Scottish, Not Stirred: The Definitive Ranking of the Sean Connery Bond Films

The character of James Bond is known by many faces. Some faces have become more memorable than others, while others are much more forgettable. There’s no question that when it comes to Sir Sean Connery, he is one of the more popular, if not the most popular actor to ever portray 007. It’s safe to say that he successfully laid the foundation for which the franchise is built, which has carried on for more than 50 years. While the franchise is forever indebted to Connery, that is not to say that all of his movies bear the same level of quality. None of them are terrible and all are worth your time for their own reasons. Ranking them in a particular order, however, helped me to see why some of his movies worked more than others. After watching all of his movies in the span of 2 weeks, here is my definitive ranking of every Connery Bond movie.

7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Starting at dead last, Bond finds himself going undercover to investigate a diamond smuggling operation, leading him back to Las Vegas where Blofeld is planning to use the diamonds to power one of the world’s most powerful weapons. I knew after the first act of this movie that I was sitting through my least favorite of the bunch, which surprised me being that Guy Hamilton, who brought us Goldfinger, directed this feature. For one, the opening scene is weak and unmemorable. Two henchman named Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd carry a majority of the villainous screen time unfortunately. They work more as a bad comedic duo with terrible acting chops than a serious threat to Bond and those who cross paths with them. Whatever they went for, it just didn’t work for me. Tiffany Case, played by Jill St. John, played her role well and I never knew whether she was siding with Bond, Blofeld, or was in it for herself, which at least makes for an interesting Bond woman. The special effects were worse here than any of the other Connery movies. Apparently, the movie’s budget was rather small and effects were cut back due to Connery’s high salary demand, and it shows. The story does tend to pick up the pace and intrigue in the second and third act with some good elements to work with. But unfortunately, it falls below the others due to its poor execution and tonal mess. If anything, avoid this one when you’re trying to sell someone on Connery as Bond. You will fail miserably.

6. You Only Live Twice (1967)

Coming in at my second least favorite, Bond fakes his death to throw off his enemies and investigates the hijacking of an American space ship, leading him to team up with the Japanese Secret Service and go undercover as a ninja. Bond discovers that he must prevent Blofeld from starting an all-out nuclear war before it’s too late. This one was tough to place next in line because there really is a lot to like here. The opening is pretty solid; it sets up a nice sense of intrigue as to what will happen after we watch Bond supposedly get shot and killed. The helicopter battle sequence is something to behold and is very well done. Where this one falls short for me is the entire ninja sequence. It really drags and slows down the movie, not to mention the fact that Connery attempts to pass himself off as a Japanese man with a disguise that ends up looking outright ridiculous. The Bond women are also pretty weak here. I say women because there really isn’t a single woman character that we could follow throughout the entire movie. The one Bond woman that Connery ends up with in the end, Kissy Suzuki, is one that we don’t even meet until we approach the third act, leaving no time to give her a real personality or any reason for us to care about her character. Overall, there is plenty to have fun with here. The end sequence is an all-out battle in a volcano, and the other action sequences hold up and are well executed. It just isn’t up to snuff when it comes to everything I expect out of a Bond movie.

5. Never Say Never Again (1983)

Now I know what you’re thinking, this Connery film is not technically considered “canon” when it comes to the franchise, but I chose to include this one anyway because it’s still a Bond movie, and it’s still Connery. This movie was born out of the result of a legal battle for the rights to make Ian Fleming’s Thunderball into a feature film. Kevin McClory was a producer for Thunderball (1965), who worked out a deal where the rights to make the movie would revert back to him after 10 years. Well, 1975 rolled around and he wanted to make his own version of the movie. After a brief legal dispute with Eon Productions and much discussion with Connery to help write the script and return to play the character, McClory finally got what he wanted, and I’m sure glad he did.

