Cinematical Seven: The best Bond movies
Filed under: Action, Cinematical Seven
With the recent announcement that Daniel Craig will take over as a blonder Bond in 2006's Casino Royale, we should look back and discuss the previous Bond films. The worst, in my opinion, is A View To A Kill. But what are the seven best?
- Goldfinger - Really the prototype for all the Bond films. It also happens to have a great story, some really cool music (love the theme as the camera zooms in on the diver at the Miami hotel), and some great set pieces.
- Dr. No - The first Bond movie happens to be one of the best. Besides Ursula Andress rising from the sea (Halle Barry paid an homage to the scene in Die Another Day), we see the introduction of Bond, and you instantly know why people (including me) consider Sean Connery the best of the 007s. I drink Red Stripe beer because of this movie.
- Goldeneye - It's amazing to look back at this film, Pierce Brosnan's first, and realize that this film was considered more edgy and explosive than other Bonds, but it seems almost old-fashioned when compared to the next three Brosnan films. But that's a good thing. This one very much has an early 60s feel, but with a definite 90s edge and style. Famke Jannsen and the other villains are great, and Bond girl Izabella Scurupo is one of the more believable Bond girls. This is a really good film.
- Licence To Kill - The most underrated Bond flick. People are always saying how bad Timothy Dalton was, but that's incredibly unfair. The fact he only lasted two films was the studio's fault, not his. The Living Daylights was so-so, but Licence To Kill is outrageously entertaining (it was the best-rated Bond film ever with test audiences), and more violent than the Moore movies, and had some great action scenes, music, and the return of David Hedison as Felix Leither. This was a more personal, revenge story, and it really worked.
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Let's get this straight: George Lazenby did a fine job as Bond. He had the looks for it, the action skills, and he played it somewhere between Moore and Brosnan - he was graceful but hard edged when he had to be. He might have gone on to other Bond movies if he didn't screw things up, contract-wise.
- You Only Live Twice - One of the more unusual 007 adventures, set largely in Japan and showing a side of that culture we don't usually see, and featuring a plot about Bond's death. Lots of interesting touches, and an epic finale.
- For Your Eyes Only - If you're going to include a Moore picture (let's face it, he was the worst Bond, and seemed too old for the role rather quickly), this is the one to choose. It's more realistic and gritty than any of the other Moore movies (even if it does have that odd beginning where Bond picks up Blofeld in the helicopter and Blofeld pleads for his life by telling Bond he'll buy him a delicatessen..."in stainless steel!")
What are your picks?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-24-2005 @ 11:39AM
Bruce Allen said...
OHMSS is my personal favorite, but any top list of Bond films HAS to include From Russia with Love.
Just has to.
Licence to Kill and You Only Live Twice don't deserve to be on this list. They should be replaced with Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me.
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10-24-2005 @ 12:31PM
cel said...
i'm partial to . . .
- diamonds are forever (great location shooting in the [now] old vegas strip)
- live and let die (crazy voodoo magic)
- never say never again (granted, not in the official pantheon)
cel
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10-24-2005 @ 1:03PM
John Bryans Fontaine said...
I really enjoy the gadgetry of the Bond films and my favorites, in additon to being great movies, have the best special equipment:
1. Goldfinger – the Aston Martin DB5
2. Thunderball – Disco Volante
3. You Only Live Twice – Volcano Rocket Base, Little Nellie
4. Die Another Day – Aston Martin Vanquish
5. From Russia with Love – the attach?ase
6. The Spy Who Loved Me – Lotus Esprit S1
7. Tomorrow Never Dies - Stealth Boat
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10-24-2005 @ 1:43PM
Marnix said...
Roger Moore is in my opnion the best James Bond.
The best 007 films are:
01 Octopussy
02 The Spy Who Loved Me
03 The World Is Not Enough
04 For Your Eyes Only
05 GoldenEye
06 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
07 The Man With The Golden Gun
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10-24-2005 @ 2:37PM
James Bon said...
Hello.
What?? Roger Moore the worst Bond? No way!
Rog was great, the perfect action-hero for seventies.
Absolutely the best: "The spy who loved me" and For your eyes only".
Also Timothy Dalton was a good Bond, Licence to kill is one of my preferred!
Sean Connery was the classic Bond and Goldfinger is one the best movie ever!
Lazenby... Uhm... OHMSS is a good movie, but not the best as some MAD FAN says :P
Brosnan never had my heart... But he did a good work with the character.
Now I hope in Daniel Craig, probably he will do a Bond a la Dalton. And maybe now the world is ready for it.
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10-24-2005 @ 3:00PM
miles said...
this list is crap
goldeneye? are you serious? the pierce brosnan movies are a joke. they are action movies pretending to be spy movies. every bond fan knows this. yeah sure they throw little crumbs to the die hard fans in every movie, but overall the scripts are crap and the action is way over the top and crap.
goldeneye should be replaced with the spy who loved me.
