Your Top 5 'James Bond' Films (+ No Time to Die/Votes Changeable)

  • Thread starter MatskiMonk
  • 52 comments
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What are your 5 favourite James Bond films

  • Dr. No

    Votes: 7 13.2%
  • From Russia with Love

    Votes: 12 22.6%
  • Goldfinger

    Votes: 28 52.8%
  • Thunderball

    Votes: 5 9.4%
  • You Only Live Twice

    Votes: 8 15.1%
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • Diamonds Are Forever

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • Live and Let Die

    Votes: 10 18.9%
  • The Man with the Golden Gun

    Votes: 13 24.5%
  • The Spy Who Loved Me

    Votes: 13 24.5%
  • Moonraker

    Votes: 7 13.2%
  • For Your Eyes Only

    Votes: 5 9.4%
  • Octopussy

    Votes: 3 5.7%
  • A View to a Kill

    Votes: 7 13.2%
  • Living Daylights

    Votes: 14 26.4%
  • Licence to Kill

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • Goldeneye

    Votes: 28 52.8%
  • Tomorrow Never Dies

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • The World is Not Enough

    Votes: 8 15.1%
  • Die Another Day

    Votes: 3 5.7%
  • Casino Royale (2006)

    Votes: 28 52.8%
  • Quantum of Solace

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • Skyfall

    Votes: 22 41.5%
  • Spectre

    Votes: 5 9.4%
  • No Time to Die

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • Total voters
    53
17,001
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
So, reading the Bond 24 thread started me thinking - which are GTP's favourite Bond films?

I've created the poll, multiple options are allowed, I suggest voting for your top 5 in no particular order. That way we'll get an idea of which ones are popular, instead of just a few films gaining all the votes.

Obviously lots of factors go in to the decision, which Bond do you prefer - Connery, Moore, Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnan, Craig? What about Bond girls, the Villains, the Cars, the title songs?

Just in case your memory isn't so good... (nicked from Wikipedia)... (and yes I'm asking just about the 'official' franchise)

Dr. No (1962)
Main article: Dr. No (film)
John Strangways, the British Intelligence (SIS) Station Chief in Jamaica, is killed. In response, British agent James Bond—also known as 007—is sent to Jamaica to investigate the circumstances. During his investigation Bond meets Quarrel, a Cayman fisherman, who had been working with Strangways around the nearby islands to collect mineral samples. One of the islands was Crab Key, home to the reclusive Dr. No.

Bond visits the island, where he meets a local shell diver, Honey Ryder. The three are attacked by No's men, who kill Quarrel using a flame-throwing armoured tractor; Bond and Honey are taken prisoner. Dr. No informs them he is a member of SPECTRE, the SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, and he plans to disrupt the Project Mercuryspace launch from Cape Canaveral with his atomic-powered radio beam. Bond and Honey escape from the island, killing No and blowing up his lair in the process.

From Russia with Love (1963)
Main article: From Russia with Love (film)
SPECTRE's expert planner Kronsteen devises a plot to steal a Lektor cryptographic device from the Soviets and sell it back to them while exacting revenge on Bond for killing their agent Dr. No; ex-SMERSH operative Rosa Klebb is in charge of the mission. She recruits Donald "Red" Grant as an assassin and Tatiana Romanova, a cipher clerk at the Soviet consulate in Istanbul, as the unwitting bait.

Bond travels to Turkey and meets with Ali Kerim Bey, the MI6 officer in Turkey. Between them, they obtain the Lektor, and the three escape with the device on the Orient Express. However, they are followed by Grant, who kills Kerim Bey and a Soviet security officer. Grant pretends to be another British agent and meets Bond. Over dinner Grant drugs Romanova, then overcomes Bond. Bond tricks Grant into opening Bond's attaché case in the manner that detonates its tear gas booby trap, allowing Bond to attack and kill him. Bond and Romanova escape with the Lektor to Venice. Rosa Klebb, disguised as a hotel maid, attempts to steal the Lektor and kill Bond, but ends up being shot by Romanova.

Goldfinger (1964)
Main article: Goldfinger (film)
Bond is ordered to observe bullion dealer Auric Goldfinger: he sees Goldfinger cheating at cards and stops him by distracting his employee, who is subsequently killed by Goldfinger's Korean manservant Oddjob. Bond is then instructed to investigate Goldfinger's gold smuggling and he follows the dealer to Switzerland. Bond is captured when he reconnoitres Goldfinger's plant and is drugged; he is taken to Goldfinger's Kentucky stud farm and is imprisoned. He escapes briefly to witness Goldfinger's meeting with U.S. mafiosi, who have brought the materials he needs for an operation to rob Fort Knox.

