Ranking Every James Bond Movie

[@ClearCritique]

What are your favorite (and least favorite) Bond movies? I'm also on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/ClearCritique/

[@chrisgreulich]

Spy Who Loved Me and Man with the Golden Gun my favorites. I also love You Only Live Twice and Goldfinger. My least favorite was Quantum of Solace. That did not even feel like a Bond film. I really enjoyed all of the Bond films from 1962 to 1989.

[@whitleypedia]

My top 5 are: Goldeneye, Casino Royale, OHMSS, Goldfinger, World Is Not Enough

[@ericjourdain892]

Not mentioning Famke Janssen in Goldeneye should be prosecuted! 😜

[@dereklewis4321]

Octopussy as an F is a cardinal sin. It's one of the best. If people dont like it, I can get it, but to say it's the bottom of the franchise is wild.

[@robertlangmuir86]

@@dereklewis4321 None of the Roger Moore ones were good.

[@dereklewis4321]

@@robertlangmuir86 CAP

[@jeffreeves3137]

Roger Moore has some good ones, he also has some of the worst ones, what I love about this franchise though is everyone has a different favorite. My favorite from each actor would be…goldfinger, the spy who loved me, license to kill, tomorrow never dies, casino royal/ sky fall lol lazenby sucks, though OHMSS is decent

[@AaronStark1993]

Agreed. It’s underrated in my opinion. It’s my second favorite of the Moore era behind only FYEO.

[@benschmelzer7748]

@@robertlangmuir86 The spy who loved me? For your eyes only? Live and let die? Waffling bro…

[@cartera101]

I know it’s subjective and a bit biased of me, but thank you putting Goldeneye to an S. It’s easy to forget that it was the make or break for the franchise considering it’s the first post-cold war film. It succeeded and set a new standard. 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

[@ClearCritique]

It holds up quite nicely too.

[@cartera101]

As for the rest, I couldn’t disagree with any of them, although TMWTGG surprised me a bit. It is far from one of Moore’s best, but I kind of like it. I’d put it at a C.

[@joshbaker1581]

Found myself agreeing with a lot of your picks (apart from Octopussy of course) I think Dr.No is somewhat underrated, its a tight B movie and if it hadn't worked, there'd be no series. I also appreciate you not giving Casino Royale unanimous praise like some in the Bond community do; it too is my 2nd fav Craig film.

[@aapo616]

Great! It feels comfortable that there's other active Bond fans! 🙂. I have Bond-marathon, I'm watching all the Bonds in a row in order (tonight I watch Die Another Day 🫣). It's very hard to make the final ranking. I am pretty sure that Casino Royale and On Her Majesty's Secret Service will be in the top. 🎩🎩🎩

[@M0RR15]

lol Have fun on your watch. Die Another Day is a messy but also quite fun mixed bag. E.G. It had both one of the worst Bond leading ladies and one of the best ladies, but somehow manages to kill off the wrong one at the end.

[@aapo616]

@@M0RR15 I watched id. My feelings are... Confused. The first third act was quite amazing! Gun barrel was unique, pre-title sequence was good, Bond's torturing in North Korea was good IMO (also during the theme song which was bad song), I love that Bond have long hair and beard and then he goes to Cuba and he uses his charisma so well! He also say a lot of one-liners. This feels different than Brosnan's earlier films, in this he has just different charisma. Like he's in Cuba with a huge cigarette and in vacation outfit. I like that. Of course all the weird editings and mixes has aged badly. I need time to think this film, at the moment it feels that maybe it's the best film of Brosnan 🤣, at the other hand, I don't want to think like that. But after all, I am sad that Brosnan didn't got his fifth film, it's very pity because I like Brosnan as Bond a lot but he just had bad films.

