From Dr. No to No Time to Die: Ranking the James Bond Films Part 1

Over the past few months, I have been watching all of the James Bond films. The James Bond franchise has been going on for over 50 years with 25 movies and six actors portraying the titular character. The James Bond is one of my favorite franchises and has laid the groundwork for many action franchises such as Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible. As one would expect, the franchise has gone through quite an evolution, starting as a low-budget spy film from the 1960s to a high-budget action blockbuster in 2021. Because of this, ranking these films was very difficult as they are so different. Since there are so many movies, I thought it would be a good idea to split this ranking into two parts. So with that being said, here is part 1 of my ranking of the James Bond franchise.

25. Die Another Day

Die Another Day is easily the worst of the James Bond films. The plot is clunky at best as the movie just jumps from one setting to the next with minimal transition between them. This movie also falls into the early 2000s trap of using CGI for everything and the CGI looks absolutely terrible. The best thing about the James Bond movies is their use of practical effects and on site shooting. With this movie, it is obvious that 80% of the movie was done on a sound stage with green screens and CGI. Especially toward the second half of the movie. The movie just feels cheap and poor quality because of all of the CGI. The movie also goes way too far with its nonsense gadgets and feels more like a Sci-Fi movie than a spy film. The movie also has a lot of poorly written dialogue mostly from Halley Berry. In the end, this is just not a good movie, and is a shame that Pierce Brosnan's tenure as Bond had to end like this.

Score: 4.5/10 Grade: C-

24. Diamonds Are Forever

Diamonds Are Forever is easily the worst of the Sean Connery films and one of the weakest in the entire franchise. Mostly because of Sean Connery's salary demands, this movie had a much smaller production budget than the previous films which ultimately hurt the quality. There are a few good diamonds in the rough here such as the car chase scene and the cold open. I also found the story itself to be much easier to follow. However, the quality is just seriously lacking to make for an enjoyable movie. The other films in the franchise take place in such exotic locations while this film takes place in Las Vegas. Between the budget and location, the movie just feels cheap and trashy. There is also the issue of Sean Connery's age, he is just so much older in this movie than in the other Bond films but is still sleeping around with women 15-20 years younger than him. I also didn't like the use of the Blofield character in this movie. He is such a formidable villain in the other films but just gets regulated to evil business guy in this movie. Overall, there are just too many quality issues with this movie to bring it anywhere close to the other films in the franchise.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

23. A View to a Kill

A View to a Kill is the final Roger Moore film and the end of the campy Bond era. This film has many of the same issues as Diamonds are Forever but also has some strengths that the other film doesn't. I thought it was to have Christopher Waken as the villain. He gets to do his evil business mogel character basically playing the same character he plays in Batman Returns. I also thought that the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge was fun. This film, much like Diamonds Are Forever doesn't have an exotic location like most of the other films as it primarily takes place in San Francisco. I also found the main evil plan to be a bit dull. The biggest issue with this film is that Roger Moore is just too old to play Bond anymore. He was 57 when this movie was made and can't pull off the character and his womanizing act. If the movie embraced more of an older Bond, I think it would have worked better but when 57-year-old Bond is trying to do the same things as 35-year-old Bond, it just doesn't work. In the end, this is one of the movie forgettable films and should have been made with a younger actor.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

22. Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace is the closest to a traditional Bond film that the Daniel Craig era gets to but in this case, it was not a good thing. The movie does have that 21st-century polish that many of the other films lack. I also liked that it was more of a revenge story than just a generic mission. However, this movie is just so unmemorable that it can't be very high on this list. For whatever reason, this movie just does not stick in my brain. I've seen it multiple times and still don't remember much about it. Aside from the forgettable nature of the movie, the story itself doesn't really work on its own. It feels more like an epilogue to Casino Royal as it just closes out the storyline established there. I can see a version where that idea would work, but this movie doesn't go big or strong enough to pull it off. Overall, this is easily the weakest of the Daniel Craig films and is just so forgettable compared to most other Bond films.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

21. Moonraker

Moonraker is easily one of the goofiest James Bond films. It is very odd to see the franchise start as small scale as Dr No and then get to this film where James Bond goes into space. The movie is very entertaining as it has all of these over-the-top action sequences and scenarios but from a story standpoint it is very clunky and nonsensical. This is the junk food movie of the James Bond franchise. The movie is not very good but is still wildly entertaining. In no other James Bond movie are you going to get a giant space battle against a villain who wants to drop bug bombs on the entire earth and repopulate with ideal humans or a villain with metal teeth that bites through the cables of gondolas. This movie is the epitome of the Roger Moore era, in that the films are way too campy and goofy. In the end, while the movie is a lot of fun, it is way too goofy to make for a good James Bond film.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

