How Rotten Tomatoes Ranks James Bond | Which 007 Films Are Fresh and Which Are Rotten?

[@LeonWick526]

Audiences: THEY KILLED JAMES BOND?! Rotten Tomatoes: No Time to Die isn't the most daring Bond movie.

[@Mostirrelevant]

They obviously did not. It is about the process of making new movie, and it is complicated, but the Bond is not dead.

[@JamesLynd]

Safin's motivations as a villain make more sense than this list does.

[@NelsonStJames]

lol !!!

[@spaceodds1985]

Ha LOL

[@RobertK1993]

He was a nihilist.

[@johnwhittington2998]

@@RobertK1993 who also really loves money

[@randomhuman97]

Haha SAVAGE 😄

[@crazypomp927]

Tomorrow Never Dies being so low is absurd. Solid entry squarely in the top half.

[@joehorne2808]

Top quarter. It's such an underrated film, and one of the smartest Bond films imo.

[@michaeldow3809]

Never liked that one. I have it 20th on my Bond rankings.

[@cosmedelustrac5842]

I agree, I love this film.

[@Chronocrits]

My personal favourite. It was my first.

[@HappyMan0203]

I felt myself die a little inside when I saw it was that low.

[@BenCol]

*NSNA - Critic’s Score 70%, Audience Score 37%* Well, that just proves it, doesn’t it? Film critics are just a bunch of hoity-toity out-of-touch elites whose views in no way reflect those of ordinary cinema goers, the humble everyday people who have to pay to see these films. *Licence to Kill - Critic’s Score 78%, Audience Score 61%* Well, let’s not be too hasty, quite a few of those film critics have some rather intelligent things to say. They’re the sort who can truly appreciate proper filmmaking, which can sometimes go unappreciated by the uncultured hoi-polloi who wouldn’t know a film from their elbows.

[@calvindyson]

Genuinely laughed out loud at this! Brillaint!

[@jamesatkinsonja]

You managed to make internet moaning hilarious!

[@dj71162]

@@calvindyson Speaking of critics, it would be interesting to see you react to Siskel & Ebert's Bond special they did back in the day. Some of their views have not aged well, thats all Ill say. But it does give you an idea of contemporary views on the older films.

[@BenCol]

@@dj71162 As I recall, they don’t consider OHMSS worth talking about because of Lazenby’s one-film status. I guess maybe they had limited time (it being a half-hour show, or rather 22 mins due to commercial breaks), but still, emblematic of OHMSS’s reputation back then and how much it’s changed.

[@crodo123]

it's not that simple. it's all about balance. there's a lot of fans that love shitty movies like venom or justice league. in the case of bond In my opinion things like the spy who loved me or moonraker are terrible yet loved by fans. amd then you have OHMSS with low audience scores but anybody that knows anything about movies knows that it's by far one of the best, so you have to look at the movies as movies and as a fan combined. it's not as easy as critics bad audiences good

[@christhornycroft3686]

“Not daring enough?” I’m pretty sure “daring” isn’t Not Time To Die’s problem. It went places no other Bond film has gone, for better or worse.

[@hkr0065]

Indeed. That consensus is wack. Say what you will about NTTD, but it was certainly daring as fuck.

[@qeetuhd]

The last one is s the correct one

[@cosmedelustrac5842]

Agreed. If anything, it might be the Bond film that has taken the most audacious risks yet.

[@StandTheOffensive]

Yeah NTTD pulled the old Last Jedi sUbVeRtIoN of ExPeCtaTiOnS. Still a decent enough film tho. Not as bad as Spectre or Skyfall. Yes- I said Skyfall.

[@Zroolmpf_Celmbror]

For worse

[@guam_]

Rotten Tomatoes loves NSNA because it has Sean Connery and only because it has Sean Connery; critics love it.

[@dashtoroya2838]

Don't forget NSNA also had the legendary JOHNNY ENGLISH 😎😎

[@fSebastianRe]

@@dashtoroya2838 you mean mr bean

[@playedout148]

I only ever watch the fan edit Never Say McClory Again.

[@orinanime]

Only? Only? Not hardly. Connery is awesome, obviously. But he's giving his best performance since Dr. No, FRWL, and Goldfinger. Klaus Maria Brandauer is one of the all time best and most entertaining Bond villains. Barbara Carera as Fatima Blush is outstanding. Sultry and alluring and completely unhinged. Bernie Casey is excellent as Felix. This version of Q is a friggin delight. Rowan Atkinson is silly fun. Kim Basinger is drop dead gorgeous and instantly lovable. The ONLY negatives to this movie are: This version of M is annoying. But it's making fun of the Thatcher Administration, so it gets a pass from me. The legal limitations (no gun barrel, no traditional Bond style opening). Michel LeGrande's music feels out of place in multiple scenes (not the entire movie, but a lot). And the Lani Hall song. It definitely should have been the Phyllis Hyman song instead.

[@anthonydpearson]

It’s important to remember how RT scores are calculated - it’s not an aggregate score, it’s the % of reviewers who said “this movie is good vs this movie is bad”. So if 100% of critics give a score of 2/5, it gets 0%. If 100% of critics give a score of 3/5, it gets 100%. It’s a dumb system

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Irritates me how much weight the site holds. Metacritic is the video gave equivalent and people use these percentages as fact.