[@M0RR15]

@@aapo616 If you enjoyed it, that's great. 😄 The last third is were it goes sideways for most people myself incl. The giant laser beam, plane disintegrating and Gustav Graves' terrible CGI lightning gloves are a bit much. Especially when the film already had an ice palace and an invisible car. xD What one needs to keep in mind, that whole terrible ending is also the part that had undergone huge rewrites late in production. There wasn't supposed to be a plane involved at all for example. It was also one of the intances for Bond movies where they back then did the most PR for the two Bond girls in it. Jinx Johnson played by Halle Berry and Miranda Frost played by Rosamund Pike respectively. Jinx was hyped up for being James' equal when it would come to action scenes (as well as being the series' first black main lady) and Frost was hyped up for her stunning good looks (and that she would be a master swordfighter). For both there were a lot of interest and articles before release that hailed them to be the very best Bond ladies ever. In fact it's known their roles even switched during development. At the time it was absolutely planned to do a 5th film with Brosnan as well as one spin-off film for the girls' characters. Albeit it being rumors that's pretty much confirmed today. Then the studio changed course by rewriting DAD and scrapping those projects entirely. That's the reason Jinx gets to kill Miss Frost in the finale. Which remains one of people's biggest complaints.

[@aapo616]

@@M0RR15 Just like that! Good information. 👍🏻👍🏻 Yeah, the last third was huge overkill. Next monday I'm watching Casino Royale, love it but it just would have been awesome if there would've been really good Brosnan's film in 2004 or something. And Pierce didn't liked all the stupid things in this film and he wanted to do realistic film.

[@williamgeorgefraser]

OHMSS is criminally underrated. One of my favourite Bond films. My favourite of all is Licence To Kill. The way the Bridal March segues into the main theme at the start is amazing. Timothy Dalton is, for me, the closest to Fleming's Bond.

[@HubertNiedermayrDDrMBA]

@@williamgeorgefraser totally agree, thx!!!

[@elnick1000]

Agree, though I have it as number 2, just behind Casino royale. I am pretty old now, in my late 60's, but I remember how Dalton was so disliked as Bond at that time.

[@AlmightyBruce]

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

[@Peer165]

Goldeneye is and forever will be my favorite.

[@whitleypedia]

I liked Spectre better the first time I saw it and it was called Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the second time I saw it and it was called Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.

[@filmneek]

Octopussy is legendary. One of my absolute favourites

[@pupwizard3888]

It boggles my mind that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" ranks superior rating. Watching that movie was like watching paint dry.

[@elnick1000]

At the time many would agree with you, but for me, it ranks as the number 4 best. And also many agree as well that it is overrated. Until Dalton though, some were calling it the best Bond film of all, and most certainly the best non Sean Connery Bond.

[@apocbible]

Heresy to bag dr no lol

[@markusfuerer5431]

Octopussy is an Epic One 😉 👏🏼 from 🇨🇭

[@AaronStark1993]

My ranking: 25- Quantum of Solace 24- Moonraker 23- Diamonds Are Forever 22- Die Another Day 21- No Time to Die 20- Man with the Golden Gun 19- You Only Live Twice 18- A View to a Kill 17- Spectre 16- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 15- Live and Let Die 14- Spy Who Loved Me 13- Thunderball 12- Octopussy 11- Goldfinger 10- Tomorrow Never Dies 9- World Is Not Enough 8- Dr No 7- Skyfall 6- Casino Royale 5- Licence to Kill 4- For Your Eyes Only 3- Living Daylights 2- Goldeneye 1- From Russia with Love

[@chrisbergmanniii59]

In my opinion The World is Not Enough is at least a D if not an F driven home by the sound effect of squealing tires during the boat chase...

[@kriitikko]

My 5 favorite Bond films: From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me and Licence to Kill. My 5 least favorite Bond films: Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker, A View to a Kill, Die Another Day and Quantum of Solace.

[@CanadianaJan]

Casino Royale is at the top of my list for Bond's relationship with Vesper. The banter is fantastic and Bond's vulnerability (the whole "I have no armour left" thing) made him feel more human (also a reason why On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of my favourites, despite the cringey portrayal of bananas as fine African cuisine). In contrast, after watching Goldfinger for the umpteenth time, it dawned on me -- after laughing at Bond's repeated failures to escape or otherwise stop Goldfinger's plan -- that the point of that movie was to show that when his strength and wits fail him, Bond's masculinity will win the day by making his enemy's lesbian henchwoman fall in love with him.

