Film Feature: Bond, James Bond – Ranking the Bond Movies Worst to First, Including ‘Spectre’

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Average: 3.7 (3 votes)

CHICAGO – James Bond is back in his latest adventure, “Spectre,” but what about his movie life before this film? Spike Walters of HollywoodChicago.com ranks the 24 official James Bond films from worst to first, an overview of 007’s movie and cultural presence from 1962 through today.

The legacy of James Bond began in 1953, with the release of the first in a series of novels detailing the spy’s escapades, written by Ian Fleming. The British agent with a “license to kill” designation (007) was featured in 12 novels and two short story collections. In 1962, the first of the 24 official films – “Dr. No” – was released, starring Sean Connery, and began a series that maintains its popularity to this day. Many fans of the series consider Connery the essential James Bond, but many other actors followed him as Bond in the official film canon – George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and the current 007, Daniel Craig.

Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig is James Bond in ‘Spectre’
Photo credit: Columbia Pictures

From HollywoodChicago.com contributor Spike Walters, “Bond, James Bond” movies from the bottom to the top…

24. License to Kill

James Bond winds up stranded in this extended episode of “Miami Vice,” which has Timothy Dalton chasing a South American drug lord. While this film has its defenders, this is the one that made Bond dreadfully boring. Timothy Dalton was always a little suspect, but by this time he’d lost his license to thrill completely.

23. A View to a Kill

Another film that almost put a nail in James Bond’s coffin. Even those with a soft spot for Roger Moore had to admit he’d put on the tuxedo one too many times. When you have Christopher Walken as a diabolical megalomaniac and the results are merely pedestrian, you know something’s wrong. But one extra credit point for a great theme song.

22. The World is Not Enough

The low point of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. Denise Richards plays a nuclear physicist, and that’s the least of its problems. John Cleese is a welcome addition to Q branch, but outside of that the pleasures are slight.

Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton as James Bond
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

21. Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig’s James Bond is reliable as always in his second outing as 007, but this Bond was chopped up into incoherency by edit-happy director Marc Forster. Forster seemed eager to turn Bond into Jason Bourne to cover up a lack of coherent story, and a weak villain doesn’t help this headache inducing entry.

20. Die Another Day

The Pierce Brosnan Bond film that gets the most grief, this was easily the silliest entry since Moonraker – remember that invisible car? It’s only gotten sillier in the intervening years and there is no getting around the terrible looking CGI. But it’s a relentless action machine that barely stops to catch its breath, and it can be an entertaining enough ride if you’re in the right mood.

Bruce Crawford's picture

Wrong film for picture and my take on Spectre being horrible.

The picture with Timothy Dalton is actually from The Living Daylights. I very much agree with Skyfall and Casino Royale being up in the list. I just really disliked the new Spectre film. A lot of superhero films tend to focus in the future sequels. Well, this film tended to focus a lot in the past. I don’t mind there being a mention of the past films, but not to where the film itself being Spectre would mess up the stories that happened before in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall. Very disappointing sequel. I don’t care for Daniel Craig to humor up Bond. His performance from the past three films were excellent, and I don’t see why he needed to change it for this film. If he returns as James Bond, I really hope that they find good screen writers and a good director like Christopher Nolan to direct it. I thought that Sam Mendes was going to be great in returning to the director’s chair for Spectre and perhaps after, but he should of just stuck to his guns and done Skyfall only. That’s all I’ll say. Thank you for your time.

Bunny Deana's picture

Crowned by James Bond

I am thrilled to be able to say that I shared a glass of champagne with James Bond! When I was “Bunny Deana” at the London Playboy Club, more than 40 years ago now, I was privileged to have been crowned Playboy Bunny of The Year by George Lazenby (Bond in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’) and I shall treasure the memory forever. The very precious (to me at least) photo of George performing the crowning, immaculately dressed in his beautiful Bond-style suit, is a proud part of my unique, personal “Bunny Deana’s Playboy Photo Album”, available to view online.

Anthony Thompson's picture

The best Bond list I've seen

Everyone has their own favorites and ‘turkeys’ but this list gets it mostly right in my opinion and provides reasonable explanations for the rankings. However, the gratuitous slap at Lazenby is unnecessary. He was an outstanding Bond and it would have been wonderful to see what he would have done with the role in further films. He showed more personality in one film than Brosnan and Dalton did in three each.

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