Rank all the Bond Films!

Big Quantum fan, eh?

FieldsMan wrote:

Big Quantum fan, eh?

Always been a fan of it. For my money, it sits right alongside Licence to Kill as one of the most underrated films in the franchise.

I've almost always preferred it to Casino Royale, but it has sunk in my rankings over the years (as has CR, mind)... What do you find to be QOS's greatest strengths?

FieldsMan wrote:

I've almost always preferred it to Casino Royale, but it has sunk in my rankings over the years (as has CR, mind)... What do you find to be QOS's greatest strengths?

Its brevity is a big plus, even if it could ultimately use another 10-15 minutes to allow what's there to breathe a bit more. I think it features what is easily Craig's best performance in the role. He builds nicely on what he started in Casino Royale and really hits his stride as Bond, coming off as cool and confident while still having that vulnerability and depth that he showed in the previous one. It's a far cry from the Brosnan impersonation he goes for in Spectre, which doesn't suit him or his Bond at all.

I also like the story and Greene's plot. Every time I've gone to the mat to defend the water-theft plot, I've been blasted for it, but the idea of a villainous organization stealing a nation's water supply is both realistic (at least as Bond plots go) and terrifying, moreso than the usual world-domination plots. It's hard to wrap your head around what it would be like to have a person threaten the globe with nuclear armageddon or with the mass extinction of the human race, but it's fairly easy to wrap your head around how bad things would get if someone stole your access to water.

The film also feels rather similar to my favorite Bond film, Licence to Kill, so it has that going for it as well.

It's a refreshing spin on the rankings around here. Eyewateringly so.

dalton wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

I've almost always preferred it to Casino Royale, but it has sunk in my rankings over the years (as has CR, mind)... What do you find to be QOS's greatest strengths?

Its brevity is a big plus, even if it could ultimately use another 10-15 minutes to allow what's there to breathe a bit more.  I think it features what is easily Craig's best performance in the role.  He builds nicely on what he started in Casino Royale and really hits his stride as Bond, coming off as cool and confident while still having that vulnerability and depth that he showed in the previous one.  It's a far cry from the Brosnan impersonation he goes for in Spectre, which doesn't suit him or his Bond at all.

I also like the story and Greene's plot.  Every time I've gone to the mat to defend the water-theft plot, I've been blasted for it, but the idea of a villainous organization stealing a nation's water supply is both realistic (at least as Bond plots go) and terrifying, moreso than the usual world-domination plots.  It's hard to wrap your head around what it would be like to have a person threaten the globe with nuclear armageddon or with the mass extinction of the human race, but it's fairly easy to wrap your head around how bad things would get if someone stole your access to water.

The film also feels rather similar to my favorite Bond film, Licence to Kill, so it has that going for it as well.

It certainly feels more like a Bond film than Casino Rundown. And I agree on the water plot. Sure, it's Bolivia and only a small pocket of the world, but it always felt like part of an overall scheme, as opposed to the end game. I also agree on Craig delivering a better performance here than in Casino, but I also think the writing helps as well - less of a thug, more grounded and aware. And I also see the parallels with LTK - so much so that I've done a back to back viewing of LTK and QOS because of similar themes, as I have with OHMSS/FYEO/TWINE, FRWL/TWINE, TB/TND and TSWLM/MR.

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

Eclectic ranking. I am shocked that CR is so high when you appear to only like half of it. Is that indicative of a severely unfavourable perception of the films that your rank beneath it? If so, that's a mighty number of films you don't think too highly of in the series! I'm also surprised to see SF and SP so high.

And yes, I wish GE was higher.

FieldsMan wrote:

Eclectic ranking. I am shocked that CR is so high when you appear to only like half of it. Is that indicative of a severely unfavourable perception of the films that your rank beneath it? If so, that's a mighty number of films you don't think too highly of in the series! I'm also surprised to see SF and SP so high.

And yes, I wish GE was higher.

I'm more a fan of the Fleming books than the films, and the majority of Bond films I usually find myself liking only half the film, not all of it (usually the first half, but with CR its the opposite).

I really enjoy the quieter moments, like Moore having a shave in LALD, or walking around Hong Kong in TMWTGG. I can appreciate most of the films on my list up until Moonraker. After that I start to struggle, particularly with the Brosnan ones. The only highlights for me in his films are some of the Monaco scenes in GE, and the scene in TND when he sits waiting in a hotel room with a bottle of vodka by his side. That was the closest Brosnan ever gets to Fleming, in that one scene.

