Ranked: 60 Years of Bond – Part 2
Our 60 Years of Bond celebration started yesterday as we counted down from 25 to 16 with an honorable (or is it honourable) mention thrown in for good measure. If you missed it, you can click here to check out Part 1.
Today the celebration concludes as we present our Top 15 James Bond films…
Chris the Brain: Hot on the heels of the box office success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the decision was made to fast track the James Bond space adventure, Moonraker, as James Bond battles Hugo Drax on Drax’s city sized space station… quite possibly the most unique backdrop for a 007 mission.
But before the outer space action, there are plenty of other memorable moments and characters in Moonraker. The homage to the aforementioned Close Encounters, an unforgettable gondola chase in Venice, the return of Richard Kiel’s Jaws and Dr. Holly Goodhead is second only to Pussy Galore in the double entendre department.
Andrew Babcock: Always one of, if not my favorite Connery era Bond. I remember wearing out the VHS tape I had of this growing up. The Japanese secret service, ninjas and Bond in the middle of that whole culture, no wonder I loved this one so much. Not to mention, Donald Pleasance as Blofield as one of the most classic, and still somehow underrated Bond villains. I always thought it had a fun, comic book like feel to it and gotta love all the cool gadgets in it like Little Nellie.
Andrew Babcock: Tomorrow Never Dies holds a special place in my heart, as Pierce Brosnan was 007 when I was growing up and I believe this was the first one I vividly remember seeing in theaters. I had to go back and watch GoldenEye. Take it easy on me, I was a kid. Even after revisiting nowadays, the film is still as great as I remember it. I even think it was ahead of it’s time, with the media mogul villain played perfectly by Jonathan Price. Brosnan owned the super-spy character from the first time he appeared on screen in GoldenEye, but to me, the action and everything else was taken to the next level in this one. Seeing Pierce alongside the legendary Michelle Yeoh puts it over the top awesome. Not to mention Terri Hatcher. Be still my heart. Each actor that played Bond was fitting for their era, and Tomorrow Never Dies was the 90s Blockbuster Bond done to perfection.
Andrew Babcock: Could this be my favorite Moore outing? I know, pretty surprising to some, but this one has always stuck with me and I have good memories of watching it on television. Some say by this time Roger Moore was a bit too old for the role, but to me he still nailed it and played it effortlessly, with his usual trademark smirk and one liners. Christopher Walken is Christopher Walken and I thank the universe we got to see him in full on Bond villain mode here. And who could forget the statuesque Grace Jones?! Plus, a blink and you will miss him appearance from some unknown guy named Dolph Lundgren, who was with Grace at the time. I just love the set pieces and San Francisco locations of this one. Tanya “Sheena” Roberts is one of my favorite Bond girls and to me, with A View to a Kill, Moore went out with a bang.
Will Slater: Let’s be frank, The Man With The Golden Gun has problems. From Britt Ekland’s airheaded Agent Goodnight, Clifton James’ gurning good ol’ boy sheriff, to Herve Villechaize’s comedy midget, the film has the most misbegotten characters of the entire series.
Their inclusion is reflective of a film that is far too often playing for cheap laughs. Why else would you choose to ruin the film’s standout stunt – the barrel-rolling car jump – with a slide whistle sound effect?
And yet… TMWTGG has much to commend it. In Christopher Lee, it has one of Bond’s greatest adversaries. As Francisco Scaramanga, Lee is 007’s dark twin, an equally ruthless killer who also happens to enjoy champagne and shagging. Their verbal jousts – at the sumo match and dinner table – are unquestionably the film’s finest moments.
There is also, at times, a deliciously dark, Fleming-inspired portrayal of sex and violence. Scaramanga steadies his aim with a pre-assassination bonk, while 007 interrogates a man by threatening to shoot his cock off. “Speak now, or forever hold your piece,” Bond dryly observes.
