All 25 Bond films, from the best to the worst

This was one of my least favorite films as a young man, for it was long and boring, and it all seemed to lead to a climax that never really came. From Russia With Love was made before Goldfinger really made the Bond formula as we know it, and despite offering a full range of sexist jokes, evil henchmen and 007 gadgetry, it is still one of the few films in the series that lie closer to the spy genre than the action genre. This, along with wonderful locations, a brilliant score and one of the most beautiful Bond girls of all time, makes FRWL stand out among all the others. It is perhaps particularly enjoyably for the more mature Bond fans.

I see that Goldfinger is usually ranked as the best Bond film of all time, and not without reason. Goldfinger took Bond to the next step by introducing so many of the familiar Bond themes: the eccentric henchmen, the megalomaniac villains and the "battle" at the end. Back in 1964 action at this scale was probably quite unheard of, and even though the two former Bond films were already known for their quick cutting and large amount of action, Goldfinger made Bond in to something truly unique. Thus, the film set the stage for all the sequels to come. My only problem with Goldfinger is that it perhaps took one step too far from the spy genre.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is in my opinion one of the most complete Bond films of all time. It offers the perfect mix of action and spy thriller, and the pacing is perfect. The score is one of John Barry's (the composer for all older Bond films) very best. The locations are magnificent, and the final showdown is as action packed as one could ask, without turning ridiculous. The only factor the doesn't make OHMSS the best Bond film of all time are the actors. George Lazenby, while not a bad actor, is still very generic in his role as Bond, making him quite forgettable. Diana Rigg as Bond's only true love also does quite an underwhelming performance.

Pierce Brosnan is my favorite Bond actor after Sean Connery, but sadly he only got to make one truly great Bond film. Goldeneye is however the best Bond film of the modern era (defined by me as 1990 to the present). While not really a spy film, it's rather a dark action film. Goldeneye has some truly amazing action scenes, one of the best henchmen, or henchwomen of all time, Xenia Onatopp, and Sean Bean (who doesn't love Sean Bean?). It also spawned one of the greatest video games of all time.

As a kid I used to love Roger Moore. His comical and sarcastic Bond portrayal struck right in my heart, and almsot all his films offer a decent amount of action. As I have grown older my relationship to the Moore-era of Bond has grown quite cold, with the exception of "The Spy Who Loved Me". Roger Moore was in his fifties when he did this role, but full of confidence. This is the ultimate Moore Bond. Barbara Bach, the Bond girl, while not a great actor, still made me fall in love with her when I was young, and thus she is still one of my favorites. The films itself is utterly ridiculous, but it is Bond ridiculousness at its most enjoyable.

If Goldfinger invented the Bond formula. You Only Live Twice cemented it. The secret lair, the pirayas, the spaceships. the ninjas. Austin Powers got a lot of its inspiration from this film. I have hardly anything wrong to say about You Only Live Twice, and in someways I think the film is actually a bit underrated. As Bond action goes, this film and The Spy Who Loved Me are the two epitomes. But as a person who finds that over-the-top action and an intelligent plot are not mutually exclusive, I find myself wishing for some more meaning in this film.

Dr. No has to receive a lot of credit for being the first Bond film. It's also not a bad film, but far from the best. It's simply quite enjoyable. Nothing more. Nothing less.

When this film was announced I decided to read Ian Fleming's novel, Casino Royale. The only time I have bothered to read anything by Ian Fleming. And I quite enjoyed Casino Royale, the novel, and it lifted my hopes for this film. Since it was made by the same guy who made Goldeneye, it had to be great, right? And many people enjoyed Casino Royale. Some even claim it to be the greatest Bond film of all time. I have no clue why. The first hour of this film is in my opinion utter *beep* I am talking bout the parkour thing in Madagascar, the african guerilla, and the whole Miami thing. Why did they have to pull this extremely bland action out of their arses? There was a range of events in the novel which they could have used, and spiced up in a way that had more to to with the plot. Only when the poker match begins does the film begin to resemble the novel in some parts, and thusly it is the part of the film the saves Casino Royale and Daniel Craig from utter disaster, in my opinion.

As someone who wanted more plot driven action, spy thriller elements, and deeper meaning for the Bond franchise, I attached great hope the the academy award winning director Sam Mendes, who had hardly made any action before Skyfall. With these expectations I was perhaps a bit disappointed, but Mendes did not write the script. From what he had to work with, he has made a really beautiful and well paced Bond film. But the script is filled with plot holes and really bad jokes. That the film sometimes reminds you of The Dark Knight is not necessarily ad bad thing, but when it reminds you of Home Alone it just becomes weird.

