Rate all 25 Bond films (2021 edition)

[zen007]

Since we are in the Bond season, rate all 25 Bond films out of 10 relative to other Bond films (this is not a ranking topic as all of them can be 10 out of 10 for some) based on your last viewing.

[Warm Gun]

Dr. No 4/5
From Russia with Love 4/5
Goldfinger 4/5
Thunderball 3.5/5
You Only Live Twice 3.5/5
Live and Lie Die 3/5
The Man with the Golden Gun 3/5
The Spy Who Loved Me 3.5/5 (Was temped by 4/5, though.)
Moonraker 3/5
For Your Eyes Only 3.5/5
Octopussy 3/5
A View to a Kill 3/5
The Living Daylights 3/5
License to Kill 3.5/5
GoldenEye 3.5/5
Tomorrow Never Dies 3/5
The World Is Not Enough 3/5 (But I haven't watched this one since I was a teenager.)
Die Another Day 2/5 (But I haven't watched this one since I was a teenager.)
Casino Royale 4/5
QUantum of Solace 2.5/5
Skyfall 3/5
Spectre 2.5/5 (Worst James Bond movie I've ever watched. I can imagine even preferring Die Another Day with a rewatch.)

[zen007]

Originally Posted by Warm Gun

Ratings

Since the rating is relative to Bond films (not other films), why not give the top ones full marks

[Warm Gun]

Originally Posted by zen007

Since the rating is relative to Bond films (not other films), why not give the top ones full marks

I still wouldn't give any of them full marks. I know people don't wanna hear this, but I don't think Bond ever reached its full potential back when it was still good. But I like almost all of them.

Also, if I lowered the max score to 4, I'd have to rethink a bunch of them. There's no way Spectre is 2.5/4 Bond movie for me. It's average as a movie and kind of bad as a Bond movie.

[imsounoriginal]

After seeing No Time to Die twice:

01. Skyfall (2012)
02. Goldfinger (1964)
03. Casino Royale (2006)
04. Licence to Kill (1989)
05. From Russia with Love (1963)
06. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
07. Goldeneye (1995)
08. Dr. No (1962)
09. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
10. The World is Not Enough (1999)
11. Quantum of Solace (2008)
12. The Living Daylights (1987)
13. Thunderball (1965)
14. No Time to Die (2021)
15. Spectre (2015)
16. You Only Live Twice (1967)
17. A View to a Kill (1985)
18. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
19. Live and Let Die (1973)
20. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
21. Die Another Day (2002)
22. Moonraker (1979)
23. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
24. Octopussy (1983)
25. Diamonds are Forever (1971)

[CreasyBear]

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Casino Royale
The Spy Who Loved Me
From Russia with Love
The World is Not Enough
No Time to Die
Licence to Kill
For Your Eyes Only
Thunderball
The Living Daylights
Goldeneye
Octopussy
Tomorrow Never Dies
Moonraker
You Only Live Twice
Live and Let Die
Dr. No
Man with the Golden Gun
Goldfinger
A View to a Kill
Die Another Day
Spectre
Skyfall
Diamonds are Forever
Quantum of Solace

[Star Lord]

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

[Winslow Leach]

I love every Bond film, so ranking them is nearly impossible for me. However, I'll try. I'll use the star system, with being the highest.

DR. NO
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
GOLDFINGER
THUNDERBALL
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 1/2
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
LIVE AND LET DIE 1/2
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
MOONRAKER
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 1/2
OCTOPUSSY
A VIEW TO A KILL
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
LICENCE TO KILL
GOLDENEYE 1/2
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH 1/2
DIE ANOTHER DAY
CASINO ROYALE
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
SKYFALL
SPECTRE

Now I'm in the mood to watch the series again!

