Ranking: The James Bond Films

25. Die Another Day 

Commonly agreed to be the nadir of the franchise as a whole is this 'celebration' of the franchise's 40th anniversary. Pierce Brosnan (who admittedly still gives it his all) ended his tenure as 007 on a rather dim note here as the character basically became almost a caricature at this point in service of some aimless action sequences, the odd quip here or there, and absolutely no investment in whether or not Bond gets out of this okay. Taking on a potentially interesting idea of Bond being held in captivity by the North Korean army and exchanged by MI6 for a known terrorist, it soon all sputters out into a wobbly, ridiculous and oddly boring mess of plot machinations and weird tonal imbalances, and Lee Tamahori's direction of the action sequences is pedestrian at best and downright nauseating at worst.

The Bond song: I don't hate Madonna's vocals for the title song here as much as some, and I would argue it's one of the better elements of the film in that it achieves what it set out to do, in meshing with the tone of the film. The lyrics make absolutely no sense and the electronic tunes do get a bit grating but it's hardly the first thing I'd criticise about the film.

The Bond villain (s): I'm so glad the BBC television adaptations of Jane Eyre and And Then There Were None exist to show me that yes, Toby Stephens is actually a legitimately great actor when given the right material. Because here he is absolutely awful as one of the most annoying Bond villains ever, Gustav Graves whose plans never make any sense (what exactly is he trying to achieve with all this solar energy nuclear war BS?) and who hams it up in a most unentertaining way, a fault both of the screenplay and the performance itself.

The Bond girl (s): Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike are absolutely stunning ladies and very good actresses in their own right but here they deliver all their (admittedly poorly written) lines with all the conviction of a cheese grater, in fact I'd say Berry gets too much hate for Catwoman (a film that is at least entertaining in its badness) and not enough for this. Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny comes out largely unscathed because she's not in it as much and across all four films she did, I'd say she did a pretty good job on the whole in being fairly consistent, even as the films went from good to absolute dogshit.

24. Diamonds Are Forever 

After the trial run of George Lazenby proved unsatisfactory to EON, Sean Connery was called back into action to resurrect the franchise. The final result is suffice to say...not good. Not very good at all. Everything just feels so...recycled, and Connery himself seems half-asleep for the duration. This is the Bond Austin Powers probably used most heavily as a template not to parody, but how to do a parody as it is pretty much Bond watered down to its worst excesses. Blofeld's nuclear world takeover just feels like a tired retread of better films, and the chase and fight sequences are just bad, with the poor quality of some of the special effects needing to be seen to be believed.

The Bond song: A Shirley Bassey Bond song that just feels like a pale imitation of better Shirley Base Bond songs.

The Bond villain (s): The weakest Blofeld of them all, Charles Gray's rendition of Bond's nemisis is just a typical bland sneering VILLAIN. Not a terrible performance but not particularly good either.

The Bond girl (s): Probably the most empty-headed of the lot, with the eye candy of Jill St John and Lana Wood being so bland and almost interchangeable, and worst of all having absolutely no spark or chemistry with a phoned-in Connery, though that's more of the fault of him and the writing.

23. Octopussy 

Memorable title aside, there's not that much going for Roger Moore's sixth venture as 007. He's 56 at this point and it really shows, action was never really a highlight of the Moore films but this is a particularly poor example of it. The Fabergé egg-nuclear bombs-double crossing plot is both convoluted and exacerbated by the extremely languid pacing, as this is probably the Bond film with the least plot momentum going for it, and is not fun or funny enough to get away with it despite the presence of many a literal clown. The India locations and set design is nice, tennis player Vijay Amitraj has some nice scenes with Moore, and there's a certain charm to its aimlessness I guess and it's nowhere near as excruciating as Die Another Day but it is still a fairly bland Bond film that suffers from somewhat taking itself both too seriously, and not seriously enough. 

The Bond song: 'All Time High' is actually a decent enough ballad in itself, with the Rita Coolidge and John Barry/Tim Rice lyrics delivering at least a rather nice, swooning romantic song, but they really chickened out on having a song centred around 'Octopussy' itself.

The Bond villain (s): Ugh...so General Kerlov and Kamal Khan aren't particularly bad villains or anything but that's kind of the problem. Their plans seems so oddly inconsequential on the whole with the way the film's pacing treats them, and neither Steven Berkoff and Louis Jourdan can make much of it on the whole, overshadowed by the film's relentlessly inconsequential tone.  Jourdan does sell the character's general suaveness well enough I suppose.

The Bond girl (s): Maud Adams doesn't get enough screen time which is a shame since she is easily the best part of the film, delivering a fairly atypical Bond turn that would pave way for the more proactive style of Bond girl. Her Octopussy is on equal footing with Bond while retaining the allure she'd shown in her previous outing as a Bond girl, and Kristina Wayborn as her sidekick ass-kicker isn't half bad either. As it is however they aren't given enough to do.