20. Octopussy

Octopussy is the James Bond film that I felt the heaviest similarities to Indiana Jones. I'm not sure if it was intentional but there was a very similar scene to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It had some good action sequences and one of the stronger main female characters in Octopussy, aside from the questionable name. However, this movie was just as campy as many of the other Roger Moore films. It literally has James Bond dressed up as a clown to sneak into a circus. I also found the main conflict of this movie to be a bit incoherent it starts as an investigation into duplicate jewels and treasures and by the end somehow morphs into a plot to blow up a US army base. Finally, I thought the whole end sequence and battle felt a bit tacked on. Overall, this is one of the more forgettable James Bond films to the point where I struggle to write much about it.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

19. Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die is the start for Roger Moore as James Bond. This movie starts and cements the goofiness of the Roger Moore era of Bond. There are some solid moments in the film. Of course, the title song is great but the movie decided to shove it down your throat whenever they can as it is played randomly in the movie. The movie had a fun boat chase and the whole motif about Voodoo and card reading was interesting enough. I found the villain to be one of the more forgettable villains in the franchise as he is basically a generic drug dealer. The agent that comes in to assist Bond also feels a bit out of place as she just kind of feels shoehorned into the middle of the movie. Overall, while there are some good moments in this movie, the film is just a bit too goofy and starts one of the lesser James Bond eras.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

18. The Man with the Golden Gun

The Man with the Golden Gun is in the same vein as Live and Let Die in terms of quality. Much like Live and Let Die, there are a lot of cool moments in the film. The whole cat-and-mouse aspect between Scaramanga and Bond was cool as you get to see these top assassins/spies going against each other. Christopher Lee was a fun choice to play Scaramanga. He makes for such a good villain and adds a bit of gravitas to the role. I thought Goodnight was one of the better Bond girls as she is more of an asset to Bond in getting his mission done than some of the other girls have been. Unfortunately, as with Live and Let Die, the movie goes for a much goofier tone and just doesn't fit as well in the franchise. Multiple scenes just go way over the top and just feel campy instead of cool. The whole car chase was lessened because the movie decided to bring back the racist cop from Live and Let Die for no reason at all. In the end, this is another fun enough film that just doesn't reach the same level as the other Bond movies.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

17. The World is Not Enough

The World is Not Enough was the final decent film of Pierce Brosnan's era as James Bond. Much like the rest of the Bond films, there are some solid action sequences here. The movie also tackles some ideas about M and her past mistakes but Skyfall arguably does that better. There was also a decent twist about halfway through the movie that made for a nice change of pace. The biggest issue is that this movie verges on going over the top with the technology and villains. The main villain is essentially a superhuman as he can't feel pain which just doesn't fit in the rest of the James Bond movies. I also thought that adding Christmas Jones halfway through the movie was a bit unnecessary. She didn't add enough to the story to make her character worthwhile. Overall, while this movie is entertaining enough, it definitely has a dip in quality from Brosnan's other films.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

16. Spectre

Spectre is a disappointingly middle-ground James Bond film. There are still a lot of good moments in the movie. I like how it tackles the idea of the 00 program being outdated. There are also some solid action sequences like the whole mountain chase. I also liked that the movie attempted to tie everything together from the previous Danie Craig films. However, for as big of a story as the movie was trying to tell, I don't think the film did it justice. While they were trying to tie all the other films together, at times it feels like a bit of a stretch and it is pretty clear that this was not planned in the beginning. The movie also tries to hype up this showdown with Blofeild, one of the most iconic Bond villains. However, he is hardly in the movie and is more of a forgettable villain. If they wanted Blofeild to be this big of a villain, he should have been a bit more present in the other films like in the Connery era. In the end, while this isn't a bad film, it felt like the film was trying to hit a home run and instead getting a single.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

15. Thunderball

Thunderball is another one of the middle-ground James Bond films. It has a lot of solid moments but also some clear weak points. I really liked the setting of this movie. We get to see James Bond spend a lot of time in the Bahamas doing a lot of underwater exploration. This movie has one of the more independent Bond girls and she has a bit more to do than some of the others on this list. She is essentially the center of the movie as James Bond's whole goal is to win her over to his side so she can help defeat the enemies. The main villain is also a bit more iconic as he pretty much starts the trope of the evil villain with an eye patch. The movie also has a very cool underwater battle sequence and even by today's standards was pretty impressive to be able to shoot. The biggest issue is that the movie is just a smidge too long, it slows down quite a bit in the later middle act. I think that part could have been tightened up a bit and been much better. Overall, while it is a little long, this is a solid entry in the Bond franchise.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

14. Dr. No

Dr. No is the OG James Bond. The success of this film is what launched the James Bond franchise as well as the spy action genre as a whole. This is the movie that introduces the world to the iconic James Bond and gives so many memorable and quotable moments. James Bond is such a cool character and this movie does a great job of introducing the cool nature of his character. The movie also has this solid little murder mystery aspect to it as James Bond is trying to uncover the murder of a couple of agents. I will say that this movie is more iconic than it is good. There are a lot of great moments in this movie, but as a whole, it hasn't aged the greatest between the plot, characters, and special effects. The main bond girl of the movie also doesn't get introduced until halfway into the film which is a bit odd. In the end, this movie will also be loved as the film that launched the spy genre and while it may not have aged the best, it will always be a vital part of movie history.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B