Talk Movies To Me

Tag archive

007

The Definitive Ranking of the Daniel Craig Bond Films

in Reviews by

Daniel Craig came on to the Bond scene at a time when a course correction was desperately needed. After Die Another Day (2002) took the franchise off the rails, nothing short of a complete reboot could revitalize the franchise and get it back on track. Craig’s run is certainly the most unique as it is the only run with a true character arc. For over 40 years we saw new actors take on the role given little-to-no background and with loose continuity. The idea of an origin story was fresh and allowed for a new generation to become invested in the character and franchise once again. Unfortunately, as with all other actors who portrayed Bond, Craig’s run is not without its flaws. Here is the definitive ranking of Craig’s run as James Bond.

5. Spectre (2015)

Coming in at dead last is one of the franchise’s most disappointing entries. After receiving a cryptic message, Bond sets out to investigate a secret organization where he discovers the author of all his pain.

This entry will always be baffling to me. Director Sam Mendes successfully capped off the Bond origin story with Skyfall and setting up the franchise to continue on as it had in the past. Instead, Mendes continues to dig even deeper into Bond’s past and unravel even more secrets that essentially add nothing to his character and only sidetrack from what could’ve been a great story. The best part of this movie is it’s cold open, which is one of the best cold opens in the franchise. But when your movie fails to achieve that same quality for the remainder of the runtime, something has gone terribly wrong. There are also some fun and impressive action set pieces that add value, here. But that’s essentially all the praise I can give it.

Spectre almost completely ignores the new grounded, grittier Bond that was established by the previous three movies, and instead decides to introduce camp and homage into the mix. The casting of Christoph Waltz is a missed opportunity, as his character is relegated to a bitter and jealous step brother. The attempt to thwart the motives of the prior villains in favor of Blofeld’s personal vendetta is insulting and makes zero sense. This also ignores Bond’s attitude towards women that was so beautifully set up with Vesper Lynd’s death and betrayal. For no apparent reason, Bond and Madeleine Swan fall in love with nothing to support it. The climax is abominable, the theme song is weak, Monica Bellucci is criminally underutilized–I could go on. This movie derails and disrespects its predecessors in every way, making it not only Craig’s worst of the series, but among the worst in the entire franchise.

4. Quantum of Solace (2008)

Renowned as the first Bond movie to be a true sequel, this entry suffers from poor direction and a haphazard story-line. Bond unravels a plot by a secret organization to destroy a country’s resources while dealing with the aftermath of Vesper’s betrayal and death.

Clocking in as the shortest Bond movie to date, this was infamously affected by the writer’s strike, and it shows. I think I like this more than most people. What this movie really has going for it is the action set pieces. This is the only Bond movie to have a car chase (two, actually), foot chase, boat chase, and plane chase all in one movie. Unfortunately, abysmal editing brings down these scenes. The cuts in this movie are jarring and make each sequence extremely hard to follow, particularly the cold open. I’m not sure what director Marc Forster was going for, but it felt like a bad imitation of the Bourne style that just didn’t work well at all.

The plot feels wildly underdeveloped and rushed, which is confusing given the runway they had to really flesh things out. The villain is actually pretty solid, better than Malek and Waltz. He just feels underdeveloped along with everything else. Craig is still great, and Kurylenko is also really good as the Bond girl. With better direction/editing and a more fleshed out plot, there’s no question this would’ve been higher on the list. Still, it’s a fun follow-up to Casino Royale and very rewatchable.

3. No Time to Die (2021)

Marking the last time we’ll see Craig with the mantle, this manages to exceed expectations. Bond is taken out of retirement when an old friend from the CIA turns up asking for help, leading him onto a trail to discover dangerous technology in the hands of a mysterious villain.

Given some horrific plot and character elements that were bound to carry over from Spectre, I had little hope that this would be any better. To my surprise, this not only fully embraced elements that didn’t work from Spectre, but it addressed them in a way that connected. This trims the camp from Spectre almost entirely, except for maybe the villain. Malek may look menacing, but his character motives make no sense and makes some baffling decisions in the climax. Very forgettable. Ana de Armas is a clear standout and her action sequence may have been the best part of the movie. I wish she would’ve shown up throughout the series. She’s a great character with some real charisma. Fukunaga knows how to film action and every set piece looks beautiful. While Craig is pushing his age limits, I never found it distracting or discrediting his ability to handle the stunts.