The only films I really enjoy in their entirety are LTK, GF, FRWL and OHMSS.

jet set willy wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Eclectic ranking. I am shocked that CR is so high when you appear to only like half of it. Is that indicative of a severely unfavourable perception of the films that your rank beneath it? If so, that's a mighty number of films you don't think too highly of in the series! I'm also surprised to see SF and SP so high.

And yes, I wish GE was higher.

I'm more a fan of the Fleming books than the films, and the majority of Bond films I usually find myself liking only half the film, not all of it (usually the first half, but with CR its the opposite).

I really enjoy the quieter moments, like Moore having a shave in LALD, or walking around Hong Kong in TMWTGG. I can appreciate most of the films on my list up until Moonraker. After that I start to struggle, particularly with the Brosnan ones. The only highlights for me in his films are some of the Monaco scenes in GE, and the scene in TND when he sits waiting in a hotel room with a bottle of vodka by his side. That was the closest Brosnan ever gets to Fleming, in that one scene.

The only films I really enjoy in their entirety are LTK, GF, FRWL and OHMSS.

Interesting. You must really love those four films to still maintain an interest in the series when the other twenty don't appeal to you as much!

You don't think Bond's scene with Kaufman or his scenes with Raoul in DAD were evocative of Fleming's material?

FieldsMan wrote:

jet set willy wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Eclectic ranking. I am shocked that CR is so high when you appear to only like half of it. Is that indicative of a severely unfavourable perception of the films that your rank beneath it? If so, that's a mighty number of films you don't think too highly of in the series! I'm also surprised to see SF and SP so high.

And yes, I wish GE was higher.

I'm more a fan of the Fleming books than the films, and the majority of Bond films I usually find myself liking only half the film, not all of it (usually the first half, but with CR its the opposite).

I really enjoy the quieter moments, like Moore having a shave in LALD, or walking around Hong Kong in TMWTGG. I can appreciate most of the films on my list up until Moonraker. After that I start to struggle, particularly with the Brosnan ones. The only highlights for me in his films are some of the Monaco scenes in GE, and the scene in TND when he sits waiting in a hotel room with a bottle of vodka by his side. That was the closest Brosnan ever gets to Fleming, in that one scene.

The only films I really enjoy in their entirety are LTK, GF, FRWL and OHMSS.

Interesting. You must really love those four films to still maintain an interest in the series when the other twenty don't appeal to you as much!

You don't think Bond's scene with Kaufman or his scenes with Raoul in DAD were evocative of Fleming's material?

I'm a massive Bond fan overall, even though the films often disappoint. I own all the DVD's, Blu Ray's, Fleming 60's paperback, Fleming 50's hardback.

I'm also big on Bond lifestyle too. I own Tom Ford sunglasses from QoS and SP, Sunspel T-shirt from CR, V neck jumper from SF, Slazenger v neck jumper from GF, white braces from CR, Philips shaver from DAD, Floris shave bowl from SF, Sunspel swim shorts from TB, Fred Perry T shirt from TB, an Aston Martin DB5 wheel coffee table (engraved with 007), had lunch at Fleming's Goldeneye in Jamaica, and own countless other Bond books.

Kaufman scene was just OK, but DAD was utterly horrendous in every single second on screen. One of my worst experiences ever in watching a Bond film at the cinema.

I tried watching GE again the other night, but really started to struggle with some of the dialogue interchanges between characters, which were really cheesy. I'm surprised you don't like CR for this very reason, yet GE is littered with cheesy dialogue throughout. Bond meeting Onatopp at the casino is just dreadful.

The only scene that I thought the dialogue was actually decent was between Bond and M.

The GE casino scene has easily Brosnan's best 'Bond ... James Bond' of his 4 films.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

The GE casino scene has easily Brosnan's best 'Bond ... James Bond' of his 4 films.

Which isn't saying much, unfortunately.

I like the way the crowd at the casino seems to go silent in between the "Bond" and the "James Bond." Obviously 007 has a big following in Monte Carlo.

Still not as cheesy as TWINE's "Bond..." *shoot the lift to make it work* "... James Bond."

jet set willy wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

jet set willy wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Eclectic ranking. I am shocked that CR is so high when you appear to only like half of it. Is that indicative of a severely unfavourable perception of the films that your rank beneath it? If so, that's a mighty number of films you don't think too highly of in the series! I'm also surprised to see SF and SP so high.

And yes, I wish GE was higher.

I'm more a fan of the Fleming books than the films, and the majority of Bond films I usually find myself liking only half the film, not all of it (usually the first half, but with CR its the opposite).

