Best & Worst Bond Films

[Sheridan Passell]

The Top Ten Bond Films
(according to Adam Mason, staff writer)

10] The Spy Who Loved Me

A good film, only let down slightly by the ludicrous plot. Features the best henchman (Jaws) and Roger Moore just hitting his stride in his third outing and looking increasingly comfortable with the serious stuff as well as the puns.

Standout moment: the bit where Bond drops a villain off the roof is ace.

9] Live and Let Die

Another Roger Moore film, this time his first. With a cracking story and a reasonably sane bad guy, this is a highly enjoyable Bond flick. Top moments feature a fantastic train fight and the slightly bizarre Baron Samedi.

Standout moment: Bond is left on an island in crocodile territory. Still incredibly tense today.

8] The Living Daylights

While this was Timothy Dalton’s first film, it was written for Roger Moore. Dalton makes it work though, with a great double-triple-cross story and top action sequences. The Bond Girl is a bit of a wet fish though.

Standout moment: Bond battles his nemesis while hanging onto the net dangling out the back of a cargo plane.

7] On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Only one film from George Lazenby, but it was a good one. Terrific ski chases and the great-as-always Blofeld pop up in the film that’s probably the closest to any of the books. Features an awesome fourth wall-breaking gag; “This never happened to the other guy.”

Standout moment: Bond cradles his dead wife and, for the only time, looks truly devastated.

6] From Russia With Love

Sean Connery’s second film, and an utter cracker. Bond is seduced by a Russian agent and allowed to escape, but is constantly pursued by Grant, the hardest Ruski ever to live. A fantastic rumble on a train coupled with Bond’s brilliant deduction “Red wine with fish… I should have known” make this a classic.

Standout moment: Bond flees, pursued by helicopters.

5] Goldeneye

Pierce Bronsnan’s first outing, and possibly the only one that’s worth watching. A great post-communism storyline combines with some of the best villains (Trevelyan, Xenia, Orumov, Boris, take your pick) and some blistering action scenes (tank chase, jumping after a plane, brutal fight on the cradle, etc.)

Standout moment: Trevelyan: “For England, James?” Bond: “No. For me.”

4] Dr. No

The first Bond film and still one of the greats. This has loads of great moments, and is more spy-based than most of the others. Great moments include Bond being outsmarted by the Doctor and Bond at his most cold: “That’s a Smith and Wesson. And you’ve had your six.”

Standout moment: Bond kicks Dr. No off the platform into the boiling water. The harsh, terrible irony that Dr. No’s metal hands are the reason he can’t escape.

3] For Your Eyes Only

Roger Moore’s fifth film, and a cracker if only because it had to make up for the atrocious ‘Moonraker’. Bond is back to his cold, brutal best with a script lacking in most of the stupid jokes and puns, with a great plot that twists and turns from the stunning opening through to the awesome assault on St Cyril’s. Also the only film where Bond has a car chase in a crap car.

Standout moment: Bond kicks the car off the cliff with steely determination.

2] Goldfinger

Connery’s third film, and the one that set the standard for all films to come. A crazy villain, over-the-top set pieces, insane gadgets, puns (“shocking”) and that laser scene add up to a stone-cold classic. With the hilariously-named Pussy Galore and Connery clearly having a blast in the driver’s seat, it makes terrific viewing.

Standout moment: Without a doubt, the laser scene. Bond: “Do you expect me to talk?” Goldfinger: “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!”

1] Licence to Kill

You read that right. This film is an absolute stunner and also the most underrated. In this film, Bond chucks in all of his missions and objectives to gain revenge. It might be a simple story, but the fact that Bond becomes his own man gives him so much more character than he’s ever had before. Featuring a truly believable, utterly evil villain in the form of Robert Davi’s Sanchez and a great sidekick (the knife-wielding Dario) and a Bond girl that actually kicks a fair amount of arse, it certainly makes for good viewing.

The stunts, too, are incredible, from the opening “plane fishing” to Bond’s amazing oil truck chase, it engages and grips at every turn. Even the plot is good and grown up.
It has been criticised because Timothy Dalton plays Bond like a brutal thug, but that’s how Bond was written. Case in point: nine years later, Daniel Craig was praised for doing the exact same thing. Ahead of the time much? Definitely.

Standout moment: Pick one. Lieter meeting the sharks, Bond on the conveyor belt, the underwater/ airborne battle, the brutal way Bond dispatches of Sanchez… the list goes on.
- - -

Has he got it right?

