In light of news for the upcoming James Bond film titled Skyfall, I’m teaming up with my pal Ted S. to list five WORST James Bond films ever made.
Ok so the likelihood of Oscar winner Sam Mendes’ Bond film would end up on this list is pretty slim. For sure this one is off to a flying start with the most award-winning Bond cast ever — Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney & Ben Wishaw joining Daniel Craig on his third outing as 007.
Craig with new Bond girls Bernice Marlohe & Naomi Harris
Ted: I think most film lovers have seen some or maybe all of the James Bond films; even if you’re not into them, I’m quite sure you’ve seen one or two Bond films in your lifetime. As for me, I considered myself a Bond fanatic, I mean come on now, the dude looks good, gets to sleep with beautiful women, drives a super expensive car, blow a lot of stuff up and save the world from the bad guys. It’s a fantasy for every male out there, okay maybe some would rather be Batman or Superman but I digress.
I’ve seen all of the Bond films and read most of the books, so I guess I’m qualified to give MY list of the worst Bond films ever produced. Just remember films are subjective, so don’t get mad at me if I included your favorite Bond films on my worst list.
Ruth: James Bond is huge in my household growing up. I used to watch the older Sean Connery Bond movies with my brothers who were both 5 years older than me, but the Bond I grew up with were Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton. I think Bond movies are the quintessential escapist entertainment — cool actions, exotic locales and our suave hero hardly ever gets hurt. But out of 22 Bond films, there are definitely quite a few duds.
Ted gave me this list a few months back and guess what, apparently we share a similar taste when it comes to Bond movies as I also regard these as my least favorite. We differ on one that I include on the honorable mention though, but let’s get to the top five first:
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1. Never Say Never Again
Ted: There are several reasons why I think this is the worst Bond film ever. First off, this one wasn’t considered part of the Bond franchise since it was produced by Warner Bros. (MGM bought the rights a few years ago but it’s still considered the black sheep of the franchise) and also it was a remake of a much superior Bond film, Thunderball. Yes, it starred Sean Connery but he was in his late 50s around this time and when you paired him with the young Bond girl, Kim Basinger, it was kind of creepy.
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The villain was pretty weak, in fact I thought the actor who played the villain was very dorky looking and every time he appeared on screen, I started laughing. Then there’s the action or should I say what action? There were two major action sequences in the whole film and they were badly directed by Irwin Kirchner, this is the same man who directed The Empire Strikes Back; not sure what happened there. In an interview, Kirchner said he didn’t want to direct those action scenes, so I guess that’s why there were so badly shot. And lastly, the film was just plain boring.
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Ruth: An elderly, balding Bond just ruins the image of the super spy. You know the phrase, quit when you are ahead? Well, Connery definitely overstayed his welcome with this one.
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2. A View To A Kill
Ted: You know the film isn’t any good when you have Christopher Walken is playing the villain and yet he’s boring as heck. Also, Roger Moore wasn’t such a young man anymore; he looked bored and probably wanted to be anywhere else but on the set of this film. Oh yeah, Grace Jones was probably the most scary Bond girl/henchwoman ever and not scary in the good way.
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Ruth: Grace Jones aside, this movie also had one of the worst Bond girls ever. I realize some Bond girls are merely serve as ‘damsel in distress’ but Tanya Roberts took it way too literally. She came across ditzy and whiny, I mean saying the word ‘Oh James’ multiple different ways doesn’t exactly count as acting!
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3. Diamonds Are Forever
Ted: So Connery was basically begged to come back and play Bond again since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was a box office disappointment. They even paid him a then record $1.2 mil to reprise his most famous role. This was the film that kicked off the comedic tone in the Bond films throughout the 70s and 80s, the dark ending of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service made the studio very nervous so they asked the filmmakers to tone done the seriousness of the film. I think this film has probably the worst Bond girl ever, Jill St. John’s character was badly-written and she didn’t really do much in the film besides showing off her body. But what I do I know; the film was a huge success.
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Ruth: I think I must’ve dozed off when I saw this one with my brothers but there was hardly anything memorable in this film. I think the only worthy thing about this one is the theme song sang by the inimitable Shirley Bassey.