[@weirdotzero7065]

@@TheT3rr0rMask Same. RT just has a lot of problems. Like don't get me started how I would sometimes find reviews call a film "average, but a fun time" negative. It's wack. The site also takes away from the actual reviews and nuances of the critics and (sometimes) audiences.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

@@weirdotzero7065 In fairness it has links to full reviews on the website for people to read

[@RIMovieCorner]

7:30: From what I remember, 'Spectre' did relatively well with critics when it first hit the UK market. At that point, it was around the mid 70's or so on RT. The reason why it dropped down is that a lot of U.S. critics HATED it and their reviews for it were quite brutal.

[@EntropicDecayGaming]

I'm always amazed at the general disrespect given to Brosnan. I feel like people unfairly judge his entire tenure based on Die Another Day. While I do think that Tomorrow Never Dies is somewhat "middle of the road", GoldenEye and TWINE are both phenomenal films. Oh well, it took 30 years for Dalton to truly become appreciated so maybe we just need to give it a few more years for the same to happen with Pierce.

[@DafyddBrooks]

remember this is just rotten tomatoes. EVERYONE loved Brosnan back in the day, but like you say its like they are just judging DAD as the culprit, but thats not fair . like you say GE and TWINE is great no dought :)

[@calvindyson]

Indeed, I feel like everyone was generally very positive about Brosnan in the 90s. When the question came up 'Who is the best Bond?" it would often be Connery and then Brosnan in second place in articles and talking heads on TV etc. I feel like we'll get to some newfound general appreciation of his films soon enough though!

[@asch7906]

TWINE deserved better I agree.

[@johnrigs6540]

@@calvindyson Yea it really seems like as soon as Craig showed up Brosnan was immediately cast aside! But I think you are right - you will see a much greater appreciation for those light and fun Brosnan films as time goes by. In fact - coming after the emotional weight of Craig’s finale - you are already starting to see a longing for that breezier more relaxing style of Bond film. I am actually willing to bet the next version of Bond we get will be much closer to his more traditional classic version of James Bond. I think people are really craving it at this point!

[@tmmartinesq.6216]

Brosnan is Irish so maybe....

[@MagicMaster667]

The Brosnan adventures are very underrated on that site. (And on some other ones, too.) Those films will forever get all my love, and I'll always spread the good word about them! This autumn, actually, my youngest sibling came up with the Rotten Tomato ranking for TWINE, what are the odds, eh? He had just found it, showed me it with the preface; "Oof, seeing this percentage will make you really sad". And then, to his amazement and confusion, I wasn't. Kids, amirite?

[@evobirkz8]

Yes, i actually think they will hold up alot better then NTTD, QoS, Spectre, its the perfect formula for a bond movie and i hope they return to that style next, now that they have done the whole backstory/personal journey with Craig

[@randomhuman97]

That's the critic trend. They tend to praise the current bond and sh*t on the previous bond in order to stay relevant. Critics of the 90s ripped Dalton apart. And early 2000s boycotted Craig before his 1st film. And when casino Royale silenced them, they soon changed colors and started to worship Craig as the best bond ever. But As of Now, ppl have already started hating on Craig and started to appreciate Brosnan.

[@angellight495]

Anyone who can rank Die Another Day above any other Brosnan Bond film deserves to be barred from being a critic for life.

[@LukeBensonx]

It’s my friends favourite bond film and I just had to question his critic on film completely!

[@Minnesota_Central]

​@@LukeBensonx um because it's actually an enjoyable bond comedy? It's not like people say it's better than Skyfall or Gold finger. Die Another Day IS wayyyy better than the previous 2 which imo are some of the worst spy films I've ever seen. At least DAD is an entertaining bad movie.

[@kingrex1931]

I think they rate more based upon the actors in the films than anything else so having Halle Berry in Die Another Day nis probably what gave it the higher ranking, even though she was terrible in it.

[@angellight495]

@@kingrex1931 I think you're probably right although I don't think any actor could have saved that god awful script.

[@Phil684]

"A View to a Kill" had to be one of the first movies I rated on Rotten Tomatoes after I created my account in 2008. Back then, the movie's average audience score was 61%, while the average for critics was 47%.

[@FromVadimWithLove]

Little off-topic here. I'm not a big fan of Never Say Never Again, but here in Russia, this movie is well regarded. From what I know, this film was the first Bond movie to be distributed and shown in Russia after 1991. This film was easy for local cinemas to acuire. But some years later EON came to us and knocked it out of the park quite literally. We unapologetically love Brosnan films. Be safe, Calvin, your content is amazing 😎🇷🇺

[@b.chaline4394]

Very interesting comment! Similarly, I've read that the Star Wars prequels are more popular than the original films in Russia, precisely for that "novelty" factor, is this true ? (please read these last three words with Ourumov's accent in mind^^). I also happen to think that the cultural differences play a part in how the various James Bond actors are perceived - Roger Moore, in particular, seems to be less regarded in the US than he is in Europe, and since Rotten Tomatoes is an american website...

[@crobeastness]

a shame since its the worst entry.

[@abohachuk4765]

I've heard that NSNA was even shown on the Soviet television.

[@AllardRT]

@@b.chaline4394 While the nostalgia factor probably does play a role in the Prequels' popularity out here in Russia, I would also say that the absolutely superb Russian dub helped A LOT. Anakin in particular feels like a complete 180 when voiced by Andrei Zaytsev and is probably closer to what Lucas intended him to be.