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10-24-2005 @ 3:10PM
Cincyteach said...
1. Goldfinger (Sean had command of the role)
2. Thunderball
3. Licence to Kill (Dalton followed the book Bond more closely)
4. Live and Let Die
5. Goldeneye
6. Tomorrow Never Dies
7. For your Eyes Only
Plots and characters were more entertaining in these movies.
Pierce saved the series once, he may get to do it again.
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10-24-2005 @ 3:11PM
Bob Sassone said...
There's no doubt that the Brosnan films are very much action films, but even so, I think many of the past Bonds (Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy) were silly action movies.
I think Goldeneye is a classic, very Bond, and it's Brosnan's Bond (I like his other flicks too, but the invisible car and CGI glacier surfing in DAD was just too much to take).
I too think The Man With The Golden Gun is an overlooked Bond film, but it didn't make my list. As for From Russia With Love, it's undoubtedly a good movie (probably around 8 or 9 on my list), but I think it's a bit overrated. It seems to me to be more of a "this is how Bond films should be" nostalgia more than a great Bond film like Goldfinger or Dr. No.
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10-24-2005 @ 3:18PM
Aaron said...
No Pierce Brosnan nor Timothy Dalton film deserves to be on a top list, although Dalton was the most underrated Bond. Personally, I had always wished they would have made Casino Royale with Dalton in his prime -- it would have been the best Bond film ever.
And Roger Moore gets unfairly criticized for his later films and his first passes as Bond, when he was younger and tougher and a bit darker, in Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun belong up there with almost any of the Connery films.
Brosnan was fine, but like Dalton, all the films became cliche formulaic action movies with a famous spy at the center. Paul Haggis gives me hope; Martin Campbell's comments about how he plans to make this film feel like lip service to me because he's a competent but not really imaginative director. But this SHOULD be the best Bond film ever it's made right.
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10-24-2005 @ 4:02PM
Bruce Allen said...
Bob, I was with you on the Moore Bond's being silly action films and that Goldeneye was very good, and how DAD went over the top...but you totally lost me when you claim TMWTGG is overlooked and FRWL is overrated.
Wow.
I'm not sure those claims have appeared back-to-back anywhere, at anytime.
I guess that's why I keep coming to Cinematical!
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10-24-2005 @ 4:47PM
A Bond Fan said...
1) From Russia With Love- It's one of the most intense spy movies ever.
2) The World Is Not Enough- The emotional end of Q's career, the complicated relationship between Bond and Zukhovsky and the excellently played villains top this one out
3) Goldeneye- Edgy, good. A classic for a new Bond.
4) Dr. No- it was first, and had a good mystery feel to it.
5) Thunderball- It was just a huge production with an evil villain and the most indepth look at SPECTRE
6) For Your Eyes Only- Roger Moore's coldest scene, kicking Locque off the cliff
7) The Spy Who Loved Me- Good tension, climactic moment and had the feel of From Russia With Love (at least a little)
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10-24-2005 @ 5:22PM
Tom Hayden said...
From Russia With Love definitely needs to be on the list. I don't agre with A Bond Fan that it should be number one, but maybe 3 or 4. It definitely feels different than the other Bond flicks, but it kicks ass in its own way nevertheless.
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10-24-2005 @ 5:28PM
Deep said...
If you are gonna have a Roger Moore movie, it has to be For Your Eyes Only with The Spy Who Loved Me.
My personal favourite is the vastly underated and often forgotten,From Russia With Love.
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10-24-2005 @ 7:16PM
Brian Hiebert said...
My list:
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. Goldfinger
3. The Living Daylights
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. From Russia With Love
6. Thunderball
7. For Your Eyes Only
Honorable Mentions: You Only Live Twice, Tomorrow Never Dies, Diamonds Are Forever, License to Kill.
Worst: The Man With The Golden Gun, Dr. No, Goldeneye (would shoot to near the top with a new music score)
Sentimental Favorite: Moonraker (helped me get over the loss of a girlfriend)
Brian
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10-24-2005 @ 9:06PM
Drew said...
No doubt in my mind, Goldfinger is #1.
2#OHMSS-it's one of the most realistic stories for Bond and damn! - Bond's wife is killed in this one!
I enjoyed Goldeneye a lot, though it really isn't in classic Bond tradition. I thought the inclusion of 006 mad for one of Bond's best villians.
As far as A View 2 a Kill being the worst, I used to hold the same notion but I choose The World Is Not Enough as the worst Bond film. View 2 had Christopher Walken spouting the funniest lines ever! Just re-watch the zeppelin scene for a gutbusting good time!
