comes across as a truly terrific henchman. In spite of Barbara Bach's fingernails-on-a-chalkboard Russian accent, she does capture the rest of the role. The fight onboard the Liparus is also great fun. Probably the best of the "less serious" Roger Moore Bonds. By the way, objectively, this film has terrific special effects for its time and had probably the best editing of any Bond film for those that don't like it.
11. License to Kill. Without doubt Dalton's better outing of the two films he did, he is helped by one of the best Bond villains the series has yet seen in Franz Sanchez, brilliantly played without any Dr. Evil-like characteristics by Robert Davi. Sanchez is almost as genre-savvy as Alec Trevelyan, which is saying quite a lot. Benicio del Toro's small role as Dario is underutilized, yet he's terrific in it. Professor Joe Butcher was actually kinda funny in context. We're also given an interesting character in Truman Lodge, the accountant who we're clearly SUPPOSED to be annoyed by. The movie hints at this with Franz Sanchez's general attitude toward him, and of course we're probably all applauding as his whining reaches unbearable levels and Sanchez finally snaps and knocks him off with a submachine gun. Carey Lowell, while not spectacular as Pam Bouvier, was certainly far more competant than she's often given credit for. The truck chase was fun. David Hedison as Felix Leiter before he's reintroduced at the end of the film is great. Weak points include Felix's oddly cheerful nature at the end of the film, Talisa Soto beyond being eye candy, Q in the field (which feels almost wedged in) and the mercenary was just kinda wasted. But definitely a good Bond film that came very close to getting in the top ten.
12. Octopussy. Probably the most unfairly-beaten-up Bond film thanks to three things, at least two of them in my mind grossly unfair: people neither bothering to watch the film after the clownsuit sequence (which Moore plays surprisingly straight...almost chillingly so), the lackluster chase scene through the jungle, and probably the fairest critique, which is Maud Adams being re-used and quite frankly, with a pretty odd backstory that seemed shoehorned in there. Why not make at least an effort to cast an actress who could pass for Anglo-Indian (I know, both efforts with Indian actresses unfortunately didn't work out)? The film leaves us kinda wondering if Magda is supposed to be or not, but based on her horrendously-dubbed voice, I'm guessing no. With that said, the actual plot of the film is pretty good, although to be honest, I'd rather see Kamal Khan as a secondary villain (even though Louis Jourdan played him extremely well) with the main role given to Orlov (played by someone a bit more serious and perhaps even portrayed as a passive-aggressive psychotic). Still, as-is, I'll take it. This was also one of the few times when two main villains worked. Gobinda does a decent enough job as a henchman, though isn't really anything special.
13. The Living Daylights. My Dad hates this one. I don't. It's probably our only serious point of contention in the whole series. Dalton IS Bond, that's clear, but, my father argues, Bond alone cannot support what is essentially otherwise a terrible film (though he did like both Necros and to a lesser degree Pushkin). I don't think the rest of the film is terrible, have a far higher opinion of Kara as a character than Dad, and also believe the film maintains its coherence, which I think is critical in terms of ranking it. The film tone is a little light for Dalton, and I definitely preferred him in LTK, but he can still carry it. Necros is terrific as a henchman, Pushkin is pretty good as well. If Whittaker's role had been minimized to being a secondary villain, I wouldn't have a problem with him, either. The film tries to shoehorn in too much of Whittaker to make up for a VERY weak Koskov, I think. Had another, much stronger and less hammy actor been cast as Koskov and been given more screentime, this one would be much higher.
14. The Man with the Golden Gun. Roger Moore's best outing as Bond, and that includes FYEO. Not best movie, but best portrayal. Maud Adams, unlike in Octopussy, also actually works in this film. Christopher Lee's Francisco Scaramanga is terrific and one of the best Moore villains (arguably THE best). However, you have SERIOUS problems with Mary Goodnight, M (who had a surprisingly weak performance), I couldn't take Nick-Nack seriously as hard as I tried, we did not need Sheriff Pepper again (although ironically, I didn't mind him the first time), and the kung fu 10-year-olds is right out of Austin Powers (also, does anyone else find it creepy that Mary Goodnight is jealous when she sees them waving out of the back of Lt. Hip's Mercedes-Benz 220 (W115)? Or is she just THAT stupid [unfortunately, she does seem to project that image on-screen]?).
15. Diamonds are Forever. Stealth adult comedy masquerading as a Bond film, yet probably parodies the Bond franchise better than any other Bond parody, licensed or otherwise. The problem with DAF is that I get the feeling a lot of people who've not seen it at all or don't seem to understand it and then walk away immediately say "Connery was bored". I disagree very strongly; in fact, he seemed to be having WAY too much fun, often at his own expense. As said, it's a great comedy that I define as a guilty pleasure Bond film, so why put it all the way down here? Because there are certain aspects on which it can't seem to make up its mind. In a truly serious film, employing "comic relief killers" like Wint and Kidd to kill off your smuggling operation actually might work. In a comedy, explaining the extreme complexity of said smuggling operation seems a bit odd. The PTS also seems disconnected from the rest of the film. We get good characters (including Charles Gray as a very good attempt at a comedicly evil Blofeld), but we get an out-of-place plot. Worse, the movie is set immediately after OHMSS, giving it horrible timing. Not counting NSNA which I won't rank, this is the weakest Connery film.
16. The World is Not Enough. Pierce Brosnan's second best outing as Bond is badly marred by Denise Richards trying to play a nuclear physicist as well as weakening Renard A LOT. Sophie Marceau credibly turns in her role, but I genuinely had trouble believing ANY of the other bad guys. Another problem with this film that probably really hurts it with me is that they wasted Kazakhstan completely (seriously, why not put it in Russia?) and the "locals" in Azerbaijan felt more like locals in remote areas of the Ukraine. I have a very good friend who's an Azeri (and a Bond fan) and he said TWINE, to him, is the worst of *any* of the films for portraying Azerbaijan as "like Russia with a different name; just portray it as Turkey with a different name and believe it or not, that would work". Excellent opportunities abounded in Baku for local culture and were wasted completely. Combine this with the usual complaints about Denise Richards and Renard being a weak-as-heck (if unorthodox) villain and you have a real let-down. It's only eclipsed in that category by the next film.
17. Quantum of Solace. QoS was, in my mind, Daniel Craig's TWINE. Like TWINE, it was a "solid-on-paper" plot with uneven pacing, a terrific performance by the guy playing Bond himself, one convincing person aside from Bond (well, and M) in the entire film (not counting Felix Leiter, though as with TWINE giving us Valentin Zukovsky a second time, he seems weaker) who came in the form of Mr. White, and a really awful villain and a Bond girl who opinion seems split on (I think Olga Kurylenko was better than Denise Richards by quite a lot, but no matter how hard they tried building her backstory, I just kept thinking of her as two-dimensional). But there's one big difference: the expectations were far higher for QoS. Corners seemed cut, the dogfight seemed out of place (Bond CAN fly a plane, but the whole thing just seems way out of place), and the plot was pretty uneven. Unlike TWINE, there were genuinely moments in the first viewing of the film where I felt "what the heck is going on?" Upon repeated viewings, things were cleared up, but that shouldn't have to happen. And that's not even touching the editing and camerawork (no, attaching your tripod to a paint mixer is not going to produce optimal results). Even most of the film's defenders think it's too short and that some explanations could have been used. Still, even with all of its problems, Daniel Craig did manage to be convincing as Bond and the opera scene and PTS were terrific.
18. For Your Eyes Only. Quite possibly the single-most overrated Bond film ever. Yes, Roger Moore actually played Bond straight in spots, but alternating between serious and light gave him a very uneven performance. Melina Havelock was okay, not terrific. An opportunity to let Bond use an inferior car in a car chase is unfortunately taken a little too far with the 2CV. Why not give him something really pedestrian like a Volkswagen Passat (or something similar) and try and have him outwit the baddies by utilizing the car's strengths? Also, Emile Locque feels like the film's only convincing villain. The PTS was horrid. Ari Kristatos was a weak villain (Erich Kriegler, who seemed a competent enough henchman was actually better), Bibi should have been left out of the film, the scene with the combat hockey players and the Zamboni is even more cringe-inducing than the infamous Octopussy chase scene, and the end is a mess (I wouldn't have minded them ending on Gogol laughing as Bond threw the ATAC away, honestly). Still, Roger Moore in his serious moments and Emile Locque do make the film an enjoyable one. As does Columbo, who makes a great ally, for that matter.