I really enjoy the quieter moments, like Moore having a shave in LALD, or walking around Hong Kong in TMWTGG. I can appreciate most of the films on my list up until Moonraker. After that I start to struggle, particularly with the Brosnan ones. The only highlights for me in his films are some of the Monaco scenes in GE, and the scene in TND when he sits waiting in a hotel room with a bottle of vodka by his side. That was the closest Brosnan ever gets to Fleming, in that one scene.

The only films I really enjoy in their entirety are LTK, GF, FRWL and OHMSS.

Interesting. You must really love those four films to still maintain an interest in the series when the other twenty don't appeal to you as much!

You don't think Bond's scene with Kaufman or his scenes with Raoul in DAD were evocative of Fleming's material?

I'm a massive Bond fan overall, even though the films often disappoint. I own all the DVD's, Blu Ray's, Fleming 60's paperback, Fleming 50's hardback.

I'm also big on Bond lifestyle too. I own Tom Ford sunglasses from QoS and SP, Sunspel T-shirt from CR, V neck jumper from SF, Slazenger v neck jumper from GF, white braces from CR, Philips shaver from DAD, Floris shave bowl from SF, Sunspel swim shorts from TB, Fred Perry T shirt from TB, an Aston Martin DB5 wheel coffee table (engraved with 007), had lunch at Fleming's Goldeneye in Jamaica, and own countless other Bond books.

Kaufman scene was just OK, but DAD was utterly horrendous in every single second on screen. One of my worst experiences ever in watching a Bond film at the cinema.

I tried watching GE again the other night, but really started to struggle with some of the dialogue interchanges between characters, which were really cheesy. I'm surprised you don't like CR for this very reason, yet GE is littered with cheesy dialogue throughout. Bond meeting Onatopp at the casino is just dreadful.

The only scene that I thought the dialogue was actually decent was between Bond and M.

Lunch at Goldeneye would have been great!

The difference between GE and CR is the tone. We're invited to take a seat and enjoy all the frivolities that Bond will encounter on his journey in the former, whereas in the latter, we are forced to swallow the seriousness and pseudo-realism of the story. Hence, I find the dialogue much more palatable in GE. Sure it borders melodrama at times, but that's not far removed from Fleming's dialogue. Plus, I find a genuine sense of wit in the GE script. The exchanges in CR feel about clever as a 12 year old's impression of wit and seduction.

BI wrote:

The GE casino scene has easily Brosnan's best 'Bond ... James Bond' of his 4 films.

I prefer Bond meeting Elektra and Bond at Carver's party, but I like the GE scene too.

CJB wrote:

Still not as cheesy as TWINE's "Bond..." *shoot the lift to make it work* "... James Bond."

I actually really like this one. It's fun, Bond uses his wits to escape while he protects a girl and the Bond theme blasts. I wish he didn't sound so Irish though, but we've had a Scotsman, Welshman and Aussie before it, so small gripe. Besides, Bond doesn't strike me as a person who will yell his name over lots of noise.

TWINE one is overdone for me, too.

Well as Fieldsman suggested I venture here...I did.
The trouble I find is my ranking of the films varies so often. Be it mood, or timing, or maybe just age. Some films have gone up in my ranking's and some have dropped. But at the moment, they look like this.

1. Dr.No
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. From Russia With Love
4. Casino Royale
5. Octopussy
6. The Living Daylights
7. Goldfinger
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. Thunderball
10. Goldeneye
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. Spectre
13. Skyfall
14. You Only Live Twice
15. Live And Let Die
16. Licence To Kill
17. The Man With The Golden Gun
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Die Another Day
21. A View To A Kill
22. Moonraker
23. Quantum Of Solace
24. The World Is Not Enough

*Subject to change*

Octobenny wrote:

4. Casino Royale
...
12. Spectre
13. Skyfall
...
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
...
24. The World Is Not Enough

*Subject to change*

Phew. There's hope yet for these films to find their true spot in a ranking.

Good to see DN as your number one! An underrated gem, that.

FieldsMan wrote:

Octobenny wrote:

4. Casino Royale
...
12. Spectre
13. Skyfall
...
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
...
24. The World Is Not Enough

*Subject to change*

Phew. There's hope yet for these films to find their true spot in a ranking.

Good to see DN as your number one! An underrated gem, that.

Not likely to change TWINE or TND. They're just sub par Bond films for me. I simply don't enjoy them as much as the rest. Though I firmly believe that there is no bad Bond film, they all have something to offer.
The fact that we all rank the films differently, is what makes being a Bond fan, and discussing it on a Bond forum so much fun.
I know lots of fans love Quantum Of Solace. I'd rather watch Casino Royale '67 myself.

Indeed.

Hence why it's interesting that a non-Bond film is at number 4, and not at the bottom.

