TheKingOfGalaga
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Ranking: James Bond films.
- Thread starter TheKingOfGalaga
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I suggest a different format that doesn't use tier lists. Can't tell what some of the movies are.
1. Casino Royale
2. Goldeneye
3. Skyfall
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. From Russia with Love
6. No Time to Die
7. License to Kill
8. Living Daylights
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. Goldfinger
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Moonraker
13. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
14. Thunderball
15. Man with the Golden Gun
16. World is Not Enough
17. Dr No
18. Die Another Day
19. Spectre
20. For Your Eyes Only
21. Live and Let Die
22. You Only Live Twice
23. Diamonds Are Forever
24. A View to a Kill
25. Octopussy
I think everything from 13 to 22 is interchangeable in terms of ranking. I have neither extreme dislike nor feelings of joy from the movies. Though, I only know that both World is Not Enough and Die Another Day can't be too low because there was some cheesy fun in those.
I typically place A View to a Kill at last, but I realized that being nearly so bad it's good is objectively better than the utter forgettablity of Octopussy. I watched all of the Bond movies leading up to Skyfall's release. I didn't watch them in any specific order. I watched Octopussy last. I still don't remember a single thing about it. Top 10 and bottom 3 were cake for me.
Diamonds are Forever has the special distinction of following up On Her Majesty's Secret Service and completely ignoring the events of that movie despite it being an extremely important event for James Bond as a character. I recall Tracy being referenced twice in later films, once in a cold open where Blofeld ambushes Bond at her grave in a Roger Moore film, and License to Kill when Felix mentions it early on.
Diamonds are Forever was a heartless and unnecessary return for Connery's Bond.
1. Casino Royale
2. Goldeneye
3. Skyfall
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. From Russia with Love
6. No Time to Die
7. License to Kill
8. Living Daylights
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. Goldfinger
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Moonraker
13. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
14. Thunderball
15. Man with the Golden Gun
16. World is Not Enough
17. Dr No
18. Die Another Day
19. Spectre
20. For Your Eyes Only
21. Live and Let Die
22. You Only Live Twice
23. Diamonds Are Forever
24. A View to a Kill
25. Octopussy
I think everything from 13 to 22 is interchangeable in terms of ranking. I have neither extreme dislike nor feelings of joy from the movies. Though, I only know that both World is Not Enough and Die Another Day can't be too low because there was some cheesy fun in those.
I typically place A View to a Kill at last, but I realized that being nearly so bad it's good is objectively better than the utter forgettablity of Octopussy. I watched all of the Bond movies leading up to Skyfall's release. I didn't watch them in any specific order. I watched Octopussy last. I still don't remember a single thing about it. Top 10 and bottom 3 were cake for me.
Diamonds are Forever has the special distinction of following up On Her Majesty's Secret Service and completely ignoring the events of that movie despite it being an extremely important event for James Bond as a character. I recall Tracy being referenced twice in later films, once in a cold open where Blofeld ambushes Bond at her grave in a Roger Moore film, and License to Kill when Felix mentions it early on.
Diamonds are Forever was a heartless and unnecessary return for Connery's Bond.
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I haven't watched most of the Bond films enough to form strong views, and I do need to minimise the bias towards the ones that I have seen a fair few times, though naturally me seeing them a fair few times probably means I like them, so there is that. So, without wanting to go through every one of them or actually make a list (because it would quickly become very difficult and quite meaningless), I'll comment on @Fool's Requiem's list.
First, I think Goldeneye and Casino Royale are the top two for me as well. The order changes. Goldeneye is the first Bond film that I watched in the cinema, and even to this day I think it is absolutely spot on classic Bond. Casino Royale was obviously the attempt to reinvent the franchise for a modern era and quite specifically departs from the classic formula, and I think it nails it. It's probably a better film than Goldeneye if we're being critical, but I think they're fantastic for different reasons. Casino Royale might also have been the first Blu Ray I owned, and I remember being stunned by how vivid the colour was at times, particularly the initial chase scene.