22. A View to a Kill

In two years' time Danny Glover woulds say he was too old for this shit, at this point Roger Moore really was too old for this shit, which even he affably admitted to in interviews afterwards. Having said that, this isn't a complete disaster, although it suffers from tonal imbalance of a series. that clearly wanted to go darker - with fairly morbid sequences of full on massacres - while still being on the whole fairly goofy and breezy in tone. It never quite escapes the trappings of this but there's fun to be had in the Paris chase scene, and the finale has its moments, but mostly it's just a bit too unsure of itself for its own good and lacks any sort of distinctive flair, ending up being a tad boring which is odd considering some of the people involved.

The Bond song: I actually love this song and it is easily my favourite thing to come from the film. Who doesn't love a bit of Duran Duran? This is just sends magnificent, rousing, punchy 80s era vibes down my spine, and suggests a much grander finale to the Moore series through its synth-pop electric guitars sturumming, dancing into the fire.

The Bond villain (s): Max Zorin, played by the great Christopher Walken, grimaces, prods around and does some very nasty things, but oddly enough for Walken doesn't make that much of an impression on me, in fact my memory of Grace Jones being very wooden as his henchwoman May Day. Willougby Gray as a Nazi scientist father figure to Zorin is standard evil Nazi scientist, but does it well enough.

The Bond girl (s): Tanya Roberts, who you may know as Midge from The 70s Show, is appalling here and looks more like Roger Moore's whiny stepdaughter or something in scenes together which is not a good thing to have in a Bond film. Honestly a big problem in this film is the acting, or rather the directions it takes its characters, as Roberts gets nothing to do but scream her bloody head off, side note though Alison Doody who you may know from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade makes a brief appearance as Jenny Flex, and she would've been a much better choice for a main Bond girl, and Papillon Soo Soo aka love you long time from Full Metal Jacket.

21. Tomorrow Never Dies 

The idea of Bond vs the Media sounds more interesting on paper than it is when executed by the hand of Roger Spottiswoode whose direction here is more than a bit spotty. The provoking of war between China and the UK is almost too large scale a plot line for Bond to get that involved in it, and which goes back to the problem I have with a lot of films with thinking that going big makes things better. It doesn't really here, and leaves a lot of scenes feeling pretty turgid and devoid of tension even though there's fun to be had with gadget controlled BMWs and

The Bond song: Sheryl Crow's vocals actually make for a great crooner of a Bond song, surprisingly sultry and atmospheric as a slow-burner and the high notes hitting the melodic sweet spot pretty damn well.

The Bond villain (s): I love Jonathan Pryce and he's having a lot of fun here, and we as the audience have some of that fun with him, the disappointing thing though and this speaks a bit to the quality of the film is that if the character of Elliot Carver had been written with a bit more nuance, understatement and made into more of a manipulative Iago-esque, less of an obvious villain the film could've benefited more. It's a moderately entertaining performance but with someone like Pryce in the role it could've been so much more.

The Bond girl (s): Teri Hatcher is utterly forgettable in a character and role that seems to suggest it had more potential writing behind it with regards to the conflict she'd have, while Michelle Yeah is decent and has convincing action chops as Chinese spy Wai Lin, even if her chemistry with Pierce Brosnan is fairly non-existent.

20. Never Say Never Again 

It might seem weird to put two Connerys so low but this remake of Thunderball is just not a particularly good film. I don't think it's as dire as Diamonds Are Forever, thanks to one element I'll get to below, and it allows Connery to go out as Bond on a slightly higher note, but only just. Connery just doesn't suit the more absurd nature of the late 70s/80s Bond films and always feels less at ease with the material at hand, and while there's some early promise in the idea of exploring an older Bond instead of conveniently sidestepping it, it adds up to very little and again, that awful pacing kills a lot of its goodwill, as does its thinly written characters, lack of any true memorable action set pieces, and the fact that since this wasn't an EON film that they couldn't even use the normal James Bond theme speaks volume.

The Bond song: This frankly sounds more like one of those songs you hear in the background of a GTA game or something while driving. Very generic if not truly awful or anything, but there's a reason it's not really talked about.

The Bond villain (s): Okay, two of the saving graces of the film here in the form of two great European actors, Max Von Sydow as Blofeld is appropriately intimidating in his limited screentime and giving the film more gravitas than it frankly deserves. And Klaus Maria Brandauer has the right amount of flamboyant, menacing megalomaniacal energy as the larger-than-life Maximillian Largo, who deserves a much better film and set pieces (electrocuting video games? Seriously?) than the one he's in.