[@b.chaline4394]

@@AllardRT my Russian is very rudimentary, but every time I had a look at these various Revenge of the Sith dubbing montages that you find on YT, I was very impressed with the Russian dub, it sounded like one of the better ones! You're absolutely right that it contributes to one's perception of a film abroad. I'm French myself and again, I think dubbing played a key part in the appreciation for Roger Moore over here, since the actor voicing him in French also did the voice of Charles Bronson! So the alleged lack of "toughness" and "believability as a spy" that are too often used by Roger's detractors were never a thing for me growing up :D All Bond actors had terrific voices in French, I must say (even though it was jarring that the guy who did Craig's also voiced Gustav Graves just a few years ealier in DaD!)

[@andrewchapman4267]

Moonraker: silly but entertaining. Probably the most accurate Bond review ever.

[@zacharybowman3702]

I'm not a fan of rotten tomatoes. But when I do check it out, I always compare the critic score with the audience score. And I most definitely don't trust rotten tomatoes for Bond films. I'll leave the Bond reviews to Bond fans, especially Calvin Dyson. Great video as always, Calvin!

[@BenCol]

Never Say Never Again’s high critics score probably comes from the reviews from 1983 - they (and probably a lot of audience members too) were so wowed by Connery coming back that they were blinded to some of NSNA’s lesser qualities, especially to all those who hadn’t liked Moore. It seems NSNA could’ve simply been 2 hours of Connery (in character as James Bond) filing his tax return and it would’ve gotten rave reviews. But hey, it was the 80s, they were probably all high off their faces on coke. Of course, to fans born after 1983, watching NSNA after the fact on home video, there is no novelty of Connery coming back because it’s just as much a piece of the past as the other Connery’s, which would explain the discrepancy between the critic score and the audience score.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

I see people on these comments sections bash Craig sometimes but there were a lot of people who didn't like Moore back in the day [US film critic Gene Siskel from Siskel and Ebert fame for one] so were very much 'the real Bond is back'.

[@ryanoneill3192]

@@jamesatkinsonja Yea, I was about to bring up Siskel and Ebert. I watched their review of NSNA and they were practically tripping over each other to praise it, with the sentiment very much being that the real Bond is back.

[@drjwww]

The reviews in 1983 were much, much, MUCH kinder to NSNA than people would probably expect. Yes, so much of it was Connery being back, but it was also the immediate comparison with Octopussy, which wasn't quite widely-panned but was pretty widely mocked for a lot of things, including and especially its title. NSNA also serendipitously seemed to tag along on the coattails of (believe it or not) WAR GAMES, because of the casino video game scene, and Klaus Maria Brandauer's emergence as a critical darling after MEPHISTO.

[@BenCol]

@@ryanoneill3192 As I recall, they praised NSNA for having a more human villain and for getting away from the typical megalomaniacs. But when the EON series did that in the Dalton films, they criticised them for not having the typical megalomaniacal villains.

[@IgorsDen]

I was going to say much the same thing; in 83 the majority of critics, at least in the US, were of an age to have been into the Connery films when they hit cinemas, and very much took the "classic" view that no one had, and perhaps even could, live up to Connery, and that the films had gone downhill after the 60s, and perhaps even after Thunderball, and his return was treated in a similar way to how people treat films like The Force Awakens and Ghostbusters: Afterlife today. And like many "out of retirement" films, there is a sense that the initial reviews might have been a little too driven by hype and overexcitement. That said, back when I used to post on a Bond forum in the 00s there was a guy on there who was a big Moore fan, but his favourite of all was NSNA, and he used to talk about how it was "a braver, more exciting film than anything EON could ever come up with". I don't mind the film, but I was always jealous of his passion for it!

[@Wglass90]

Also, based on the modern perception it seems Roger Moore and Brosnan are even more underrated than Dalton at this point which is crazy since everyone loved both back in the day during the 70s-90s. Brosnan was my first Bond overall, and Moore was the first retro Bond I ever watched.

[@diogocatalano9557]

The first 4 Connery Bond movies are pure classic. They will never be outdated.

[@ΕΜΜΑΝΟΥΗΛΧΑΤΖΗΔΑΚΗΣ-ρ5σ]

Totally agree

[@blingproductions4560]

Nah I think thunderball is outdated personally. Not bad but compared to what came before it is.

[@ΕΜΜΑΝΟΥΗΛΧΑΤΖΗΔΑΚΗΣ-ρ5σ]

@@blingproductions4560 On the contrary Thunderball is the best of the first 4 Connery Bond i.m.o.

[@DavyDredd14]

From Russia with Love (1963) & Thunderball (1965) are truly brilliant 'Bond' Films !!

[@allenhilburn8686]

Looking at Rotten Tomatoes always impressed me with how out of touch the so called "professional" reviewers are. The audience scores seem more on target, but the problem here is variations in how contemporary the reviews are. Some films have the vast majority of the reviews based on the release date where some have reviews from much later, which may help explain where OHMSS and some of the other films place. I'm with you and mostly avoid this site. Another great video Calvin, a five Vesper rating. 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸

[@calvindyson]

Thanks, Allen!