In another world, there is a leaner and meaner version of this film (that seems to have been the idea with script’s original draft). One which embraces the darkness of these dueling assassins. Unfortunately, that is not the film we got. TMWTGG might not be a great Bond, but it is the great ‘what if?’ Bond.
Dominik Starck: Timothy Dalton’s second appearance on Her Majesty’s Secret Service is getting some criticism lately for feeling like a rehashed script of the “Miami Vice” series. As if that would be a bad thing. Sure, the Bond franchise has often been a trendsetter and is more of a follower here, but Dalton had finally arrived in the role, dynamic, tough, charismatic. It bangs and sparks everywhere, and the fact that Dalton couldn’t make a third Bond film is still a shame to this day. Can someone please hire him as the villain for the next film? Thank you. Until then, we can rewatch his Bond in revenge mode with a tiny gun and a twinkle in his eye.
Matt Spector: Thunderball has a unique legal history that caused it being shelved in place of other James Bond movies but also having the story retold with the non-Eon Production of Never Say Never Again. While all the legal machinations can be interesting the action is far more entertaining. Specifically in two main areas. First, the underwater filming in Thunderball is the still the best in the series. And second, a jet pack… nothing more needs to be said about that, the awesomeness of a jet pack speaks for itself.
Will Slater: It is a tragedy that Peter Hunt only directed one James Bond film. Having contributed so much to the style of the series with his influential editing – the brutality of Connery and Shaw’s famous train carriage fight is all in the cuts – he was handed the director’s chair for OHMSS.
Hunt’s command of dynamic action sequences is apparent throughout, no more so than during the night-time ski chase. The camerawork and choice of shots make you feel part of that pursuit. Sure, the back projected close-ups date the scene, but even now it is still an exemplary piece of action filmmaking.
Hunt was not just interested in creating stunt work showreels. OHMSS is determinedly more faithful to the Fleming novels, even down to including the ‘controversial’ ending which, while accurate to the book, defied audience expectations.
And that’s why OHMSS has lasted and come to be regarded by many as the series’ best. Alongside the world-ending jeopardy and superlative action, there is an emotional weight to the story. Little wonder then, that it was such a clear touchstone for Daniel Craig’s swansong in No Time To Die.
Chris the Brain: If I had to sum up why Live and Let Die is my personal favorite James Bond film in just two words they would be Yaphet Kotto. I am a huge Yaphet Kotto fan and seeing him oppose my personal favorite James Bond, Roger Moore, was a winning formula for me.
Released in 1973 and reflecting many elements of the Blaxploitation films of the time, Live and Let Die had a much different feel than previous Bond installments and not solely because this was the first appearance by Roger Moore as 007. Yaphet Kotto’s dictator/drug lord Dr. Kananga was not your typical Bond villain and he was surrounded by a rogue’s gallery of memorable villains that included Baron Samedi, Whisper and Tee Hee Johnson.
But what about the action?! Bond has to transform a double decker bus into a single decker, escape a crocodile farm, take part in an epic high speed boat chase (featuring the first appearance of Sheriff J.W. Pepper) and battle Kananga in a shark tank! Plus he still has time to have relations with both Solitaire (Jane Seymour) and Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry). And SPOILER ALERT, if we ever rank the best James Bond songs, “Live and Let Die” is going to be #1 on my list there too.
Dominik Starck: Roger Moore is my Bond. And when I say that, it’s mainly because I grew up in a time when his films were broadcast non-stop on television. Over and over and over again. Sure, I knew about Sean Connery- but that was my grandpa’s Bond (who had a solid impression of him in store). When I think of “classic Bond,” this film is always the first one that comes to mind. All the ingredients are there, the exoticism, the adventure, the slightly over-the-top, that still hasn’t devolved into tongue-in-cheek self-parody. Grandiose Ken Adam designs, a German villain and the most important arrangement of three x for my teenage me. Yes, Tripple-X, you were adorable and Vin Diesel can’t hold a candle to you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to dive back in with my deep sea base. Nemo-style.