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4. You Only Live Twice
Ted: This film does have some cool action scenes but when Connery put on fake slant eyes so he could he disguise himself as a Japanese man, it was the low point in the Bond franchise. But this was back in the late 60s so I guess I can forgive the filmmakers for coming up with such an offensive idea.
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The concept for the film was decent, but the execution just wasn’t there. The directing was sloppy and the editing was even worse. Another thing that surprised me was how bad the film looked, I mean this was a big-budgeted film for its time and it looked pretty ugly. The other Bond films in that same decade looked spectacular, maybe the director and cinematographer wanted to give the film a new look but in my opinion they failed.
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Ruth: I don’t think I have anything else to add. Having a 6’2″, ultra-tanned, hairy Scot pretending to be an Oriental man is more than enough reason to include this on the worst list. I mean, seriously, it doesn’t get any more absurd than this, I don’t care what era it’s set in, there’s just no excuse for it. Oh and the villain Spectre was basically laughable, no doubt this is where Austin Powers got most of its inspiration from for Dr. Evil.
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5. The World Is Not Enough
Ted: Denise Richards played a scientist. Again, Denise Richards played a scientist in this movie. The very same Denise Richards who was married to Charlie Sheen and she played a scientist! I guess I made my point, but Denise was not the only problem in this movie. The plot was lame and Brosnan look bored in the entire film. Michael Apted was not known for doing action films and it showed because most of the set pieces were so boring. The only best action scene in the whole film was the boat chase in the beginning. One critic said it best when she reviewed the movie, “The spy who bored me.” I totally agree.
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Ruth: If casting could kill. Never in the history of a Bond film has there been a casting decision as ludicrous as this one. Not only did this one boast the most idiotic Bond girl name ever conceived — Dr. Christmas Jones (as if adding Doctor in front of it would make it better??) — there are lines like this, “I thought Christmas only comes once a year.” I rest my case.
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Honorable mentions:
- The Man with the Golden Gun
Ted: The film almost destroyed the franchise because it tanked at the box office so bad that United Artists considered pulling the plug any future Bond projects. But when they looked at the world wide box office numbers, they decided to keep going with it. The film only earned around $20mil here in the states.
… - Die Another Day
Ted: The film that ended Pierce Brosnan’s run as Bond. I actually enjoyed the first half of this one but wow, the rest of the film was awful. Bond surfing in the beginning then later he surfed again? It was bad.
… - Moonraker
Ted: I believe the tagline for this film was, ‘James Bond in space.’ I guess most of the big budgeted films around this time were trying to cash in on the Star Wars craze and so why not send Bond into space right? I think out of all of Roger Moore’s Bond films, this one ranks as the most ridiculous one in my opinion. I didn’t include it on my top 5 worst list is because I enjoyed most of the film, while I hated everything about A View to a Kill.
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- Live and Let Die
Ted: Roger Moore’s first outing as Bond was a pretty weird movie, the film hardly had any action in it and the villain again was quite weak. The reason I didn’t include it on my top 5 list was because Jane Seymour was so gorgeous in this one, she’s one of my favorite Bond girls.
… - Quantum of Solace
Ruth: Now this is my pick as Ted quite like this one. I really, really want to like this film and yes I did have a high expectations considering how fantastic Casino Royale was. But really there was just too much fighting in this film and the action sequences were too choppy and too brutal for what I expect a Bond film to be. Dominic Greene may be a good actor but he just makes a dull and lackluster villain. Add the overly-serious Olga Kurylenko who’s all business and no fun, it is the audience who is in need of a bit of solace as we’re ripped off some good escapist fun at the movies.
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So what do you think of our list? Share your thoughts and name your own picks of worst Bond flicks in the comments!
ruth
View To A Kill is definitely one of my least favourites. Great point about Walken – you’d expect him to be a great bad guy but in this he’s totally bland. It is a shame Roger Moore’s tenure as 007 should end on such a down note.
I’m surprised by the inclusion of Diamonds and You Only Live Twice – I preferred them both to From Russia With Love and Dr. No in the Sean Connery group.
It’s really a shame when directors hire good actors but not make the most of it, y’know. I mean, Walken seems like a recipe of good villain, but he’s like a David Bowie wannabe there with his bleached blond hair, ahah. What, you didn’t like ‘From Russia’? I quite enjoyed that one. Great train scenes, too.