[@ClearCritique]

Interesting analysis. I do know the books confirmed she was lesbian but I believe the film only implied it. Saying that, the hay scene is certainly a bit uncomfortable when viewed today. I wish I had mentioned the Vesper/Bond chemistry. They had great rapport and they were a very entertaining pair to watch.

[@CanadianaJan]

Pussy Galore's reaction to Bond is colder than any other Bond girl's, but I only noticed it during a 007 marathon with my teenage daughter (so I was a little more focused on how women were portrayed in the films over the years). But yeah, the hay scene sparked a bigger discussion than I had planned.

[@CanadianaJan]

@@bengrenan8192 Vesper reached out to Bond. Pussy Galore fought him. One scene was tender, the other violent. Not similar at all.

[@bengrenan8192]

Not a huge fan of Dr. No either. Serviceable as an opener and spy movie. Connery saves it. Great line delivery from him the important parts in the first segments, sets basis for all other movies and Mr. Bond's to follow. Dr. No only really starts to get good after they go out on the boat, it's just that bit too bland before. Ian Fleming called the movie dreadful. My S tier movies in order are GoldenEye, Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy, Skyfall. Love OHMSS. It would be my fave Bond movie. If only it wasn't for that middle bit with dubbed Lazenby and that other stuff, I remember thinking 'why's his voice changed (literally)', really brought it down a fair amount. Rewatching, on Craig first entry, so can't yet give full latest ranking.

[@Marigen1971]

That actor with the twinkly eyes was m exican actor Pedro Armendaris. A great actor with beautiful eyes 😍

[@ClearCritique]

Thanks for the info! While I wasn’t fond of the character’s exposition the actor was interesting to watch. He can actually pull off looking Turkish (I’m half-Turkish myself) so that was solid casting.

[@Weezing336]

We have differences in our taste in Bond. Moonraker and Dr. No are my favorites. Anything after Roger Moore can crash and burn as far as I'm concerned. I'll spare you from more in depth comments on individual films.

[@ClearCritique]

Haha you're more than welcome to drop further analysis here

[@Weezing336]

@@ClearCritique I appreciate the invitation but who knows now what I was going to say haha

[@elnick1000]

my top 5 are CASINO ROYALE, LISCENCE TO KILL, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE ON HER MAJESTY SECRET SERVICE, THUNDERBALL. and just edging out NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, QUANTUM OF SOLLACE. just my feelings, and could change if I see these films again. I can only give 3 worst Bond films, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, after having gone to see this Bond film in the movie theaters when it came out, I was bored, and did not go to see another Rodger Bore Bond film in the movie theaters again. I liked Moore as Simon templar in THE SAINT, for me that is how I will always see him as. the other two, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Overrated Bond films are GOLDFINGER, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, and LIVING DAYLIGHTS. the last one I listed, was like the best of Sean Connery in the first half, but the worst of Rodger Moore in the second half.

[@tmeredyk]

+TSWLM❤

[@ClearCritique]

So good

[@rickdeckard2240]

Dalton's my favorite Bond and I like his movies a lot. Not a Bond licence fan, I find these movies too cheesy, but of course as kid I loved From Russia with Love and Goldfinger, many Moore films too. Later I really liked Casino Royale and Skyfall. Goldeneye is excellent in many aspects, it's just that I really don't like Brosnan as Bond. He's a great actor, but I never liked his Bond, too cute boy looking for me, especially after Dalton and before Craig. I just wish Dalton had done more of them.