19. Tomorrow Never Dies. Brosnan clearly lives up to his billing as a sort of a hybrid of Moore and Connery in this one. However, that's just about its only strong point. I like Michelle Yeoh and I thought this film was extremely problematic, which should tell you something. Jonathan Pryce's scene-chewing performance actually would have been credible...if you'd given him credible henchmen. Instead, we get the out-of-place Gupta and the sub-par Stamper. General Chang was there. Not much else you could say about him. And the one REALLY good scene where Brosnan comes close to equaling Sean Connery in DN against Dr. Kaufmann is totally ruined by Vince Schiavelli's horrible German accent and chewing the scenery. Worse, Wai Lin seemed "wedged" into the film. She seemed oddly out of place and instead of slowly developing feelings for Bond (or heck, even thinking about it overnight), she does some kind of 180-degree turn the likes of which don't make any sense. You either have her or Paris Carver; the problem was that they wanted both Bond girls and quite frankly, that didn't really work. On the plus side, there is the car chase (although to be honest, Bond in a four-door sedan...even remotely controlled...is pretty odd), which is extremely well-executed until its ending, as well as the PTS and early parts of the film. Also, unlike most people, I found the stealth boat believeable. The problem is with the plot, the villains, and also with the superfluous Bond girl (you pick one or the other).
20. A View to a Kill. Christopher Walken's Max Zorin saved the film, as did Patrick Macnee and ya know what? Roger Moore wasn't THAT bad. He was showing his age, but he still was Bond. Your problems came with henchmen, a subplot against the Soviets that really went nowhere and seemed out of place, and worst of all, the Bond girls. May Day was okay, but the whole "simultaneous Bond girl/henchman" thing was problematic. And then there's Stacey the Screamer. Honestly, if they'd cast someone who was even marginally competent (as opposed to being so ditzy that she came across as being a complete idiot), the film might jump up five or six spots. Tanya Roberts was THAT bad, IMO. My opinion that they were literally able to drag down the film from being a middling Bond film to a terrible one with the Bond girls is why I've put this one above what I believe the two worst.
21. Moonraker. This was actually a good film until two things happened: 1) Jaws and 2) the space scenes. That it utterly fell apart in spectacular fashion halfway through the film points more to the plot as being problematic than anything else.
22. Die Another Day. If I started writing up my issues with this film (although I did like Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of Bond), we'd be here all week and most people have already covered them.
13. The Living Daylights. My Dad hates this one. I don't.
What are the reasons he hates the film? Just curious, as, even though I prefer 9 films to it, I still find little wrong with the film. Just curious to hear what your father's reasons are for disliking the film?
13. The Living Daylights. My Dad hates this one. I don't.
What are the reasons he hates the film? Just curious, as, even though I prefer 9 films to it, I still find little wrong with the film. Just curious to hear what your father's reasons are for disliking the film?
Wrote up the list of my Dad's 1-22 a while ago while he was reeling 'em off and I was copying somewhere verbatim (will re-post to here when I find it). He had little to no problems with Dalton, thought Necros was a good (actually, I think he specified excellent) henchman. However, he found both Koskov and Whittaker incredibly weak (Whittaker much weaker than I did; we actually agree on Koskov), found the ending terrible, did not like Kara Milovy at all (though did like Bond's sarcastic retorts to her; he, also having read Fleming, quipped "Yeah, Dalton did his homework; that's exactly how you'd expect Bond to converse with a ditz."), and found really serious problems AFTER Necros had "gotten the boot", saying basically that the film lost its tension at that point.
Necros, he contended, had actually been given just as much actual character background as Koskov (if not Whittaker, since Pushkin exposited his entire past) and would have made for a far more threatening villian, at least (he defends Necros-as-Possible Main Villain by pointing to Whittaker's line about "funding your revolutions" and the ensuing dialogue). He thought the Mujahadeen felt "forced in" and that Bond himself could have simply found out about opium-smuggling.
One of the few things he did like aside from Dalton's performance as Bond and the character of Necros was the concept of John Barry giving a villain his own score (Necros), something we never really saw repeated except briefly during GoldenEye with Alec Trevelyan (in the junkyard, and you can barely even hear it). Like I said, it's one of our main points of contention, though he DOES have a point about villain scores and I agree with him that Necros probably could have carried his own weight (though should not have been the last guy killed off).
Now that I've seen Skyfall, I thought I'd take this opportunity to revise my list a bit.
1. From Russia With Love
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Dr No
4. Goldfinger
5. Thunderball
6. The Living Daylights
7. Licence to Kill
8. Casino Royale
9. Skyfall
10. Goldeneye
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Live and Let Die
14. The World is Not Enough
15. Octopussy
16. Diamonds Are Forever
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. Quantum of Solace
19. The Man With the Golden Gun
20. A View to a Kill
21. The Spy Who Loved Me
22. Moonraker
23. Die Another Day
1. The Spy Who Loved Me -- One of the most charming, exciting, and grand-scale Bond epics of all.
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- A brilliant standalone entry for George Lazenby.
3. GoldenEye -- Bond enters the post-Cold War period under the gifted direction of Martin Campell.
4. Casino Royale -- An electrifying 21st Century update on the literary premiere of 007.
5. Goldfinger -- Arguably the most iconic Bond film of all time.
6. From Russia With Love -- A terrific Cold War thriller in its own right.
7. Tomorrow Never Dies -- A spectacular followup to GoldenEye, and just about as good.
8. Live And Let Die -- Solid debut for Roger Moore, with one of the greatest boat chases in history.
9. Skyfall -- Daniel Craig enters the world of classic Bond with considerable ease.
10. Dr. No -- Rough around the edges, but nonetheless the inimitable debut of 007.
11. For Your Eyes Only -- Bond returns to basics after the outer-space camp of Moonraker.
12. Licence To Kill -- The most violent Bond of all, but one which sees Timothy Dalton truly in his element as 007.
13. Octopussy -- An underrated, over-the-top action thriller with some fine performances.
14. The World Is Not Enough -- Grade-A action with a confusing plot and mainly weak performances.
15. The Living Daylights -- Textbook Bond film with nary a memorable villain nor plot.
16. You Only Live Twice -- Enjoyable overall, with many of the classic Bond elements but a few weird decisions as well.
17. The Man With The Golden Gun -- Has a great villain in Christopher Lee, but not much else.
18. Moonraker -- One-half is a great Bond film, one-half is an outlandish space opera, and there are too many gags.
19. A View To A Kill -- An unevenly-paced oxymoron of a Bond film, and the weakest entry for Roger Moore.
20. Quantum of Solace -- A mess of violence and unnecessary throwaway references to previous Bond films.
21. Thunderball -- The most tedious and downright boring of all the Bond films ever made.
22. Die Another Day -- Superficial, CGI-laden and poorly scripted.
23. Diamonds Are Forever -- A gaudy, bloated, messy Bond film.
These are my opinions, and they are frequently prone to change.
That being said, I still think Diamonds Are Forever is the worst Bond film ever made; that won't be changing anytime soon...
"The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
Now that I've seen Skyfall, I'll try to go with an updated ranking of 23 Bond movies.
The list is proberbly due to change many times, but here goes:
1. License to Kill
2. Skyfall
3. Goldeneye
4. Goldfinger
5. Casino Royale
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Thunderball
10. The World is Not Enough
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Octopussy
13. The Man With The Golden Gun
14. The Living Daylights
15. From Russia with Love
16. Moonraker
17. Dr. No
18. A View To A Kill
19. Live and Let Die
20. On her Majesty's Secret Service
21. Die Another Day
22. Quantum of Solace (I guess somehow Skyfall made me see how much better it was then this mess of a film.)
23. Diamonds are Forever
Yes, I enjoyed Skyfall THAT much! I feel like it was a true milestone in the Bond franchise! I walked out of the cinema with a grand and proud smile on my face! Although having only seen it yesterday, I could still be blinded a little bit by my own excitment.. In the long run it might go down on my list a little bit.. But for now, I feel like this is okay.
My list is below and I'm pleased to see we have the same number 1
1: License To Kill
2: Casino Royale
3: Skyfall
4: Quantum of Solace
5: The Living Daylights
6: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
7: The World Is Not Enough
8: For Your Eyes Only
9: Octopussy
10: From Russia With Love
11: Goldeneye
12: Diamonds are Forever
13: A View To A Kill
14: The Spy Who Loved Me
15: Dr No
16: Live And Let Die
17: Thunderball
18: Die Another Day
19: The Man With The Golden Gun
20: Goldfinger
21: You Only Live Twice
22: Tomorrow Never Dies
23: Moonraker
"Thank you very much. I was just out walking my RAT and seem to have lost my way... "
I should mention first that there is no Bond film that I dislike, and my order is constantly changing, especially right at the top and right at the bottom.