Tomorrow Never Dies is one of my guilty pleasures in the Bond franchise. The film is often hated upon, in no small part due to it's ridiculous plot: a media mogul attempts to start WW3, for the news value of it. What is still love about this film is the locations and the action. The city of Hamburg is the perfect stage for Bond, and the action portrayed there is awesome. I must admit that nostalgia might also play a role in my love for this film. It's the first Bond film released when I was old enough to remember the commercials. And because of family friends, my parents often brought me to Hamburg when I was a child. If I try to look at the film objectively though, I still think it's a decent action flick, and it has (amazingly) two of the best theme songs in Bond history: Tomorrow Never Dies, by Sheryl Crow and Surrender, by K.D. Lang.

Octopussy (what an hilarious title) is Roger Moore's second best Bond film. I particularaly like the plot, involving a disenfranchised Soviet general who wants to start the war he has been preparing for for all his life, reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove. In fact there isn't a lot of bad things to criticize about Octopussy.

The Man with the Golden Gun is a very peculiar Bond film. Scaramanga is not your usual Bond villain, and neither is his henchman Nick Nack. The entire idea of the golden gun is also quite bizarre. All in all I quite like this deviation from the classical Bond formula. The film has some very memorable action scenes and a very cheerful Moore Bond. But the female characters in this film are a bit too shallow, even for Bond.

Could have been Brosnan's second good Bond film if it wasn't for Denise Richards.

Thunderball might be an okay Bond film, but neither as a child nor as an adult have I had any particular love for the film. Despite having seen it many times, the only thing I seem to me able to remember of it is the jet pack, sexy spectre henchwoman Fiona and a bunch of harpoon action. The rest is just a big fuzz.

If it wasn't for the damned Star Wars thing, which was just taking it all too far, Moonraker would have been a great Bond film, on level with "The Spy Who Loved Me".

The Living Daylights is in my opinion Timothy Daltons best Bond film. It has a decent plot, some great locations, a nice score and some thrilling action. I have very few bad things to say about TLD, but in the jungle that is the Bond franchise it becomes one of the less memorable ones.

Through the eras Bond has taken many cues from other contemporary action films. From the Star Wars theme in Moonraker to the Jason Bourne style of the modern films. In this film the inspiration seems to come from American blaxploitation films in the likes of Shaft (1971). While somewhat exotic and refreshing, the combination is slightly too weird for Bond. But the film is entertaining. It has a great theme song by Paul McCartney and two henchmen that really frightened me as a child: Baron Samedi and Tee Hee (the iron hand). Jane Seymour as Solitaire is also one of the cutest Bond girls of all time.

Quantum of Solace is a very bland film. It never becomes ridiculous, but it also feels soulless and forgettable. The only positive thing about this film is the opera scene in the middle of the film, which has some of that Bond flair the film otherwise lacks.

For Your Eyes Only is probably one of the few Bond films I haven't bothered to see that many times. Although the opening scene is very memorable, the rest of the film is somewhat boring, and Roger Moore has at this point become a bit too old for the role.

I am a great fan of Sean Connery but in this film he seems to be in transition between his young, suave self to his old and grey (but even cooler) veteran self. This middle aged Bond is however not a very charming one. On a similar note to the last Moore era films, the old man making out with the much younger girls has a somewhat creepy vibe to it. The action and the plot in Diamonds Are Forever has all the usual Bond cliches, but doesn't really stand out compared to the other films that follow the formula closely.

Like Live and let Die and many other Bond films, Licence to Kill has obvious similarities to contemporary action films. This film reminds one a lot of the american police dramas of the eighties. Particularly Lethal Weapon (1987). It's a dark and sinister Bond film with much less humor than previous films, but much more brutal violence. Instead of cold war espionage the film deals with drug lords and crime. Licence to Kill is not a bad film. It has some scenes that made me look away as a child and all in all it's quite a different cup of tea compared the other Bond films. Still, I think the police theme doesn't really work that well with Bond.

A View to a Kill, like Licence to Kill, has a very american, eighties, police action style to it. Christopher Walken is on paper a perfect Bond villain, and his henchman Mayday as similarities to the great Xenia in Goldenye. The main problem with this film is Roger Moore. At this point he is way to old for the role, and totally unbelievable when he does his acrobatics and seductions. The plot is okay, but the tone and style of the film is not to my liking.

Take Thunderball and A View to a Kill and mix them together in an amateurish way. Then pull Sean Connery out of his retirement and you get this rather forgettable, unofficial Bond film. I think Sean Connery was even greater in his old man roles than as a young man, but this is an old man trying to play a young man, and it's just not right.

With an entirely different script and a younger Brosnan, a Bond film somehow involving North Korea, Iceland, an abandoned tube station, and the suave Toby Stephens as a villain, could have been great. Sadly, this film also involves special forces surfing in to North Korea, an incredibly awkward Halle Berry reading from an even more awkward script, an invisible car, a long bearded Bond, a technology that allows you to never sleep, the most annoying Bond theme song of all time and an even more annoying cameo by the woman who sings the horrible song. Please, let us never return to the level of filmmaking laziness and Bond selloutness that this film was. I am not sure if the franchise would survive it.