[@swishfish8858]

One thing to keep in mind is that professional critics are approaching films from a VERY different place than most audiences. They're looking at different criteria, guaging different factors and are typically inundated with films they need to watch in order to keep up with their competitors. People who watch a popular film quickly just to get paid for their opinion are of course going to have a different view on a film from a hardcore fan of a franchise who's been waiting months for this release, or a casual filmgoer who doesn't get to the cinemas very often, which are the two groups who tend to make up the majority ratings on these aggregate sites.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

I think 'out of touch' is a bit harsh as the professional critics have to watch a wide range of films while the general audience-unless you go to the cinema every week-will go to something which they think is right up there street. For example, if you asked me to review a Saw film, I probably wouldn't like it as it's not my cup of tea but the Saw fans will passionately defend those films. I remember critic Matthew Bond [Samantha's Brother!] giving poor ratings for Deadpool 2 and John Wick 3 but did state it wasn't for him and if he wouldn't have watched them if he wasn't being paid to do so.

[@drjwww]

Rotten Tomatoes has always been an atrocious barometer of critical opinion, especially as it is essentially driven by the "fresh" / "rotten" dichotomy, gauging absolutely nothing in between and skewing the results so ridiculously. And, of course, for older films especially, reviews from unarchived or now-defunct sources end up not being considered in the overall consensus (and thus likely inflating results for, say, the Connery movies and, oddly enough, deflating the results for the Moore ones). You'd be better off going to Metacritic to get a better snapshot of critical consensus.

[@TheSpecialExecutive]

@@jamesatkinsonja I would argue "out of touch" would be an accurate description. When Calvin, Joe, David, or do a film review, it's from the perspective of our likes or dislikes, and is aimed at an audience with an interest in these types of films and know what our perspective is to a greater or lesser degree. As a professional you review your audience is composed of people who have varying degrees of interest, and as a professional you should have a knowledge of what types of films attract various sizes of audiences. Reviews should therefore describe how audiences for the type of film would react to it. You could add a disclaimer regarding the audience the film is aimed at, but most people reading a review of a particular film are going to be interested in that genre.

[@yesdollyhadbraces7442]

I think Never Say Never Again was lauded by the critics when it came out. For instance, Siskel and Ebert were ecstatic to have Connery come back and gave it big thumbs up. If rotten tomatoes aggregated the older critic scores, I can understand why it is so high. However, NSNA seems to have not withstood the test of time with fans or critics.

[@Dohsoda]

Octopussy being 43% is the absolute cinematic crime of the century!

[@Bonkatsu12]

Lol, what?? Octopussy is one of the worst bro.

[@lesbiantrump4230]

@@Bonkatsu12 Octopussy is amazing

[@gregtanner5590]

I agree, it should be much lower; it's crap. Sorry, embarrassing CRAP.

[@Dohsoda]

@@lesbiantrump4230 I agree! And in my opinion, its Roger's best Bond movie.

[@mikeysorrentino8480]

I know right? I think it’s better than Diamonds Are Forever

[@Telos1807]

Even putting aside my bias for Brosnan's era, NSNA and Quantum above TND, TWINE or LALD is insanity!

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

If you look at the average score, Never Say Never Again has a 5.6/10, which is lower than all of the Brosnan films.

[@magnusprime962]

With RT it’s important to remember three things: 1) Percentages are not scores. They are just measures of how many critics recommended seeing the movie vs. skipping it. It’s more useful in how it gathers reviews for you to look at than the percentage provided. 2) Critics are not general audiences and not necessarily fans. They’re people who are paid to watch dozens of movies a year. Their view will naturally be different from the average Joe’s. 3) Audience scores aren’t always reliable due to review bombing, artificial inflation, etc. It’s the same reason IMDb’s rankings aren’t worthwhile, anyone can give it ranking and not have to justify it. Bottom line: the scores aren’t as important as what people actually say about the movie.

[@johnsimonaguiar4376]

THANK YOU! finally someone who understands how RT works. Thanks,

[@mrrandyman1973]

Spot on. Also, people who review films online, I think tend to be younger. That skews some trends.

[@mike-mz6yz]

I think review bombing is way overblown. I have personally hardly ever seen a movie where I couldn't understand the audience score. Especially the movies that get called out on it the most like last Jedi or some marvel movies. Generally I think there are positive review bombs that balance out the negative. I trust the audience score way more then the critic score. The other two points are very true. I would say its always best to ignore the 1 stars and the 5 stars and focus on the remaining in judging a film.

[@ThousanWhite]

This is a fun little exercise; however, the problem here is that unless the same exact critics and the same audiences are "grading" each film individually and the exact same RT criteria is being used to determine if a review is interpreted as being a recommendation or not, a lot of the nitty gritty in the numbers is basically pointless. That's exactly why there's no consistency in the overall summary of the critic responses to each movie. It's why they sometimes contradict each other. If the same audiences/critics were reviewing each movie individually, that would eliminate or mitigate this flaw. In short, when it comes to RT, the variability in the source of the data is just too high to really make any significantly definitive conclusions for this exercise.

[@JoeCool7835]

I actually understand the relatively split decision for OHMSS. Due to Lazenby's wooden performance, investment in the relationship with Tracy is required. Some audiences just don't have the level of investment needed.

[@davids736]

Really got to watch the George Lazenby one..... Great little video Calvin, many thanks as always darling 👍👍🙂🙂❤

[@spaceodds1985]

In regards to NTTD… its videos like Calvins and certain podcasts that have managed to balance the opinions of fans. Listen to Smershpod’s episodes on NTTD, not only hilarious but actually raise a point or two on how to improve the film.

[@HOTD108_]

How is NTTD NOT the most daring Bond film to date? Love it or hate it, I can't imagine how anyone could argue that it wasn't a big creative gamble within the series.