1. Licence To Kill
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. From Russia With Love
4. The Living Daylights
5. Skyfall
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. Live And Let Die
8. Casino Royale
9. Goldfinger
10. Goldeneye
11. Octopussy
12. Thunderball
13. A View To A Kill
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. For Your Eyes Only
16. The Man With The Golden Gun
17. Quantum of Solace
18. The World Is Not Enough
19. You Only Live Twice
20. Dr No
21. Die Another Day
22. Moonraker
23. Diamonds Are Forever
23. Diamonds Are Forever
22. Man with the Golden Gun
21. Octopussy
20. Moonraker
19. A View to A Kill
18. Die Another Day
17. Live and Let Die
16. Dr. No
15. Quantum of Solace
14. License to Kill
13. The World is Not Enough
12. You Only Live Twice
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. Thunderball
9. For Your Eyes Only
8. The Living Daylights
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. OHMSS
5. Goldfinger
4. Goldeneye
3. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
1. Skyfall
List adjusted for SF, all explanations on my previous list. Skyfall clocks in at number 6, thereby forcing down everything afterward. It's NOT set in stone, however, thereby making it unique on this list.
1. From Russia With Love.
2. Goldfinger.
3. Dr. No.
4. Casino Royale.
5. GoldenEye. 6. Skyfall.
7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
8. Thunderball.
9. You Only Live Twice.
10. Live and Let Die.
11. The Spy Who Loved Me.
12. License to Kill.
13. Octopussy.
14. The Living Daylights.
15. The Man with the Golden Gun.
16. Diamonds are Forever.
17. The World is Not Enough.
18. Quantum of Solace.
19. For Your Eyes Only.
20. Tomorrow Never Dies.
21. A View to a Kill.
22. Moonraker.
23. Die Another Day.
By the way, are you gonna eat that?
The JohnsonAuckland, New ZealandPosts: 10MI6 Agent
edited December 2012
I'm new around here so I thought I would kick off by giving you all my full run down of the films. I think I should qualify it first by saying that my first film was Die Another Day, I fell in love with Bond after seeing only the Pierce Brosnan films and I have absolutely no Fleming reference points. I am a Bond film lover, no literary experience at all. I don't expect this list to be a widely popular one, but it is purely down to how entertained I was whilst re-watching the films in the build up to Skyfall.
23 - For Your Eye's Only - I would say that this is the only film that genuinely bores me out of all 23. I felt the film never really got going, Kristatos is a fairly meaningless villain and the whole thing just moves from one incidental action scene to another. However, I don't think there are any of these films that I really hate. And that moment where Bond kicks the car of the cliff is incredibly satisfying.
22 - Diamond's Are Forever - I wasn't into it from the start. The two Blofeld's is an interesting idea, but they never really go anywhere with it. Connery looks like he is bored with the role and Tiffany Case just irritated me more than anything. That final 'big battle' on the oil rig is entertaining enough though.
21 - Thunderball - A film that was ruined by the underwater sequences in my opinion. Entertaining plot, goes along well with fun parts, like the jet pack and when Vargas is impaled. But the underwater sequences and the final fight on the boat just drag it down.
20 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service - I don't really know how I feel about this one. In parts I find myself liking Lazenby and the story, but at other times I just feel like everything is wrong. This one really threw me. I still don't know quite how I feel about it, but I just know I wasn't as caught up in it as I was by the rest below. That 'lair' though, on top of the mountain. Absolutely awe inspiring.
19- Moonraker - Similar to Thunderball for me. A decent enough films until the ridiculous space battle just slows the whole thing down, and has you thinking 'ridiculous' in stead of 'amazing.' Drax as well is just a bore. Get someone with a bit of charisma and that film might have meant a bit more. However, I'm a sucker for a bad guy turning good and that Jaws turn at the end was great for me. My favourite part though was when Bond shoots the henchman out of the tree. "Did I?"
18 - The Man With the Golden Gun - From here on in I would say that it was a real struggle. I really do like all of these films but the bottom five are a lot more clearly defined for me than the top 17. As for TMWTGG I really enjoy it as a muck about action film. Not a lot of substance and an irritating Nik Nak but the final duel is riveting and the three nipple trick employed by Bond always gets a chuckle out of me. Just a bit standard to rank any higher for me.
17 - The Spy Who Loved Me - A great film ruined by the villain. The plot is genuinely entertaining. The set pieces and sets themselves are amazing and the big 'final battle' is really great. However, Stromberg is up there with Drax in terms of blandness and he is seemingly a bit dim. I mean, who leaves room to stand on the edge of a collapsing lift and then has only a gun that is fixed to the table as their only means of defence. I never believed in Stromberg and it really let the film down.
16 - Dr. No - Where it all started. A good film and a film I found myself enjoying but as I watched the others I realised that I just enjoyed the others more. The locations are nice and there are some legendary moments (the first "Bond. James Bond." for example.) But the end is all over too quickly and I never found myself believing the fact that Dr. No would actually keep Bond prisoner. It's always nice to see where it all began though, and the nostalgia alone makes this film entertaining.
15 - From Russia With Love - Some iconic moments and some great individual action scenes. But the parts in between are slow. Again I by no means think it is a bad film, I just don't find it as entertaining as the other films that are higher on my list. Romanova is one of my favourite Bond girls though.
14 - Octopussy - That flying scene at the start is one of my favourite pre-credit sequences and the rest of the film is enjoyable too. I liked Khan as the villain and thought the film romped along from one scene to another in a very entertaining way. I think the scene in which Bond is being 'hunted' is a let down for the film and Maud Adams as Octopussy was also a bit of a mis-step. I never really bought it that she was a character who makes her living from a life of crime.
13- Tomorrow Never Dies - The lowest ranked Brosnan film on my list. A good film that is no more than that. It has enjoyable action, and some good scenes (Dr. Kaufman springs to mind) but a newspaper that gets all of the headlines first by committing the crimes, more than a bit of an odd storyline.
12- Live and Let Die - The film that proved to me that Moore is very capable of playing Bond. It was an unusual direction for the series and an unusual film on the whole. But there are some memorable scenes in there and the way it all comes together is very satisfying as a viewer. Not incredible, but very enjoyable.
11- The Living Daylights - I really like Dalton in this and I think he is only let down by the villains. Whitaker and Koskov never give off a real sense of danger. They seem like a couple of guys who think they have all the answers, but really know nothing. A stronger villain and this would have been right up there. Saying that though Dalton really is good. He fits the role perfectly and I really think he should have had a few more to really get his teeth into.
10- A View To a Kill - Yep, 9th. For me, Walken as Zorin steals the show. Without him, this is low, but he takes this film to a level that I really loved. It's over the top, it's crazy and the earthquake plot is more than a bit ridiculous. But during the film I didn't care about any of that, because I was genuinely interested in the dynamic between Zorin, and, well, everyone. It might be wrong to place a Bond film so highly based on its villain, but that is how much I enjoyed his performance.
9- Die Another Day - The film that introduced me to Bond, and the film I have watched the most in my life. The ice palace, the invisible car, Icarus. All completely bonkers things that if I saw for the first time now, I would probably scoff at. But my 10 year old self was brainwashed by it all. And now, I can't help but smile every time I watch it. Miranda Frost is great and I think Brosnan plays it really well too. The biggest let down for me is that CGI windsurfing part. Other than that. I love it.
8- Quantum of Solace - Saw it again a few nights ago right before I set off for Skyfall and just can't understand the heat it gets online. It has an interesting plot and has a fascinating dynamic with a Bond that is getting over the loss of arguably his only ever 'love' whilst still having to fight for Queen and country. The Matthis death really hits hard and the final 20 minutes really were enjoyable with the big fight, Bond doing the right thing and getting the information before killing Greene, then going and finally meeting the man who has ultimately been the personal villain to Bond for two films. I liked it when I first saw it, and really loved it when I watched it again recently.
7- The World is Not Enough - Elektra is brilliant, the dynamic of having a female villain is something that you feel Bond is struggling with and that moment where he shoots her is a really strong part of the whole franchise for me. The way Renard's character is set up is daunting and you genuinely fear for Bond (or at least, I did ;% ) Another one of my earliest Bond experiences and one that has stuck with me for a very long time. (Best not to mention Denise Richards I think )
6- Licence to Kill - I just re-watched this and got it gravely wrong. It is a fantastic film that is driven by a fantastic plot and a great performance by Dalton. The silliness of having Q on location provided it with some issues but the grittiness of the film really took me in this time instead of putting me off, I think I finally 'get it.' Before the edit this was 19th.
5- Skyfall - Just saw it 24 hours ago so I am not sure how reliable this is. I feel like it will go higher upon subsequent viewings. I loved the personal Bond story and thought it wove together the glorious set piece, brilliant action sequences and really intimate, personal scenes seamlessly. Also, Raoul Silva is up there with Zorin in terms of greatest ever villain. Oh and the way they put the references to the past films in was so good that judging by what I have seen online, you could watch it three or four times without catching them all. Fantastic film.
4- You Only Live Twice - It has a freaking hollowed out volcano. That alone is good enough for me. I really like this film and it's probably the one I have the hardest time justifying. I really don't know why, but I just really enjoy it. Tiger Tanaka is a great ally and Aki is a great Bond Girl. Bond turning Japanese, is, well, ludicrous. But it serves a prupose, and that purpose get us to a great climax.