The choice to double down on Bond’s relationship with Swan doesn’t work, primarily because we still don’t have a credible foundation to buy their relationship. Adding a child to the mix also was a bizarre choice, and just leaves us questioning why we ever had to go any deeper into Bond’s past and psyche than we did up through Skyfall. The cold open is pretty solid and the theme song is great. So while there are plenty of glaring issues that I have with the plot and characters, particularly those created by Spectre, Fukunaga still at least manages to deal with those elements and stick the landing emotionally in the climax, even if I disagree with it. If anything this outing made two things very clear to me: I’m glad Craig didn’t end on Spectre, but he should’ve ended on Skyfall.

2. Skyfall (2012)

The first Bond to cross the $1 billion threshold at the box office, Skyfall completes Bond’s origin story and brings him back into a modern context. Bond’s loyalty to M and the mission is tested when her past comes back to haunt her in the form of an ex MI6 agent.

Many will say this is Craig’s best Bond film. With Roger Deakins hired, this is easily the best looking Bond film to date. From the cold open to the climactic shootout at the abandoned home, it looks flawless. Javier Bardem is a real standout not only due to his performance, but his character has motives you can understand to the point of even sympathizing with him at times. He reaffirms the fact that every Bond movie is essentially as good as its villain. The introduction of Moneypenny is welcome; it’s fun to see how her chemistry with Bond builds to what we see in the earlier Bond films. The gadget department is fairly weak but it makes sense given that Q is only now being introduced to supply them to Bond.

This is also a great send off for Dench who will likely always be regarded as the best M. She outshines all previous iterations by a long shot and I like the culmination of her and Bond’s relationship. Craig continues to deliver a great performance as we really get to see his loyalty challenged in different ways. It’s not hard to see why this is a fan favorite. The only shame is that Craig’s run didn’t end here given what followed.

1. Casino Royale (2006)

Clocking in at number one and arguably the best in the entire franchise, Casino Royale reboots Bond and propels him into the origin story that we’d never seen before. Bond sets out on his first mission as a 00 to thwart a private banker funding terrorism in a high stakes poker tournament.

The biggest mystery in the franchise to me is why Martin Campbell, who successfully rebooted the franchise twice with my two favorite Bond films, only direct two Bond movies! He’s obviously doing something right so I’m not sure why he wasn’t hired to direct the entire Craig run. The introduction to Bond as a fresh 00 is portrayed with a grounded reality that feels real and intimate. The cold open feels like it could’ve pushed the boundaries for an R rating (it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a cut out there somewhere). It’s the first time we’ve been able to see what’s made Bond, Bond, and what drives his motives, loyalties and personality that we’ve seen for over 40 years.

Eva Green as Vesper Lynd is by far the best Bond woman we’ve seen on screen. She crushes her part and elevates her performance to the point where we never question her dominance while sharing the screen with Bond. She serves as perhaps one of the most crucial elements to Bond’s personality and shapes his attitude towards women. Mads Mikkelsen gives a phenomenal performance as arguably the best villain in the franchise. Similar to Silva in Skyfall, Le Chiffre’s motives are more than grand schemes of dominance or money, but motives that are fueled by desperation. We rarely get to experience villains acting out of sheer desperation as opposed to calculated, cynical methods. And as someone who loves poker, Campbell gives us a great poker sequence that further establishes Bonds skillset in the field.

The action sequences are riveting and superbly directed, with the construction sequence being one of the greatest of all time. There are really no flaws, here. The pacing takes a small dip after the torture sequence, but ultimately serves the higher purpose of establishing Bond’s crucial relationship with Vepser Lynd. This not only make sits mark as a top three Bond in the franchise, but one of the greatest action movies ever made. Please give Martin Campbell more work.

You might be interested in

The Definitive Ranking of the Pierce Brosnan Bond Films

in Reviews by

Pierce Brosnan has always been one of my favorite Bonds. I was five years old when Goldeneye came out, meaning that my relationship to Brosnan as James Bond was established entirely by the 1997 Nintendo 64 game of the same name. I experienced a few of the Connery movies at an early age but they never could grab me like the Brosnan movies did. As I’ve gotten older and revisited every Bond film, my eyes were opened to different interpretations of the character – liking some more and some less than Brosnan’s. Nonetheless, I’ll always have a soft spot for Brosnan. He encapsulates the character well and in his own way that is distinct from the others.