[@NebLleb]

Skipped to the SPECTRE segment because *IWONNAFEELUFRYTRUMAVEINS*

[@mericawhatnot3235]

Im a new fan to the bond franchise so far ive only seen daniel craigs 5 movies and Dr. No, but ill rank what i have seen 6. Spectre - this movie is long boring, the colors are washed out, Madeline and Bond have no chemistry. Christoph was to good for this movie they did him dirty with this character over all its just blah. 5. Quantum of Solace - i dont hate this movie like a lot of people do. Yes the editing is disorienting, the plot is rushed and messy. But if u look at just by the charcter of bond its very solid. I think Daniel Craig did great in this movie despite everything. And i also really liked the ending scene. 4. Dr. No - when i watched this i was afraid i was gonna judge it because im so attached to Daniel craig but Sean Connery is phenomenal. He oozes bond. And yeah the plot is really bland and not fleshed out enough for me, but its still solid. I loved the color in this movie it really just popped, and overall it was a fun watch 3. No time to die - had potential to be super good but just when it starts to get good in one area it falls flat in another. Once again no chemistry between bond and Madeline i just really dont care about them as a couple. The villian falls very flat. But i do really like the idea of the plot and i liked bonds relationship with the new 007, and the ana de armas part was great i though they had good chemistry. And i thought the ending was fitting for Daniel. But overall this movie is a really mixed bag. 2. Skyfall - this is without a doubt one of the best shot movies ive seen. The cinematography in this movie is just beautiful. Craig does great i love the villian, love the plot. I really have nothing bad to say about this movie. 1. Casino Royale - i wasn't expecting much when i tried this movie, little did i know this was going to become one of my favorite movies ever. In my opinion this movie is perfect. I had so much more fun watching this movie more than any of the other ones. I love how he's inexperienced, i love the plot simple but incredibly effective, and the chemistry between Daniel craig and Eva green is electric,( Vesper is best bond girl ❤ ) i love their relationship so much. The villian is top teir. I could go on and on about all the reasons i love this movie but this comment is long enough. Im not planning on watching all the bond movies but i do want to watch more so if yall wanna leave me some of the best ones to watch thatd be awesome. God bless you ✌️

[@bulldogfightingforfreedom]

Casino Royale … quantum of solace, both are great films, followed by license to kill, I love dark James Bond films

[@salemslotandmore8278]

Thank You for the List and Video 😀

[@FanThemePark]

I'm with you on Skyfall. It is the best Daniel Craig bond film and is an incredible movie in its own right.

[@vantagepanda5048]

I hard disagree with so much of these! But that’s okay, great video 😊

[@thetalentof]

Always love your Bond videos and mostly agree with each ranking, I would personally have placed Octopussy in B tier and From Russia With Love & Licence to Kill in A tier with Casino Royale firmly in S tier. Love the Tomorrow Never Dies appreciation, I rewatch it more than Goldeneye (more accessible Bond film) and totally agreed with Quantum always having been the better film over Spectre. Every review of Spectre on release claimed it was "still better than Quantum" but on more than 5 rewatches of each, Quantum just consistently improves, has a lovely visual aesthetic similar to Casino Royale vs Spectre's drab color palette with a more exciting car chase and finale. The only thing Spectre has going for it is the opening sequence, the creepy iilluminati-style meeting in Rome and arguably the best hand to hand fight in the entire franchise where Bond is the underdog Rocky to Hinx's Ivan Drago.

[@wedgeantilles8575]

It's tough to make a top 5 ranking (even impossible for me), but I for sure know the two movies I disliked most: 1) No time to die - not even close. I've watched every other Bond movie several times, but this movie I'll never watch again. Ever. And it's the only movie I didn't buy on disc. I liked the first 30 minutes, after that I got more and more into: I can't believe what I am seeing. For me, it's not even a Bond movie. 2) Quantum of Solance - while it still is way better than no time to die, it is (until that point) the Bond movie I got the least fun out of. It's an ok movie to watch - and when I watch all the Bonds from start to finish I obviously don't skip the movie. But it packs the least punch. Rank 3) would probably be Spectre, but I need to rewatch it at least one more time to be sure about it. Maybe the movie is better than I remember from my first two views. But since I just had more fun with the other movies, rank 3 on the "least enjoyable bond movies" seems like a solid place for Spectre.

