Rank all the Bond Films!

New, post-SF top 10.

1. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
2. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)
3. THUNDERBALL (1965)
4. DR. NO (1962)
5. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
6. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
7. SKYFALL (2012)
8. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
9. GOLDFINGER (1964)
10. GOLDENEYE (1995)

Very similar to my own, though I'd replace FOR YOUR EYES ONLY with MOONRAKER or YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

CJB wrote:

New, post-SF top 10.

1. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
2. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)
3. THUNDERBALL (1965)
4. DR. NO (1962)
5. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
6. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
7. SKYFALL (2012)
8. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
9. GOLDFINGER (1964)
10. GOLDENEYE (1995)

Drop GF and add LTK and we're very much on the same page.

Pre-SKYFALL Top Ten:

1. FRWL
2. OHMSS
3, DN
4. GF
5. TB
6. CR '06
7. GE
8. LTK
9. TLD
10. FYEO

Post-SKYFALL Top Ten:

1. FRWL
2. OHMSS
3. DN
4. GF
5. TB
6. YOLT
7. SF
8. LTK
9. CR '06
10. GE

FourDot wrote:

I'm not going to put Skyfall in there because of the one viewing, but I'm thinking it'll pester the top 5.

With my last Bondathon, the rankings have had a bit of a shuffle, especially at the top, which surprised me. But I'd go:

1. OHMSS (For true!)
2. FRWL
3. GF

Always a pleasure to see this-- basically my top 3, though GF and FRWL tend to switch positions from time to time. I don't think it can be rationally disputed that these are the top 3 Bond films, whatever the order. Would love to read an OHMSS review from you.

00Beast wrote:

1. GoldenEye
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. License to Kill
4. A View to a Kill
5. For Your Eyes Only
6. The World is not Enough
...
19. Moonraker
20. Dr. No
21. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
22. You Only Live Twice
23. Goldfinger

I don't even know what to say to this. The music alone from your bottom 4 places those films for me many echelons above most of your top 6. To each their own though.

1. DR. NO
2. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
3. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
4. THUNDERBALL
5. SKYFALL
6. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
7. GOLDFINGER
8. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
9. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
10. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2) Goldfinger
3) From Russia With Love
4) Moonraker
5) Quantum of Solace
6) Dr. No
7) Thunderball
8) Diamonds are Forever
9) You Only Live Twice
10) The Man With the Golden Gun
11) The Living Daylights
12) A View to a Kill
13) Casino Royale
14) Octopussy

The rest don't matter to me so much. At a loss where to put Skyfall, though my intuition says between Dr. No and Thunderball. We'll see.

1. THUNDERBALL
2. DR. NO
3. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
5. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
6. SKYFALL
7. GOLDENEYE
8. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
9. GOLDFINGER
10. MOONRAKER

1. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
2. SKYFALL*
3. CASINO ROYALE
4. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
5. THUNDERBALL
6. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
7. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (It's hard to explain how this snuck in here)
8. DR NO
9. GOLDENEYE
10. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

*Could go higher

Oddly, if I were to treat these films as if they were not a part of series, I think the order would be vastly different. Skyfall and Casino Royale would be higher and TWINE wouldn't even be in there. I suppose I expect things from Bond films and the reason 1 and 2 are so high is because they formed these expectations.


And Sharky, I hope the avatar of yours reflects your strong posture of health.

So having gotten the blu-rays I decided to watch them and do a complete ranking as I go. After starting with Dr No, I figure the best way to re-appraise is probably to watch them in perceived order of worst to best and see if there's anything I thought was better that I enjoy less than what I thought was worse. If that makes sense.

So in order, I have watched:

Dr No
The World Is Not Enough
Quantum of Solace
Live and Let Die

And right now my rankings are

23. Quantum of Solace

Regardless of anything else there: the script sucks. Actually, it doesn't suck. It isn't even there. You can tell this was shot from an nothing because a lot of connective tissue is missing. Scenes hang in the air from one another. Plot turns come out of nowhere (and no, this ISN'T a good thing: a plot twist should not be predictable but it should not be bemusing - tone, suspense, SOMETHING should lead into it). Every time the film starts to develop some kind of clip or intrigue, something happens to bring it to a halt: the insanely OTT boat chase; Mathis' death; Felix meeting Bond at the bar.

And what's there sucks. Jepser Christensen is a ham. The dialogue, frankly, blows - see the entire with M/Bond/White scene at the beginning. Or just about all of M's lines ("'You are so filled with inconsolable rage you bla bla bla" takes the cake for me; though 'Florists use that expression' runs close because umm... they don't. - which just reek of a writer trying to show off.)

The scenes from arriving in Bolivia to the end of the Greene Planet fundraiser show glimmers of what the film might have been, unfortunately these are never realised.

The pretentious directing choices grate (see the way the sound mutes towards the end of the boat chase, Tosca, and after Medrano is shot). And the invitation to bring realpolitik in to the film makes every little sin harder to excuse. If you want to ground your film in the 'real world' you can't handwave the kind of inconsistencies or incogruities you'd expect in Diamonds Are Forever.