Full disclosure: TND and TWINE are a coin toss. The films balance each other out so well that I feel like depending on my mood that day I could justify choosing either one over the other. But I digress. Here is my definitive ranking of the Brosnan Bond movies.

4. Die Another Day (2002)

You already knew it before you began reading this article. There’s no question that Die Another Day is the most disappointing Bond movie of the Brosnan era. The Madonna song alone is likely the worst Bond theme in the entire franchise. But I say disappointing because I think the movie actually had a lot going for it! The story follows Bond sent to investigate a North Korean terrorist. After being captured and tortured by the Koreans and deserted by is own people for 14 months, Bond is traded for one of the Korean terrorists he was sent to investigate. Bond takes it upon himself to hunt down the terrorist and stumbles upon another plot involving an international space weapon. I have to say, everything up until we meet Jinx really works for me. The cold open is action-packed and the idea of Bond being deserted and left to his own devices is intriguing and works really well. Jinx (Halle Berry) is easily one of the worst characters in the entire franchise. It may not be all Berry’s fault, as the script calls for her to speak strictly in quips and eye-rolling one-liners. But she’s truly a cringe-worthy character who was given far more screen time than she deserved. I did enjoy Gustav Graves as a villain. He was fun and his character has a nice twist and is accompanied by some decent henchmen, including Zao and Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) as a double agent. But the film just continues to get more ridiculous as it progresses. There’s still room to have fun and appreciate some of the action sequences, such as the car chase on the ice and the cold open. But it reaches a level of silliness that leaves the film completely tenuous from any sort of grounded reality and completely removes any tension that might have been there. While this isn’t completely unwatchable, it merely fails to reach its full potential in almost every way. Without a doubt, this is Brosnan’s least memorable outing as 007.

3. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

This is a solid entry for Brosnan. What lacks in its plot is made up for with some great action sequences that stand out among the other Brosnan films. Bond sets out to stop Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), a media mogul’s plan to induce a war between China and the U.K. in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage. This film’s biggest discrepancy from the other Brosnan outings is the plot and its villain. While I enjoyed Pryce’s performance and his embodiment of the character, Carver’s motivations are unclear and uninteresting. It’s difficult to remain invested in a villain whose sole motivation is to get exclusive media coverage of an event. It’s not exciting and the absurdity of the plan isn’t justified by a compelling rationale of any kind. Aside from the plot issues, this film does not lack in its exceptional action set pieces. From the cold open, to the car chase, to the motorcycle chase, the pacing is smooth and leaves little room for down time. Teri Hatcher plays Paris Carver, Bond’s ex-lover and Carver’s current wife, whose involvement I think could’ve been cut a little shorter. Her role was essentially limited to make Bond’s motive more personal, but it just never got there for me. The idea of Wai Lin as a Chinese agent teaming up with Bond worked well and especially made for a great addition to the motorcycle chase. In the end, I liked Brosnan’s performance and the memorable action sequences that provide for a well-paced re-watchable experience. But the lackluster plot and villain cause this one to fall behind the others.

2. The World is Not Enough (1999)

This is yet another strong outing for Brosnan as the plot calls for him to be more emotionally involved in this mission. Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while trying to protect an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, Renard, an international terrorist who can’t feel pain. The plot here feels stronger than that of TND in a number of ways. Bond and M are involved on a more personal and emotional level which brings out a more intriguing side to their performance. Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) is one of my favorite Bond girls and villains in the franchise. Her character is convincing and has everyone eating out of the palm of her hand, making the twist to her character feel earned entirely. On the other hand, Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) is easily one of my least favorite Bond girls in the franchise. She’s not Jinx-level bad, she just doesn’t have the acting chops required to carry her part well. Renard (Robert Carlyle) is an upgrade from Elliot Carver and he checks all of the boxes when it comes to a Bond villain. The bullet wound to is head causing him to lose any feeling of pain and to slowly die gives him an appealing angle because he has nothing to lose. The action set pieces are also worthwhile. The boat chase in the cold open and the ski chase are both memorable and keep the story moving at an even pace. As I mentioned before, this ends up being a coin toss with TND. The plot and villain are stronger here, while the action set pieces tend to lag behind those of TND. Nonetheless, this has a lot going for it and I enjoyed it more this time around.