3- Goldfinger - Quintessential Bond for me. The cars, the girls, the villains, the plot. It's all classic Bond. Connery has really settled into the role and just fits it perfectly. I think Goldfinger is a great villain and Oddjob sets the bar for all the henchmen to come. I think this is the film that defines James Bond as a series.
2- Casino Royale - The relationship between Bond and Vesper is incredible. Their chemistry on screen is palpable and that scene on the train is brilliant. I thought the way the film makers made a card game riveting viewing was a credit to them and the way Craig portrayed Bond was incredible. The right man at the right time. I think the only reason it isn't top of my list is because of Le Chiffre. He is daunting throughout and serves a great purpose for the most part, rbut then he is disposed with given an 'undignified' send off, so to speak. The way that film re-invented the franchise though I think is a truly brilliant achievement and along with Skyfall, really send Bond into the 21st century.
1- Goldeneye - The Bond film that really does have it all. Brosnan is incredible. The pre-credit sequence is both action packed and shocking. The fact that there are four villains who all are brilliantly portrayed in their own right. An arch villain that is really personal to Bond, and one that you feel may just have the better of him. A Bond girl who serves an integral part in the story and a final fight that is just perfect for the film. Not to mention it has a plot that is both grandiose and personal. Action scenes that both delight and leave you in awe. It is my absolute favourite film and undoubtedly deserving of the Number 1 spot in my eyes.
Just read through it, my goodness it is long. Sorry about that, I think I have needed to get this off my chest for a while )
So many lists don't mention NSNA, as if its the plague or something... Why?
Having seen a lot of Bond films recently (the 50th anniversary really got to me), I see the series has been relatively consistent in quality. The '60's films are all great, with even the rotten of the group (YOLT) to be largely entertaining, and far more so than the opposing parody going by the name Casino Royale in that year. The '70's are, largely, a big joke - filled with inane plot devices and bereft of creativity and largely ignorant of Fleming's stories, to the point of keeping just the titles and a few of the character's names. Cubby's MR interview is particularly hilarious, with the rocket threatening London in Fleming's novel being too unthreatening... Utterly laughable, and stigmated Bond like no other period.
Thankfully, the '80's began the long road to recovery. FYEO, OP and NSNA are all accomplished in their consistent effort to de-superman-ize (I know, funny term, but thats what he'd become by then) Bond, either by bringing back the cold edge or by aknowledging his age. Of course, one AVTAK threatened to put to rest whatever credibility they tried to achieve. But with Timothy Dalton, and from 1987, began the return to Fleming's Bond. Whereas Connery and Moore tried to be basically Fleming's Bond Plus, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig have all tried to root their performances strictly to Fleming. And with films like TLD, LTK, GE, TWINE, CR and SF, it shows. They delved into Bond's history and what makes his tick more than anyone else, and thats largely wonderful.
Anyway, my list includes all Bond films, for two reasons: 1) They're still Bond films, even if EON didn't make them, and 2) Regardless of what anyone might think, any Bond film with Sean Connery is as much a Bond film as any. That said, here's my list, from worst to best:
25. A View To A Kill
24. Diamonds Are Forever
23. Quantum Of Solace
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
21. Charlie Feldman's Casino Royale
20. Moonraker
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. You Only Live Twice
17. Live And Let Die
16. Octopussy
15. Die Another Day
14. Thunderball
13. The Spy Who Loved Me
12. For Your Eyes Only
11. Never Say Never Again
10. The Living Daylights
09. GoldenEye
08. The World Is Not Enough
07. Casino Royale
06. Skyfall
05. Dr. No
04. Licence To Kill
03. Goldfinger - -{
02. From Russia With Love - -{
01. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - -{
The JohnsonAuckland, New ZealandPosts: 10MI6 Agent
Out of interest, I compiled a rankings list according to RottenTomatoes.com to see if it reflected roughly what people here had been saying. Obviously it doesn't really reflect fairly the rankings as there are some films with absolutely tonnes of reviews and others with not so many. Anyway, here it is:
The ones doubled up scored the same percentage. The Range was Dr. No (98%) to A View To A Kill (36%).
1. Dr No
2. From Russia With Love, Goldfinger
3. Casino Royale
4. Skyfall
5. Thunderball
6. Goldeneye
7. OHMSS
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. The Living Daylights
10. Licence To Kill
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Live And Let Die
14. Diamonds Are Forever, Quantum of Solace
15. Moonraker
16. Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. The Man With The Golden Gun
19. Octopussy
20. A View To A Kill
Personally I think this list is a load of rubbish! I'd be surprised if anyone here agreed with it. Anyone elses thoughts?
Out of interest, I compiled a rankings list according to RottenTomatoes.com to see if it reflected roughly what people here had been saying. Obviously it doesn't really reflect fairly the rankings as there are some films with absolutely tonnes of reviews and others with not so many. Anyway, here it is:
The ones doubled up scored the same percentage. The Range was Dr. No (98%) to A View To A Kill (36%).
1. Dr No
2. From Russia With Love, Goldfinger
3. Casino Royale
4. Skyfall
5. Thunderball
6. Goldeneye
7. OHMSS
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. The Living Daylights
10. Licence To Kill
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Live And Let Die
14. Diamonds Are Forever, Quantum of Solace
15. Moonraker
16. Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. The Man With The Golden Gun
19. Octopussy
20. A View To A Kill
Personally I think this list is a load of rubbish! I'd be surprised if anyone here agreed with it. Anyone elses thoughts?
The imdb list is more reliable IMO. Rotten tomatoes confuses me as each film has 2 sets of ratings
Are people around still harsh and snobbish on this film simply because of its un-EON state? I can perfectly understand not liking it on its own merits, but its still a Bond film, no?
Comments
I always thought Bond was sent out to make sure that the ATAC didn't fall into the wrong hands. Because the ATAC was a British invention I always had the idea that they had more than one. Had one on every ship actually.
What way to introduce yourself better than by putting your rankings of James Bond films, see what people think!
1) The Spy Who Loved Me
2) From Russia With Love
3) Octopussy
4) Live and Let Die
5) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6) Thunderball
7) The Living Daylights
8) Diamonds are Forever
9) Moonraker
10) For Your Eyes Only
11) Licence To Kill
12) You Only Live Twice
13) Goldfinger
14) A View To A Kill
15) GoldenEye
16) Casino Royale
17) The Man With The Golden Gun
18) Dr No
19) The World Is Not Enough
20) Die Another Day
21) Tomorrow Never Dies
22) Quantum of Solace
In any case, nice to meet ya!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Hi, I just signed up recently aswell. We have 3 films in the same place, we both had The Spy Who Loved me at number one, I can't knock your judgement there. We both have A View To A kill at number 14, I feel it's underrated and we both have Tomorrow never dies at number 21, I agree, it's dull in my opinion although I will re-watch it. I like the fact you've put octopussy high up, although a little high I feel, I also think Thunderballs top ten, not top six though. I feel youv'e underrated The world is not enough, Dr. No, Casino Royale and definatley Goldeneye. Interesting list though.
The Spy Who Loved Me is perfect. Can't fault it at all. A View To A Kill is a guilty pleasure, a good solid Bond movie. Tomorrow Never Dies is awful, I don't like it.
I love Octopussy, watched it tonight and it doesn't ever get old at all! It's terrific. I done a review on another Bond site and like I say, I just can't get enough of it. The World is Not Enough is just plodding nonsense and the emergence of the Dench era of movies where she dominates. Dr. No is the first and lacks Bond elements and can get boring. GoldenEye has potential to rise to 12th but it wont break into my top 11 unless there is monumental change. CAsino Royale is a great action movie...but it's not James Bond!
I thought that the British would have had blueprints or something - there would have been another one or they would have been able to get another one. It was presumably quite expensive so they would rather Bond brought the original back, but it was more important that, as Peppermill says, the ATAC didn't get into the wrong hands.
The list is proberbly due to change many times, but here goes:
1. License to Kill
2. Skyfall
3. Goldeneye
4. Goldfinger
5. Casino Royale
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Thunderball
10. The World is Not Enough
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Octopussy
13. The Man With The Golden Gun
14. The Living Daylights
15. From Russia with Love
16. Moonraker
17. Dr. No
18. A View To A Kill
19. Live and Let Die
20. On her Majesty's Secret Service
21. Die Another Day
22. Quantum of Solace (I guess somehow Skyfall made me see how much better it was then this mess of a film.)
23. Diamonds are Forever
Yes, I enjoyed Skyfall THAT much!
