Top Ten James Bond Movies

Posted by Martin:

In honor of Casino Royale being the first Blu-Ray tile to pass the 100,000 mark, I thought it was time for another discussion prompting top ten list.  So here are the top ten James Bond movies as I see them. 

I have read most if not all of the original Fleming novels and I view the character primarily from that lens.  I have recently reread Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, and Dr. No.  The movies get more and more away from Fleming's character, I believe, as time moves along.  The character in the books is mean, fallible, a killer, sauve, and an old fashioned chauvinist, so I think of the Bond character in that light.  But with that being said here is the list.

10.  The Man with the Golden Gun
    As we all know Roger Moore was a completely different incarnation of Bond then Connery ever was.  But a Bond film is also good based on the Bond villain, and this one has a good one in Scaramanga played to the tee by none other than Christopher Lee.  Any villain who challenges Bond in the ability to shot automatically makes them very cool.  And having a third nipple is an added bonus.

9.   Tomorrow Never Dies
    Pierce Brosnan's second trip out as Bond also brought along Michelle Yeoh.  In many ways she was not a Bond girl, because she was his equal, and because of her the movie makes the list.  This Bond bad guy is the classic over the top megalomaniac that wants world domination, so unfortunately it makes him a little forgettable.  But it does have Terri Hatcher as a Bond girl, which is quite memorable.

8.  Thunderball
    Thunderball was the top grossing movie of the young franchise went it was released in 1965.  Thunderball has sharks, underwater fight scenes, and a bad guy with a patch over his eye, all positive elements for a great Bond story.  It also has in my opinion the best lines in the whole franchise. 
"What sharp little eyes you have!"...."Wait til you get to my teeth."
And my personal favorite:
Bond "This gun is fitted for a woman."
Villian "You seem to know a lot about guns, Mr. Bond."
Bond "No, but I know a little bit about women."

(For those true cinema geeks out there, this is the first Bond movie to be filmed in 2.35 aspect ratio.  Bond got bigger with Thunderball.)

7.Live and Let Die
    Roger Moore's first outing as the spy is a good one.   Time in Louisiana at first seems very out of place for a Bond movie, but it allows for more interesting characters that do not appear in other Bond movies.  Jumps across alligators, fights with giant mechanical armed men, and a speed boat race make this one a keeper.  And a young Jane Seymour is a very nice added bonus.

6.  Goldeneye

    Brosnan's first trip out as Bond was his best.  Like Casino Royale this was a fresh start for the series.  I personally liked Timothy Dalton as Bond, but his two movies were hampered by low budgets and were not a priority at the studio.  Brosnan's movies were very different in that regard, the studio gave the projects good money, a great director, and proper press.  Goldeneye is satisfying because it shows Bond in his need for revenge, and when Bond need revenge it is something that you don't turn away from.  Famke Janssen is quite appealing in her role has a murderous Bond girl.  But this movie is notable for having the balls to make M a woman.  Judi Dench makes M an actual character and someone that just has to have an opening and closing scene with Bond.  You know someone powerful is in the room when Dench comes on the screen.

5. The Spy Who Loved Me
    This is Moore's best outing as Bond.  Barbara Bach stars as a Soviet Spy that Bond must connect with, and is probably one of the best Bond girls.  This one also has the 7'2" Jaws.  It was cool to have a familiar villain that came into several Bond movies in a row.  The Spy Who Loved Me also has one of the best Bond gadgets, the car that turns into a boat.

4. Dr. No

    It all begins here.  The first "Bond...James, Bond."  The first Bond girl, and frankly one of the best, the first Bond villain that would set the stage for other Bond films to come.  This is one of the short Bond flicks, but that doesn't matter this one has it all.

3. From Russia with Love

    I place this one above Dr. No because this is more of a sleuth movie.  Bond is trying to figure out what the beautiful Russian spy is up to, being hoodwinked by a Russian killer, and Rosa Kelb with her poisoned knife sticking out of her shoe.  Connery himself has gone on record as saying this was his favorite Bond movie.

2. Casino Royale

    I came close to putting this as number one, but is the world ready for that?  Daniel Craig took a lot of heat when the movie was in production for being blond.  Even I first bought into the negative press, but I always thought that it was a little strange since Roger Moore has reddish-brown hair and no one ever complain about that.  But Daniel Craig proved me and the rest of the detractors wrong.  He is simply the best Bond since Connery.  His version of Bond is much more like the character Fleming created which is why I firmly believe he came across so well.

    This Bond, like the one in the novels, gets angry, makes mistakes, is tough as hell, loves women, is gifted at killing, yet doesn't like it.  The producers got it right when they brought Bond back without the gadgets, and the infallibility of the Brosnan Bond.  Craig was so charismatic as Bond it was difficult to keep your eyes off of him.

    And for my money, second only to the first time Connery does it in Dr. No, this is the most satisfying "Bond...James Bond" in the entire series. 

"Bond...James Bond"

Credits

(click see my original review of the movie)

1. Goldfinger

    This one has all the aspects needed for a great Bond film.  Connery, several blond women, an Aston Martin, a machine designed to kill Bond, the best henchman in the whole series in Oddjob, and a villain that is over the top, yet very plausible, oh, and a character named Pussy Galore.  Like Casino Royale this film doesn't rely on gadgets, and gets Bond to focus on his wits and charm.  There are several elements that make a great Bond movie and this one hits it on all cylinders.

Well, let the discussion begin.  Should I have included a Dalton movie, or On Her Majesty's Secret Service?  And I like both just not sure if they are top ten material.

Thanks to universalexports.net where I got several of these pics from.  Visit the site for more Bond info than you can shake a vodka martini at.

 

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