I suppose it goes to show that although we can hypothesize about great actors who could play great Bond villains, it doesn’t always work out.
Yeah I can’t believe you have a talented actor like Walken and yet the role written for him was so lame.
Sorry Dan, I can’t stand Diamonds Are Forever, I did enjoy some parts of You Only Live Twice but overall I thought it was a mess.
…for me, the Bond films didn’t get going until Goldfinger and Thunderball. Dr.No and From Russia saw Bond finding his feet.
NEVER AGAIN and NOT ENOUGH are undoubtedly two of the very worst 007′s ever captured. Beyond that I’m a little aghast.
Not only do I think including two of Connery’s six smacks of blasphemy, but I have no idea how a list of the worst 007 goes completely Dalton-free! C’mon man – LICENSE TO KILL at the very least, if not both. And are we pretending that ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE never happened?
Interesting choices, but I vote nay.
For my money…
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
MOONRAKER
LICENSE TO KILL
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
(in no particular order)
Well we both are Dalton fans, Ryan, and I happen to like Licence to Kill. Dalton is a gritty Bond, way ahead of his time before Craig came along. I think I’ll forever be defending Dalton, ahah.
As for HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, I think it suffered from Lazenby as Bond but the story is actually pretty good. I think people just hate it ’cause Bond gets married.
Ryan, I actually enjoyed both of Dalton’s Bond films and I included On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on my best Bond films ever, guess our taste in Bond films are quite different.
aaaaaaah…..LOL On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is one of my all-time faves. the ski chase down the mountain alone is totally worth it.
I didn’t like any of the Brosnan Bonds other than Goldeneye, which is another of my all-time faves….by the time he got into the invisible car, i was done.
Jeez Ryan you manage to pick my top two Bondfilms for your worst five.
I’m a huge fan of both IHMSS and Licence to Kill. Mostly because they are so non Bondish but more natural and gritty and to be fair Dalton was at least 15 years ahead of his time. He plays him like Craig does now. Dalton is my favorite Bond.
Hear, hear Joel!! I LOVE that you said Dalton is your favorite Bond, you are one wise man I say
I’m just about to start rewatching all of the Bond films and really quite looking forward to it. There are a couple of duds and View To A Kill is up there (although great theme song) but the one I dislike most is On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It just seems so lacklustre and nothing-y compared to the rest.
Ooh fun, Louise. How many more do you still have to watch? I should do that one of these days, maybe sometime before the new one comes out.
Louise, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ is my GF’s favorite Bond movie. It is unique in a lot of ways and the ski sequence is awesome. I also like the finale that happens with Bond’s new bride.
The only redeeming parts of ‘A View to a Kill’ happen within the first 15 minutes…the invention of the snowboard and the epic theme song. Normally Moonraker comes up frequently in my least liked Bond movies as well. I tend to like a more serious story so the Roger Moore featured films leave me underwhelmed.
That’s right, Max, and the San Francisco scenery is pretty nice but overall it’s just blah. Moore’s Bonds are good fun when I saw them as a youngster, but yeah, they lack bite ’cause Moore just aren’t that believable in the action stuff.
I’m guessing I’ve seen only three Bond films: Dr. No (the premier of the series), The Living Daylights and Casino Royale, and love all three. In fact, I saw Dr. No just the other day for the first time, and even though it’s certainly old school now, it still stands the test of time and was excellent, glad I got to see it. So I know this is supposed to be about the worst Bond films, so let me just say I’m so glad for this list, so when I go looking for more to see I can avoid the duds and zero in on the good ones. Thanks Ruth and Ted!
I should rewatch Dr. No, it’s been ages but Connery was soooo good looking. Plus the enigmatic villain who makes up the title is pretty convincingly evil. I should lend you my Licence to Kill dvd, Becky, Dalton is good in it, too, as he always is
I know, SC was HOT back then! And the whole film was just great. Oh, for sure I’ll borrow LTK. Loved TD in TLD just as you said I would, so I certainly believe that LTK is good too,
BTW, Ruth, I have the first three Bond films on regular DVD… $10 for all three at Wal Mart, what a deal, huh?! So if you want, let me know.
Thanks Becky, you should try watching some of the films we listed, who knows you might enjoy them. As I mentioned, we all have different taste in films so might like the ones we hate.