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I wont bore you with all the details/reasoning this time around - just a list :007)
1 - Live And Let Die
2 - A View To A Kill
3 - Octopussy
4 - Skyfall
5 - Licence To Kill
6 - Dr No
7 - For Your Eyes Only
8 - You Only Live Twice
9 - Goldeneye
10 - The Living Daylights
11 - The Spy Who Loved Me
12 - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
13 - From Russia With Love
14 - Diamonds Are Forever
15 - The Man With The Golden Gun
16 - Goldfinger
17 - Quantum Of Solace
18 - Casino Royale
19 - The World Is Not Enough
20 - Tomorrow Never Dies
21 - Thunderball
22 - Die Another Day
23 - Moonraker
I actually think that SF is 'better' than my top three. However, those top 3 are my 'favouritres'. Skyfall is technically a better film, but it is very difficult to rank with LALD, AVTAK and OP anyway, which are completely different kinds of bond films to that of SF.
But having said this, I've only seen SF twice. But from those 2 viewings, that is where I rank it.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
You seem to be missing OHMSS from your list. I know you're not keen on it, but doesn't it even get rank number 23?
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Haha ohyeah, must have made a mistake when updating my own list, thanks for the notice! I'll edit the original post!
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1. From Russia With Love. Favorite Bond film, and just about as close to flawless as I think there IS a Bond film.
2. Goldfinger. Mainly for sentimental reasons, as this was the first Bond film I ever saw. Still, this was classic Bond and of superb quality. I should say that it was the best "fomulaic" Bond.
3. Dr. No. Mostly for Connery's ruthlessness and lack of cracking jokes compared to pretty much every other film prior to the continuity reboot. You can tell they were still kinda feeling their way around (Bond has a girlfriend, the music that came with stomping a spider to death...), but it HAD to be good to start the franchise. Also, Jack Lord's Felix Leiter will always be Felix Leiter to me.
4. Casino Royale. Despite despising Quantum of Solace (1. Slow the film down!!! 2. Although Daniel Craig probably helped this film, some of the plot devices brought the phrase "huh...?" to mind...), Casino Royale made perfect sense. New, true-to-Fleming Bond, the few gadgets that do appear are well-done, and the simple fact that the film had my 100% attention throughout the poker scenes...despite the fact that I find poker really boring to watch (albeit not to play).
5. GoldenEye. Again, really for sentimental reasons since it was the first Bond I saw in the theater. Since I collect East Bloc model cars in 1/43 scale, you may also understand why I likee a certain scene from this film. Also, I'll say this for Sean Bean: despite his flawed age, I really have always liked him as a villian.
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Is fixed firmly in sixth place, JUST above Thunderball/pretty much tied with it. It will likely never make my top five, although it will likely never drop below 7 and keep switching places with Thunderball. However, I should note that I had little to no problems with Lazenby. I didn't particularly warm to Telly Savalas' Blofeld (huge Kojak fan growing up, plus I'd seen several other street-smart/wiseguy Telly Savalas films), but could definitely understand him. No, my big problem was Blofeld in a neck brace while Irma "I never show up again" Bunt tries to kill Bond and kills Tracy instead. That has ALWAYS bugged me (in the novel, it was Blofeld behind the trigger and Irma Bunt driving the car). Had Blofeld been behind the trigger, I may have rated this one considerably higher.
7. Thunderball. Despite some uneven pacing and an incredibly weak Felix Leiter, we have a good villain, good Bond girls (well, one good good Bond girl and one good bad Bond girl), and Connery still taking the role seriously. The special effects with the Avro Vulcan were impressive for their time, as well; I'm not sure why no one ever points this out. It's the first Bond where we see Q outside the office, where he's like a fish out of water but also clearly supposed to be that way. I've always imagined that him despising fieldwork (he has a similar performance in YOLT) is what Q "should" be like.
8. You Only Live Twice. Simply because this one's my "guilty pleasure film". I thought Aki was a terrific Bond girl, although the actress who played Helga Brandt was totally wasted (she has a much bigger role in the Hitchcock Cold War thriller Topaz, where she's very good) and Mie Hama was just, umm, there, albeit pretty hot. I genuinely enjoyed the real gadgets of Wing Commander Kenneth Wallis and Gyrojet rocket gun inventor Bob Maynard on display. Bond turning Japanese is absolutely ridiculous (I had trouble believing this one when Ian Fleming wrote it, to be honest) and has to the film's low point. Still, it's a great "popcorn cruncher" that has nearly endless watchability, bored Connery and all. Q's brief scenes are vastly underrated by just about everyone; he stays completely in-character with himself. The trying to cool off and swatting at bugs are exactly what you'd expect from Q without devolving into comic relief.
9. Live and Let Die. Despite its sometimes-odd plot and comical villain death (might as well employ forcing him to watch CR '67 over and over as a torture method while you're at it...), Roger Moore is surprisingly serious and surprisingly human in his first outing as Bond. He's not yet become a near-self-parody (or alternately, just getting by on wits alone) and has a few ruthless moments. My second favorite Felix Leiter, David Hedison, also features rather prominently in this one. Quarrel Junior is quite frankly what Quarrel should have been in DN and Harold Strutter's sarcastic "good thinking, Bond" dress-down humanizes Bond more than a bit. Also, despite Geoffrey Holder's chewing the scenery as Baron Samedi, most of the other henchmen (Adam, Tee Hee, and Whisper) play their roles well, especially the underrated Adam. Add that in with a terrific (until the last moment) performance by Yaphet Kotto and it makes up for Voodoo, Jane Seymour's near-camera-shy performance, and some of the scenes where Roger Moore is still very clearly getting the hang of the role.
10. The Spy Who Loved Me. Although Stromberg does very little, Jaws is very threatening in this film. He plays things straight, unlike in MR, and comes across as a truly terrific henchman. In spite of Barbara Bach's fingernails-on-a-chalkboard Russian accent, she does capture the rest of the role. The fight onboard the Liparus is also great fun. Probably the best of the "less serious" Roger Moore Bonds. By the way, objectively, this film has terrific special effects for its time and had probably the best editing of any Bond film for those that don't like it.
11. License to Kill. Without doubt Dalton's better outing of the two films he did, he is helped by one of the best Bond villains the series has yet seen in Franz Sanchez, brilliantly played without any Dr. Evil-like characteristics by Robert Davi. Sanchez is almost as genre-savvy as Alec Trevelyan, which is saying quite a lot. Benicio del Toro's small role as Dario is underutilized, yet he's terrific in it. Professor Joe Butcher was actually kinda funny in context. We're also given an interesting character in Truman Lodge, the accountant who we're clearly SUPPOSED to be annoyed by. The movie hints at this with Franz Sanchez's general attitude toward him, and of course we're probably all applauding as his whining reaches unbearable levels and Sanchez finally snaps and knocks him off with a submachine gun. Carey Lowell, while not spectacular as Pam Bouvier, was certainly far more competant than she's often given credit for. The truck chase was fun. David Hedison as Felix Leiter before he's reintroduced at the end of the film is great. Weak points include Felix's oddly cheerful nature at the end of the film, Talisa Soto beyond being eye candy, Q in the field (which feels almost wedged in) and the mercenary was just kinda wasted. But definitely a good Bond film that came very close to getting in the top ten.
12. Octopussy. Probably the most unfairly-beaten-up Bond film thanks to three things, at least two of them in my mind grossly unfair: people neither bothering to watch the film after the clownsuit sequence (which Moore plays surprisingly straight...almost chillingly so), the lackluster chase scene through the jungle, and probably the fairest critique, which is Maud Adams being re-used and quite frankly, with a pretty odd backstory that seemed shoehorned in there. Why not make at least an effort to cast an actress who could pass for Anglo-Indian (I know, both efforts with Indian actresses unfortunately didn't work out)? The film leaves us kinda wondering if Magda is supposed to be or not, but based on her horrendously-dubbed voice, I'm guessing no. With that said, the actual plot of the film is pretty good, although to be honest, I'd rather see Kamal Khan as a secondary villain (even though Louis Jourdan played him extremely well) with the main role given to Orlov (played by someone a bit more serious and perhaps even portrayed as a passive-aggressive psychotic). Still, as-is, I'll take it. This was also one of the few times when two main villains worked. Gobinda does a decent enough job as a henchman, though isn't really anything special.
13. The Living Daylights. My Dad hates this one. I don't. It's probably our only serious point of contention in the whole series. Dalton IS Bond, that's clear, but, my father argues, Bond alone cannot support what is essentially otherwise a terrible film (though he did like both Necros and to a lesser degree Pushkin). I don't think the rest of the film is terrible, have a far higher opinion of Kara as a character than Dad, and also believe the film maintains its coherence, which I think is critical in terms of ranking it. The film tone is a little light for Dalton, and I definitely preferred him in LTK, but he can still carry it. Necros is terrific as a henchman, Pushkin is pretty good as well. If Whittaker's role had been minimized to being a secondary villain, I wouldn't have a problem with him, either. The film tries to shoehorn in too much of Whittaker to make up for a VERY weak Koskov, I think. Had another, much stronger and less hammy actor been cast as Koskov and been given more screentime, this one would be much higher.