[@ClearCritique]

Good roundup! It’s interesting how these 3 movies have such different problems, at least for me (story/editing/pacing). I think Spectre is my least favorite of these 3 because of how bored I was. Thanks for commenting!

[@purefoldnz3070]

No Time to Die is an easy F.

[@RightNowMan]

@@purefoldnz3070 💯, it's an abomination.

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@RightNowMan I see a man of taste.

[@tedwolf1716]

While I enjoy OHMSS very much, my biggest complaint is Lazenby is so inconsistent as Bond. One moment he's a deadly assassin, the next he's a lumbering ox. Connery moved very well on camera. Lazenby occasionally does.

[@ClearCritique]

That’s a solid complaint. Connery moved the best on camera - both graceful and manly - so he’s a tough one to beat.

[@stevieg8356]

Regarding Octopussy I think the action scenes are good. The mini-jet at the start, the train sequence, and the fight on top of the plane at the end. The scene where Bond is dressed as a clown is really tense, and it also explains why 009 was dressed as a clown at the start of the movie. Octopussy is one of the best Bond girls Maud Adams has good chemistry with Roger Moore, and the villains are solid. The jungle scene with the Tarzan yell is the big thing that lets it down. I’ve never been into Goldeneye that much think it’s a bit overrated.

[@bengrenan8192]

The jungle yell plus how did he get the makeup on in a fast timeframe when he had a bomb to diffuse. But I do love that movie. Great that Bond gets a standing ovation upon diffusing it, well deserved and very pleasing to see. The yo-yo saw fight was awesome too.

[@aapo616]

would there be any way that you would do "Ranking every James Bond theme" video? It would be badass! Just like this! 🙂

[@ClearCritique]

A while back I did a top 10 video on that, but not a full ranking one yet. Not a bad idea kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZSQdq17r6uGq68

[@aapo616]

💪🏻🙂

[@francel0198]

Casino Royale is a top tier, period.

[@pekkaritaranta2444]

OHMSS was before Diamonds are forever

[@ClearCritique]

Yep. I ordered them by memory so I was bound to mess up one of them.

[@toptrollking]

Golden Gun & Die Another Day are GOLD TIER!!!!!!

[@rylan_reviews6493]

My Favorites: Skyfall - beautifully directed, amazing escalation in the action, fantastic chemistry between Bond and M Casino Royale - maybe my favorite first act in any film, incredible romance, just the third act isn’t as good as the other two No Time to Die - beautifully shot and maybe the most depressing blockbuster of all time, but I kind of like that. The risks paid off for me. Goldfinger - classic Bond, one of the best villains and Connery on top form. GoldenEye - not crazy about the score though everything else is exactly what it needs to be. Live and Let Die - oddly charming and fun, perhaps the funniest of the franchise and a great adventure.

[@willhemmings]

Great to see a proper analysis of the films and not just a casual critique based on enjoyability. No two people will share the same ranking, and there's a world of difference between 'favourite' and 'best'. But on my ten point list of ten criteria - story, Bond performance, Bond girl, villain, supporting cast, production, visual and sound effects, score, song and titles, OHMSS came top at 94, closely followed By Tomorrow Never Dies, From Russia With Love, Casino Royale and You Only Live Twice

[@ClearCritique]

Thanks! Means a lot

[@elnick1000]

I don't thnink I would have You Only Live twice up there as high, but have a special fondness for it, as it was the first Bond film I ever saw, and that was in the theater. I will never forget that feeling of watching my first James Bond film, it was amazing for a 10 year old kid to see. I would later see in 1969 I think From Russia With Love and thunderball in a double bill in the theater, was not as overwhelming, but I do have those two in my top 5.

[@007liverman]

you are not a bond fan.... good bye....

[@ClearCritique]

Actually I am. That’s why I did a tierlist video of all of them.