1. Goldeneye (1995)

Did you really think the number one spot was going to be anything else? After the death of his fellow 00-agent, Bond sets out to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using a secret space weapons program known as Goldeneye. For the longest time, this was the quintessential Bond for me, and in some ways it still is. Brosnan is dialed into the role which tends to break the trend of past Bond films. Actors like Connery, Moore, and Craig seem to take at least one or two movies before they reach the height of their performances and film quality of their respective eras. Brosnan does it all in his first try. From the cold open, to the villain, to the Bond women, to the action set pieces, this film kills it. Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) may just be my favorite villain of the entire franchise. His motives are clear, his character is compelling, and his mission feels personal. Xenia is a memorable Bond woman with her seductive and outlandish methods to lure in and kill her targets. The scenes Bond shares with CIA Agent Jack Wade and Russian gangster Valentin Zukovsky are all memorable and provide some nice backdrop to the world in which Bond operates. Let us not forget that this film introduces the revelation that is Judi Dench as M. Her first scene she shares with Brosnan establishes everything we need to know about her from that moment and carries all the way through Skyfall. She knows the kind of person Bond is and doesn’t waste any time to put him in his place. She is likely one of the franchise’s strongest characters and her embodiment of M will not likely be surpassed anytime soon. Not only was this film the basis for the creation of one of the greatest video games of all time, this revitalized the franchise entirely. Goldeneye is everything I want out of a Bond movie and for that, Brosnan will always be among my favorites.

You might be interested in

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

in Reviews by

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!

You might be interested in

More Roger Moore: The Ranking of His Bond Films

in Reviews by

For someone who grew up during the Pierce Brosnan era and with a father who owned the Sean Connery movies, Roger Moore fell by the wayside. To me, Connery is the classic Bond, Brosnan is the smooth, debonair Bond, and Craig is the gritty, more grounded Bond. I always had this unfounded perception of Roger Moore that he was kind of a joke, despite never watching any of his movies all the way through. After experiencing all seven of his movies in a span of two weeks, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. While he is definitely not my favorite portrayal of Bond, I have gained a greater appreciation for his interpretation of the character. Even with some eye rolls, bad characters, and ridiculous moments, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying his performance and the tone of some of his movies. After much contemplation, here is the list of every Roger Moore Bond movie ranked from his worst to his best. Minor spoilers ahead.

7. A View to a Kill

As Roger Moore’s seventh and last outing as Bond, this makes the bottom of the list. I don’t hate this movie. There is fun to be had with it given the right attitude and expectations. With Moore at age 57, this marks the oldest actor to ever portray Bond. Christopher Walken is having fun in his role as the villain Max Zorin, a greedy businessman wanting to wipe out Silicon Valley to have the microchip market for himself. Not the best villain or plot of the franchise, but there are some great stunts and set pieces to enjoy. Grace Jones as May Day is a mixed bag. Her motives for sleeping with Bond and sacrificing herself at the end just don’t add up. Tanya Roberts as the Bond girl is stale and uninteresting. Moore’s age was also distracting at times, as he himself later stated that he should have passed on the torch for this one. A Beach Boys song ends up ruining a pretty decent ski chase in the cold open, and May Day assassinates a man at a dinner party by swinging a fish hook in is face. Amidst the silliness of it all, Zorin has a rather dark scene where he murders around one hundred innocent people in cold blood with an Uzi, and then drowns them in a mine. This doesn’t mesh well with the lighter and more silly tone of the rest of the film. The weak plot and tonal problems topped off with a tired, older Bond made this my least favorite of Moore’s outings as 007.

6. Live and Let Die

As Moore’s first appearance as Bond, I am surprised that this fell so low on my list. Bond investigates the deaths of several British agents which leads him to New Orleans where he discovers a heroin operation ran by Mr. Big. It’s clear that this was heavily influenced by the Blaxploitation era of 70s cinema, as it is dominated by a black cast along with the first Bond girl to be played by a black actress. The infamous Baron Samedi is a fun, over-the-top villain sidekick who I wish had a little more screen time. Jane Seymour is stunning and well-cast as Solitaire, a tarot card reader who can predict the future. Paul McCartney also brings us one of the best Bond songs in the franchise. My biggest issue with this film is its lack of action set pieces and its boring, slow-moving story line. The biggest action set piece of the film is a boat chase that seemed to drag on for minutes on end and lacked any sense of urgency. This scene also introduced us to who I believe to be one of the worst characters the Bond franchise has ever seen – Sheriff J.W. Pepper. He is an obnoxious, over-the-top policeman who is trying to apprehend Bond during the boat chase for causing destruction to the town. The amount of screen time that is given to his character is unforgivable. What is even more unfortunate is the fact that this is not the last the franchise will see of J.W. Pepper. This movie is rather forgettable. Baron Samedi and Solitaire are more memorable than Bond and Mr. Big, who both have significantly more screen time. Moore seems as though he is trying to navigate his way through his interpretation of the character and the pacing of the film suffered overall. Moore saw better days in other outings as Bond.