[ImBlu_DaBaDee]

The Bad
25. A View to a Kill (worthless movie with Grandpa Bond, the song is a banger though!)
24. Die Another Day (worst song of them all, great opening with a lot of potential than nothing but embarrassment)
23. The Man with the Golden Gun (bad song, waste of Christopher Lee and an incredible car stunt)
22. Diamonds Are Forever (great song, some good action, but a dreadful follow up to the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Connery looks so tired)
21. Moonraker (skydiving opening rocks, ending is so bad it’s good)
20. Live and Let Die (creepy and racist, plot is not Bond at all, great song)

The OK
19. Licence to Kill (personal taste says I think this is way too violent and unlike Bond to enjoy, Timothy Dalton is good in the role though)
18. Octopussy (Grandpa Bond looks ridiculous, but several great action sequences)
17. The World Is Not Enough (amazing opening and song, twisty plot, horrible Bond girl)
16. Tomorrow Never Dies (Michelle Yeoh saves the whole thing, meh overall)

The Good
15. Quantum of Solace (too short, horrible editing, bad follow up to Casino Royale)
14. Thunderball (takes awhile to get going, underwater action slow and unexciting)
13. Dr. No (iconic film, good start to series, but definitely a warm up for better things to come, low budget)
12. For Your Eyes Only (Roger Moore’s best performance, engaging story, stupid ending)

The Great
11. No Time to Die (epic finale, great performances, heavy and sad and a bit too long)
10. Spectre (fun sense of adventure, Lea Seydoux is awesome, great opening and buildup to the reveal of Oberhauser)
9. The Living Daylights (great plot, Dalton was awesome and deserved a longer run)
8. The Spy Who Loved Me (Union Jack parachute jump made my jaw drop, Jaws was an awesome henchman and the banter between Bond and XXX was fun, epic sets)
7. GoldenEye (awesome opening and song, great action, Brosnan looks the part and got stuck with bad scripts after this film)
6. You Only Live Twice (terribly racist towards Asians, epic action especially for the time, amazing sets, all-time best Blofeld, just a blast to watch)

The All-Time Best
5. Goldfinger (iconic in every way, so much fun to watch)
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (felt very ahead of its time, outstanding Bond girl and Blofeld, great action, emotional ending)
3. Skyfall (God-tier cinematography, best song, personal stakes, creepy villain)
2. From Russia With Love (proper spy thriller with intrigue, exotic locales, great performances, train fight spectacular to this day)
1. Casino Royale (riveting from start to finish, best Bond, best Bond girl, great song, incredible action, scary villain with harrowing torture sequence, mic drop ending that still gives me goosebumps)

[AKORIS]

didn't bother with half star ratings-- love the series-- there are NO bad Bond films-- either great, very good, or good to me---



DR. NO
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
GOLDFINGER
THUNDERBALL
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
LIVE AND LET DIE
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
MOONRAKER
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
OCTOPUSSY
A VIEW TO A KILL
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
LICENCE TO KILL
GOLDENEYE
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
DIE ANOTHER DAY
CASINO ROYALE
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
SKYFALL
SPECTRE
NO TIME TO DIE

[zen007]

Originally Posted by Winslow Leach

Now I'm in the mood to watch the series again!

Never miss the opportunity to rewatch the series!

[GuruAskew]

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

Craig: average ranking #5.6
Connery: average ranking #8
Lazenby: sole film ranked #13
Brosnan: average ranking #14.5
Moore: average ranking #16.3
Dalton: average ranking #22

Basically my order of actor preference came out in my ranking with the exception of Lazenby, who I’d absolutely put dead last. I think OHMSS is overrated but it’s still much better than the dregs of the franchise which gave him quite the bump in the rankings.

[Hindustani]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

didn't bother with half star ratings-- love the series-- there are NO bad Bond films-- either great, very good, or good to me---

DR. NO
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
GOLDFINGER
THUNDERBALL
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
LIVE AND LET DIE
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
MOONRAKER
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
OCTOPUSSY
A VIEW TO A KILL
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
LICENCE TO KILL
GOLDENEYE
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
DIE ANOTHER DAY
CASINO ROYALE
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
SKYFALL
SPECTRE
NO TIME TO DIE