[@NelsonStJames]

True that. The ramifications of which we have yet to figure out.

[@HOTD108_]

@@NelsonStJames Can't wait for the next Bond film to be a horror movie where zombie 007 rises from the grave to stalk the remaining MI6 cast.

[@anaussie213]

There's a reason why at the end of many Bonds the words "James bond will return...". No one ones him to die.

[@DakMT]

This is the exact example as to why listening to a critic review feels pointless. Having NSNE so high while then having TWINE so low blows my mind. I feel like there is a bias against Moore and Brosnan and a bias towards Connery.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

I think most critics would rather you read the review in full rather than the star rating/ summary on Rotten Tomatoes. I remember Siskel and Ebert said the discussion would tell you there actual feelings more than just the 'thumbs up/down' But it's all subjective as we find on this comments section all the time given one fan's favorite Bond is at least one other fans least favorite Bond which for me the variety of opinions is one of the best things about the Bond fandom.

[@btf_flotsam478]

Also, please note: Die Another Day is rated higher than TWINE and Tomorrow Never Dies. I guess Rotten Tomatoes accurately rates its ratings.

[@biddleeewho4181]

@@jamesatkinsonja same with Anthony Fantano and his numbering score. He'll make a 10+ minute review of an entire album, but people will skip to the end. So if he gives an album a 5 (out of 10), then they'll automatically hate on him, despite an entire video explaining what he likes/doesn't like about the album.

[@jambler15]

​@@btf_flotsam478 I know right? Amazing. The critics summaries on rotten tomatoes are crazy.....so much love for Die Another Day, back in 2002. Seriously.

[@freemantle85]

When it comes to older films, including the Bond series there are fewer reviews so it is easier for films' scores to eschew very positively or very negatively. Octopussy only has 49 reviews from critics, and Never Say Never Again has 53, whilst Die Another Day had 222 reviews on RT.

[@sharp52092]

LOL No Time to Die literally threw the entire Bond playbook out the window. If that isn't risky, I don't know what is.

[@Aceimus1066]

Great work mate. Always informative and entertaining.

[@calvindyson]

Much appreciated, Grant! And thanks for tuning in to the live stream yesterday and for all the great questions! :)

[@Anawackp15]

@@calvindyson You ignored a lot of my questions which I found slightly rude. :)

[@greatwuta]

@@Anawackp15 Dont feel bad, Calvin have always ignored me and I subscribed to him for a little over than a year and a half.

[@jamesburlingame4438]

@@Anawackp15 same for me. He's a bit of a tart. But then he does vote Lib Dems and Labour (despite the fact they lied about tuition fees and started the bleeding Iraq war) apparently aslong as they're leftwing that means they're a good party and worthy of our vote... LOL

[@AllardRT]

>The World is Not Enough in the lower half Alright, ths list needs to die. >Next up is Tomorrow Never Dies This list REALLY needs to die.

[@CRITTERBUSTERS]

I’m not surprised the critic and audience scores differentiate quite a bit. I was actually surprised that Dalton’s films were highly rated critically, and just above average with audience ratings. I’ve always admired Dalton as bond and he’s my second favourite just below Connery. The common complaint for Dalton with audiences seems to be Dalton’s lack of humour and “It” factor to be James Bond (the latter which I disagree with). Flipping through the audience reviews it appears that people just don’t think he has the bond “Feel”. Well that’s probably true in the cinematic bond sense but Dalton played it like the early Fleming novels so not everyone likes that.

[@joehahn9801]

Somebody posted on Reddit recently about the bottom 5 on Rotten Tomatoes and I couldn’t believe it! Brosnan takes a brutal and very much undeserved beating on this silly site.

[@TheQuietReader1920]

I don't care much for Rotten Tomatoes because I find they never really reflect my tastes; I love Octopussy to pieces and it saddens me that it never gets much critical love, and I think a paltry 43% is an unfairly rotten (ahem) score!

[@keno88]

That moment Calvin realises License to Kill is a legit good Bond movie. Definitely picked up a cult following. I believe the audience back in 89 was still prepared for a campy adventure and they were hit with a gritty revenge story. One of my favourites for sure.

[@menkomonty]

Calvin: Let's check these Rotten Tomatoes ratings. Rotten Tomatoes: 😏

[@tylerolsonfilms]

Calvin has a balanced and nuanced opinion being a true Bond Fan. Much fun watching, cheers mate !

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Really enjoyed this as usual. The 'live reaction' format was a bit different for a list video which was funny. The pics used on RT are from the post skyfall releases,hence why the Bond is looking stern in most of them!

[@lionspawfilmandphoto]

I'm almost certain they don't have the same grouping of critics per movie. It's just a general consensus of whoever reviews the movie at the time.

[@jamsandwichiguess8082]

It would be very interesting to see some follow-up videos comparing how imdb and letterboxd rates the films by comparison. I always found the latter to be the best when it comes to finding a consensus on a film.

[@magnum3.14]

Looking at aggregates like RottenTomatoes is not meant to replace your decision making. It is a starting point, and a tool, not a decision maker. One should read the reviews, if they actually care. It is a tool, use it as such.

[@Makoto03]

I sad and shocked by how low Goldeneye was in audience score and even critics. It was such a huge film when it released and introduced Bond to 90s kids like myself. I thought for sure it would have more love than the more dreary Craig entries.