14. The Man with the Golden Gun. Roger Moore's best outing as Bond, and that includes FYEO. Not best movie, but best portrayal. Maud Adams, unlike in Octopussy, also actually works in this film. Christopher Lee's Francisco Scaramanga is terrific and one of the best Moore villains (arguably THE best). However, you have SERIOUS problems with Mary Goodnight, M (who had a surprisingly weak performance), I couldn't take Nick-Nack seriously as hard as I tried, we did not need Sheriff Pepper again (although ironically, I didn't mind him the first time), and the kung fu 10-year-olds is right out of Austin Powers (also, does anyone else find it creepy that Mary Goodnight is jealous when she sees them waving out of the back of Lt. Hip's Mercedes-Benz 220 (W115)? Or is she just THAT stupid [unfortunately, she does seem to project that image on-screen]?).
15. Diamonds are Forever. Stealth adult comedy masquerading as a Bond film, yet probably parodies the Bond franchise better than any other Bond parody, licensed or otherwise. The problem with DAF is that I get the feeling a lot of people who've not seen it at all or don't seem to understand it and then walk away immediately say "Connery was bored". I disagree very strongly; in fact, he seemed to be having WAY too much fun, often at his own expense. As said, it's a great comedy that I define as a guilty pleasure Bond film, so why put it all the way down here? Because there are certain aspects on which it can't seem to make up its mind. In a truly serious film, employing "comic relief killers" like Wint and Kidd to kill off your smuggling operation actually might work. In a comedy, explaining the extreme complexity of said smuggling operation seems a bit odd. The PTS also seems disconnected from the rest of the film. We get good characters (including Charles Gray as a very good attempt at a comedicly evil Blofeld), but we get an out-of-place plot. Worse, the movie is set immediately after OHMSS, giving it horrible timing. Not counting NSNA which I won't rank, this is the weakest Connery film.
16. The World is Not Enough. Pierce Brosnan's second best outing as Bond is badly marred by Denise Richards trying to play a nuclear physicist as well as weakening Renard A LOT. Sophie Marceau credibly turns in her role, but I genuinely had trouble believing ANY of the other bad guys. Another problem with this film that probably really hurts it with me is that they wasted Kazakhstan completely (seriously, why not put it in Russia?) and the "locals" in Azerbaijan felt more like locals in remote areas of the Ukraine. I have a very good friend who's an Azeri (and a Bond fan) and he said TWINE, to him, is the worst of *any* of the films for portraying Azerbaijan as "like Russia with a different name; just portray it as Turkey with a different name and believe it or not, that would work". Excellent opportunities abounded in Baku for local culture and were wasted completely. Combine this with the usual complaints about Denise Richards and Renard being a weak-as-heck (if unorthodox) villain and you have a real let-down. It's only eclipsed in that category by the next film.
17. Quantum of Solace. QoS was, in my mind, Daniel Craig's TWINE. Like TWINE, it was a "solid-on-paper" plot with uneven pacing, a terrific performance by the guy playing Bond himself, one convincing person aside from Bond (well, and M) in the entire film (not counting Felix Leiter, though as with TWINE giving us Valentin Zukovsky a second time, he seems weaker) who came in the form of Mr. White, and a really awful villain and a Bond girl who opinion seems split on (I think Olga Kurylenko was better than Denise Richards by quite a lot, but no matter how hard they tried building her backstory, I just kept thinking of her as two-dimensional). But there's one big difference: the expectations were far higher for QoS. Corners seemed cut, the dogfight seemed out of place (Bond CAN fly a plane, but the whole thing just seems way out of place), and the plot was pretty uneven. Unlike TWINE, there were genuinely moments in the first viewing of the film where I felt "what the heck is going on?" Upon repeated viewings, things were cleared up, but that shouldn't have to happen. And that's not even touching the editing and camerawork (no, attaching your tripod to a paint mixer is not going to produce optimal results). Even most of the film's defenders think it's too short and that some explanations could have been used. Still, even with all of its problems, Daniel Craig did manage to be convincing as Bond and the opera scene and PTS were terrific.
18. For Your Eyes Only. Quite possibly the single-most overrated Bond film ever. Yes, Roger Moore actually played Bond straight in spots, but alternating between serious and light gave him a very uneven performance. Melina Havelock was okay, not terrific. An opportunity to let Bond use an inferior car in a car chase is unfortunately taken a little too far with the 2CV. Why not give him something really pedestrian like a Volkswagen Passat (or something similar) and try and have him outwit the baddies by utilizing the car's strengths? Also, Emile Locque feels like the film's only convincing villain. The PTS was horrid. Ari Kristatos was a weak villain (Erich Kriegler, who seemed a competent enough henchman was actually better), Bibi should have been left out of the film, the scene with the combat hockey players and the Zamboni is even more cringe-inducing than the infamous Octopussy chase scene, and the end is a mess (I wouldn't have minded them ending on Gogol laughing as Bond threw the ATAC away, honestly). Still, Roger Moore in his serious moments and Emile Locque do make the film an enjoyable one. As does Columbo, who makes a great ally, for that matter.
19. Tomorrow Never Dies. Brosnan clearly lives up to his billing as a sort of a hybrid of Moore and Connery in this one. However, that's just about its only strong point. I like Michelle Yeoh and I thought this film was extremely problematic, which should tell you something. Jonathan Pryce's scene-chewing performance actually would have been credible...if you'd given him credible henchmen. Instead, we get the out-of-place Gupta and the sub-par Stamper. General Chang was there. Not much else you could say about him. And the one REALLY good scene where Brosnan comes close to equaling Sean Connery in DN against Dr. Kaufmann is totally ruined by Vince Schiavelli's horrible German accent and chewing the scenery. Worse, Wai Lin seemed "wedged" into the film. She seemed oddly out of place and instead of slowly developing feelings for Bond (or heck, even thinking about it overnight), she does some kind of 180-degree turn the likes of which don't make any sense. You either have her or Paris Carver; the problem was that they wanted both Bond girls and quite frankly, that didn't really work. On the plus side, there is the car chase (although to be honest, Bond in a four-door sedan...even remotely controlled...is pretty odd), which is extremely well-executed until its ending, as well as the PTS and early parts of the film. Also, unlike most people, I found the stealth boat believeable. The problem is with the plot, the villains, and also with the superfluous Bond girl (you pick one or the other).
20. A View to a Kill. Christopher Walken's Max Zorin saved the film, as did Patrick Macnee and ya know what? Roger Moore wasn't THAT bad. He was showing his age, but he still was Bond. Your problems came with henchmen, a subplot against the Soviets that really went nowhere and seemed out of place, and worst of all, the Bond girls. May Day was okay, but the whole "simultaneous Bond girl/henchman" thing was problematic. And then there's Stacey the Screamer. Honestly, if they'd cast someone who was even marginally competent (as opposed to being so ditzy that she came across as being a complete idiot), the film might jump up five or six spots. Tanya Roberts was THAT bad, IMO. My opinion that they were literally able to drag down the film from being a middling Bond film to a terrible one with the Bond girls is why I've put this one above what I believe the two worst.
21. Moonraker. This was actually a good film until two things happened: 1) Jaws and 2) the space scenes. That it utterly fell apart in spectacular fashion halfway through the film points more to the plot as being problematic than anything else.
22. Die Another Day. If I started writing up my issues with this film (although I did like Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of Bond), we'd be here all week and most people have already covered them.
What are the reasons he hates the film? Just curious, as, even though I prefer 9 films to it, I still find little wrong with the film. Just curious to hear what your father's reasons are for disliking the film?
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Wrote up the list of my Dad's 1-22 a while ago while he was reeling 'em off and I was copying somewhere verbatim (will re-post to here when I find it). He had little to no problems with Dalton, thought Necros was a good (actually, I think he specified excellent) henchman. However, he found both Koskov and Whittaker incredibly weak (Whittaker much weaker than I did; we actually agree on Koskov), found the ending terrible, did not like Kara Milovy at all (though did like Bond's sarcastic retorts to her; he, also having read Fleming, quipped "Yeah, Dalton did his homework; that's exactly how you'd expect Bond to converse with a ditz."), and found really serious problems AFTER Necros had "gotten the boot", saying basically that the film lost its tension at that point.
Necros, he contended, had actually been given just as much actual character background as Koskov (if not Whittaker, since Pushkin exposited his entire past) and would have made for a far more threatening villian, at least (he defends Necros-as-Possible Main Villain by pointing to Whittaker's line about "funding your revolutions" and the ensuing dialogue). He thought the Mujahadeen felt "forced in" and that Bond himself could have simply found out about opium-smuggling.