I think ‘A View to a Kill’ was the first Bond flick I saw theatrically, and I’m not ashamed to admit that a big reason for that was the Duran Duran theme song!
Yeah that’s a pretty cool song. Duran Duran and A-Ha were so huge in the 80s. I also like A-Ha’s song for Living Daylight.
I wanted to mention the 1967 movie Casino Royale with David Niven playing Bond and with John Huston directing. While obviously spoofing itself and spotlighting the glamour of the Bond franchise, David Niven as Bond just drags the whole movie down – now if it was Peter Sellers maybe…
Ahah, David Niven as Bond? I always remember him as the bemused Oscar host who had to deal with a naked streaker walking across the stage!! There’s gotta be a bunch of spoof movies of Bond, I should check if I can watch parts of it on Youtube.
These Bond posts and lists are always fun to participate in (especially after reading various opinions on exactly why they’re either the best or worst). Mine are, in order of worst to least:
). Meh villain, too.
1. View to a Kill – Christopher Walken is wasted as a villain, Roger really overstayed in the role of JB with his last two stints, and it’s not a very compelling story (even if it did try to catch up with computer tech circa mid-80s).
2. Moonraker – while it has one of the best villains (Michael Lonsdale) of the series, he’s wasted in a mess of story (again) playing catch-up to Star Wars. The space angle never really works in this series.
3. Die Another Day – man, I wanted Pierce Brosnan to go out with a good Bond. Sadly, didn’t happen for me. Another story involving some orbiting space device and ludicrous action scenes (notice, I’m not complaining about Halle Berry
4. Never Say Never Again – yeah, just because someone had movie rights that allowed the ‘Thunderball’ story to be remade doesn’t mean they should have. Still Connery actually look better here as an older Bond than he did in ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (when he was actually younger… comparatively).
5. The Living Daylights – I know I’m going to catch hell from Ruth on this one, but I must put it here. Timothy Dalton has to be the most wasted, talented actor to play Bond. He really could have had a much longer career in the role, but the stories he was handed tried to change JB to a more politically correct version. Bad move. I actually like TD better in ‘Licence to Kill’ (which makes a lot of worst lists, btw) because it’s the darkest Bond ever.
Thanks Ruth and Ted for fun (I say this as I duck).
That last sentence should have read (typing too fast at work):
“Thanks Ruth and Ted for fun post (I say this as I duck).”
Ahah, don’t worry Michael, everyone’s entitled to their opinion so I won’t hurl anything at you for what you said about TLD. I didn’t think he was wasted but one thing I didn’t like about Living Daylights is Joe Don Baker as the villain. I mean he’s just not even in the same league as Dalton! When the two are speaking it just felt so weird as Dalton was so eloquent yet tough and he looked like a geeky teenage boy obsessed with war toys! But there are parts in the film that Dalton executed brilliantly and his dramatic range really shone, especially the part when Saunders got killed in the amusement park. His rage as he squeezed the balloons was quite intense.
Glad you enjoyed Licence to Kill though, glad they cast a better villain in that one. Yep, it’s the darkest Bond ever and I loved it! Crazy how young Benicio was in that film, I almost didn’t recognize him when I saw that film recently.
You know I actually like The Living Daylights quite a bit, I wouldn’t call it great, just a bit too long. Other than that I think you and I have the same taste in the Bond films.
Thanks for stopping by as always!
Hi, Ted, Ruth and company:
Excellent one-on-one topic!
The film that turned me off the Bond franchise was ‘Never Say Never Again’. Connery was looking old and acting his age. Michael Fox’s ‘M’ was ridiculous in an unneeded re-make of the far superior ‘Thunderball’.
Was never much of a fan of Roger Moore as Bond. Too pretty and unwilling to get his hands dirty. Better suited to play Simon Templar in ‘The Saint’. Still think George Lazenby made a very serviceable Bond in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. Far better than than the following two given the Bond mantle.
Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were paler imitations of Moore’s Bond. While transitioning from spy to action hero.
Daniel Craig has made the circle complete. Though still retains that bit of a bastard that Connery wielded so effortlessly.
Hi Jack,
Thanks as always for your well thought out comments, I totally agree with you about Never Say Never Again, it was just a mess of a film.
