MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Tomorrow Never Dies
MGM Distribution Co.
Pierce Brosnan’s second film as Bond is one that flies under the radar. Its predecessor is known as one of the greatest action movies of the ’90s, and the following two are duds at best and just bad at worst. Sandwiched in the middle is Tomorrow Never Dies, a pretty fun entry with an interesting plot– a media mogul named Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) makes his own news. Using his various connections, he causes serious disasters.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
His newspapers are of course the first to print the news, and this leads to big bucks and power for Carver. When his next headlining story is nothing short of catastrophic, it is up to 007 to stop him. Brosnan is as charming as ever in his second turn as 007. His wit is top-notch, and he can more than hold his own in the action scenes. Speaking of the action, the sequences in this film are excellent. The side characters bring their A-game, specially main Bond girl Wai Lin (played by the great Michelle Yeoh) an agent who can hold her own against Bond.
7 You Only Live Twice
United Artists
To many, the best Bond is the late Sean Connery. Throughout his run, the faceless villain Blofeld is pulling the strings of Spectre from the shadows. Connery’s fifth film You Only Live Twice is the first time the antagonist is fully shown, and it is a memorable moment. You Only Live Twice is the culmination of Bond and Blofeld’s rivalry, and is one of the best movies in the first era of James Bond. The action carries the same campy charm as all the early films, and as always is a blast to watch.
Connery is, as usual, nearly perfect as Bond. His quick wit and charming persona are on full display here, and it is hard not to love him. Blofeld is played by future Halloween star Donald Pleasance and has become the favorite version of the character for many out of more than a few actors to play him. Fans of the Austin Powers series will recognize Blofeld’s look, as his appearance in this film was the direct inspiration for Dr. Evil’s.
6 Man With The Golden Gun
The late Roger Moore had some major shoes to fill when he took over as Bond from Sean Connery. The last actor to do so, George Lazenby, didn’t go over well with audiences and led to Connery’s return. Moore, however, was welcomed much more in his first film Live and Let Die, and he proved he was here to stay in this follow-up, The Man With the Golden Gun, which involves a legendary hitman who has his sights on Bond. While Roger Moore is great and really cements his more quirky Bond portrayal here, the real stand-out is legendary horror icon Christopher Lee, as Francisco Scaramanga.
Lee isn’t a traditional Bond villain out for wealth or world domination. He is simply in it for the hunt. He isn’t played as evil or sinister, but rather as a professional who admires Bond. His weapon, the titular golden gun, has become an icon in its own right. The gun appears in the classic Nintendo 64 Goldeneye game as a weapon that takes out players in one shot, a suitable nod to one of the great Bond ‘villains.’
5 License To Kill
Bond taking to the streets in a tank.
The severely underrated Timothy Dalton only played Bond twice, but they were two great movies. After the seven Roger Moore installments took the series in a much sillier direction, the franchise took on a much darker and serious tone with the first Dalton film, The Living Daylights. This dark tone was the change in direction the series needed, and this sequel (License to Kill) took an even darker tone; while these more serious films are appreciated today, at the time they split fans.
Bond had been known as a quirky character thanks to the longevity of Moore’s run. While fans didn’t care for it then, the change in tone is much more appreciated today, leading to the films and Timothy Dalton himself receiving much more praise. After a brutal attack on one of his closest friends, James Bond goes rogue to bring those responsible to justice. He is disavowed by MI6, meaning for the most part he is on his own. The angry and rage-filled performance by Dalton carries the movie perfectly, even if Dalton lacks some of the charm and wit of other Bonds; the absence of these characteristics helps him lean more into the darker Bond, but the clever quips and smooth charisma are still missed. In this film, 007 is a force to be reckoned with.
4 Goldeneye
MGM/UA Distribution Co.
Pierce Brosnan’s first Bond film went down as one of the greatest Bond movies of all time almost instantly. Goldeneye perfectly blends the dark tones of TImothy Dalton’s films with the campier moments of the earlier ones. Brosnan’s Bond excels in nearly every aspect of the character. Where he really shines, however, is his suave and charming personality– while other Bonds were sex symbols to varying degrees, Brosnan simply drips with seductiveness. Fans want to see him flirt and show off his wit just as much as they want to see him fight bad guys.
The action is some of the best to come out of the ’90s and still holds up today. The sequence of Bond driving a tank through a street while his legendary theme plays is nothing short of iconic. The movie also introduces Judi Dench as M, one of the best characters in the entire series. She is one of the few women who have truly earned Bond’s respect, (Daniel Craig has called the character a misogynist, after all), and she put him in his place throughout her entire run. The film’s villain is former 006 Alec Trevelyan, played by Sean Bean. Trevelyan is a fantastic foil for Bond, and the fact they were once friends adds to it. The movie also spawned a video game adaptation that was a pioneer in the FPS genre and helped give birth to others such as Halo and Call of Duty. The game is still beloved over 23 years later.
3 Skyfall
Bond in his suave introduction in Goldfinger
On Bond’s 50th anniversary ten years ago, the movie that many considered to be the crowning achievement of the series was released. Skyfall was Daniel Craig’s third movie as 007, and it wasn’t playing around. The plot involves a huge leak in MI6 revealing the names of undercover agents; Bond finds out that this is a plot to get to M, and the worst is yet to come. The action is not only great for a Bond movie, it is great period. Every punch is felt, and each chase makes the viewer feel as if they are right there. Who would’ve thought that Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty, could create such visceral, action-packed chaos?
The sequence of Bond riding a motorcycle along the roofs of buildings is one of the most exhilarating set-pieces in any Bond film, and that’s just before the opening credits. Every single performance is stellar, with Javier Bardem’s portrayal as antagonist Raoul Silva stealing the show and redefining what it means to be a great Bond villain. Each time he appears on-screen, chills are sent up the spines of fans. He is one of the most formidable foes Bond had ever faced and is unlikely to be topped anytime soon.
2 Goldfinger
The third Bond film to be released is the one where everything fell perfectly into place for the first time. When one thinks of a Bond cliché, odds are that this is the film where it originated. Goldfinger doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still manages to be a great action movie and spy thriller. The titular villain is looking to radiate all the gold in Fort Knox, making it virtually worthless and him incredibly rich. The simple, not world-threatening plot actually works in the film’s favor, making it more believable.
This may not be the best Bond on a technical level, but it is arguably the movie that best utilizes all the elements that make the James Bond franchise what it is and why it’s loved. From classic lines (“No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!”) to the introduction of the legendary Aston Martin, which has recently been rediscovered after being feared lost, there are plenty of Bond-isms that first appear here. This would almost be the best Bond film, if not for one that manages to transcend the franchise entirely.
1 Casino Royale
Sony Pictures Releasing
Goldeneye’s director Martin Campbell, who has stated that he’s down for another movie, rejuvenated the series and made it fresh once again. It only makes sense that he did the same thing in 2006 with Casino Royale. The later Brosnan movies leaned way too much into ridiculousness, doing things like casting Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist named Christmas Jones. Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond looked to serve as a soft reboot and origin story, showing James Bond’s first mission as 007.
The movie shows a young and angry Bond slowly becoming the secret agent fans came to love. The action is arguably the best in the entire series. The parkour sequence near the beginning made the sport receive a huge boost in popularity. The villain is Le Chiffre, played flawlessly by one of the best actors today, Mads Mikkelsen; the torture scene alone proves that he’s one of the greatest Bond villains of all time. Casino Royale manages to be dark, while still having some more lighthearted and humorous tones, and it’s cinematography, set design, score, and everything else are all nearly perfect. This is the James Bond series at the top of its game.