The Bond girl (s): Kim Basinger is beautiful as ever here but looks far too young to be with Connery, Bond's French contact is barely a character, and Fatima Blush is in that strange in-between a Bond girl and villain without cohering the two sides properly as well as other films.

19. Moonraker 

A stupid Bond film that at least embraces its stupidity and therefore I commend it for that, and the production design and visual effects are genuinely great if a bit wasted by the (typically back then) somewhat bland Bond cinematography. Space shuttles and toxins make for a fairly different Bond villain plan, and while the action outside of the opening skydiving sequence and the final laser fight isn't that memorable, its tongue in cheek tone does make it more bearable.

The Bond song: Shirley Bassey was a last-minute replacement for this particular Bond song and while it does show a bit in how kinda tame and generic it is, slow and soulful and honestly fitting to the space-based nature of the film song that I like, albeit don't find particularly memorable.

The Bond villain (s): Getting Michael Lonsdale in as Hugo Drax was a great choice, as he's an actor who from what I've seen always delivers with the utmost conviction, and he's well aware of the breezy cheesy tone of the Bond film he's in and delivers his piano recital and monologue scenes with particular aplomb and panache. The film also turns Jaws (Richard Kiel) into so much of a joke that I can't really say he's a 'villain' here so to speak.

The Bond girl (s): That final zero gravity romp with Lois Chiles' Holly Goodhead is sometimes more remembered than the film itself. Speaking of which Chiles is very good in the 1970s Great Gatsby as Jordan Baker, a better display of her talents. Otherwise you have Drax's forgettable pilot, and Jaws even gets himself a girlfriend.

18. The Man with the Golden Gun 

Bond flies East here and putting ol' Roger Moore through so much kung fu shenanigans is never a good idea, and neither is having a hillbilly sheriff so at odds with the tone of the Bond films come into play. There's some intrigue to be had with Bond with a bullet with his name on it, unravelling a mystery surrounding a millionaire industrialist and a mysterious assassin, and it all adds up to at times a fairly atmospheric, somewhat intriguing Bond film, though it is very much at odds with itself and Moore who always seemed more at home with more overly broad material.

The Bond song: Eh a fairly forgettable Bond song, not great, not terrible, a bit of extra brassy cheekiness to its lyrics but nothing too notable on the whole.

The Bond villain (s): Now Christopher Lee is a pretty great Bond villain, and perfectly cast as an ex-KGB assassin, his wonderful voice put to great use in espousing the man's vicious yet oh so eloquent stream of machiavellian plotting. I would have loved to see him go up against say a Timothy Dalton or Daniel Craig as he'd be much better suited to their kind of films. Otherwise, Richard Loo is okay as the millionaire industrialist, and Henri Villachaize its the precursor to Mini Me in Austin Powers but without the humour.

The Bond girl (s): There's a reason they brought Maud Adams back as Octopussy as she makes something of her conflicted Bond girl here, Britt Ekland on the other hand is literally just there to stand around and look pretty which she does well enough here.

17. Thunderball

Okay, so Never Say Never Again was a lesser remake of this, but to be honest this isn't one of my favourite Bond films either. It's a pretty tepid affair in most regards and at this point Connery had clearly begun losing interest in the character, though he still gives an okay-ish enough turn. What's most notable is the underwater sequence which does involve some very impressive stuntwork and visual effects that's not that dated today, if a bit less impressive, and you get a lot of build up to Spectre and the unseen Blofeld's looming presence over the nuclear warhead proceedings.

The Bond song: The whole mess behind this particular one left John Barry, Tom Jones and Don Black to handle things in a fairly swift fashion, and it's a booming, resonant and rather likeable tune, if not particularly memorable in my opinion.

The Bond villain (s): Individally the various components of SPECTRE aren't that impressive and but as a collective whole they make okay if below-average adversaries to Bond, but definitely a downgrade from the previous films particularly in the character of Emilio Largo. Never Say Never Again was an upgrade in this regard and this regard only.

The Bond girl (s): Claudine Auger's performance was dubbed over but as the crafty Domino I think she carries enough of a presence to make herself suitably appropriate for the occasion, that swimsuit sequence is particularly memorable though it's more the design of the bikini which does it. This is probably one of the most 'distant' Bond films in that you don't really get to know or care for the characters.

17. Quantum of Solace 

 The weakest of the Craig Bond films so far (No Time to Die unseen) but really this isn't as dreadful  as some make it out to be. It is fairly depressive affair, starting off with quite the great opening leading directly from Casino Royale but part of the problem is that it just tries to tie into too much with that film, which is a problem with both this and the next Craig film I'll be discussing. The pared-down style of storytelling just doesn't work as well this time around, and while the hand to hand combat scenes continue to be decent, Giancarlo Giannini is once again a great deal of fun as Rene Mathis, and really it's best when it sticks to the more simple stuff, the overarching villain and conspiracy plot does lose the audience.