22. Live and Let Die
I try to like this one, I do, but it just drags from Bond's escape from St Monique onwards.

21. The World Is Not Enough
Maybe I'm just in heat and thinking with my c*ck, but I think Denise Richards is unfairly maligned. She's not good, but she injects a bit of personality in there at times - at least in her early scenes. Granted, on the page - excusing the terrible final line - I think Christmas Jones had the potential to be one of the better received Bond girls of the recent era - she's cut from the Natalya mold - so obviously stuffing that up is on Denise Richards and Apted. Likewise, Marceau is pretty compelling ('My! Mine!' and pretty much all her lines after Bond escapes the chair aside). Certainly neither are the films biggest problem.

Which is the script. Which basically has Bond act like an idiot for the whole film. Which probably has to do with keeping the plot twist re: Elektra being the villain but throwing in the love story malarky. I can't even be bothered to go into it because it's been discussed ad infinitum elsewhere. Still, it FEELS like a Bond film (unlike Quantum) even if it's just a middling one, and it certainly has the benefit of completeness.

1. Dr No.

At number one at the moment because the difference between these are so astounding.

With my second Skyfall only making the film better for me, I can confidently place it at ahead of Casino Royale and Majesty's.

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

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

23 to 19: Because it is now a Top 23 my last 5 favorite Bond movies moving up a place.

22.23 Thunderball
21.22 Casino Royale
20.21 Moonraker
19.20 Goldfinger
18.19 Die Another Day

13 to 09:

13.13 The Spy Who Loved Me
12.12 Diamonds Are Forever
11.11 The Man With The Golden Gun
10.10 Octopussy
09.09 The Living Daylights

Updated rank:
1. Skyfall
2. GoldenEye
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. From Russia With Love
5. Licence To Kill
6. Tomorrow Never Dies
7.Casino Royale (2006)
8. Casino Royale (1967)
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. Die Another Day
11. The Man with the Golden Gun
12. Goldfinger
13. Dr. No
14. The World Is Not Enough
15. Diamonds Are Forever
16. You Only Live Twice
17. The Living Daylights
18. A View To A Kill
19. Octopussy
20. Live And Let Die
21. Thunderball
22. Quantum of Solace

It's time for an update

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

My Christmas gift for the forums, my complete Top 23 rank..

22.23 Thunderball
21.22 Casino Royale
20.21 Moonraker
19.20 Goldfinger
18.19 Die Another Day
17.18 Dr No
--. 17 Skyfall
16.16 You Only Live Twice
15.15 Licence To Kill
14.14 Quantum Of Solace
13.13 The Spy Who Loved Me
12.12 Diamonds Are Forever
11.11 The Man With The Golden Gun
10.10 Octopussy
09.09 The Living Daylights
08.08 From Russia With Love
07.07 Live and Let Die
06.06 On Her Majesty's secret Service
05.05 A View To A Kill
04.04 For Your Eyes Only
03.03 Tomorrow Never Dies
02.02 The World Is Not Enough
01.01 Goldeneye

What does one say about a ranking like this?

MBalje wrote:

My Christmas gift for the forums...

22.23 Thunderball

03.03 Tomorrow Never Dies
02.02 The World Is Not Enough

Hope you kept the receipt! ;)

But thanks for sharing your thoughts, dear Balje.

Rewatched Skyfall... favourite Craig Bond film. Slightly reordered ranking:


Tomorrow Never Dies
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
The World Is Not Enough
Thunderball
Goldeneye
Dr.No
Skyfall
For Your Eyes Only
Quantum of Solace
Goldfinger
The Living Daylights
A View to a Kill
You Only Live Twice
Octopussy
Casino Royale
Live and Let Die
Licence to Kill
The Man With The Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
Die Another Day

Good show Fields. You may be excused the Brozzer excess, with the placing of 4 of the original classics in your top 7!

Tomorrow Never Dies
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
The World Is Not Enough
Thunderball
Goldeneye
Dr.No

Perilagu Khan wrote:

What does one say about a ranking like this?

03.03 Tomorrow Never Dies
02.02 The World Is Not Enough
01.01 Goldeneye

I think it's a condition called Brozzer-itis. Fields seems to have a bit of a case too, but Balje's condition is rather acute. :|

Since I intend to make people focus a bit more than they usually do on my ranking, and in order to raise suspense a little bit, I've decided to spoiler each one of my ranking entries. It may be a bit laborious to make each single one viewable, but it may very well be more exciting that way. :)
I promise, after I've seen SKYFALL again on DVD, I'll present my ranking in the common fashion, so all of the films are viewable at once.
As I've said in the LAST BOND MOVIE thread, spots #6 to #20 were/are anything but fix, but I've (just) decided on a provisional ranking:
(starting with the WORST!)

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GoldenEye at the very last place? WHAT?

Really despise the post-Cubby era I see.