Chad Cruise: As true a spy movie as any of the other entries in the James Bond pantheon, From Russia With Love will, no doubt, get many top votes from fans of this series. While it wasn’t among my favorite of the Bond movies as a young kid, I grew to enjoy the slow parts more and more as I got older and now it easily lands in my personal top 5. We also get a CAT FIGHT!! and a very tense train bit where James starts to unfold the happenings and dealings with just one of the ladies he plows during the film. Intimate moments with women and assassins abound and the picture builds to a crescendo of spy action that only Bond could manage. It’s definitely a very different movie tonally than the others you’ll find in the top 10.
Ryan Campbell: There are many who put Skyfall in the upper tier of bond films. Beyond the tense action and great villain it also is one of the only times we really see James stripped down from his exterior. We find out about his past, his upbringing and just what lead him to MI6. Add that to the enemy from within angle that threatens all of the division and it’s a great James Bond story. It’s pretty easily Daniel Craig’s best turn at the role in a packed field of great showings from him. Yes even the Home Alone bits had some charm to them and I’m not just saying that cause I’m Scottish and it turns out Bond is too.
Dominik Starck: When Pierce Brosnan was given the double-0 status to break hearts and bones, GoldenEye was the first Bond film in theaters that I actively followed (even though I didn’t see it on the big screen). Moore’s adventures had made me a fan and now 007 was returning to the big screen. The song “GoldenEye” was everywhere and thanks to my grandfather I got my first and only “Playboy” – a special edition for the release of the film. Oh, and the movie was also perfectly on point. The right movie for a reboot, for Brosnan, for the mid-nineties-and, as Brosnan said to Sean Bean in the finale, “for me.”
Will Slater: After the low-key Dr. No and the rather serious-minded From Russia With Love, Goldfinger was where James Bond really became James Bond. With its flamboyant villain, deadly henchman, femme fatale and droll one-liners, the film establishes a template that the franchise continued to use until the Craig-era.
That Goldfinger had such influence and continues to be revered in the 007 canon is down to the sheer number of memorable moments. Whether it is a statue being decapitated by a bowler hat, the “Do you expect me to talk?” interrogation, Shirley Bassey’s knock-out theme song, or the sheer outrageousness of the name Pussy Galore, there is a verve and originality to the ingredients. And while the following films gave us endless variants and riffs on these elements, few have burnt themselves into the public’s consciousness in the same way. And it is still the best film about golf ever made.
Will Slater: It is easy now to overlook how ballsy Casino Royale was. Over the decades, the series had dabbled with a harder-edged, grittier 007 (see For Your Eyes Only, Licence To Kill). But, on each occasion, those films were considered failures (although the critical stock of both has risen since their release). So, to debut a brand-new actor, in a stripped down, gadget-less adventure, took the kind of cojones Mads Mikkelsen likes to crush with a knotted rope (I’m still wincing).
Casino Royale also gave our favourite tuxedo-wearing spy a couple of other things we do not normally see in a 007 film – character development and a proper dramatic arc. But lest they be accused of turning the world’s greatest spy series into a navel-gazing melodrama, the producers did not neglect to give us the kind of show-stopping action set-pieces which had become series hallmark. The parkour-flavoured foot-chase is raw and exhilarating and remains a masterfully constructed sequence, while the Miami airport scene is a classic of constantly escalating jeopardy.
The resulting film invigorated a character and franchise that was in danger of becoming an irrelevance (in the mid-noughties the Bourne and Mission Impossible movies were muscling in on Bond’s territory). And by combining visceral action with personal stakes, the film also established a new template for the series. Daniel Craig’s subsequent outings for MI6 have all tried the same trick, with varying degrees of success. But none pulled it off with elan we see here.
Special thanks again to Will, Andrew, Ian and Dom for contributing to this mega-post and feel free to share your personal lists in the comments section.