One of the few things he did like aside from Dalton's performance as Bond and the character of Necros was the concept of John Barry giving a villain his own score (Necros), something we never really saw repeated except briefly during GoldenEye with Alec Trevelyan (in the junkyard, and you can barely even hear it). Like I said, it's one of our main points of contention, though he DOES have a point about villain scores and I agree with him that Necros probably could have carried his own weight (though should not have been the last guy killed off).
1. From Russia With Love
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Dr No
4. Goldfinger
5. Thunderball
6. The Living Daylights
7. Licence to Kill
8. Casino Royale
9. Skyfall
10. Goldeneye
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Live and Let Die
14. The World is Not Enough
15. Octopussy
16. Diamonds Are Forever
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. Quantum of Solace
19. The Man With the Golden Gun
20. A View to a Kill
21. The Spy Who Loved Me
22. Moonraker
23. Die Another Day
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- A brilliant standalone entry for George Lazenby.
3. GoldenEye -- Bond enters the post-Cold War period under the gifted direction of Martin Campell.
4. Casino Royale -- An electrifying 21st Century update on the literary premiere of 007.
5. Goldfinger -- Arguably the most iconic Bond film of all time.
6. From Russia With Love -- A terrific Cold War thriller in its own right.
7. Tomorrow Never Dies -- A spectacular followup to GoldenEye, and just about as good.
8. Live And Let Die -- Solid debut for Roger Moore, with one of the greatest boat chases in history.
9. Skyfall -- Daniel Craig enters the world of classic Bond with considerable ease.
10. Dr. No -- Rough around the edges, but nonetheless the inimitable debut of 007.
11. For Your Eyes Only -- Bond returns to basics after the outer-space camp of Moonraker.
12. Licence To Kill -- The most violent Bond of all, but one which sees Timothy Dalton truly in his element as 007.
13. Octopussy -- An underrated, over-the-top action thriller with some fine performances.
14. The World Is Not Enough -- Grade-A action with a confusing plot and mainly weak performances.
15. The Living Daylights -- Textbook Bond film with nary a memorable villain nor plot.
16. You Only Live Twice -- Enjoyable overall, with many of the classic Bond elements but a few weird decisions as well.
17. The Man With The Golden Gun -- Has a great villain in Christopher Lee, but not much else.
18. Moonraker -- One-half is a great Bond film, one-half is an outlandish space opera, and there are too many gags.
19. A View To A Kill -- An unevenly-paced oxymoron of a Bond film, and the weakest entry for Roger Moore.
20. Quantum of Solace -- A mess of violence and unnecessary throwaway references to previous Bond films.
21. Thunderball -- The most tedious and downright boring of all the Bond films ever made.
22. Die Another Day -- Superficial, CGI-laden and poorly scripted.
23. Diamonds Are Forever -- A gaudy, bloated, messy Bond film.
These are my opinions, and they are frequently prone to change.
That being said, I still think Diamonds Are Forever is the worst Bond film ever made; that won't be changing anytime soon...
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
My list is below and I'm pleased to see we have the same number 1
1: License To Kill
2: Casino Royale
3: Skyfall
4: Quantum of Solace
5: The Living Daylights
6: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
7: The World Is Not Enough
8: For Your Eyes Only
9: Octopussy
10: From Russia With Love
11: Goldeneye
12: Diamonds are Forever
13: A View To A Kill
14: The Spy Who Loved Me
15: Dr No
16: Live And Let Die
17: Thunderball
18: Die Another Day
19: The Man With The Golden Gun
20: Goldfinger
21: You Only Live Twice
22: Tomorrow Never Dies
23: Moonraker
1. Dr. No - "Machismo"
2. OHMSS - "Fisticuffs"
3. Skyfall - "Grand"
4. CR - "Ruthless"
5. GF - "Suave"
6. FRWL - "Literary"
7. TLD - "Vantage"
8. TND - "Underrated"
9. LTK - "Vengeful"
10. GE - "Simmering"
11. TB - "Girls"
12. TWINE - "Action"
13. TSWLM - "Lotus"
14. YOLT - "Eyebrows"
15. LALD - "Crocs"
16. TMWTGG - "Superfluous"
17. FYEO - "Redeeming"
18. QoS - "Shaky"
19. Octopussy - "Titles"
20. DAF - "Toupee"
21. DAD - "Ridiculous"
22. AVTAK - "Old"
23. MR - "Jumpsuit"
1. Licence To Kill
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. From Russia With Love
4. The Living Daylights
5. Skyfall
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. Live And Let Die
8. Casino Royale
9. Goldfinger
10. Goldeneye
11. Octopussy
12. Thunderball
13. A View To A Kill
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. For Your Eyes Only
16. The Man With The Golden Gun
17. Quantum of Solace
18. The World Is Not Enough
19. You Only Live Twice
20. Dr No
21. Die Another Day
22. Moonraker
23. Diamonds Are Forever
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
22. Man with the Golden Gun
21. Octopussy
20. Moonraker
19. A View to A Kill
18. Die Another Day
17. Live and Let Die
16. Dr. No
15. Quantum of Solace
14. License to Kill
13. The World is Not Enough
12. You Only Live Twice
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. Thunderball
9. For Your Eyes Only
8. The Living Daylights
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. OHMSS
5. Goldfinger
4. Goldeneye
3. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
1. Skyfall
It was an easy choice! -{
1. From Russia With Love.
2. Goldfinger.
3. Dr. No.
4. Casino Royale.
5. GoldenEye.
6. Skyfall.
7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
8. Thunderball.
9. You Only Live Twice.
10. Live and Let Die.
11. The Spy Who Loved Me.
12. License to Kill.
13. Octopussy.
14. The Living Daylights.
15. The Man with the Golden Gun.
16. Diamonds are Forever.
17. The World is Not Enough.
18. Quantum of Solace.
19. For Your Eyes Only.
20. Tomorrow Never Dies.
21. A View to a Kill.
22. Moonraker.
23. Die Another Day.
23 - For Your Eye's Only - I would say that this is the only film that genuinely bores me out of all 23. I felt the film never really got going, Kristatos is a fairly meaningless villain and the whole thing just moves from one incidental action scene to another. However, I don't think there are any of these films that I really hate. And that moment where Bond kicks the car of the cliff is incredibly satisfying.
22 - Diamond's Are Forever - I wasn't into it from the start. The two Blofeld's is an interesting idea, but they never really go anywhere with it. Connery looks like he is bored with the role and Tiffany Case just irritated me more than anything. That final 'big battle' on the oil rig is entertaining enough though.
21 - Thunderball - A film that was ruined by the underwater sequences in my opinion. Entertaining plot, goes along well with fun parts, like the jet pack and when Vargas is impaled. But the underwater sequences and the final fight on the boat just drag it down.
20 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service - I don't really know how I feel about this one. In parts I find myself liking Lazenby and the story, but at other times I just feel like everything is wrong. This one really threw me. I still don't know quite how I feel about it, but I just know I wasn't as caught up in it as I was by the rest below. That 'lair' though, on top of the mountain. Absolutely awe inspiring.
19- Moonraker - Similar to Thunderball for me. A decent enough films until the ridiculous space battle just slows the whole thing down, and has you thinking 'ridiculous' in stead of 'amazing.' Drax as well is just a bore. Get someone with a bit of charisma and that film might have meant a bit more. However, I'm a sucker for a bad guy turning good and that Jaws turn at the end was great for me. My favourite part though was when Bond shoots the henchman out of the tree. "Did I?"
18 - The Man With the Golden Gun - From here on in I would say that it was a real struggle. I really do like all of these films but the bottom five are a lot more clearly defined for me than the top 17. As for TMWTGG I really enjoy it as a muck about action film. Not a lot of substance and an irritating Nik Nak but the final duel is riveting and the three nipple trick employed by Bond always gets a chuckle out of me. Just a bit standard to rank any higher for me.
17 - The Spy Who Loved Me - A great film ruined by the villain. The plot is genuinely entertaining. The set pieces and sets themselves are amazing and the big 'final battle' is really great. However, Stromberg is up there with Drax in terms of blandness and he is seemingly a bit dim. I mean, who leaves room to stand on the edge of a collapsing lift and then has only a gun that is fixed to the table as their only means of defence. I never believed in Stromberg and it really let the film down.
16 - Dr. No - Where it all started. A good film and a film I found myself enjoying but as I watched the others I realised that I just enjoyed the others more. The locations are nice and there are some legendary moments (the first "Bond. James Bond." for example.) But the end is all over too quickly and I never found myself believing the fact that Dr. No would actually keep Bond prisoner. It's always nice to see where it all began though, and the nostalgia alone makes this film entertaining.
15 - From Russia With Love - Some iconic moments and some great individual action scenes. But the parts in between are slow. Again I by no means think it is a bad film, I just don't find it as entertaining as the other films that are higher on my list. Romanova is one of my favourite Bond girls though.
