The Great Bond Film Tier-List
[Off-Topic] Ranking my favourite film franchise.
You might have guessed by now, judging by 2/3 of my profile pictures having been video game versions of 007 and my several Bond-related articles, that I’m a massive James Bond fan; I’ve seen every Bond film, most of them more than once and I can say without hesitation that this is my favourite film franchise of all time, containing at least 3 of my 5 favourite films.
Every Bond fan new or old inevitably finds themselves one day providing their personal Bond film ranking, perhaps over a pint with friends, on YouTube or here on Substack.
This is mine. Every official James Bond film (so that means no Never Say Never Again) put into my very own tier-list, enjoy!
Dr. No - Great
I find Dr. No to be a bit of an underappreciated Bond film today.
A lot of people pay it lip service for being the first: the first ‘Bond, James Bond’ line drop, the first villain, the first lair, the first Bond girl but beyond that? I’ve heard this film described as ‘boring’ or being in that prototype stage and I have to say I couldn’t disagree more. The on-site filming in Jamaica makes this a gorgeous film to look at, I enjoy the relatively grounded plot and the scene where Bond digs and chips away at Dr. No over dinner with increasingly barbed remarks is a stand-out, as is the classic “That’s a Smith and Wesson.” Moment.
I can’t really name any negatives to this film, everything amiss with it is the result of age and its tight budget.
From Russia With Love - Great
From Russia With Love was once my favourite Bond film of them all but while my tastes have shifted, my liking for this film has not.
From Russia With Love features a spy infested Istanbul and draws on the real world Cold War atmosphere to make a near-perfect spy thriller. This film gave us who I think is the most beautiful of the Bond girls: Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova and the first iconic Bond henchman in Red Grant. Bond’s fight with him is so gritty and raw that it’s one of the few from this era of cinema that still holds up and feels authentic. Neither Moore nor Dalton could sell a fist fight like Sean Connery, we’ll call it Scottish grit.
The pace of this film does drag a little bit for me but otherwise? Top marks.
Goldfinger - Top 5
Possibly the least controversial placement on this list, Goldfinger is an all-time great that transcends the franchise.
The birthplace of the giant laser interrogation trope, the first appearance of the gorgeous Aston Martin DB5 and establisher of the Bond formula, Goldfinger mixes glamour, intrigue and a well-put together plot with a big action set-piece at the end to create what I consider to be a perfect film. I never feel any dragging pace while watching Goldfinger and Connery is at his best here, I love Shirley Bassey’s theme song as well.
Some modern viewers express discomfort at Bond’s less than consensual advances on Pussy Galore but that’s to be expected with a film this old.
Thunderball - Great
Thunderball is a bit of a marmite Bond film for a lot of people: you either love it or hate it, I’m firmly on the side of the former group.
Again, when they film in such beautiful locations (this time it’s The Bahamas) I find myself just relaxed and with an easy going smile on my face watching these films, its as if the sunshine and the crystal clear seas are seeping out from the screen. What helps too is Thunderball’s excellent theme song, an absolutely classic underwater battle and a plot I rather enjoy.
Thunderball gets a bad rap for having a pretty glacial pace and some weak performances, I’m a fan of this film but even I’ll admit it isn’t the easiest to follow at times either.
You Only Live Twice - Average
This is the one where they try to turn Bond Japanese and he just ends up looking like a Romulan from Star Trek.
You Only Live Twice is a relatively bland Bond film featuring a Sean Connery that was sick to death of playing the role and filmed on-site in Japan but seemingly only in the dingiest parts of Tokyo they could find until the final act around the volcano. If it wasn’t for the great action, amazing set design and Donald Pleasance’s iconic stint as Blofeld, this might have stooped even lower.
Not an awful film, very watchable but not one I would pick over most others, I love the theme song.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - Bottom 5
OHMSS has been re-evaluated as a classic Bond film and now ranks among many Bond fans’ favourites… this is not an opinion I share.
Let’s get the good stuff out of the way first: Tracy is an excellent Bond girl and the ending to this film is a tragic gut punch, I also really like the Christmas-y atmosphere in some scenes… that’s it, that’s all I like. George Lazenby had next to zero experience as an actor and it shows: he doesn’t look, sound or act like Bond, the film crawls along at a glacial pace and Telly Savalas’ Blofeld is thoroughly unconvincing.
I’ve watched this film once and I have little desire to go back to it, the theme song is cool at least.
Diamonds Are Forever - Bottom 5
Diamonds Are Forever might be my least favourite film in the entire series.