[@asch7906]

The same site that overrates Marvel Cinematic Universe films like there's no tomorrow.

[@guithawk-ij8is]

Just discovered your channel and I'm really enjoying it! In my 60's and the first Bond I remember seeing in the theater is Thunderball, so I have a really soft spot for it. I'm pretty much on board with the audience scores, except I could never accept Lazenby as Bond (we used to call Majesty the "non'Bond" when i was a kid) and I didn't care for No Time to Die. Big fan of the first 5 Connery films, Skyfall, and Goldeneye, probably throw in Spy, Casino (Craig), and either Daylights or Tomorrow for my top 10.

[@ProfessorEchoMedia]

Very enjoyable video, Calvin, with lots of commensurate and indeed shared head shaking on some of the rankings. I was very, VERY surprised to see that the top 3 are also my top 3 favorite films, but as for the rest, I can only say that way madness lies. Like you, I never used to think much of DR. NO, but in the last couple of decades it has slowly creeped up to being my third fave. Studying the era in which it was made and learning how to place it in its context substantially increased my admiration over the years. Maybe it will with you as well once more perspective sets in as you get older. It's funny how often my Top 10 Bonds have changed, always a work in progress. 🙃

[@Craigmt12]

Loved this video. You should look at IMDB ratings next to see how it varies.

[@titaniumman02]

Calvin: "This critic consensus has been pretty on the money" Me: *Every penny of it*

[@bonghunezhou5051]

😄😆

[@maverickay5807]

So sad to see Brosnan's films ranked so low. I love all of his Bond films! ❤

[@nagi159]

i like dr. no a lot more than most people, but dr. no above the spy who loved me, goldeneye, casino royale and skyfall is fucking insanity

[@tomgallagher655]

They think Octopussy is worse than Die Another Day?! DAD deserves a 0% for me. Never Say Never Again’s placement is insane too!

[@b.chaline4394]

The critics had clearly chosen a side in the "Battle of the Bonds" in 1983...

[@bonghunezhou5051]

@@b.chaline4394 "...chosen a side..." The commentariat on _both_ sides of the North Atlantic, indeed!

[@matthewsebastian6654]

I do think Timothy Dalton's Bond is underrated and deserves a higher score but Pierce Brosnan deserves better.

[@ELO1138]

Siskel & Ebert's review of the various Bond films including a retrospective of the series is on youtube and its very inconsistent. It's very clear the two are big Connery fans and they write off Lazenby and Moore. Gene Siskel states in his Living Daylights review that they should've gone with Brosnan. Skip ahead to Goldeneye and he hates it. They both seem to take the position that Connery IS Bond thus their positive review of Never Say Never Again. Although Roger Ebert did write back in 1969 that he enjoyed Lazenby and OHMSS, stating that he could see future Bond films with different actors.

[@Bonkatsu12]

Yeah, certain genre movies they really have no idea what they were talking about. Especially when it came to horror movies.

[@tomlock5484]

To say The Living Daylights is "occasionally humourless" is to suggests that all the previous Bond films are constantly humorous.

[@nicholasbodo4327]

The most daring Bond movie will always be On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

[@JaredGriffiths2000]

I disagree with Rotten Tomatoes on a lot of the Roger Moore Bond films and Never Say Never Again but then again I disagree with Rotten Tomatoes on a lot of movies in general. I rely more on Rotten Tomatoes audience scores, Metacritic audience scores and IMDB and Letterboxd scores.

[@CinnaCentral]

My girlfriend and I have been watching the entire series from beginning to end for the first time and I gotta say I'm not shocked to see Thunderball so high up. It was so entertaining! The last fight in the boat had me gasping for air it was so funny.

[@stephencarter7266]

Oh, your "girlfriend"? The _entire series_ ? Srly? Come on, dude. Knock it off. smh

[@pennysmith6727]

Thank you to sweeten our Sunday again! It is not a surprise to me that Connery is so high and the Moore and Brosnan films get less love. I am watching Bond since I am 8 (now 47),have rewatched all, waiting for nttd and found for myself the Moore films are now for me too silly. I loved them as a child the most. Brosnan seemed to try to hard getting into Moores shoes instead Bond shoes. I found myself loving ohmss so very much, I can appreciate the romance and the strong Tracy character much better with age. I think I wrote it before ; for my mum(66) nttd was a new version of ohmss, but this time Tracy stays alive and bond dies. 😅

[@MAMoreno]

I don't think it can be stressed enough that critics in 1983 were REJOICING that Connery was back to purge Moore from their memories. Roger was always more popular with the general audiences than with the professional reviewers. Conversely, the low audience score for NSNA shows that loyal fans are a little too concerned with the superficial EON trappings...

[@DreBourbeau]

The irony of of criticizing Man with the Golden Gun for a “lack of gadgets” considering the last five movies

[@OFFtheCHIZANE]

My top 5, based on personal enjoyment: 1) Tomorrow Never Dies 2) Goldeneye 3) The Living Daylights 4) The Spy Who Loved Me 5) Goldfinger

[@DM-kv9kj]

Of course Craig's movies all dominate the top 5, because RT is paid off by big studios to put their latest movies super high to encourage more people to see them and buy the videos. How anyone could genuinely think No Time to Die is better than Goldeneye, for example, is beyond me. And Goldfinger isn't that good either, whenever I actually watch that movie I always realise just how dull and dopey it is, and there's literally a scene where Bond r*p*s Galore in the hay barn - like not even any question about it, full blown forces her down and then forces himself on her while she's desperately pushing him off and shaking her head...but oh, it's ok, because it's James Bond...who r*p*s lesbians straight. I get Goldfinger at the time fashioned a lot of tropes and has some fun scenes, but as a film it's not very good, even ignoring the aforementioned atrocity.