I’ve never seen any of the Saint TV show episodes, I did enjoy the Val Kilmer film version, wish it could’ve been better though. That’s one of the films they should remake/reboot/retool or whatever Hollywood is doing nowadays.
Hey Ted, so agree about The Saint. I’d love to see that being remade by a really competent action director. With a better script and more compelling villain, it could’ve been a GREAT spy flick. I do like Kilmer though, he was quite fun to watch.
Hi Jack. Dalton a paler imitation of Moore’s Bond??? I’m left scratching my head with that comment of yours, but other than that, I agree with you. IHMO, Craig made ‘the circle complete’ as he basically emulated what Dalton did before the audience was ready for a truly gritty, no-nonsense Bond.
I’m thrilled that you didn’t include any Timothy Dalton films on this list. It drives me crazy to hear his movies unfairly pushed to the bottom. I would switch around the order, but here’s my list of worst choices:
1. Diamonds are Forever – this one goes way too far into campy territory. Somehow, Connery looks 10 years older here than in You Only Live Twice. It’s such a mess.
2. Die Another Day – yes, it has a great opening 30 minutes, but the rest of it is the worst stretch in pretty much any Bond film. Such a waste of a good start and totally ridiculous, even by Bond standards.
3. A View to a Kill – this one just edges out The Man With the Golden Gun as the worst Roger Moore outing. It’s slow-moving and silly, Moore looks way too old, and Tanya Roberts is awful as the leading girl. They also waste Christopher Walken, and even Grace Jones isn’t crazy enough.
4. The Man With the Golden Gun – this is another really odd Moore outing that’s only interesting because of Christopher Lee as the villain. The rest of it is mostly uninteresting, especially because of Nick Nack.
5. Never Say Never Again – this was a close call over Moonraker but never really grabs you. Connery gives it a decent shot, and the story isn’t bad, but Basinger is rough. Also, it has a really ho-hum ending.
Hi Dan,
Those are definitely bad Bond films, I was thinking of putting Diamonds Are Forever on #1 but then I saw Never Say Never Again recently and I just couldn’t stand it.
Hey Dan, well you won’t find any quibble or mockery about Dalton from me, man. I’m so glad we both agree on that! Btw, this list is in random order, so we basically agree on the worst list!
i’m actually going to post an interview related to the James Bond series to my blog on Monday. i could write a book on it though LOL
These are my best Bonds (no particular order):
Dr. No
Goldeneye
Casino Royale (2006)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Living Daylights
You’ll notice no Roger Moore Bonds…it’s not that i won’t watch them, it’s just that he’s my least favorite & his movies were so campy. Craig is my favorite, he’s the most like the books, then Connery.
The worst are:
Die Another Day
Never Say Never Again
Octopussy
Diamonds Are Forever
Tomorrow Never Dies
I think in the later Bonds, they just ran out of ideas…there’s only so many whacked-out plots & villains in the world i guess.
Hey Paula,
Those are great choices for your best Bond films and looks like we’re in agreement on the worst Bond films. Although, I have to admit it I quite enjoyed Octopussy, I don’t know why, the film was so silly and you can tell Roger Moore was getting bore playing Bond.
Octopussy has its moments, like when Q shows up at the end, but in general it’s one of my least fave. All of the Moore Bonds are a little silly tho
Hey Paula, you changed your gravatar pic
I LOVE that you put Casino Royale AND Living Daylights on your BEST list.
Ha..ha… I see what you mean about Moore’s Bonds, but I guess since I grew up with them, I actually don’t mind them. No, they’re not my faves but because they’re so campy, they’re actually fun to watch. I mean, I actually own Octopussy and the chase scene in India is such a hoot! Glad to see you don’t like Brosnan either.
Yep, new pic, I stole your sunglasses idea
I guess I’ll rewatch the Moore Bonds since I trust your opinion & Ted’s, they usually replay sometime during the holidays
Hey Paula, if you have Comcast or Infinity or whatever it’s call now, they usually have all of the Bond films On-Demand during the holidays. I actually rewatched a bunch of them a couple of years ago and they’re all broadcast in HD! If I remember correctly, most if not all of them are free.