5. Moonraker

This was the most financially successful Bond film until Goldeneye. It is clear that the producers took note of the success of Star Wars and implemented a space theme for this outing, and it certainly paid off at the box office. Ironically, one of the biggest aspects of this movie that doesn’t work for me is the space sequence itself. Bond investigates the hijacking of a space shuttle, leading him to discover a plot hatched by Hugo Drax to commit global genocide. The first two acts of this movie are solid. I liked Drax as a villain and some of the scenes he shares with Bond are some of my favorite moments. Lois Chiles plays Dr. Holly Goodhead. Yes, that is her name. She is not given much to do and didn’t add much to the story. The infamous metal-mouthed Jaws returns in this film for the worse. His appearance in this should have been limited to the opening scene, or taken out entirely. He falls in love with a woman and ends up siding with Bond in the end. No one was asking for his character arc and it is silly regardless. The last thirty minutes or so take place on Drax’s space station where an all-out laser battle takes place. While there is room to have fun with the end sequence, it just fell apart for me. The space battle is lame and strays too far from the tone that comes before it. If not for Jaws and the ridiculous space sequence, this may have ended up higher on my list. Not Moore’s worst Bond film, but far from his best.

4. For Your Eyes Only

This Bond film goes down as having the worst cold open of any other film in the franchise. Bond is seen visiting his ex wife’s grave where Blofeld then attempts to kill him with a remote-control helicopter. While the actual sequence provides for good stunt work, it is a ridiculous sequence and has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Luckily, the remainder of the film is saved by some of the best action sequences and stunt work in any of Moore’s Bond films. Bond sets out in a race against the Russians to recover a communication device that lies at the bottom of the ocean in a sunken British spy ship. Along the way he runs into Melina Havelock, a woman who is out for revenge against the people who killed her parents. As I mentioned, the strong points of the movie lie in the action sequences. There is an incredible rock climbing sequence, a motorcycle/ski chase down a mountain, a helicopter stunt, and a car and boat chase. The music choice for some of these chase scenes feel like B-movie action music, which really puts a damper on the intensity of each one. Moore has a great moment where he kicks a teetering car off of a mountain with a bad guy in it, revealing the more brutal and merciless side to his character for a change. Melina as the Bond girl is a great character, but she is significantly hindered by the acting chops of Carole Bouquet. The under-age Russian ice skater was nothing but an annoying distraction as well. Also, the climax of the movie is a big let down because neither Bond nor Melina ends up killing Kristatos, the main villain of the film. I would’ve liked to have at least seen Melina complete her arc and get her revenge. Despite its shortcomings, this film deserves high praise for its action set pieces and well-paced story.

3. Octopussy

If someone pitched me the idea of Bond dressing up as a clown to infiltrate a circus as a key part of the story, I would’ve laughed in their face. Yes, Bond dresses up as a clown, is apparently a tiger whisperer, and can scream like Tarzan while swinging on vines. All of these elements, while ridiculous, were outweighed by a great story and did not prevent me from enjoying this movie. Bond investigates the murder of 009, who was found holding a priceless Faberge egg. The egg is sold at an auction to Kamal Kahn, who is suspected to be involved with the Russians. Bond discovers an international jewel-smuggling operation headed by Octopussy, played by the wonderful Maud Adams. Bond finds out that Kahn has plans of his own to fund a terrorist bombing of a U.S. air force base to hopefully trigger World War III. The film has one of my favorite opening sequences of the entire Moore era. The film opens with Bond on the tail-end of a mission in Latin America where he attempts to blow up a radar system at a military base. The whole sequence is fun and sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The chase on top of the train and Bond hanging off the side of a plane in the climax really stand out as some of the most riveting, and well-shot action sequences in the series. But what really pulled me in are the scenes in between the action set pieces. The scenes that Bond shares with Kahn and Octopussy kept me thoroughly engaged. I cared about where the story was going to go and I kept second-guessing myself about who was on whose side. Maud Adams was a much-welcomed surprise and is the only actress to play a different Bond girl in two separate movies. She plays an interesting character that has a strong presence and shares great chemistry with Bond. Despite this being Roger Moore’s sixth outing as an older Bond, it has just about everything I want out of a Bond movie.