An out of shape Connery stars in greasy Las Vegas in a plot about Diamond smuggling with yet another recast Blofeld shoved in. The setting is as un-Bond as you can possibly get, Sean Connery can’t sell the action like he used to and the whole production just feels tired and unenjoyable, with a comedic bent that doesn’t land nearly as well as it would with Roger Moore at the helm. I actively dislike this film.
Lana Wood as Plenty O’Toole provides 2 great reasons to watch this film at least and the final sequence aboard the oil rig is quite a fun watch.
Live And Let Die - Great
We finally come to Roger Moore’s first Bond outing… and this one is an absolute banger.
Live And Let Die is a deliciously weird and funky Bond film with an immensely catchy Paul McCartney theme song, supernatural themes, voodoo elements and a more campy tone that works a lot better because Roger Moore is better at selling that sort of thing. This is one of my favourites.
I’m a white British man, I’ve visited the USA just once in 2007 so I’m no expert on this topic but I have heard some take issue with the stereotypes centred around this film’s depiction of its mostly black cast though I will say that there are both good and bad black characters in this film and the ones who are bad aren’t bad because they happen to be black, so I didn’t really get any offensive undertones while watching it, at least not as bad as in You Only Live Twice.
The Man With The Golden Gun - Average
The Man With The Golden Gun was probably the first Bond film I was exposed to, I remember seeing bits of it on TV as a kid and laughing at the scene were Bond puts Nick Nack in a suitcase.
Roger Moore’s performance is all over the place in this film with the actor himself expressing regret later that he had to slap Maud Adams’ character on-screen: a Connery-style approach when Moore’s Bond is known more for witty banter and charm. Aside from the shaky performance and campy humour there is a lot to enjoy here, the great Sir Christopher Lee is unforgettable as Scaramanga and the corkscrew car jump is an unforgettable stunt… even if they did put that stupid slide whistle over the top.
Not a great Bond film but still very watchable.
The Spy Who Loved Me - Top 5
The Spy Who Loved Me is the best film of Moore’s Bond tenure and most-likely saved the franchise from death, ending its post-Connery slump.
Moore is finally allowed to breathe and to come alive in the role after a nervous first outing and a second film where he was made to act like Connery Bond, it’s in this film where you see that classic Moore wit and class come through at last. TSWLM gave us the iconic henchman: Jaws, brilliant action sequences and one of the best Bond girls in Barbara Bach as KGB operative Anya Amasova; Egypt isn’t the first location you think of when picking out a Bondian spot for an adventure but it works well here.
Great film, great opening song, great performances: this one is a classic.
Moonraker - Subpar
Moonraker is a mixed bag, I do enjoy this film but overall? I don’t think it’s that good.
My largest subscriber base outside of the Anglosphere is Brazil and Portugal so I’m contractually obliged to say that it’s cool how Bond goes to Brazil in this one (Espero que você tenha gostado dos carnavais da semana passada) and I do enjoy the final battle up in space but otherwise? Not a lot stands out to me. I watched this film again recently and I barely remember it which probably isn’t a good sign.
Again, nice theme song.
For Your Eyes Only - Average
For Your Eyes Only, coming off the back of 2 very over the top Bond films ends up feeling like a bit of a come down, especially as Roger Moore begins to look too old to play the part in this film but I still enjoy it.
The final battle atop a fortified mountaintop complex in Greece is a bit underrated in my opinion and Roger Moore, while looking a bit past it delivers as always but with a cynical biting edge to his version of Bond that only really appears in this entry. Great stuff.
I don’t think this is a popular choice but I want to go on the record and say that For Your Eyes Only happens to be my favourite Bond theme song as well. A decent film but not quite up there with the greats.
Octopussy - Great
Everything about Octopussy is crude, loud and ridiculous but it’s such an enjoyable watch from start to finish.
Octopussy’s choice of India as its exotic setting really works and I enjoy the whole rickshaw chase sequence, Roger Moore’s age in this film made him far past believable as an elite Double-O agent so instead the comedy and Moore’s quick thinking are pulled into focus instead; I just love the few moments of emotional depth scattered in here like when Bond avenges the death of a fellow agent.
Octopussy isn’t high art, in fact, it’s pure nonsenee but what it is above all else is great entertainment.
A View To A Kill - Bottom 5
Unfortunately, Roger Moore’s final film as Bond: at the ripe age of 57, is also his weakest.
Moore is visibly lacking in energy and virtually every bit of action is performed by an obvious stunt double, the plot is beyond stupid and both the camp and ham are cranked up to ludicrous levels. I know this film has its fans and Christopher Walken’s performance as Max Zorin is an enjoyable one but AVTAK just isn’t all that enjoyable and from what I hear, even Roger Moore didn’t like the idea of getting it on with younger Bond girls at his age on-screen.