They were all a little more than camp especially after the 2nd film Her Majesty’s Service George Lazenby if any of the actors enjoyed it well I think it was more the swagger licence if you ask me I prefer Roger Moore as he did ‘The Saint’ and I loved that show. As of late the Bond trilogies have gotten more bizarre and depressing than fun. Although I haven’t seen the original with Barry Nelson who is far from the British stereotype the Bonds are today. Soundtracks are even worse as that is what I enjoyed most like Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Gladys Knight, Nancy Sinatra, Tom Jones,Lulu I wish I could add Amy Winehouse would have been great for this collection as there are more but these are the ones I loved best.
Will I see ‘Skyfall’ I don’t think so as the last one was pretty bad in my books so I think the Broccoli’s should end the series here and try something else.
Hi Stella, I love the older Bond soundtracks too, I think Shirley Bassey’s voice and songs are so strong and memorable. The latest song was terrible, can’t even listen to it once without wincing. Ahah, as far as retiring Bond, I doubt that’ll happen as they’ve made so much money for the Broccolis.
That is awesome that you’ve met Roger Moore. He seems like a classy guy. What a funny story, you are too starstruck to even say hello!! I was kind of like that when I met Gerry Butler but my hand had a mind on its own, ha…ha.. Glad to hear he’s a nice guy. I just read an article on him and he does seem like a humble guy who doesn’t take fame too seriously. Thanks for sharing.
Just to add I did meet Roger Moore in Vancouver in 92′ as he walked into the shop I was working at in the Pan Pacific Hotel though I was too stunned and with trying to be normal as I had a total crush on him since ‘The Saint’ he was so nice and a lot different than I thought he would be. I didn’t get an autograph as those words couldn’t pass my lips past the smiling I couldn’t stop so I let him go out the door without a word except for my laughing fit that started after he left I am sure he heard me with my OMG’s as well. So that was my starstruck moment.
What a cool story
I’ve never met anyone that famous.
I’m just so glad The Living Daylights is not in that list. It’s such an underrated bond film. I love it for the title song by A-ha let alone everything else. Great list
Woo hoo!! You know I LOVE everyone who has nice things to say about Dalton and his Bond films
Nice list of the worst. I like the angle you took on this post.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great list guys. To be honest, I’ve never been been a huge James Bond fan and really started to watch only with Golden Eye. No doubt The World is Not Enough was pushing the boundaries of ridiculousness in terms of casting and plot.
I know Cas, glad you took the time to read it anyway. It’s never to late to catch up on Bond franchise as they’ll forever be making them
Haven’t seen any Bond films, but these all look terrible. I shall steer well clear, as I don’t care for spy movies in the first place. And Connery is annoying.
You haven’t seen ANY Bond film?? I know you’re all about indie flicks but I think you’d enjoy at least a few Bond movies. Ahah, I think this is the first time I heard Connery being described as annoying.
Great lists!
The bottom 5 Bonds for me are:
1) Moonraker
2) Quantum of Solace
3) For Your Eyes Only (Zzzzz)
4) A View to a Kill
5) You Only Live Twice
And the Best!
1) From Russia With Love
2) GoldenEye
3) The Spy Who Loved Me
4) Goldfinger
5) Dr. No
And I really like Thunderball (despite the Tom Jones song!)
Ha..ha.. FYEO boring? That’s one of my guilty pleasures actually, and I love Carole Bouquet as Bond girl. Thanks for sharing your list, Pat!
Great discussion! I’m honestly not familiar enough with all of the Bond movies to participate but I do want to let you know that this will be a great subject of conversation in my home at supper time!
Awesome Brenda, always nice to hear we could spark some discussion in anyone’s household. Thanks for stopping by. Do let us know what the consensus is in your household
Moonraker – I just remember that the space sequences are laughably bad and the Bond girl being annoying as hell.
The World Is Not Enough – It bears repeating but “Denise Richards is a scientist.” The only things I like it about were the theme song ,sung by my favorite 90s band ,Garbage, and Sophie Marceau’s blue lace/sequined robe she wore toward the end of the film.
Die Another Day – a pathetic Bond plot with cheesy special effects. Again the only good thing about was the theme song, sung by Madonna.
You Only Live Twice – I try to tell myself every time I see a white actor in yellowface that the film was made in a different time. I try to put my film studies student cap on and I just can’t with this film. They really expected Japanese people to buy that Sean Connery was Japanese, really?! And it has a bad theme song.
Quantum of Solace – I was just bored by it.