The Bond song: I like Jack White and I like Alicia Keys but frankly this is the most boring Bond song of all. It's generic with a capital G and frankly epitomises the rest of the film: competently made but ultimately very forgettable.

The Bond villain (s): Could say the same for Mathieu Amalric's Dominic Greene, an example of a great actor wasted on a very aimlessly written role of a...man who causes droughts to obtain oil. Okay, it's more complicated than that but frankly I think this is such a forgettably written villain.

The Bond girl (s): Gemma Arterton's Strawberry Fields is a weird sort of semi-throwback to the older style of James Bond, down to her Goldfinger-homaged death, while Olga Kurylenko is more than decent as Bolivian agent Camilla Montes who's less of a romantic interest and more of a sidekick to Craig. The problem again with all this is we've just come off of Casino Royale, more. on that in a bit. 

15. The World is Not Enough

I'll give a lot of credit to this particular Bond film for trying to change up the formula a bit and not entirely floundering. Giving Judi Dench's M a more pivotal role in the proceedings previsions better films in the Daniel Craig era, and while the film is a lot of times a disjointed mess and the submarine climax is a little bit underwhelming, there's some pretty interesting ideas thrown in there with regards to Bond's darker nature in his treatment of women, and Michael Apted's direction while straightforward does get the job done with moments of genuine peril for 007. There's a lot of character-driven drama in this one too, and while it's imperfect on that front there's hints of a better film in it, and the action sequences are quite enjoyable for the most part.

The Bond song: The alt-rock band Garbage produce an appropriately garb...actually, no, this is a very good Bond song in its own right. It's all about gleeful cheery world domination and matches the film's themes and tones very well, and is just a very good song to listen to on itself.

The Bond villain (s): Robert Carlyle going batshit crazy is always at least entertaining, and while this is a lesser variation on it compared to Ravenous from 1999, I do enjoy his Victor Zokas, a man immune to pain because of a bullet in his brain. Although in the end he's really overshadowed a tad by...

The Bond girl (s): Sophie Marceau as Elektra King, enigmatic oil heiress whose interplay with Bond occasionally elevates the film to something more than just a rote Bond film. Her revelation as the villain is not surprising at all but it is an entertaining enough shift. Denise Richards as Christmas Jones the nuclear physicist gets too much hate, she's pretty bland and not convincing as a scientist in the least but it seems a bit high and mighty to lay on her for that when there have been equally egregious examples of unconvincing professions in previous Bond films.

14. For Your Eyes Only

Probably the most 'average' Bond film of them all - Roger Moore is in Roger Moore mode, the Greek locations are very appealing to the eyes, a ski chase scene is exciting if not particularly innovative, Topol as a smuggler turned sidekick to Bond is pretty enjoyable, Bill Conti's twist on the Bond themes is far from his best work but still alright, and as a directorial debut for John Glen it is more than fine in almost every regard, showing why he'd go on to direct four more Bond films.  Bond here is not full on Roger Moore, there's a little bit of modest humanity in him this time around and while it makes for less overall entertainment value, it is a competently made film in most regards albeit quite standard.

The Bond song: Sheena Easton's vocals to this short, brisk and sweet title song is pretty good and suits the more carefree tone of the Roger Moore films. I like it even though I know some don't think it has enough of a Bond edge.

The Bond villain (s): He would do quietly menacing villainy better in Indiana Jones but Julian. Glover isn't half bad as the creepy workmanlike Kristatos, the villains here are pretty brutal in their methods of attacking Bond and I'd say it's a bit at odds with the otherwise attempt at breeziness through most of the Moore films. Topol is a good 'red herring' villain though.

The Bond girl (s): Cassandra Harris' Countess Lisl is fairly standard Bond sacrificial material, while Melina Havelock as a crossbow-wielding assassin with her own little side plot is fairly decent. Neither rank among the worst or best Bond girls but they suit the film they're in which is good.

13. You Only Live Twice 

Russia v America with some sneaky Japanese terrorist involvement provides the backdrop to Bond v Blofeld and the supposed 'final' Bond film for Connery under the dollar dollar led him back into the franchise's loving arms. Scripted by Roald Dahl, and not really using much. if any of the original source material's plot, Bond works with the Japanese secret service which is actually quite a cool development. The gadgets are pretty cool and a major upgrade over Thunderball and all used in a fairly clever fashion. This is a decently fun Bond film which if it is on the telly I will gladly watch through.

The Bond song: Nancy Sinatra to no surprise delivers with her inimitable unique voice, and creates a softly alluring and rather pleasantly seductive song that opens the film in quite the beautiful fashion.