The fact of the matter is, after 20 Bond films I still want more and that is a testament to the franchise. Many of them were let-downs but a few were surprises (Goldeneye, License 2 Kill). I sincerely hope Craig and co. can put together a surprise hit and return to form. It's a damn good place to start!
Hint- you can see the Peter Lorre vers. of Casino Royale on the Casino Royale DVD. The original kicks ass! Oh, and Bond is blond in that one too!
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10-25-2005 @ 12:14AM
Erik Rupp said...
That's a pretty good list. I agree with a lot of it, but not all.
Here are my top 7 Bond movies:
1. Dr. No - Set the tone, the style and was just really cool. Connery nailed the part in his first outing. Gritty, tough, and yet with larger than life aspects, Dr. No is a great movie.
2. Licence To Kill - Timothy Dalton really found the core of Ian Fleming's Bond, and Licence To Kill is very well written and directed. The action sequences are fantastic, and for once the movie doesn't rely on jokes or gadgets. Robert Davi is simply outstanding as Franz Sanchez.
3. From Russia With Love
4. Goldeneye
5. Thunderball
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. The Living Daylights
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10-25-2005 @ 4:47AM
Wolf said...
Well, I'm a Brosnan's Bond fan not a Bond fan. So, my list is:
1. Tomorrow never dies
2. The World isnot enough.
I really do hope that not ALL over for Pierce yet and I also hope that this ugly craig-guy is gonna fail the role, so Pierce could return. And I don't give a damn if he's gonna surfing in CG or not, really. I just love the way Rierce looks, he's perfect for the role and I can't understand how can't you guys see it.
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10-25-2005 @ 6:09AM
Ed said...
1. "The Spy Who Loved Me" - incredible ski jump, great song w/ great title credits, first Bond seen in the theatre. I still remember how awesome that movie beginning was!
2. "From Russia With Love" - most sophisticated Bond movie, plays like a real spy thriller, great villian, great dialogue, great train ride.
3. "Goldfinger" - first Bond movie I ever saw on TV, loved the laser scene, loved the golden girl, was amazed at Odd Job, desperately wanted that silver Aston Martin - I couldn't even drive.
4 "The Living Daylights" - great spy movie reminiscent of FRWL, loved the Gibraltar 00 exercise, Maryam D'Abo wasn't too shabby either.
5. "Thunderball" - Claudine Auger, enough said.
6. "GoldenEye" - absolutely loved the credits, great womean, Brosnan was a little too fraile and girly looking but he was very effective in some scenes
7. "OHMSS" - initially hated this movie, couldn't stand Lazenby especially in kilt and dubbed voice, found it very slow moving. Now, I love all the action, like the story, but am so so on the music. Why did they play the rousing Bond theme at the very end of the movie -- seems completely out of place. This is the cult movie of all the Bonds. Maybe why I'm still giving it a chance.
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10-25-2005 @ 7:49PM
ricardo pineda said...
Bond movies cannot be placed against one another, period. Sure, one is better than the other but, why waste time with this spectacular franchise? Each had their moment and (without a doubt) were must-see movies among fans.
Excuse me, but Moore is a reason why the series survived after Connery's departure from the role. I respect that. And he was bloody good at it. He's the 007 that made me a fan.
I present my seven FAVORITES. Upfront, I do agree some are NOT the BEST and they are placed in order of release date:
1. Dr. No (1962): Loved the pace. Classic Bond!
2. Goldfinger (1964): The king among all.
3. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977): Moore's best.
4. Moonraker (1979): My personal favorite.
5. For Your Eyes Only (1981): Silly but entertaining.
6. Octopussy (1983): Exotic and elegant at the same time.
7. A View To A Kill (1985): I pick this one only for personal reasons. Loved everything here (the score, the action, the villian and, yes, the plot). Moore's charisma and looks cannot be duplicated.
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10-27-2005 @ 7:30AM
Cincyteach said...
Time Magazine readers categorically reject Daniel Craig as 007
Readers of the online Time magazine website have rejected the choice of Daniel Craig as James Bond.
Voters nominated Pierce Brosnan as the top choice to stay on and play 007 for a fifth time in the forthcoming movie "Casino Royale".
Of the potential candidates, English actor Clive Owen was the clear favourite. Daniel Craig, who was officially announced as teh sixth Bond two weeks ago, only managed to secure 6% of the vote.
Results in full:
32% Pierce Brosnan
30% Clive Owen
14% Hugh Jackman
6% Daniel Craig
6% Eric Bana
5% Ewan McGregor
2% Hugh Grant
2% Colin Farrell
1% Colin Firth
1% Heath Ledger
With that said, Casino Royale will be lucky to bring in $80 million. Just the accountant in me.
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