I have high hopes for this latest one even though it could also fall victim to “too many stars spoil the movie” syndrome. I don’t know what Ralph Fiennes’s role is but I hope that he and Daniel Craig get to duke it out shirtless. And I hope that they pick someone like Adele to sing the theme song. But chances are they’ll go with Lady Gaga, which wouldn’t be too bad either since she can sing as well. Just as long as it is not Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Rihanna, or Beyonce.
I’m so glad you call Brosnan’s Bond pathetic, especially in that silly movie! You’re right though I LOVE Garbage’s theme song, in fact I listened to it a few times as I was writing the post!
Quantum was really dull wasn’t it? Sooo much action but it just wasn’t engaging. The ending was terrible too, I mean at least other Bond films had a rather fun finale, cheeky at times, but fun. This one it was just meh.
Ha..ha.. I’m really curious about Ralphy’s role, too. And yeah, Adele would be a perfect choice. I’d hate to see any of those girls you mention doing the theme song!!
Hey Ruth, was disappointed to see View to a Kill on the list. That is one of my guilty pleasure Bond movies. Christopher Walken makes a great villain and Grace Jones is perfect as Mayday. I get the impression though that she might be like that in real life eek! Saw an interview with her once where she hit the interviewer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpWo15Jc2JQ Scary :-0
Sorry Ronan, but even you agree it’s more of a ‘guilty’ pleasure right? Grace Jones is scary, wow I wonder if the interviewer pressed charges??
Its amazing that Moonraker DIDN’T make the list. =)
Ahah, it’s in one of those ‘so bad it’s good’ category, Joel. It’s preposterous but good fun.
Oh man. I am so glad that The World Is Not Enough is on this list…that one was HORRID!!
“A View to the Kill” and “Never Say Never Again” are examples of incompetent filmmaking. With “View,” it’s like Roger Moore was too tired to even care any more, and the writing and directing followed suit. “Never” was made by people who had no concept what made Bond work, even if it was a remake of a previous Bond film (by the way, the director’s name is spelled Irvin Kershner).
I never quite understood why people hate “Diamonds Are Forever” so much, as it’s one of my favorite films. Sure, it’s over the top (and Sean Connery looks like he aged a decade since his previous outing), but it’s fun. It definitely changed the feel and tone of the series, precluding Roger Moore’s turns. Similarly, “Die Another Day” is a guilty pleasure; it’s a stupid movie, but is so outrageous and has a great sense of fun.
On the other hand, I never understood the praise for “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” From breaking the fourth wall at the beginning of the movie (“That never happened with the other guy”) to the silly frilly costumes Bond wore at the ski resort (giving Austin Powers his wardrobe), to the long, boring chase scenes, this movie almost seemed a parody of itself. I find it painful to watch, and I’ve tried numerous times. I’ll even take Bond in space over this.
By the way, Roger Moore is three years older than Sean Connery, so it’s funny that “elderly” Connery’s last film was released when he was 53 while Moore’s last outing was when he was 58.
Hi Jamie, welcome to FC! I forgot Moore is older than Connery! Can’t believe Moore was almost 60 when he did his last Bond, he’s practically a grandpa. Plus he doesn’t age as gracefully as Dalton who could still kick butt even now at 65!
Roger Moore was always younger looking, though, considering he was already 50 when he did “The Spy Who Loved Me,” and was thought of to be hired to take over the role of Bond due to his youthfulness compared to Connery.
It really is ashamed that Timothy Dalton wasn’t given better material, considering he really was pretty good as Bond. At least Pierce Brosnan had two really good films before they returned to silliness. Let’s hope Daniel Craig’s revision lasts a bit longer.
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Excellent choices all round really, even in the Honourable Mentions.
Think I agree with them all.
hmmm i quite disagree with a lot of the people on this page. I will probably get a lot of backlash for this but Dalton and Craig are the best Bond actors by far. If you have read any of the books bond is not a suave person, he is a professional killer, and what do both craig and dalton do? they kill people with a cold resolve. as for worst bond flicks the list goes:
1. Diamonds are Forever
2. The World is Not Enough
3. Moonraker
4. You Only Live Twice
5. Die Another Day
Diamonds is pretty funny theres no denying that. Aside from Connery looking fat and old the final scene on the oil rig was just about the most boring ending (so we thought until For Your Eyes Only) to a bond villain ever. Oh, and lets not forget the two most hated henchmen ever, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. Those two alone ruined the movie for me, the rest was just icing on a shit cake.