. RATING SCALE!
---------------------------
= DISASTER
1/2 = BELOW Average. Misses the Mark.
= AVERAGE = Hit & Miss
1/2 = ABOVE Average = Missed opportunity
= GOOD movie = enjoyable
1/2 = GREAT Cinema = high repeat value
= MASTERPIECE

DR. NO 1/2 - "GREAT Cinema"
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - "MASTERPIECE"
GOLDFINGER - "MASTERPIECE"
THUNDERBALL 1/2 - "GREAT Cinema"

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE 1/2 - "GREAT Cinema"
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER 1/2
LIVE AND LET DIE
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
MOONRAKER
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
OCTOPUSSY 1/2
A VIEW TO A KILL
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
LICENCE TO KILL 1/2 - "GREAT Cinema"
GOLDENEYE
TOMORROW NEVER DIES 1/2
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH 1/2
DIE ANOTHER DAY 1/2
CASINO ROYALE - "MASTERPIECE"
QUANTUM OF SOLACE 1/2
SKYFALL 1/2 - "GREAT Cinema"
SPECTRE 1/2
NO TIME TO DIE 1/2 - "GREAT Cinema"

[Dr Lenera]

Like Bond a lot but wouldn't rank any of the films above 9/10....I do out of 10s because I find out of 5s too limiting.

1/ ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE 9/10
2/ THUNDERBALL 9/10
3/ CASINO ROYALE 9/10
4/ YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 8.5/10
5/ FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 8.5/10
6/ THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS 8.5/10
7/ MOONRAKER 8.5/10
8/ FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 8/10
9/ GOLDFINGER 8/10
10/THE SPY WHO LOVED ME 7.5/10
11/LIVE AND LET DIE 7.5/10
12/TOMORROW NEVER DIES 7.5/10
13/THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH 7/10
14/SPECTRE 7/10
15/SKYFALL 7/10
16/DR NO 7/10
18/OCTOPUSSY 7/10
19/DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER 7/10
20/THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN 7/10
21/A VIEW TO A KILL 6.5/10
22/GOLDENEYE 6.5/10
23/LICENCE TO KILL 5.5/10
24/QUANTUM OF SOLACE 4.5/10
25/NO TIME TO DIE 4/10

[Preeve2000]

I’ve just rewatched the series in preparation for No Time to Die, and just watched NTTD last night, so I’ll give ““brief”” thoughts and ratings for each film.

Dr. No: 7/10
Good film, but it’s pretty clear the series hasn’t quite found it’s identity yet, for obvious reasons. Lower budget, somewhat “irregular” score for the series, and other little oddities that aren’t unexpected from being the very first in a long running franchise, but a great performance from Connery. An entertaining film, and a nice, if somewhat humble beginning.

From Russia With Love: 8/10
Again, the series still hasn’t quite found itself yet, with this entry feeling more like a bootleg (in the nicest possible way) Hitchcock film, but the film is pretty damn good. Great characters, great villains, great set pieces. Always a fun watch.

Goldfinger: 9/10
The series has begun to come into its own now, and it’s truly fantastic. The definitive Bond film, more or less. Great characters, great set pieces, score, and so on. Excellent.

Thunderball: 7/10
Probably more typically Bond-y than the prior films, but I think this film falters with just being too bloated. Those underwater scenes also drag on quite a bit. The Bond girl and the main villain are also less interesting than prior films, but the film is still a good watch.

You Only Live Twice: 7/10
Similar issues to Thunderball, where it’s a bit bloated, with scenes like the “ninja training”, and Bond’s humiliating “Japanese disguise” going on way too long, and it sort of feels like Connery is getting a bit bored with the role. However, the film still has good action scenes, a good Bond girl (and by a, I mean Aki), and one of the most iconic villain lair’s and Blofeld performances of the series. Fun, but has issues.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: 9/10
Excellent. While Lazenby’s Bond is nowhere near as charismatic as Connery, or even later actors, and the film’s pace kind of slows down beginning with Bond arriving at the Piz Gloria to being captured by Blofeld, pretty much everything else is the best the series ever had. The second half of the film is probably the best second half of any Bond film, one of the best, if not the best Bond girl with Tracy Bond, fantastic set pieces, excellent, of depressing, ending, and heads and shoulders the best score of the entire series. Unreasonably good.