As for the others, most of my thoughts are random. I think No Time To Die is appropriately high. It's a good film. I really need to rewatch the other Craig films. I might have only seen them once in the cinema and once on tv, and I probably wasn't paying full attention when they were on tv. I'm not sure how I'd rank them immediately.
I have two other specific thoughts. The first is that Brosnan's films obviously get progressively worse. I like Tomorrow Never Dies but I don't know if in good conscience it could be top 10. I just don't know if it's that good. It could be. But The World Is Not Enough isn't very good even if I kind of like it, and Die Another Day is awful. It's the only Bond film to date that I watched in the cinema and did not enjoy, and my opinion hasn't improved on subsequent viewings. It's outrageously cheesy but not to the point of enjoyment to me.
The only 'classic' film I'll bat for is You Only Live Twice. Yes, I know it's usually rated by purists as a bit average and it is not a perfect film, but the vast majority of Bond films have obvious flaws. I like the fact that it differentiates itself with a slower pace and more exotic location, whilst keeping a classic villain in Blofeld and a classic final action sequence with the volcano scene. It's probably in my top 5, if not 6 or 7. But even on a general list, I don't think it should be below half way.
First, I think Goldeneye and Casino Royale are the top two for me as well. The order changes. Goldeneye is the first Bond film that I watched in the cinema, and even to this day I think it is absolutely spot on classic Bond. Casino Royale was obviously the attempt to reinvent the franchise for a modern era and quite specifically departs from the classic formula, and I think it nails it. It's probably a better film than Goldeneye if we're being critical, but I think they're fantastic for different reasons. Casino Royale might also have been the first Blu Ray I owned, and I remember being stunned by how vivid the colour was at times, particularly the initial chase scene.
As for the others, most of my thoughts are random. I think No Time To Die is appropriately high. It's a good film. I really need to rewatch the other Craig films. I might have only seen them once in the cinema and once on tv, and I probably wasn't paying full attention when they were on tv. I'm not sure how I'd rank them immediately.
I have two other specific thoughts. The first is that Brosnan's films obviously get progressively worse. I like Tomorrow Never Dies but I don't know if in good conscience it could be top 10. I just don't know if it's that good. It could be. But The World Is Not Enough isn't very good even if I kind of like it, and Die Another Day is awful. It's the only Bond film to date that I watched in the cinema and did not enjoy, and my opinion hasn't improved on subsequent viewings. It's outrageously cheesy but not to the point of enjoyment to me.
The only 'classic' film I'll bat for is You Only Live Twice. Yes, I know it's usually rated by purists as a bit average and it is not a perfect film, but the vast majority of Bond films have obvious flaws. I like the fact that it differentiates itself with a slower pace and more exotic location, whilst keeping a classic villain in Blofeld and a classic final action sequence with the volcano scene. It's probably in my top 5, if not 6 or 7. But even on a general list, I don't think it should be below half way.
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I think your take on the Craig films is interesting. I'd put them in tiers with Casino Royale and Skyfall at the top, Quantum of Solace and Spectre at the bottom and No Time To Die somewhere in between, although probably closer to the top two. I feel like that's quite a typical ranking.
I agree with FR and Jamie that the Brosnan films would be ranked chronologically. The two middle Brosnan films just blend into each other for me, and Die Another Day is awful. I would say that Brosnan himself is a great Bond who was often let down by the source material. The only thing I remember about watching Die Another Day in the cinema is them revealing the Aston Martin and some guy behind me announcing it to his date as a Jaguar. The fact that I've chosen to remember that and not the movie says it all.
I haven't watched many classic Bond films recently enough to rank them, but I'd pick out From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and The Spy Who Loved Me. I'd probably rank Lazenby's effort higher than FR as well.
Ranking Bond themes would be fun.