The World is Not Enough had potential. but it fell flat as Bronsan failed to deliver. Nothing more need be said as it already was said in the article.
Moonraker….just sucked, It was the return of Jaws, who finally says something at the end, highlight of the film haha. laser battles, the amazon, going through the desert, and a horribly boring bad guy.
You Only Live Twice… the long awaited revealing of Ernest Stavro Blofeld. Less than exciting to say the least. Hot red head getting eaten by piranhas? ok that was kind of funny. Bond turning into a japanese was super lame too. The girls were ok i thought. The action seens were pretty good though.
Die Another Day, where do i start with this one? Everything about this movie sucked. It went from bond seeking revenge to Diamonds are Forever part 2, but oh wait add angry North Koreans who get turned into white people. I don’t dislike Halle Berry but she sucked as a bond girl, incompetent, boring, and just bland.
Well there are my least favorite, now for the real heat to come.
Top 5 Bond Films:
1. The Living Daylights
2. License to Kill
3. The Man with the Golden Gun
4. Live and Let Die
5. Casino Royale
The Living Daylights is by far my favorite. Why? Bond is a professional killer, and he is portrayed as one in this film very well. The action seens were very well done. 1 of his friends goes down which enrages him. The plot was very interesting. Also the girl had a role that was more than just being a good looking girl.
License to Kill is probably my second favorite flick. Bonds best friend gets maimed so he goes on the hunt to find the killer. It has probably one of the most memorable car chases in the series. Again bond is a rogue professional not some suave playboy.
The Man with the Golden Gun was probably one of the best Moore film’s. A great villain, few to no goofy henchmen, and Brit Ekland was smokin. The opening them done by Lulu is pretty awesome too. As stated with the previous two films, its bond being a professional and not some super suave guy. He twist a girls arm to get info.
Live and Let Die. Not so much on the professionalism on this one, however the fact that his assistant is the son of the guy from Dr. No is an awesome continuity. oh and the main title song is done by Paul mccartney, can’t hate that. jane seymour? can’t hate that either.
Casino Royale. Opening seen? need i say more. oh and again with the professionalism on this one.
I realize i left out a lot of the connery films and ohmss. not to mention half the moore films and completely neglected never say never. Never say never is not an official series film so it doesn’t count, and shouldn’t. If you count never say you should also include the original Casino Royale which is basically an old version of Austin Powers. The connery years were ok for the most party up until You Only Live Twice. They were a good starting point for the series. The mid Moore years were ok, but nothing to special, good for a boring afternoon and some pizza. i would have thrown Goldeneye in with the good films but its top 5 not top six. Almost everything was good about golden eye except the bond girl was not so attractive.
OHMSS, yeah Lazenby sucks at talking but the man could move. It was serious too, which was awesome. Blofeld got a face lift and was moderately more competent than in the previous movies.
Hey Nick, well you will get a big hug from me for saying Dalton is one of the best Bond actors! He sure was and I don’t care what anybody says. Three of your best Bond list would make mine as well, the two Dalton ones & Casino Royale I mean. Btw, the scene in TLD when Sanders got killed at an amusement park, Dalton’s reaction as he squeezed the balloon was just superb. You could just see the rage in his eyes, that’s what made me like him, he’s got that sense of danger to go with that dashing good looks.
What I consider to be the five worst Bond movies:
1. “GOLDFINGER” (1964)
2. “DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER” (1971)
3. “DR. NO” (1962)
4. “THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN” (1974)
5. “TOMORROW NEVER DIES” (1997)
Hi Lady, thanks for your comment. You didn’t like Dr. No? I haven’t seen that one but I’m curious about it. I think you’re one of the few who didn’t like that movie.
I recently re-watched a bunch of these here it goes.
Diamonds are Forever
Live and Let Die
Quantum of Solace
You Only Live Twice
Thunderball
I rewatched Moonraker and sure its no Citizen Kane but its quite entertaining!
So Joel, these are your list for worst, right? I agree w/ you on Solace, definitely a letdown after Casino Royale. I quite enjoyed Moonraker actually, but overall it’s just not a good movie.