What are the best things about SP, SF, TND and TWINE in your opinion?

Why is Casino Royale not a Bond film?
I thought SP was an enjoyable adventure film, that seems to get a lot more flack than it deserves.
I thought Craig was on form, the PTS is great, for me it flows well. I liked Madeleine Swann as the Bond girl. Had few problems with it other than the horrendous score, and the underuse of Christoph Waltz. The less said about the step brother story the better.
SF took a while to grow on me, but I enjoy it now. I like Javier Bardem, and making Judi Dench's M the Bond girl effectively. Once again Craig carries the film well.
TND is one that I used to enjoy more, but has slipped. I enjoy the PTS and the action. Though it moves into ott territory all to often. I actually like Carver. He's so pantomime villain. But it works for me.
TWINE is just a mess. Could've been so much more, but it never delivers on any of its potential. The redeeming qualities would be Brosnan and Sophie Marceau. Other than that I truly struggle with this one.

Octobenny wrote:

Why is Casino Royale not a Bond film?

It stripped back everything that makes a Bond film a Bond film. Sterile cinematography and music, poor characterisation of Bond himself, shoehorning in a contrived, redundant and stupid origin story, feminist undercurrents and boasts a blockbuster mentality that contradicts Fleming's modest (yet brilliant) novel.  

Quote :

I thought SP was an enjoyable adventure film, that seems to get a lot more flack than it deserves.
I thought Craig was on form, the PTS is great, for me it flows well. I liked Madeleine Swann as the Bond girl. Had few problems with it other than the horrendous score, and the underuse of Christoph Waltz. The less said about the step brother story the better.

PTS is flawed but enjoyable enough so I'll give you that. But Craig phones it in. Seydoux does her best, despite the shoddy writing. The score isn't a highlight for me, but it certainly isn't the worst aspect of the film. The story just doesn't flow. Too many contrivances prevent it from flowing. Not to mention it thematically recycles ideas from SF, such as resurrection and information technology. And of course, the step brother angle - something the entire film hinges on - which is as ludicrous in concept as it is futile in execution.

Octobenny wrote:

SF took a while to grow on me, but I enjoy it now. I like Javier Bardem, and making Judi Dench's M the Bond girl effectively. Once again Craig carries the film well.

Craig turns in his best performance in SF, sure, but it's the supporting cast who truly shine. Bardem, Dench, Fiennes, Marlowe, Whishaw and Harris are exceptional in their respective roles. Feels like a latter Fleming novel, with grand helpings of sex, bizarre, danger, humour and social commentary on England today. Not to mention the writing of Bond himself is on point.

Octobenny wrote:

TND is one that I used to enjoy more, but has slipped. I enjoy the PTS and the action. Though it moves into ott territory all to often. I actually like Carver. He's so pantomime villain. But it works for me.

Good to see more love for Carver. Exceptional villain in my opinion, and perhaps the most exciting action in a Bond film - perhaps rivalled by OHMSS and FYEO. I don't think it's all that OTT because the film is so inviting to go along with it that works and it's fun. I find CR more OTT, given how seriously it takes itself, and makes no sense whatsoever.

Octobenny wrote:

TWINE is just a mess. Could've been so much more, but it never delivers on any of its potential. The redeeming qualities would be Brosnan and Sophie Marceau. Other than that I truly struggle with this one.

I disagree that it's a mess. I truly feel Fleming would be proud of this one. A more conflicted Bond in Brosnan's portrayal, married with a great supporting cast (take or leave Richards as Christmas, but she adds spunk and fun to the film), a great score and positively ambient post-Cold War atmosphere - it makes for a great James Bond film. But I know I'm in the minority with this one.

Octobenny wrote:

.....Though I firmly believe that there is no bad Bond film, they all have something to offer.
The fact that we all rank the films differently, is what makes being a Bond fan, and discussing it on a Bond forum so much fun.
I know lots of fans love Quantum Of Solace. I'd rather watch Casino Royale '67 myself.

This very much it always surprises me how much diversity there is in these lists.

Like yourself I have a list that morph's a fair bit in the middle...the top 8 or so and the bottom 5 are more consistent though.

1. Goldfinger
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Dr. No
4. Quantum of Solace
5. Skyfall
6. Thunderball
7. Casino Royale
8. The Man With The Golden Gun
9. GoldenEye
10. License To Kill
11. From Russia With Love
12. Live And Let Die
13. The Living Daylights
14. The Spy Who Loved Me
15. For Your Eyes Only
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. Diamonds Are Forever
18. You Only Live Twice
19. Die Another Day
20. A View To A Kill
21. Spectre
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. Octopussy
24. Moonraker