[@seanwalsh72]

I agree with your opinion that we here in the Bond community share very similar views to how we feel about the films more or less. It's a bit jarring to see some of the audience scores for these films and just how they differ from what Bond fans think of them.

[@Jnensrevenge]

I hope Octopussy get's it critical re-evaluation some day...

[@astrosquirrel5038]

It's in my top ten. I love that film!

[@oldman5247]

Rotten Tomatoes is a website that has reviews that simply put. Has reviews that I agree with, disagree with, and I don't care about. However the audience score is usually closer to the movies actual quality.

[@andersonmaciel9840]

IMDB next...? Good work, Calvin!

[@danielpeel9508]

My personal rankings (I've watched some of these upwards of 100 times) 1. For Your Eyes Only 2. Skyfall 3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 4. From Russia With Love 5. Casino Royale 6. Goldfinger 7. The Spy Who Loved Me 8. Goldeneye 9. The Living Daylights 10. Thunderball 11. No Time to Die 12. License to Kill 13. Dr. No 14. Quantum of Solace 15. Tomorrow Never Dies 16. You Only Live Twice 17. Octopussy 18. Never Say Never Again 19. Live and Let Die 20. Moonraker 21. The World is Not Enough 22. The Man with the Golden Gun 23. Diamonds Are Forever 24. A View to a Kill 25. Die Another Day 26. Spectre

[@nightmaster5593]

For Your Eyes Only is amazing!

[@davids736]

Watching this again - when For Your Eyes Only came up, I had a bit of brain freeze, and just couldn't for the life of me remember which one it was. So I checked out the trailer - it is nearly FOUR minutes long! And I can't believe Never Say Never got 70% - that's mental..... 👍😊❤

[@harvey2949]

Great video Calvin. You should maybe think of doing the same thing with IMDB.

[@williamblakehall5566]

In defense of Octopussy I can only say: Czechoslo-VAK-ia!

[@vinnieharris4716]

I just really love your videos. Funny, informative and just an amazing time

[@charliebarton9878]

"Airbrushed Into Oblivion"! That sounds like a future movie title as Bond films stumble forward to find their way into the future.

[@danbo433]

"Opinions are like a***holes - everybody's got one."

[@jambler15]

Dirty Harry said that in The Dead Pool!

[@daniel10ferreira]

70% for Never say never again is the best joke of the week

[@paulw858]

I think for Goldfinger, they were saying that it established the series blueprint, and they were using :"Martini shaken, not stirred" as just one example of it laying the groundwork. Kind of like how SAW II laid the groundwork for the rest of the SAW franchise, the energy and style that the series would have moving forward.

[@james__page]

Re: The RT summary... Perhaps you could say CASINO was a more daring than NTTD as it stripped most of the popular elements away from the general public's perception of a 'Bond Film' versus adding extra twists

[@oskareriksson3835]

I'm usually a fan of rotten tomatoes - But I can not for the life of me understand how Die Another Day is the second highest rated Brosnan film, or even close to the mid-range for that matters.

[@renekauts8323]

I think Daniel Craig's rating will fall significantly in a few years... The same thing happened to Pierce Brosnan after the end of his term... *** In fact, the best Bond films ever are: 1965, 1967, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987(!!!), 1989, 1995.

[@LittenMandrake]

You should consider doing a ranking video of your favorite Bond titles. It's an underrated but important aspect and I'd be curious to hear which ones you think best suit the genre and provoke the most intrigue and which ones fall flat (could even include the short stories). I personally always loved "The World is Not Enough". Good filler video while we wait for announcements on the next movie!

[@johnrigs6540]

The strange scores you are seeing for some of these films are probably just emotional reactions from critics and audiences at the time they were released - especially OHMSS. That one was probably just everyone being traumatized by the absence of Sean Connery! I remember most people used to hate that one. It was only us die hard fans that recognized it as a great film early on. In fact - believe it or not, I remember critics actually LOVED Never Say Never Again when it came out simply because Sean Connery was back! It was thought to be a classic and far superior to Octopussy!! Funny how time has changed things - especially that - rather DRAMATICALLY LOL!

[@alwaysOPEN4business]

Yes all very true, I'm sure I'm remembering correctly that on Siskel and Ebert's At the Movies show they said NASA was better than Octopussy, in what universe did they watch those films?

[@Nimroc]

I don't think it is about the reactions on release in this case, at least not for OHMSS, out of 54 reviews listed on rotten tomatoes only a single one is from before 2000 and that one is even positive. And the audience scores are pretty much just users that have rated on the site, so you are not going to find any that predate the site itself, unless you have older users that rate movies they have not seen in 30+ years. All that being said the stigma of the film being the one with the "one-off Bond" is something the film has been stuck with long after the initial reactions and the shift in opinion about it is pretty noticeable even just in the last couple decades.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

ITV usually skipped OHMSS when they used to show Bond films in prime time slots during the 90's/early 2000's, usually bunging it on the Sunday afternoon slot instead.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

@@alwaysOPEN4business Gene Siskel from the Worst of 1985 episode where 'View to a kill was a dishonorable mention 'I hope this is the last James Bond film with Roger Moore who is largely responsible for ruining what was once a great movie series'.