Like all Moore films this one is still very watchable but it is at the bottom of the pile, cool theme song by Duran Duran though.
The Living Daylights - Subpar
In recent years a sort of cult of Timothy Dalton has emerged in the Bond fandom: staunch, ferocious fans of his 2 outings as Bond who declare him the best and his films to be overlooked… I won’t play my hand too early but I will say that I don’t enjoy The Living Daylights that much.
I admire Timothy Dalton’s love for the Bond novels and hard-nosed dedication to playing a version of the character true to that but I just find him very wooden and uncharismatic to watch; the Bond girl, action and locations in this film don’t interest me that much either.
Not one I rewatch often but it can be a good time if you’re in the mood for it. I do admire that in the 1980’s when action films were all about excess that Bond was daring to be a bit more cerebral.
Licence To Kill - Great
Licence To Kill is the lowest-grossing Bond film of all time, to the point where it almost killed the franchise… which is a great shame because I think this is one of the better films in the Bondography.
Dalton’s performance is better, the plot centring around drug cartels, an attack on Bond ally: Felix Leiter and 007 going rogue add a wonderful rawness to the film and the action, particularly the chase at the end of the film is absolutely stellar.
It’s a shame Dalton’s tenure as Bond ended so early because I think given one last film, he would have really come into his own… but I wouldn’t change the Goldeneye we got for anything.
Goldeneye - Top 5
Goldeneye is special, it’s a film that transcended the Bond franchise and even the medium itself; the first Pierce Brosnan Bond film, the picture that saved the franchise and the basis for a video game that changed first person shooters forever, Goldeneye means a lot to a lot of different people.
Sean Bean plays a perfect villain in Goldeneye, Famke Janssen and Izabella Scorupco are both drop-dead gorgeous, Pierce Brosnan is the most handsome man alive in this film and it is tied together with timeless action, a perfect pace and immortal lines of dialogue.
Yes, you should rewatch Goldeneye, I know you’re thinking it.
Tomorrow Never Dies - Top 5
Oh yeah, that’s right, it’s in my top 5.
The general consensus among Bond fans and average film goers seems to be that Piers Brosnan was in Goldeneye which was amazing and Die Another Day which was a war crime and the stuff in between is forgotten but I adore Tomorrow Never Dies. Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver is a deliciously hammy villain, the plot involving orchestrated news and Chinese broadcasting rights hits a little too close to home, especially for British viewers who remember the News Of The World scandal and I adore every bit of action in this one, especially the sequence with the remote controlled BMW.
Don’t skip out on Tomorrow Never Dies and don’t sip the credits either, Surrender by K.D Lang is a banger.
The World Is Not Enough - Bottom 5
This film isn’t generally considered that bad by most Bond fans, just middling to low… but for some reason I’ve always hated this one.
The oil fields of Kazakhstan and Baku aren’t exactly locations oozing with exotic charm and they don’t have the interesting cast of characters or performances to keep things going like in Goldeneye, Robert Carlyle’s Renard is a conceptually stupid villain with a gimmick that gets barely utilised and above all else? This film just bores me. Every now and again I hear about how it’s this hidden gem, I rewatch it and I still strongly dislike it. Christmas Jones (played by Denise Richards) is probably my least favourite Bond girl, she’s absolutely, sizzlingly hot but gets nothing to work with in the dialogue department and has zero chemistry with Brosnan.
Garbage’s theme song for The World Is Not Enough is really good though. RIP Desmond Llewellyn who played Q for the final time in this film.
Die Another Day - Subpar
Die Another Day’s awfulness is infamous among both Bond fans and outsiders alike but despite this I find Die Another Day to be incredibly watchable.
The CGI is awful, the plot is so bat shit insane that I burst out laughing on my first viewing and the invisible sports car pushes the boundaries of believability, even for Bond but if you just turn your brain off and laugh at the film, preferably with a hard beverage this one is really fun to watch.
It’s not a good film but I just cannot hate Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan was unceremoniously dropped from the Bond role over phone after this film, something he admits he didn’t take well and I don’t blame him; Pierce will always be Bond for me, I grew up seeing him in video games and on Bond reruns, my favourite Bond, it’s a damn shame his tenure only produced one picture that most would consider a classic.