The Bond villain (s): Teru Shimada as Mr Osato is perfectly adequate as a villain, but it's all about Donald Pleasance's brief appearances as Blofeld which despite limited screen time is actually very well done, and each of his brief appearances are some of the best directed and best acted sequences in the film.

The Bond girl (s): the two successive Bond girls of Aki and Kissy Suzuki are fairly interchangeable in terms of how they are written and frankly not really all that interesting or involved in the proceedings besides being Bond's lover and fake lover, respectively.

12. Live and Let Die 

A product of its time in many ways, but Roger Moore's debut into the Bond world is frequently very entertaining. The addition of vodoo magic and fortune telling into the world of Bond might be questionable, the writing behind the central conspiracy is outrageous, but it all adds up into a fairly entertaining if very ropey film with some very cheesy deaths. If you can embrace the cheese then you'll find a decent Bond film, although there's a lot of lines and dialogue here that certainly wouldn't get past anyone today.

The Bond song: A masterful Paul McCartney-Linda McCartney combo by their band. Wings, this might not seem like a Bond song on the surface but really it is a perfect one in many ways. Melodious, catchy, upping the octane throughout and releasing and upping it again in the best of ways.

The Bond villain (s): The rogue's gallery here is actually pretty impressive, with the henchmen of the physically imposing Tee Hee Johnson, the whispering Whisper and witch doctor Baron Samedi all being pretty memorable in their own right. Best of show though is Yaphet Kotto absolutely chewing and spitting out the scenery as a Caribbean secret drug lord delivering such gems as 'names are for gravestones' with such gusto.

The Bond girl (s): Jane Seymour on the other hand is a fairly dull but very pretty Bond girl, who loses her psychic powers to Bond taking her virginity, as you do. Honestly I can barely remember anything she does here besides being a sacrificial lamb.

11. Spectre

Okay, I'll admit this is a film I loved a lot more back when I first watched it, because just in terms of pure spectacle, action extravaganza and visuals this is definitely among the best of Bond, and I actually like a lot of the more meta stuff they do in throwing Daniel Craig into a Sean Connery style of Bond, and they retain a lot of things from Skyfall I liked, notably in keeping the Ben Whishaw Q dynamic. A massive issue with the film however is the plot, at first glance it's fine but when you think of the implication that Spectre revelation has over the rest of the films it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. Even this aside it does retread way too much of the standard Bond formula, and the finale while still competently directed is definitely pales in comparison to the opening Day of the Dead sequence.

The Bond song: 'Writing's On the Wall' I actually do like as a song, I know it's not very Bond-like in many ways and doesn't fit the film that well but as a song it's good, so credit to Sam Smith for delivering a decent song, if a bit at odds with the film itself.

The Bond villain (s): Christoph Waltz seems tailored for a Bond villain and here there are definitely moments where he achieves that perfection in casting potential, but for the most part it's fairly standard Waltzing around and certainly not helped by the very uninspired they give his SPOILER Blofeld SPOILER. He's not bad or anything though, and Dave Bautista is a pretty effective heavyweight heavy as Mr Hinx, the train sequence fight with Bond being perhaps the most exciting sequence in the whole film.

The Bond girl (s): Monica Bellucci is very good in her brief role as a grieving widow Bond very inappropriately seduces, as is Lea Seydoux in a Bond girl whose writing is all over the place but who does have some very good chemistry with Craig.

10. Dr No

Where it all began. It must be said that right from the beginning Sean Connery had the right idea for, and was so comfortable within his style of Bond and his confidence helps lift a film that is taking its time to settle in in some regards. His first appearance gambling is just undeniably great and he just is Bond from that first frame. Now the rest of the film is definitely a solid enough spy thriller, and while the technical elements aren't all quite there yet, in particular the sound design and the climax is very underwhelming but it's good fun in establishing the many ways Bond gets himself out of sticky situation after sticky situation, wisecrack after wisecrack, and though there's little globetrotting actually staying in Jamica does allow for a lot of detail and love to be put in the set design.

The Bond song: I mean, that Bond theme is just iconic for a reason isn't it? Well done, Monty Norman even if it would later be taken to different forms and variations by John Barry.

The Bond villain (s): As the first megalomaniac model for Bond to go after, Joseph Wiseman's metallic handed Dr No is a great villain in terms of providing a verbal sparring partner for Bond, and it's easy to see why he became the go-to template for parody in future spy comedies with his unique style that's been lampooned so much since.

The Bond girl (s): Hot take but I don't think either Ursala Andress' Honey Ryder or Miss Taro are particularly memorable, outside of the former's entrance scene, Bond girls, and a lot of Andress' notoriety comes from that scene which is certainly very iconic. Sylvia Trench, Bond's 'on-and-off' girlfriend in London for the first two films, also makes an appearance.