[Kryptik]

The Top Ten Bond Films

10] The Spy Who Loved Me
9] Live and Let Die
8] The Living Daylights
7] On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
6] From Russia With Love
5] Goldeneye
4] Dr. No
3] For Your Eyes Only
2] Goldfinger
1] Licence to Kill

Well what I think is that the top 10 Bond films would have to be


1.)Tomorrow Never Dies
2.) Goldeneye
3.) T.W.I.N.E
4.) Dr. No
5.) License to Kill
6.) Moonraker
7.)The Man with the Golden gun
8.) Diamonds are Forever
9.) From Russia With Love
10.) Diamonds are Forever


As for the worst films I can't really say that there were any bad films done except
Casino Royal

[Oldwell]

I find this category a toughie. I personally haven't really liked most of the modern ones, with the exception of Casino Royal (Daniel Craig version).

I always liked the really cheesey ones like Octopussy or Never Say Never Again (yeah I know not an official Bond Film).

Also I think its criminal if anyone leaves out On Her Majesties Secret Service. Despite the fact Lazenby got panned, the film is actually really good.

One last thought, I was also suprised not to see View To A Kill in there. Especially from the OP as he'd plumped for the films with all the best theme songs.

[Kryptik]

I find this category a toughie. I personally haven't really liked most of the modern ones, with the exception of Casino Royal (Daniel Craig version).

I always liked the really cheesey ones like Octopussy or Never Say Never Again (yeah I know not an official Bond Film).

Also I think its criminal if anyone leaves out On Her Majesties Secret Service. Despite the fact Lazenby got panned, the film is actually really good.

One last thought, I was also suprised not to see View To A Kill in there. Especially from the OP as he'd plumped for the films with all the best theme songs.

Well I really do think that Octopussy and Live and Let Die were cheesy along withDr. No not just for the theme music but I guess it was the dialogue and outfits.

[Mahmoud El-Azzeh]

I second Sheridan on Licence to Kill (or is it License to Kill?), Timothy Dalton is awesome and that film is extremely under-rated, a much more complete film stand alone then perhaps a typical Bond film - in that manner, I would also like to state that On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also a good film... Diana Rigg = Hotness

[Sheridan Passell]

Just wanna stress - this isn't my list, it's staff writer Adam Mason's.

[Tiger]

This is an interesting one for me because I would probably go for Dr. No as being the best Bond film ever, however, if I were asked "what Bond film would you watch right now, if you had to?" (you know, at gunpoint or something) I would have to say Goldeneye, I really enjoyed it when I watched it for the first time and I have continued to enjoy it with every viewing since then. 

I'm a big fan of Sean Bean, I'm a BIG fan of Famke Janssen, I'm also a fan of both Robbie Coltrane and Alan Cumming, and the icing on the cake for me is the satisfying mental connection I make between the film and the Nintendo 64 videogame of the same title!

[Kryptik]

I'm a big fan of Sean Bean, I'm a BIG fan of Famke Janssen, I'm also a fan of both Robbie Coltrane and Alan Cumming, and the icing on the cake for me is the satisfying mental connection I make between the film and the Nintendo 64 videogame of the same title!

So saying that could you say that the movies and the games went properly to the storyline given to both? Or would you say that they are different and missing some scenes?. I'm only asking about the Bond movies and games here.

[Tiger]

I think that the Goldeneye videogame managed to include the more pivotal scenes from the movie and I think that was a pretty good achievement at that time.

If I compare it with the James Bond game I had for my Commodore 64 when I was a kid, the difference is like night and day. 

That old game was fun, no doubt about that, but at that time the idea of accurately depicting a Movie's story, or even how it looked, was not considered to be very important.
 
It was just like the Total Recall game I had for the C64, as it was a platform game, if anyone played that game and had not seen the movie they would probably assume that Arnie spent the entire movie jumping from ledge to ledge.

I have not played the recent Goldeneye game and so I am not sure if it is a remake of the original N64 game or if it features a story which runs alongside the original. 
If it IS a remake of the N64 title, then I am sure they may have attempted to be more accurate to the events in the film.

[ad4m22]

Has anyone played the old "James Bond 007" game on the Game Boy? That was extremely hard and very strange. I seem to remember the climax involved shooting a corrupt army commander who was wearing a massive mechanical suit and firing lasers at you...

As for Goldeneye, I grew up on that game. I still come out in cold sweats hearing the word "Control".

[Sheridan Passell]

What's strange about this? Just James Bond hacking down plants to find a jeweled egg...
 

[vystral]

I really really liked Casino Royale, and I don't even really like Bond films. (maybe that's why I liked it so much)

[ad4m22]

Sheridan, that game was awesome. It also featured one of the most obscure and ridicuous moments in gaming - lost in the desert, Bond has only a limited supply of water and each time he moves between a screen, one drop of water is used. He has to find his way to a shelter to end the level. Most unfair moment in gaming (pre-Conker's BFD)