Thoughts/Rank The James Bond Films

I like 14 out of the 25 James Bond movies...

1.Skyfall (2012) - 9/10
2.Casino Royale (2006)
3.Goldfinger (1964) - 7.5-8/10
4.Spectre (2015)
5.From Russia with Love (1963) - 7-7.5/10
6.Licence to Kill (1989) - 7/10
7.Dr. No (1962)

8.The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - 6-6.5/10

9.Thunderball (1965) - 6/10 (overall it's good but the underwater scenes hurt it's pacing which brings the movie down a bit.)
10.On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
--.Moonraker (1979)
--.You Only Live Twice (1967)
13.Quantum of Solace (2008)
14.The Living Daylights (1987) - 5.5-6/10 (the last 45minutes or so noticeably damage the rest of the movie)

all other Bond movies not listed above... are average at best with some being below average and lower.

p.s. only the first seven listed above are amongst My Favorite Movies in general with my #8 spot being just outside of this range.

Here are my rankings

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

FridayOnElmStreet

General thoughts and ranking? Sure!

*Ian Fleming is an incredible writer; everyone should read his original Bond books. The BBC radio adaptations are excellent as well. (Not directly relevant, but I just had to mention it.)

*Sean Connery is by far the best Bond, so much so that I’ve long considered him the only “actual Bond” and all the rest fine, but not really Bond.

*Unfortunately, as I love his performance in The Saint, I think Roger Moore is the worst Bond. Too smarmy, too pretty-boy-esque, too many winks at the camera. Some of his movies are decent, however.

*Daniel Craig is very good in Casino Royale, an excellent film. Unfortunately, I’m not a great fan of his other three.

OK, my rankings—in a format I’ve never used before! (Highest grade I’ll use is “A,” but if I used an “A+,” From Russia with Love would deserve it.)

A
From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Dr. No, Casino Royale (2006)

B
Octopussy, Licence to Kill, The Spy who Loved Me, Thunderball, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

C
Quantum of Solace, The Living Daylights, For Your Eyes Only, Live and Let Die, The World is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies

D
You Only Live Twice, Moonraker, GoldenEye, Spectre, A View to Kill, Die Another Day

F
Diamonds Are Forever, Skyfall, The Man with the Golden Gun, Never Say Never Again

Have I got them all?

1. Thunderball (1965) 10/10
2. Casino Royale (2006) 10/10
3. Dr No (1962) 9/10
4. Skyfall (2012) 9/10
5. Goldfinger (1964) 9/10
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) 9/10
7. The Living Daylights (1987) 9/10
8. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 9/10
9. From Russia With Love (1963) 9/10
10. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) 9/10
11. Licence to Kill (1989) 9/10
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981) 8/10
13. Octopussy (1983) 8/10
14. GoldenEye (1995) 8/10
15. You Only Live Twice (1967) 7/10
16. Spectre (2015) 7/10
17. Live and Let Die (1973) 7/10
18. Quantum of Solace (2008) 7/10
19. The World is Not Enough (1999) 7/10
20. The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) 6/10
21. Moonraker (1979) 6/10
22. Diamonds Are Forever (1971) 6/10
23. A View to a Kill (1985) 5/10
24. Die Another Day (2002) 4/10

*No need to be embarrassed about not reading them—lots of people don’t even know that there were original books, God help us!—but I do recommend them if you get a chance. From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and Live and Let Die are excellent adventure stories. Doctor No is decent; I think I actually preferred the BBC radio adaptation, though (available for free on YouTube, here). I actually prefer Toby Stephens’s Bond to Daniel Craig’s. Of the ones I’ve read so far, though, only Diamonds Are Forever has been particularly weak (as is its film adaptation, though in a completely different way). 

*I’m not a big Brosnan fan, but I think his performance is more recognizably “Bondian”—this is a point to which I’ll return in the last bullet.

*The funny thing is, I really like Roger Moore. (If you’ve never seen the TV show The Saint, I highly, highly recommend it—gleefully absurdist, surreal plots, à la that other great ‘60s spy show, The Avengers [not the superhero team!], and Roger’s really good in it. To whet your appetite for the show, I recommend “Sibao” [Season 3, Episode 21], which is almost a dry run for, and in my opinion superior to, the film version of Live and Let Die.) I just don’t like him as Bond, especially after Connery: too goofy, too much the pretty boy. It never seems that he has a license to kill but, rather, a license to say bad puns. Ironically, from The Saint, as fun as that show is, you could believe he could kill and feel no remorse. He’s tough in it. But you could never believe that of his Bond. Funny, huh?

*While I understand and sympathize with what you’re saying about Craig’s Bond, I feel that the character is more a reflection of his time than anything else. That is to say, nowadays we like the generic action hero Bond—the brooding loner sort, in a way, as with Christian Bale’s Batman—and Craig is the man to do that. Now, do I like it? No, not really, and that’s why I only really find Craig successful in the role in Casino Royale, which still holds up. But I also think it’s as much as the writers’ and directors’ fault as it is Craig’s. With that said, I’m not sure what it is, but I do know what you mean what you say about his not seeming “Bond”… I should note that none of the actors has really played Fleming’s man, except partially for early Connery (Dr. No and FRwL) and Dalton, but I don’t mind as long as the character’s fun and intriguing. 

1. Russia... my #27 all time.
2. Thunderball
3. Dr. No
4. Quantum
5. Goldfinger
6. Eyes Only
7. Majesty's
8. Live Twice
9. Casino
10.GoldenEye

This is my most fluid list, the titles are the same, my ordering is usually always different.  That said, there's noticeable dropoff for me after those 10... Moore's era didn't do anything for me, Dalton zero, & neither Brosnan's nor Craigs later turns.  

Casino Royals is one of my favorite films.

What's wrong with the Brosnan movies?

1. Licence to Kill
2. The Living Daylights
3. Octopussy
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Moonraker
6. Live and Let Die
7. A View to a Kill
8. The Man with the Golden Gun
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. GoldenEye
11. Goldfinger
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I hate Never Say Never Again, the last 3 Brosnan's movies and all Craig's movies. On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the rest of Connery's movies are all average/good.