9. Goldfinger

Considered by many to be the definitive Bond film, with the introduction of an extensive array of gadgets, cheeky quips galore, globetrotting, the introduction of the Aston Martin DB5 (perhaps the grandest product placement ever), the villainous monologue, the laser moving towards the crotch...list goes on really, and it is indeed a very quotable film, a very entertaining romp, sweeping views and a villainous plan that's actually pretty damn good. The costume design ia particularly memorable here, and you could make an argument for it being one of the most stylish Bond films with some very memorable images, that gold-visaged nude body being among them. The last Bond film it seemed like Connery truly enjoyed doing incidentally. I don't love it as much as some but it is indeed a very good Bond film.

The Bond song: The best of the Shirley Bassey songs for sure, as her epic vocals solidifies a classic Bond title sequence and I quite like the focus being placed on the villain, incidentally...

The Bond villain (s): Gert Fröbe's Goldfinger may be dubbed over but his presence is undeniable, and the tricks and ploys he plays as a secret gold smuggler with a fairly ingenious plan is great stuff. His cold arrogance and glee at dealing with Bond, and the iconic 'I expect you to die' line are all components of a very memorable villain, as is Harold Sakata's Oddjob and his hat tossing routine.

The Bond girl (s): Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) is famous for the visuals and is certainly one of the most stunning Bond girls, her sister Tilly has a sidelined revenge mission, but the highlight on this front is definitely Honor Blackman's one and only Pussy Galore. The barn scene is definitely a very dated element that is a bit uncomfortable to watch but otherwise she's a dynamic, double-crossing and entertaining presence and certainly is so very stylish.

8. Licence to Kill

One of the, if not the, darkest Bond films of all, Timothy Dalton's second and final venture into being Bond (though it'd be awesome if he played a villain at some point) involves Bond going rogue before going rogue was trendy for cinematic spies, exacting vengeance on behalf of his friend Felix Leiter after a horrifying wedding massacre by a devious cartel. There is a hard, biting edge to the tone here which strips Bond down to essentially a man going on an emotionally driven revenge mission despite being revoked of his 'licence to kill', so to speak. If the gritty nastiness occasionally goes a bit too far with the sharks, and the absence of humour aside from an enjoyable expansion of Q as a character is noticeable, it's an underrated Bond film in terms of developing the plot while also having a nifty aerial opening scenel, underwater fights, and that grand tanker finale being particularly good.

The Bond song: Another underrated element of the film - Gladys Knight does a riff on Shirley Bassey, specifically 'Goldfinger' and absolutely kills it with a somewhat unconventional yet very biting, incisive and soulful Bond theme.

The Bond villain (s): The cartel is an interesting choice for Bond villains and here Robert Davi's (a frequent 80s villain actor) Sanchez is undecidedly lacking in any sort of real style or flair, and is just a greedy, gruesome bully with some particularly well-acted henchman (see: Everett McGill from Twin Peaks! Anthony Zerbe! A 21-year old Benicio del Toro being a real creep!). They're not fun villains to watch but veer closer to the modern-day archetype of more down to earth, 'realistic' villains even if the ways they are disposed of are still pretty, pretty...Bond-like.

The Bond girl (s): Carey Lowell's Pam Bouvier is a very good Bond girl, a great contrast to Dalton's performance as an ex-CIA agent and the two have some crackling, if a bit different to the usual Bond chemistry, that in some ways reminds. me of the dynamic between Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in the recent Mission Impossible films, although she doesn't get utilised in the action sequences nearly enough. Talisa Soto's Lupe Lamora is also a good enough take on the more typical. damsel in distress though she is surprisingly capable in some ways too.

7. From Russia with Love 

For the most part, a rather rollicking good ride as Dr No's dead leads to SPECTRE retaliating as they go in search of some sort of world dominating decoding device. Connery is in peak Bond form here, never more charming, suave, and probably the most invested physically in the role here. The first great Bond title sequence, actually well developed compelling villain (s), there's some dated elements here and there in terms of some of the stuntwork and special effects and builds off of the promise of Dr No so well in delivering on the grander spectacle of Bond's adventures.

The Bond song: Matt Monro's is the first lyrical James Bond song, and it's a nice old-fashioned tune that's fitting to its period. Nothing too special but good enough, though I might prefer the instrumental actually.

The Bond villain (s): Robert Shaw's Red Grant is perhaps the best Bond henchman of all, a silent killer who in his showdown scene with Bond creates a marvellous villainous showdown that ranks among the best of them. Lottie Lenya's Rosa Klebb is also a blunt, forceful and intimidating presence that looms over the film effectively enough. Also I do really like the whole introduction of giving more emphasis and fleshing out Spectre done in the right fashion.