2. The Man with the Golden Gun

Christopher Lee is known to younger generations for his role as Count Dooku and Saruman, but let us not forget that he also brought us one of the greatest villains of the entire Bond franchise. Bond investigates the death of a scientist whose murder is linked to Francisco Scaramanga, a deadly assassin that charges $1 million a shot using a unique golden gun. During the investigation he discovers that the scientist had access to a solar cell that could prove to be dangerous if found in the wrong hands. But even worse, he thinks that he might be Scaramanga’s next target. This is one of the few movies where the villain is on par with Bond’s skill set and poses a very real and direct threat to him. Most villains generally have some outrageous plan to take over half of the world and hire henchmen to do all of their dirty work. Here, Scaramanga IS the threat and is willing to get his hands dirty. Knik Knak is a fun character and works great as Scaramanga’s sidekick. Britt Ekland plays Bond’s love interest as Mary Goodnight, definitely one of the weaker Bond girls in the franchise. Fortunately, Maud Adams gets some screen time as Andrea Anders, Scaramanga’s love interest. Adams once again proves to have what it takes to be a great on-screen presence. But for all of the good this film has to offer, it is not without its flaws. One the greatest car stunts in the franchise is practically ruined by an awful sound effect. Even the sound editor later stated that he regretted putting it in the film. Sheriff J.W. Pepper is back for more as easily the worst, most unnecessary character of the franchise. Scaramanga also has a distinctive feature of having a third nipple, which Bond uses at one point to infiltrate an enemy compound. Not really a flaw, but definitely silly. There is also a kung fu undertone in the movie that is definitely trying to appeal to the Enter the Dragon fans at the time. This also isn’t exactly a negative, but it also doesn’t play to the film’s strong points either. Despite its misgivings, this movie gave us the golden gun (the greatest movie prop of the franchise) as well as the greatest Bond villain. I really enjoyed this outing as Bond but if it lacked anything, it was more Scaramanga.

  1. The Spy Who Loved Me

This is where it all comes together. As Moore’s third outing as Bond, this is easily the most grounded of his movies and it finally seems like he has settled into the character. Bond investigates the disappearance of a Royal Navy submarine holding sixteen nuclear warheads. The Russians send their own agent to join Bond on the investigation, Agent XXX, played by the incomparable Barbara Bach. What they don’t know is that Bond has killed her lover on a previous mission, sparking some unsurfaced tension between them. The two work together in their own government’s interest to track down Karl Stromberg, the web-handed mastermind who plans to use the nuclear warheads for all the wrong reasons. There is no question that Barbara Bach plays the best Bond girl of the Roger Moore outings, and one of the best of the entire franchise. She constantly is shown to have the upper hand on Bond and their back and forth was charming. Because she is a Russian agent, I was always left second-guessing her motives up until the last scene of the movie. It is refreshing to see a Bond girl who plays his equal. This is also the first time we see some continuity in the franchise between different Bond actors when Bond mentions the fact that he was married once, referring to the final scene of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The metal-mouthed ‘Jaws’ makes his first appearance here and turns out to be one of the more memorable and iconic Bond villains. The cold open has a fantastic ski chase where Bond parachutes off of a mountain. The film also contains a beautiful score composed by Marvin Hamlisch that adds a lot to the movie, particularly in the location-shots. Stromberg isn’t anything special as the villain, but he checks all the right boxes – he has a master plan to blow up half the world and kills his victims by feeding them to the sharks. The action sequences were fun and were accompanied by some memorable gadgets, specifically the submarine car. I cannot emphasize enough how effective Bach’s character is. She brings out the best in Roger Moore and encapsulates everything that a Bond girl should do. It was obvious to me after the credits were rolling that this is everything a Roger Moore Bond movie should be. This is easily his best outing as Bond and stands out as one of my favorite films of the franchise. It proves that despite the sillier aspects of his other movies, Roger Moore has what it takes to carry the mantle of 007.

You might be interested in

Go to Top