Diamonds Are Forever: 5/10
Connery’s back, and it’s clear it was only for the money. He looks thoroughly bored, and somehow 10 years older (with a blatant toupée), and it feels like the production budget ended up being sacrificed somewhat just to get Connery back. Characters are okay at best,, and the plot is a bit by-numbers at this point, but the score is excellent. Watchable, but there’s a clear drop in quality.

Live and Let Die: 6/10
Moore’s here, and he does a decent job, even if the film could’ve been better, not that it was bad. The film takes the series into unfamiliar territory somewhat, with a simultaneously more down to earth yet more supernatural story. The film has a similar budget to Diamonds Are Forever, yet the film somehow looks more like Dr. No, which is strange. Anyways, some fun characters (good villains, good looking, yet not very interesting Bond girl, and a great Felix Leiter), decent set pieces, okay score, but with a great theme. Decent film, but not great.

The Man With the Golden Gun: 5/10
Not big on this one, with a kind of uninteresting story, a generally unenjoyable Bond girl, but with a good villain played by Christopher Lee. Some decent set pieces and stunts, at least when they aren’t ruined with goofy sound effects. Not that good.

The Spy Who Loved Me: 8/10
The definitive Moore film. Great characters, set pieces, Bond girl, and Jaws is iconic, and ends up overshadowing the actual villain of the film. Perhaps latter portions of the film are bit by-numbers, but the film is still a great watch.

Moonraker: 5/10
Questionable. The film is not good, but it’s so absurd and goofy that it’s still fun to watch. I don’t think I understand what they were thinking, but I’m glad we got an entertaining (in an unintentional way) film out of it.

For Your Eyes Only: 7/10
A very strong first half, but the film kind of loses momentum in the latter half, which will be a trend for the next decade. Good-ish villains, with a good Bond girl, and some pretty good set pieces, primarily in the first half however. A good watch, but it’s somewhat disappointing how the film kind of loses itself towards the latter half.

Octopussy: 5/10
Uninteresting. A decent-at-best first and final third, but that middle portion of the film is soul-sucking. Don’t particularly care for this one.

A View to a Kill: 4/10
Thoroughly uninteresting. Actors like Christopher Walken and Grace Jones are completely wasted here, and Moore has no business being in the role at his age. Nothing really of note here, beyond the great theme.

The Living Daylights: 7/10
A good shot in the arm for the series. Dalton provides some fresh energy to series, and the film is overall strong, with the first 2 thirds being quite great, though the final third kinda drags. Good Bond, good Bond girl, decent villain (another instance of the “heavy” being more memorable than the actual villain), and generally good.

License to Kill: 7/10
A somewhat divisive film, but I quite like it, probably because it feels less like a traditional Bond film, but I think the old formula was getting played out at this point, though that may be because I watched so many of these films in quick succession recently, though I suppose that comes with the pitfall of feeling more like just any other ‘80s action film, so comparatively generic. Anyways, good story, good action, good villains, good Bond girl, and good overall.

Goldeneye: 8/10
A great start to the Brosnan era, which would sadly never be this good again. Great story, great characters, great set pieces. Just good fun all around. The only pitfalls are some dated effects, and I suppose a highly “unconventional” score for the series which sounds more like the N64 game than the N64 game.

Tomorrow Never Dies: 7/10
I kinda surprisingly like this one, though the excellent Michelle Yeoh is doing much of the heavy lifting. The villain is a kinda goofy satire, but the film is generally a good watch, with some good set pieces, and a more traditional score with David Arnold.

The World is Not Enough: 6/10
And diminishing returns begins to rear its head. Again, I surprisingly don’t mind this film as much as I remembered, but it’s definitely weaker. Having the Bond girl as the villain is an excellent twist on the formula, and Sophie Marceau (spelling?) does a great job. Same can’t be said for Denise Richards, who was miscast in a thoroughly uninteresting role, and has no chemistry with Brosnon. Other than that, the film is pretty okay, but no more than that, really.