The Bond girl (s): Tatiana Romanova is actually very involved in the proceedings but I wouldn't say Danielle Bianchi gets too much to do really in terms of 'acting', she's. really more just used as. someone for Connery to play off of. Not bad, not terrible, but not a main takeaway from the film.

6. The Spy Who Loved Me 

Roger Moore at his best in a film that perfectly suits itself to his talents. The central plot of infiltrating and stopping WWIII and the birth of an underwater civilisation disguises a very tried and tested Bond formula, but heck this is one of the most entertaining Bond films of all. The English and Russian race to stop the war is actually quite compelling once it gets going, the art direction of the underwater lair is amazing, that Lotus Espirit that transforms into a submarine is so cool, and sharks are used better in this Bond film than any other I'd say.

The Bond song: 'Nobody Does It Better' is a calming, soothing, carefree song that suits Moore's approach the best of all. Carly Simon's voice and Carole Bayer Sager's lyrics and Marvin Hamlisch's music make for a particularly enjoyable slight song that comments more on Bond's sexual prowess than his spymanship, which is again very fitting to Roger Moore.

The Bond villain (s): Created specifically for the film,  Curd Jürgen's Karl Stromberg is not one of the great Bond villains but he's a good one, albeit with a plan he's clearly ripped off from many previous Bond villains, and his henchman Jaws played by Richard Kiel is undeniably an iconic creation whose way of fighting and killing is utterly ridiculous yet oh so entertaining to watch.

The Bond girl (s): Stromberg's personal pilot Naomi and sacrificial lamb Felicca are fine additions but it's Barbara Bach as Agent XXX (no relation to Vin Diesel's XXX) who steals the show, who shares great bickering rapport with Bond, doesn't immediately fall for Bond's boat implication routine, and is part of one of the most amusing Bond endings of all.

5. Goldeneye

Honestly, this is the Bond film I'd introduce to anyone as it really is the main streamlined Bond with a little bit of everything one could like about Bond. Good action, tank fights and shootouts galore, good direction by Martin Campbell, Pierce Brosnan is an entertaining and effectively charming and convincing Bond both in terms of being a charmer and a badass, Q's gadgets are put to particularly entertaining use, energetic editing and camerawork...there's very little not to like here. It's the most accessible Bond film of all and in turn the one with the widest appeal, that I do enjoy re-watching every once in awhile.

The Bond song: Tina Turner and Bond does seem like a particularly golden combination, and while this isn't a classic Bond song by any means, it is an atmospheric, fresh and vibrant take that more than fulfils its requirements.

The Bond villain (s): The highlight of the film as we have not one, not two, but THREE great villains. You get two Sean Bean deaths for the price of one as former 006 Alec Trevelyan whose personal backstory with Bond provides some great stakes to the proceedings and is suitably intimidating in the role, Alan Cumming's weaselly hacker Boris is a sleazy bit of delight, and Famke Janssen's sexually sadistic, beautifully named Xenia Onatopp is both one of the best Bond girls and Bond villains, exuding threatening sex appeal and menace in every frame with her literal killer thighs.

The Bond girl (s): The main Bond girl, Natalya Simonova actually isn't all that memorable not that it matters and Izabella Scorupco is decent enough in the role.

4. Skyfall

Firstly it has to be said this is hands down the most beautiful Bond film of all, Roger Deakins really is a god truly. The silhouette fight scene between Bond and the assassin is one of the most visually astonishing fights in any action film. Now what pushes this back from being higher are a few nitpicks I have with it. I'm not a huge fan of the decision for the third act to be so removed from everything previously and overlong which loses the breakneck pacing of earlier on and there are a few moments it gets a bit too indulgent with the quipping and references to earlier films. Having said that this is still a terrifically directed Bond film from Sam Mendes, Ben Whishaw's Q is a genius broad stroke, and it achieves what Quantum of Solace failed in building upon previously established elements in the universe to create a satisfying 'finale' for Judi Dench's M.

The Bond song: Adele's 'Skyfall' is not just one of the best Bond songs, it's her best song, period.

The Bond villain (s): He takes a LONG time to appear, but boy is the build-up to Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva worth the wait. He is a grotesque, seedily nauseating, eloquent and rather effective adversary to Bond who is having the time of his life toying with James, and I particularly love his showdown with M. Probably the best Bond villain of all, even though I do think they underuse him a bit in the third act.

The Bond girl (s): Naomie Harris is painfully underused as Moneypenny, being as good an actress as she is, as is Bérénice Marlohe who is actually very, very good in her brief screen time and I wish she'd had more to do than just being a plot device.