14 - Octopussy - That flying scene at the start is one of my favourite pre-credit sequences and the rest of the film is enjoyable too. I liked Khan as the villain and thought the film romped along from one scene to another in a very entertaining way. I think the scene in which Bond is being 'hunted' is a let down for the film and Maud Adams as Octopussy was also a bit of a mis-step. I never really bought it that she was a character who makes her living from a life of crime.
13- Tomorrow Never Dies - The lowest ranked Brosnan film on my list. A good film that is no more than that. It has enjoyable action, and some good scenes (Dr. Kaufman springs to mind) but a newspaper that gets all of the headlines first by committing the crimes, more than a bit of an odd storyline.
12- Live and Let Die - The film that proved to me that Moore is very capable of playing Bond. It was an unusual direction for the series and an unusual film on the whole. But there are some memorable scenes in there and the way it all comes together is very satisfying as a viewer. Not incredible, but very enjoyable.
11- The Living Daylights - I really like Dalton in this and I think he is only let down by the villains. Whitaker and Koskov never give off a real sense of danger. They seem like a couple of guys who think they have all the answers, but really know nothing. A stronger villain and this would have been right up there. Saying that though Dalton really is good. He fits the role perfectly and I really think he should have had a few more to really get his teeth into.
10- A View To a Kill - Yep, 9th. For me, Walken as Zorin steals the show. Without him, this is low, but he takes this film to a level that I really loved. It's over the top, it's crazy and the earthquake plot is more than a bit ridiculous. But during the film I didn't care about any of that, because I was genuinely interested in the dynamic between Zorin, and, well, everyone. It might be wrong to place a Bond film so highly based on its villain, but that is how much I enjoyed his performance.
9- Die Another Day - The film that introduced me to Bond, and the film I have watched the most in my life. The ice palace, the invisible car, Icarus. All completely bonkers things that if I saw for the first time now, I would probably scoff at. But my 10 year old self was brainwashed by it all. And now, I can't help but smile every time I watch it. Miranda Frost is great and I think Brosnan plays it really well too. The biggest let down for me is that CGI windsurfing part. Other than that. I love it.
8- Quantum of Solace - Saw it again a few nights ago right before I set off for Skyfall and just can't understand the heat it gets online. It has an interesting plot and has a fascinating dynamic with a Bond that is getting over the loss of arguably his only ever 'love' whilst still having to fight for Queen and country. The Matthis death really hits hard and the final 20 minutes really were enjoyable with the big fight, Bond doing the right thing and getting the information before killing Greene, then going and finally meeting the man who has ultimately been the personal villain to Bond for two films. I liked it when I first saw it, and really loved it when I watched it again recently.
7- The World is Not Enough - Elektra is brilliant, the dynamic of having a female villain is something that you feel Bond is struggling with and that moment where he shoots her is a really strong part of the whole franchise for me. The way Renard's character is set up is daunting and you genuinely fear for Bond (or at least, I did ;% ) Another one of my earliest Bond experiences and one that has stuck with me for a very long time. (Best not to mention Denise Richards I think
6- Licence to Kill - I just re-watched this and got it gravely wrong. It is a fantastic film that is driven by a fantastic plot and a great performance by Dalton. The silliness of having Q on location provided it with some issues but the grittiness of the film really took me in this time instead of putting me off, I think I finally 'get it.' Before the edit this was 19th.
5- Skyfall - Just saw it 24 hours ago so I am not sure how reliable this is. I feel like it will go higher upon subsequent viewings. I loved the personal Bond story and thought it wove together the glorious set piece, brilliant action sequences and really intimate, personal scenes seamlessly. Also, Raoul Silva is up there with Zorin in terms of greatest ever villain. Oh and the way they put the references to the past films in was so good that judging by what I have seen online, you could watch it three or four times without catching them all. Fantastic film.
4- You Only Live Twice - It has a freaking hollowed out volcano. That alone is good enough for me. I really like this film and it's probably the one I have the hardest time justifying. I really don't know why, but I just really enjoy it. Tiger Tanaka is a great ally and Aki is a great Bond Girl. Bond turning Japanese, is, well, ludicrous. But it serves a prupose, and that purpose get us to a great climax.
3- Goldfinger - Quintessential Bond for me. The cars, the girls, the villains, the plot. It's all classic Bond. Connery has really settled into the role and just fits it perfectly. I think Goldfinger is a great villain and Oddjob sets the bar for all the henchmen to come. I think this is the film that defines James Bond as a series.
2- Casino Royale - The relationship between Bond and Vesper is incredible. Their chemistry on screen is palpable and that scene on the train is brilliant. I thought the way the film makers made a card game riveting viewing was a credit to them and the way Craig portrayed Bond was incredible. The right man at the right time. I think the only reason it isn't top of my list is because of Le Chiffre. He is daunting throughout and serves a great purpose for the most part, rbut then he is disposed with given an 'undignified' send off, so to speak. The way that film re-invented the franchise though I think is a truly brilliant achievement and along with Skyfall, really send Bond into the 21st century.
1- Goldeneye - The Bond film that really does have it all. Brosnan is incredible. The pre-credit sequence is both action packed and shocking. The fact that there are four villains who all are brilliantly portrayed in their own right. An arch villain that is really personal to Bond, and one that you feel may just have the better of him. A Bond girl who serves an integral part in the story and a final fight that is just perfect for the film. Not to mention it has a plot that is both grandiose and personal. Action scenes that both delight and leave you in awe. It is my absolute favourite film and undoubtedly deserving of the Number 1 spot in my eyes.
Just read through it, my goodness it is long. Sorry about that, I think I have needed to get this off my chest for a while
You reviews are great, and while it's not MY list, your reasons are interesting and sound. Can't go wrong with GE as # 1 IMO.
Welcome TJ!!! -{
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Having seen a lot of Bond films recently (the 50th anniversary really got to me), I see the series has been relatively consistent in quality. The '60's films are all great, with even the rotten of the group (YOLT) to be largely entertaining, and far more so than the opposing parody going by the name Casino Royale in that year. The '70's are, largely, a big joke - filled with inane plot devices and bereft of creativity and largely ignorant of Fleming's stories, to the point of keeping just the titles and a few of the character's names. Cubby's MR interview is particularly hilarious, with the rocket threatening London in Fleming's novel being too unthreatening... Utterly laughable, and stigmated Bond like no other period.
Thankfully, the '80's began the long road to recovery. FYEO, OP and NSNA are all accomplished in their consistent effort to de-superman-ize (I know, funny term, but thats what he'd become by then) Bond, either by bringing back the cold edge or by aknowledging his age. Of course, one AVTAK threatened to put to rest whatever credibility they tried to achieve. But with Timothy Dalton, and from 1987, began the return to Fleming's Bond. Whereas Connery and Moore tried to be basically Fleming's Bond Plus, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig have all tried to root their performances strictly to Fleming. And with films like TLD, LTK, GE, TWINE, CR and SF, it shows. They delved into Bond's history and what makes his tick more than anyone else, and thats largely wonderful.
Anyway, my list includes all Bond films, for two reasons: 1) They're still Bond films, even if EON didn't make them, and 2) Regardless of what anyone might think, any Bond film with Sean Connery is as much a Bond film as any. That said, here's my list, from worst to best:
25. A View To A Kill
24. Diamonds Are Forever
23. Quantum Of Solace
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
21. Charlie Feldman's Casino Royale
20. Moonraker
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. You Only Live Twice
17. Live And Let Die
16. Octopussy
15. Die Another Day
14. Thunderball
13. The Spy Who Loved Me
12. For Your Eyes Only
11. Never Say Never Again
10. The Living Daylights
09. GoldenEye
08. The World Is Not Enough
07. Casino Royale
06. Skyfall
05. Dr. No
04. Licence To Kill
03. Goldfinger - -{
02. From Russia With Love - -{
01. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - -{
Thanks!
The ones doubled up scored the same percentage. The Range was Dr. No (98%) to A View To A Kill (36%).
1. Dr No
2. From Russia With Love, Goldfinger
3. Casino Royale
4. Skyfall
5. Thunderball
6. Goldeneye
7. OHMSS
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. The Living Daylights
10. Licence To Kill
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Live And Let Die
14. Diamonds Are Forever, Quantum of Solace
15. Moonraker
16. Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. The Man With The Golden Gun
19. Octopussy
20. A View To A Kill
Personally I think this list is a load of rubbish! I'd be surprised if anyone here agreed with it. Anyone elses thoughts?
The imdb list is more reliable IMO. Rotten tomatoes confuses me as each film has 2 sets of ratings
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Are people around still harsh and snobbish on this film simply because of its un-EON state? I can perfectly understand not liking it on its own merits, but its still a Bond film, no?
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS