Top 007 Bond Films
In honor of the up and coming SPECTRE, I thin there is no better time to do a list on the top ten James Bond films. The character has had a long history and 24 films (26 if you count the 2 non-EON films), and in his time there have been many ups and downs. So without further ado, here are my picks for the seven best Bond films.
#7- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
I went back and forth on whether to include this film or Timothy Dalton's premiere film, The Living Daylights. Hell, I went back and forth so much that I even wrote up a version of this list with Living Daylights in it. But in the end I had to settle for George Lazenby's one and only James Bond film. Lazenby is still the worst actor to portray James Bond, don't get me wrong, but that's not what made this film so great. It came right after You Only Live Twice, a film that basically served as the Die Another Day of the Connery Era. This film grounded James Bond back into some shady resemblance of reality and gave one of the most gut-wrenching 007 films to date. Add in a great SPECRE storyline and some stellar set pieces for 1969 and you've got a little film that didn't deserve to be the forgotten.
#6- Goldeneye
Pierce Brosnan got a bit of a bum deal. First off he had the Bond role stolen from him by the producers of Remmington Steel and Timothy Dalton during the 80's. Brosnan had to wait eight more years for his chance at Bond, and when he finally landed it, his tenure was plagued with unoriginal ideas, poor scripting, and plain forgettable narratives. His only standout film was his first outing, which has to be given its due credit for re-launching the Bond films into the modern era, especially after the abysmal financial failures of the Dalton films. Goldeneye is a modern day throwback to the cheeky fun of the Roger Moore era. It's more upbeat than Dalton but features more intense and gritty action sequences. Brosnan proved he was instantly great in the role and helped us to remember why we all love Bond.
#5- Skyfall
Daniel Craig returned in fine form to the franchise after a long absence in the wake of the MGM bankruptcy. It couldn't have come at a better time as the film landed in theaters near the 50th anniversary of the franchise. The movie paid tribute to the entire franchise while at the same time delivered one of the most intense and emotional satisfying entries into the franchise. It brought back Moneypenny and Q, it paid tributes to many scenes to other films, it delivered a threatening and menacing villain, and it brought Bond a little closer to the version we remembered from the Connery era.
#4- The Spy Who Loved Me
The quintessential film from the Roger Moore era. The 80's films were well known for being far more tongue and cheek and appealing to a more family friendly audience. Though Moore did have his more serious films such as Man With The Golden Gun and For Your Eyes Only, it was The Spy Who Loved Me that blended the serious spy thrills and the tongue and cheek fun brilliantly. We have one of the most iconic henchmen in this film in Jaws along with one of the most memorable Bond girls. And lastly, we have one of the best Bond themes. The Spy Who Loves Me strikes a delicate balance between violence and silliness that works surprisingly well.
#3- Goldfinger
Some people will get a little upset at me for not putting this at #1. To many, this film represents what 007 is all about. Henchmen, gadgets, one-liners, memorable villains with ludicrous plots. And all of that is true. Goldfinger set the (pardon the pun) gold standard for all James Bond films to come. In the end, it is the film most creators think of when they take a seat in the director's chair. These top three are all so good that it all comes down to personal preference. As much as I love those quotable lines and Odd Job's cap, in the end I care about STORY more than anything else, and the top two beat Goldfinger out in that regard.
#2- Casino Royale
There is an obvious parallel between this point of the franchise and another franchise. I am, of course, referring to Batman. Similar to Batman and Robin, Die Another Day effectively killed the franchise…well…at least for Brosnan. It became so silly and ludicrous that Bond turned into a parody of itself. It needed a rejuvenation and like many franchises of the time, the producers took a page from Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. When EON last tried to make Bond gritty, it ended up being a disaster. The Living Daylights and License to Kill both did terribly at the box office. So this move was a huge gamble, a gamble made even bigger by casting the blue eyed, blond unknown Daniel Craig. A casting choice so unconventional that many Bond fans threatened to boycott over it. It seemed this reboot had only one thing in its favor- the novel Casino Royale. Legal disputes had kept it out of EON's hands for years, but now they had regained one of Flemings most critically acclaimed novels to adapt. They brought back in Martin Campbell as director (who had already successfully rebooted the film franchise once) and the film was a knockout success. This time around, Campbell took cues from very early Connery era films that were more grounded, leading to a vastly different tone that still felt very much like a "Bond" film. Craig proved himself to be one of the best actors to have ever taken up the role. Any doubters were instantly silenced after the first opening scenes. The film did the movie justice and to this day, despite the odds, remains one of the highest points of the franchise.
1) From Russia With Love
The first Bond film was a weird fluke. It was produced on a tiny budget, had an actor that neither the writer nor the director wanted, yet became a big performer at the box office. Russia With Love had to duplicate the feat. They were given a larger budget and now had the time and resources to turn Bond into a household name and a franchise powerhouse. Dr. No may have started the franchise, but it was From Russia With Love that gave it the staying power and made Bond a pulp culture icon that's still adapted to film to this day. The film was superior to the first in every way- arguably superior to the rest of the franchise in every way (an argument you are welcome to have below). It gave us Q, gadgets, cars, girls and guns. It featured one of the best villains and one of the best Bond girls. But the big thing here is that beyond anything else it had the best story. It was simple but effective storytelling at its core. It was also the last grounded, grittier Bond story through the 60's, 70's, until Dalton's films of the 80's. Solidifying Bonds place as one of the most memorable cinematic and literary characters and giving the best story, makes From Russia With Love the best Bond film to date.
So what do you think? Agree Disagree? Tell me your own rankings in the comment section below.
For another ranking see my MCU films ranked.