[@Geezer-yf8hv]

Reactions when they were originally released? OHMSS was in 1969! The internet did not even exist!!

[@sortehuse]

I didn't like "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" very much first time I watched it, because I didn't like George Lazenby as Bond, but after I have watched it sometimes and gotten used to George Lazenby I enjoy it a lot more.

[@tashrif46]

18:27 its just bias towards Sir Sean. People, especially the American critics, think that any Bond movie that Sir Sean is a part of, is automatically good. Dr. No is a good Bond entry but it is middle of the pack when you look at it retrospectively. Not worthy of a top 3 ranking.

[@ishaanbhattacharya9405]

My fav bond films ranking 1) Skyfall 2) no time to die 3) casino Royale 4) golden eye 5) goldfinger 6) dr no 7) from Russia with love 8) license to kill 9) tomorrow never dies 10) thunderball 11) you only live twice

[@Nimroc]

Even though it is my favourite in the series I'm not very surprised that OHMSS didn't place higher, as it is still a somewhat polarizing film among bond fans and probably even more so among general audiences. One thing that averaged scores like this generally fails to convey is how strong of an actual fan following a film has, you could have two films with about the same score but one just being carried by a sizeable amount of people mildly enjoying it, while the other could be having a smaller but much stronger cult following.

[@OutOnTheTiles]

This was a lot of fun! Thanks for doing it. All the best in the new year. Cheers 👍

[@MickeyLeeBukowski]

That moment when Calvin realizes his taste in Bond films is.....unique.

[@fiddlemacdoodle6266]

Now this is an eye-catching video

[@ginandsofapodcast]

I see that Shaken recipe book. Good taste sir, we’ve been (trying) making those drinks

[@frybodelgado1482]

You know what would be an interesting Topic for Calvon to discuss? How Audience reacted when Sean Connery suddenly came back for a single Movie and more or less "replacing" Roger Moore for a bit. Also fascinating would be how Moore reacted and if he maybe thought he'd be replaced for good or something.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Siskel and Ebert pre-dated rotten tomatoes in rating films on a 'pass or fail' basis but would follow it up with full text reviews and there discussion/arguments would explain more about there decision making which RT does offer with there links to the text reviews but how many people read all of them? Rotten tomatoes does have a habit of classing a 3/5 review as a positive one when it's clearly more mediocre/middling but it does give a good 'general consensus' even if the audience scores on RT and IMDB are open to manipulation by fan campaigns [like the one back in 2008 to make 'The Dark Knight' the highest rated film on IMDB by giving competing films like 'The Godfather' 1/10 ratings]. Some films can also have a rating based on a small amount of reviews [the abysmal Starship Troopers 2, one of the worst sequels ever made, has a very generous 33% rating based on just 6 reviews]. Still, literally this afternoon Sylvester Stallone mentioned with appreciation on Instagram his delight that his directors cut of Rocky 4 has a higher RT score than the original so it obviously still has clout in the film industry!

[@crodo123]

having Dr no that high is literally outlandish

[@mackdebruin999]

This is exactly why I don't ever go to Rotten Tomatoes. Film is art you can't put a definitive score on a piece of art and make it a competition by comparing it to others. Film criticism is far more undefined than what the internet would have you believe.

[@graycav56]

I’m 61 so I’ve lived most of these new and the list is decent. I have Goldfinger on top followed by Casino Royale, Skyfall and believe it or not, Spy Who Loved Me. I think that one saved the franchise.

[@spyboy1964]

I mostly agree with your rankings. I have From Russia with Love on top followed by Goldfinger, Casino Royale, Skyfall, Dr. No and then The Spy Who Loved Me. But I do think that TSWLM did save the franchise from oblivion.

[@bradforddillman7671]

I’d have all Connery’s and both Dalton’s in the top 10. Maybe throw in “For Your Eyes Only” or Craig’s “Casino Royale” to round out the top 10.

[@doctorg5056]

Those critic summaries are ridiculous 🙄 I understand that people's opinions are entirely subjective - it's okay if like me you love NTTD, and it's equally okay if you hate it, for example - but how can anyone claim that DAD is somehow more finely crafted than TWINE or TND? 😳

[@PEProzent]

TWINE is my favorite. It was the first 007 movie I watched in full after having played the gaming and getting stuck in Kazachstan. I did not know I had to cling onto the bar in order to avoid the blast. We played the mission over and over again but Renard always got us until we watched the movie. Okay, a bit of Nostalgia involved, but I still think it´s the best movies whenever I rewatch them. It finds the perfect balance between silliness (e.g. too much in Moonraker) and seriousness (too much in many Craig movies) in my opinion and has the best bondgirl/villain in the series with Elektra King. BTW I made a song about her with AI.

[@richardscott9973]

This is why the bond community listens more to calvin, David Joe and jeroen than the muppets on rotten tomatoes.... not sure what is worse, the never say never high rating or the low octopus one....and Calvin licence is wonderful

[@johnjohn55555]

Rotten Tomatoes is all over the place, how can 'Never say, never again' beat 'Tomorrow never dies'? Thats absurd to me.

[@lmw27if]

Calvin, I love Octopussy and loving Moonraker more and more! A World is Not Enough is my most rewatchable Brosnan Bond film