Casino Royale - Top 5
Daniel Craig’s Bond is a portrayal I’ve gone through a lot of different opinions on, today? I find his films to be a bit over-hated, even if they aren’t my favourite and lean too much into prestige film-making rather than the entertainment and escapism I watch a Bond film for; this first one is his best and easily among the best films in the franchise.
Casino Royale is an emotionally charged Bond caper with superb action, my favourite Craig Bond performance and an excellent villain in Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre; Eva Green’s role as Vesper Lynd marks the very pinnacle of Bond girls, her and Craig’s chemistry is wonderful. The ending of Casino Royale is everything On Her Majesty’s Secret Service fans say that film’s is but better.
I’m not a big fan of the opening song and the grim-grey tone of Craig era Bond does occasionally rear its ugly head.
Quantum Of Solace - Subpar
Quantum Of Solace is an extraordinarily messy film but considering what was stacked against it, I think it turned out quite well and I have to admit that this was the first Bond I saw in the cinema, so there is a bit of a soft spot there on my part.
Quantum Of Solace was developed during a writers’ strike and given just weeks to edit, so a lot of the scenes were re-written by Craig and the director himself and the editing is notoriously bad with constant quick cuts and hard to follow action but you do get used to it. If you give Quantum a chance you will find a middling to poor Bond film with a crap villain but Olga Kurylenko is a delight to watch and the short runtime gives this film a wonderful sense of momentum, Daniel Craig puts in a solid, tortured performance as Bond as well.
Skyfall - Great
Skyfall is a very nostalgic film for me. 2012 Was the last time it really felt cool to be British: we had the Olympics here, Skyfall was in cinemas, Skyfall’s title song by Adele was on every radio 24/7, lots of the film took place in the UK and overall? It just felt like we’d peaked again, however briefly… the fact I was only 12 probably helped.
Skyfall is a beautifully shot film with some brilliant action, great emotional punch with the departure of Judi Dench as M and a classic Bond villain in Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva. I do think they played the whole ageing hero trope too early and the planned Sean Connery cameo in Scotland would have been an internet-breaking moment but what we got was still fantastic. Great film.
Spectre - Bottom 5
Rounding out my 5 worst Bond films is Spectre, one I actually saw on release at a late-night, full up cinema showing.
Spectre feels like an awkward, Connery-era Bond tribute at every turn: Daniel Craig is clearly sick to death of playing Bond just like Connery was, the brawl on the train with Dave Bautista is like Connery’s fight with Red Grant only 10 times less cool and the return of Spectre with Blofeld is handled in such a staggeringly awful way that it can only baffle the viewer. Spectre marvelised Craig’s Bond films by retroactively linking them together and yes, that too is handled terribly.
“It’s always been me, the author of all your pain.” Fuck off, Spectre.
No Time To Die - Average
At last we come to the final Bond film to date: No Time To Die, I didn’t adore this one and the almost 3 hour runtime means I’m in no rush to rewatch it but I generally felt Craig’s era ended on a high note… the elephant in the room not withstanding, which felt like a cheap low-blow and a little bit of a slap in the face to be honest.
Daniel Craig carries his age well and comes across as a seasoned, over the hill yet still lethal agent, a lot of the action is fantastic and I can’t dislike the plot considering it’s essentially Metal Gear Solid 1 but Rami Malek’s villain is garbage and I never bought the romance between Craig Bond and Lea Seydoux’s Madeline Swan. A solid ending for an era of Bond that took itself a bit too seriously.
This hasn’t been the most typical of articles for me but I hope you enjoyed it! I’ll be happy to chat in the comments below and please consider a donation or subscription to my Ko-Fi page via the Support Scanlines button below.
Pretty good tiering.
From Russia With Love is still my favourite. It's an actual spy film. I would rate it whether it was a Bond or not. Thunderball: any film that has a boat called the Disco Volante can't be bad.
I enjoy On Her Majesty's, but I don't watch it as a Bond film. I just watch it as a movie.
I'm not a huge fan of the Moore campy era, but For Your Eyes Only is both one of my top 2 AND my least favourite. When editing tools were becoming more accessible, I did an edit of it that cut out all of Bibi's scenes (poor Bibi). It turns out you can remove her, and any mention of her, pretty successfully. If I remember, it makes for about a 75 minute movie that becomes coherent, and a very decent traditional spy film. I have to try that again now that the tech is even better.
As for Moonraker, well, it is the first one I saw in the Theatre, and Bond goes to space, so of course I have a soft spot for it, but it is not a good film. On the other hand, Dolly definitely wore braces. Trust me.
solid ranking. i actually love the casino royale theme song for all its brick wall compression is a little painful, the lyrics are witty and the tune slaps.