Die Another Day: 2/10
Humiliating. Tragic. An embarrassment. This feels more like Spy Kids than Bond, and it’s a damn shame that the Brosnan era ended with such a disaster. The film has a decent pre-title sequence, but begins rapidly dropping in quality as soon as the highly irritating theme starts playing, and drops to an absolute low around half way through.

Casino Royale: 10/10
Unreasonably excellent, and exactly what the series needed. Craig starts out with a cosmic sized Big Bang, with the my absolute favourite Bond film. Great in every respect. Maybe it’s a little long, but having more of Casino Royale is in no way a bad thing.

Quantum of Solace: 5/10
Speaking of more Casino Royale not being a bad thing, the direct sequel to Casino Royale is pretty uninteresting. It really feels like the film was being made up as it went along (and it basically was, due to a Writer’s Strike), and the films feels like a rushed mess, with even the gun barrel at the end being rushed. The Bond girl was good at least, and there were some good ideas that could’ve been executed better had the film been properly written. Also, the film’s theme sounds like an accident. Not sure what went on there.

Skyfall: 8/10
Pretty damn good. Strong performances, good characters, good set pieces, and welcome reintroductions of older Bond elements. If I had to give any complaints, it’s that Silva’s obviously Dark Knight inspired plan kinda falls apart if you think about it, and perhaps the conclusion drags a bit, but the film is still highly enjoyable. A nice boost in quality after the faltering of Quantum.

Spectre: 5/10
The Craig films sure aren’t consistent, are they? Even with the same director as Skyfall, Spectre falters through being long and dumb. Largely uninteresting action scenes, and a bizarre mishandling of Blofeld. I suppose Léa Seydoux did alright, but she would have more time to shine in the next film. Not sure what went wrong here.

No Time to Die: 7/10
A pretty good, but not great, end to the Craig era. I quite liked much of the new characters, with Ana de Armas being an incredibly bright but upsettingly brief highlight, and Lashana Lynch being pretty decent. Léa Seydoux has more to work with here, and the rest of the returning supporting cast do pretty well here. The villain is a tad weak, but the film is largely enjoyable. The film makes some “questionable” choices that may raise some eyebrows, and perhaps tempers, but I feel the film executes them well enough for me to not really care too much. Pretty good.

[Zivouhr]

A wide range of varying views on the films and actors playing James Bond.

I've seen them all but need to rewatch them all again before being able to rank every one of them.

As a small kid, first James Bond movie I ever saw on the big screen was A View to a Kill, Roger Moore's final film as 007. Then I haven't missed a single James Bond movie in movie theaters ever since View to a Kill, having just seen No Time to Die last opening weekend in theaters.

I'm a big action fan so if the action is fun and delivers in a clear and easy to follow way, a big plus for a James Bond film. Story, character motives and plot logic are important too of course.

[AKORIS]

I will most likely get slammed for this but, as with everything, it's just my opinion.

I don't believe a true Bond fan would rate ANY Bond film below a "decent" or "pretty good" rating. There is plenty to enjoy in all of the films, even the weaker ones. My least favorite titles still have many scenes that I enjoy very much. And Bond at his worst is better than tons and tons of other action flicks that have been released throughout the years...

Now I'm not saying that everybody here is a Bond fan to begin with so rating titles with 2 stars or less makes sense for them.

Otherwise I think some of these ratings are pure hyperbole....

[Warm Gun]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

And Bond at his worst is better than tons and tons of other action flicks that have been released throughout the years...

And even Bond at his best is worse than tons and tons of other action movies released over the years. Gotta keep it in perspective.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Warm Gun

And even Bond at his best is worse than tons and tons of other action movies released over the years. Gotta keep it in perspective.

agree to disagree....

[Warm Gun]

Main thing stopping The Spy Who Loved Me from being up there with the best of Bonds for me is the villain. Everyone before him did bad for profit or control. This guy just wants everyone to live under the sea. Found him therefore one of the silliest, unfortunately.