Bond comes out of semi-retirement to investigate two American nuclear warheads stolen by a S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent, and must find out the targets before it is too late. I enjoyed this particular outing for Connery much more than I expected. The fact that Connery was approaching 53 at the time of filming and the fact that this was some sort of remake of a prior film placed my expectations at a low level. What makes this film work so well is how it recognizes Connery’s age and addresses it appropriately. It doesn’t try to pretend that he’s the same Bond we knew and loved in the 60s. While obviously older and more tired, he is still vibrant and effectively carries out every action sequence he’s in. The story uses Connery’s age as a good excuse to change some of the plot points from the original film, which also worked to its advantage because we don’t end up seeing a mere rehashing of the original story. The Bond women have a strong presence here as well. Barbara Carrera plays Fatima, an effective sidekick to Largo, the main villain of the film. So much of her character reminds me of Xenia Onatopp from Goldeneye — she’s ruthless and seductive. A young Kim Basinger plays Domino Petachi, who also plays her part really well and has solid chemistry with Connery. The special effects and action sequences are excellently crafted and look great. This is the first time we see Bond in a car chase that involves him riding a motorcycle and it’s easily the best action set piece in the movie. Unfortunately, even though the rights to the movie were granted to McClory, the use of the theme song was not. This is among the flaws I have with the movie, along with the strongest argument as to why it shouldn’t be considered canon. It made me realize just how important the Bond theme is when it comes to the heart and soul of a Bond film. But I will say that the theme song for this movie is among my favorite of Connery’s movies. Nevertheless, it’s easy to tell that a lot of care went into the production and McClory wasn’t in it for the money. This has a nice balance of action, comedy, and seriousness that gives me what I expect from a Bond movie. Connery isn’t pulling any punches either, making his last appearance as Bond a memorable one. I never thought I’d like this movie as much as I did. I guess it just goes to show that I should never say never, again.

4. Thunderball (1965)

With a similar plot to its remake, this movie finds Bond traveling to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads that have been stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent Emilio Largo, and uncovers an international extortion scheme. This is probably the biggest and most action-packed of the Connery films. From the jet pack in the cold open, to the all-out underwater harpoon battle in the end, there is little room for a dull moment here. Largo, played by Adolfo Celi, is one of my favorite villains of the Connery movies and has a nice back and forth with Bond. His right hand woman Fiona Volpe, played by Luciana Paluzzi is also excellent, and brings a nice presence of beauty and ruthlessness to the film. Dominique Derval “Domino”, played by Claudine Auger, has one of the most satisfying character arcs of a Bond woman in the franchise. She has a personal vendetta against Largo for killing her brother and it is nice to see her to be the one to exact her revenge. The gadgets are there, the action is heavy, and Connery is deep into the character at this point making it a very enjoyable and re-watchable experience. Plus, what’s a Bond movie without a good poker scene? Don’t sleep on Thunderball.

3. Dr. No (1962)

Next in line is the movie that started it all. This one finds Bond being sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of a colleague at an MI6 outpost, leading him to discover an attempt by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent, Dr. No, to disrupt the American space program. This is perhaps the most unique film in the franchise. Here we see more of a detective at work than a secret agent. We follow Bond scanning a crime scene and interviewing possible suspects, further unraveling the mystery as to who’s responsible for the missing agent. There’s no Q here to present and hand out useful gadgets, and no action set-pieces – things that we regularly expect to see when we sit down to watch any Bond movie in the franchise. But here, the absence of these things work to its benefit because it allows us to build on the “bare bones” version of Bond, so to speak. By stripping the flashy things away, we come to gain a certain kind of respect for Bond and his skill set. I think it’s important to see that he can be just as smart and resourceful without the extra help from Q Branch and the fun gadgets that he would use down the road. The pacing really moves along smoothly despite the fact that we don’t have high-tension action scenes. Honey Ryder, played by Ursula Andress, sets a solid precedent for what we expect out of a Bond woman – beauty with a sense of toughness and independence, but obviously not immune to Bond’s charm. The only real down side to her is that fact that her dialogue is poorly dubbed and can be distracting at times. Dr. No is a decent villain who works more behind the scenes throughout the movie until the third act. Not my favorite, but memorable nonetheless. If anything else, this movie will be remembered forever because it contains the greatest “the name’s Bond, James Bond” moment in the entire franchise. I like to think that this scene alone inspired everyone involved to keep making Bond movies. It’s just that good. Despite this not being my favorite of Connery’s outings, I can’t think of a better movie to introduce James Bond to the world on the big screen.

