A couple years ago I decided to fill a cinematic void and watch all of the Bond movies in chronological order. I came away from that experience largely thinking of the series as pretty bad with some real highlights mixed in, mostly in the Connery/Craig eras. After buying the blu-ray set for cheap last year, it sat on my shelf for a while as I didn't have much desire to dig into such a big collection again, but the new podcast "James Bonding" reinvigorated my interest (Matt Mira of Nerdist and Matt Gourley of Superego both discovered each other's love of all things Bond, and decided to start a podcast talking about each entry). I think "James Bonding"'s decision to alternate between chronological and reverse-chronological order (Dr. No, Skyfall, From Russia With Love, Quantum of Solace, and so on...) helped me get into the mind of the series by alternatively examining its roots with how far (and sometimes how not far at all) the series has come.
As you'll notice below, I gave about as many bad ratings as good ones, but I was, for the most part, able to enjoy elements of all the movies. And even though I finished by going through all the Roger Moore movies which left a bad taste in my mouth, I enjoyed the other Bonds significantly more, to the point where I'm sure I will revisit movies from every other Bond at some point in the future, not just Daniel Craig.
Here's a list of my overall rankings of the Bond films, along with a favorite highlight from each one:
1. CASINO ROYALE: A
Favorite Moment: B&W opening
2. SKYFALL: A-
Favorite Moment: Silva single-take first scene
3. THUNDERBALL: A-
Favorite Moment: Jet pack!!!
4. QUANTUM OF SOLACE: B+
Favorite Moment: Ending in Russia
5. DR. NO: B
Favorite Moment: "The name is Bond....James Bond" becomes instant legend.
6. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE: B
Favorite Moment: "We have all the time in the world."
7. LICENCE TO KILL: B
Favorite Moment: The cold open. Based on The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan was also a fan.
8. GOLDFINGER: B-
Favorite Moment: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"
9. TOMORROW NEVER DIES: B-
Favorite Moment: Dr. Kaufman
10. GOLDENEYE: B-
Favorite Moment: 007/006 team up
11. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN: B-
Favorite Moment: The ridiculous Nick Nack fight scene at the end of the movie.
12. OCTOPUSSY: B-
Favorite Moment: Bond commands a tiger to sit.....and it does.
13. A VIEW TO A KILL: C
Favorite Moment: Christopher Walken as a Nazi experiment gone wrong
14. MOONRAKER: C
Favorite Moment: "You missed, Mr. Bond." "Did I?"
15. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: C-
Favorite Moment: Red kills "Bond"
16. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE: D+
Favorite Moment: "Japanese" Bond is good for a laugh.
17. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME: D+
Favorite Moment: Bond kills Stromberg
18. DIE ANOTHER DAY: D
Favorite Moment: Bond's North Korean capture (a surprising moment of realism before two hours of nonsense).
19. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: D
Favorite Moment: "Well, you get your clothes on, and I'll buy you an ice cream."
20. LIVE AND LET DIE: D-
Favorite Moment: "Whose funeral is it?" "Yours"
21. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS: D-
Favorite Moment: John Rhys-Davies classes up the joint
22. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH: F
Favorite Moment: The return of Valentin.
23. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: F
Favorite Moment: Honestly, nothing, this movie is terrible.
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