3. The Living Daylights

Timothy Dalton's smouldering, deadpan, to-the-point approach as 007 brought a real fresh take that was unfortunately under appreciated back in the day, and frankly a lot of praise thrown in Daniel Craig's direction nowadays should equally apply to Mr Dalton. With a narrative that uses the defection of a KGB general to set off a series of arms deal-related conspiracy, it is actually one of the best-written Bond films in terms of how the stories and various plot lines and characters converge upon one another, there's a lot of fun in seeing Bond team up with KGC officials (love John Rhys-Davies here), and every action sequence from sledging around on cello cases to the car chases involving a particularly gadget-heavy Aston Martin.

The Bond song: If you love A-ha's music and you love Bond, then you'll love this, a song which really is just the perfect combination of the 80s and Bond, dripping with ticking time bomb tension, and lyrics I have no idea what they mean but boy are they catchy.

The Bond villain (s): There's not one particularly memorable villain out of the main three here, but perennial henchman Andreas Wisnewiski has some great action scenes as Necros, Joe Don Baker is appropriately gung ho as an arms dealer and Jeroen Krabbé is appropriately duplicitous as the 'defecting' KGB double-crosser.

The Bond girl (s): As a cellist/KGB collaborator Maryam D'Abdo is easily the most wholesome Bond girl of them all and her romance with Bond is definitely the sweetest of them all. Now one can hate or love this approach, I for one really liked it as a sort of the more humanising aspect of Bond which I've always been more fond of. D'Abdo is a delight in the role and I'll admit I really, really liked the ending of the film and she has a lot to do with that.

2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

I believe Christopher Nolan's favourite Bond film, and I can certainly see why as there's so much to be said in favour of this being the greatest Bond film, though unfortunately while George Lazenby isn't a terrible Bond nor does he give a terrible performance, he's just not quite up to scratch with the rest of the film's standard. His Bond is essentially for the most part going through the motions. Which is fine and all, to be honest, because everything else surrounding him is fantastic. The character-driven approach and wonderfully picturesque cinematography lends a very different air to the film that is quite refreshing, the snow sequences in particular are so beautiful to watch, and while the central conspiracy is quite ridiculous the way it's handled is with enough conviction to make it work. And it's also the most heartbreaking Bond film of all.

The Bond song: The instrumental that plays over the credits is effective and memorable and 'We Have All the Time in the World' sung by Louis Armstrong, which only appears in instrumental form within the film, is great and I do think the film should've ended with that.

The Bond villain (s): Telly Savalas is probably my favourite Blofeld, particularly down to earth and gritty in his approach and I kind of like that variation from the more standard cackling eloquent mastermind. And Irma Bunt, one of the inspirations for Frau Frabissina in Austin Powers, is fairly memorable too and plated well bt Ilse Steppat.

The Bond girl (s): Diana Rigg is the highlight of the film and a main reason why it works so well, as her Countess Tracy di Vicenzo is just so endearing, adorable, and yet ultimately such a tragic figure you truly grow to care for over the course of the film's narrative. The ending of the film. is so memorable on account of her performance which brings such investment into what could've been such a throwaway Bond igloo and really makes sense how even in later films without Lazenby they continue to refer to her as the love of Bond's life.

1. Casino Royale 

It's a good thing that Casino Royale did a complete overhaul of the series aside from retaining Judi Dench as M and bringing back Martin Campbell. After the atrocity that was Die Another Day the follow-up was a rejuvenated, fresh take on 007 that is the only Bond film I'd truly consider to be a 'perfect' film. From that brilliantly edited opening sequence that introduces us to this brutish, inexperienced Bond, the no-holes barred beatdown staircase fight, Bond resuscitating himself from poisoning, are all classic scenes, as are some unexpected ones like a shower scene that is one of the best scenes of the series, period. What takes this further than just great action film is that it is a genuinely compelling character study of this brash, overconfident young Bond who really does put a maximum 100% effort into every ounce of being a spy. Craig's performance as Bond is the best performance as Bond in the series, and makes for an amazing origin story for Bond that ends with a truly resonant finale.

The Bong song: Chris Cornell was definitely a curious choice for Bond but hey, it's a great song and absolutely perfect for the brash and thrilling tone of Casino Royale with so much fury and anger pulsating through it that fits Craig's portrayal.

The Bond villain (s): Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre is such an interesting villain in that he's facing his own set of problems not just from Bond, but the other villains he's working with as he's playing a poker game his life is putting stakes on. He's also just great in being a nasty despicable villain in the ahem ball-busting final scene he shares with Craig as they play off one another in a painful, darkly comedic scene.

The Bond girl (s): Sacrificial lamb Solange is your standard sacrificial lamb Bond girl, but the best Bond film fittingly has the best Bond girl of all. Eva Green's Vesper Lynd who's essentially present to bankroll James Bond's gambling to save the day, is such a strong yet realistic presence in the narrative. Giving the right amount of style, playing off Craig incredibly well, and balancing all the different sides to her character so well. Love this character, performance as well as every other element of the film which gets better with each re-watch.