2. Goldfinger (1964)

This fan favorite follows Bond investigating a gold magnate and smuggler named Auric Goldfinger, leading him to uncover an evil plot to contaminate the U.S. gold reserve at Fort Knox. I think it’s safe to say that most Bond fans consider this to be the best of them all. In fact, after the first two acts of this movie, I was well on my way to agree with that very sentiment. This one is refreshing because it’s one of the few Bond movies where the villain is transparent and has just as much of a presence as Bond does. There’s no secret villainous figure pulling the strings behind the scenes here. We are able to get to know his character and spend time with him as he and Bond constantly go at it throughout the movie. Not to mention Oddjob, played by Harold Sakata, who is one of the most memorable henchmen of the franchise. He and Goldfinger work great together as an evil duo and is tough to top. This also has the greatest cold open of the Connery movies, as well as one of the best of the franchise. I love the idea of following up with Bond at the tail end of a mission completely unrelated to the rest of the plot. It’s a great action sequence and establishes the fact that Bond is always up to something. The iconic Aston Martin also makes its first appearance here. As difficult as it was to drop this to the number two slot, it came down to Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman, and her critical involvement in the plot that played the biggest role in this decision. While she’s a great Bond woman and has a really strong presence, I couldn’t help ignore the fact that she turned so easily on Goldfinger without a clear motive. Throughout the entire movie she is loyal to Goldfinger and stands ready to participate in the attack on Fort Knox. But for some reason she gives a tour of Goldfinger’s compound and ends up getting seduced by Bond in a barn. This is what changed her mind to thwart the operation? It feels inconsistent with her character and we get no explanation as to why she suddenly decided to turn on Goldfinger other than the fact that she slept with Bond. Any sort of hint as to a motive would’ve been useful and much more believable. It comes off as too convenient because had she not helped out Bond, hundreds of people die and Goldfinger gets his way. Bond would have had no other way to gain the upper hand. It would’ve made sense had Bond found out that Goldfinger killed or betrayed someone she was close to and used that against him. But regardless of this one flaw, this truly is one of the most memorable and iconic Bond movies of all time. It solidifies so much of what I have come to know and love about Bond and the franchise as a whole. Not too difficult to see why this one is a common fan favorite.

1. From Russia With Love (1963)

Coming in at number one, Bond willingly falls into an assassination plot orchestrated by the Russians in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. This one builds perfectly off of Dr No. and provides for a unique and effective plot. I’m always more interested in plots that don’t involve some sort of international threat. Here, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. initiates a revenge plot against Bond personally to avenge Dr. No’s death from the previous film, which provides for solid continuity and real consequences for Bond’s actions. Already I’m more interested because Bond is the target and is at risk throughout the entire film. Usually Bond has to insert himself into the middle of evil plots to become threatened. But here, it’s personal. Don Grant “Red”, played by Robert Shaw, plays Bond’s opposite equal and provides a real challenge to Bond. We are introduced to Q for the first time and see some gadgets put to use as well. Tatiana Romanova, played by the stunning Daniela Bianchi, is a Russian ploy to get Bond right where the Russians want him and slowly has to decide up until the last scene of the movie whether she’s in it for her country or for Bond. I love how this movie doesn’t take the franchise in a completely different direction. It builds really well off of what worked about Dr. No and doesn’t feel the need to invest in multiple action set pieces. It focuses more on the characters and intrigue of the plot rather than the big and flashy action sequences. The entire train scene is a great sequence and provides for probably the best scene in the movie. Rosa Klebb, played by Lotte Lenya, plays Red’s and Tatiana’s superior and deserves high praise. She carries such a great threatening presence and is likely my favorite female Bond villain. This movie just doesn’t have any flaws. All of the characters are fleshed out to the extent they need to be and there’s no over-reliance on gadgets and action. Connery is clearly zeroed in on the role and makes for my favorite of the Connery movies, as well as one of my favorite in the franchise. Just remember to never order red wine with fish!