Bond is recaptured after hearing the details of the operation, but he subsequently seduces Pussy Galore, Goldfinger's private pilot and convinces her to inform the American authorities. Goldfinger's private army break into Fort Knox and access the vault, where Bond fights and kills Oddjob, while American troops battle with Goldfinger's army outside. Bond's plane is hijacked by Goldfinger, but Bond struggles with him, and shoots out a window, creating an explosive decompression, killing Goldfinger.

Thunderball (1965)
Main article: Thunderball (film)
Bond investigates the hijacking of an Avro Vulcan loaded with two atomic bombs, which had been taken by SPECTRE. The organisation demands a ransom for the return of the bombs. Bond follows a lead to the Bahamas, where he meets up with his CIA counterpart and friend Felix Leiter. The pair suspect a rich playboy, Emilio Largo, and search the area around his yacht and then the area where they think the yacht may have travelled. After finding the plane—but without the nuclear devices on board—the two agents arrange for Largo's yacht to be tracked and ambushed once the bombs are being moved by Largo.

You Only Live Twice (1967)
Main article: You Only Live Twice (film)
007 is sent to Japan to investigate the hijacking of an American spacecraft by an unidentified spacecraft. Upon his arrival, Bond is contacted by Aki, assistant to the Japanese secret service leader Tiger Tanaka. Bond established that the mastermind behind the hijacking is Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE and follows the trail to Blofeld's island headquarters.

Tanaka's ninja troops attack the island, while Bond manages to distract Blofeld and create a diversion which allows him to open the hatch, letting in the ninjas. During the battle, Osato is killed by Blofeld, who activates the base's self-destruct system and escapes. Bond, Kissy, Tanaka, and the surviving ninjas escape through the cave tunnel before it explodes, and are rescued by submarine.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Main article: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
While searching for Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE, Bond saves Tracy di Vicenzo on the beach from committing suicide by drowning, and later meets her again in a casino. Bond then receives information from Marc-Ange Draco, the head of the European crime syndicate Unione Corse and Tracy's father, about Blofeld's Swiss solicitor. Bond breaks into the solicitors office and establishes Blofeld is corresponding with the London College of Arms. Posing as an emissary of the college, Bond meets Blofeld, who has established a clinical allergy-research institute atop Piz Gloria in the Swiss Alps. Bond soon establishes that Blofeld is brainwashing his patients to distribute bacteriological warfare agents throughout various parts of the world.

Bond escapes from the clinic after Blofeld identifies him as the British agent. Bond arranges a raid on the clinic using men from Draco's organisation. The raid is a success, although Blofeld escapes. Bond marries Tracy, but she is murdered shortly afterwards by Irma Bunt, Blofeld's partner.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Main article: Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Bond is tasked with investigating a major diamond smuggling ring which begins in Africa and runs through Holland and the UK to the United States. Disguised as professional smuggler and murderer Peter Franks, Bond travels to Amsterdam to meet contact Tiffany Case: he is given the diamonds and travels on to the U.S., where he is met by Felix Leiter. Bond moves through the chain, which leads to the Whyte House, a casino-hotel owned by the reclusive billionaire Willard Whyte.

Bond follows the diamonds to a pick-up by Bert Saxby, Whyte's head of security, and then onto a research laboratory owned by Whyte, where he finds that a satellite is being built by a laser refraction specialist, Professor Dr. Metz. Suspecting Whyte, Bond tries to confront him, but instead meets Blofeld, who captures the agent and explains to him that the satellite can blow up nuclear missiles. Blofeld admits that he intends to auction it to the highest bidder. Bond escapes and frees the captive Whyte and they establish that Blofeld is using an offshore oil rig as his base. Bond attacks the rig, stopping Blofeld's operation and dispersing his organisation.

Live and Let Die (1973)
Main article: Live and Let Die (film)
James Bond is sent to investigate the murder of three British MI6 agents, all of whom have been killed within 24 hours. He discovers the victims were all separately investigating the operations of Dr. Kananga, the dictator of a small Caribbean island, San Monique. He also establishes that Kananga also acts as Mr. Big, a ruthless and cunning gangster.

Upon visiting San Monique, Bond determines that Kananga is producing two tons of heroin and is protecting the poppy fields by exploiting locals' fear of voodoo and the occult. Through his alter ego, Mr. Big, Kananga plans to distribute the heroin free of charge at his Fillet of Soul restaurants, which will increase the number of addicts. Bond is captured by Kananga, but he escapes, killing Kananga and destroying the poppy crop.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Main article: The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
After receiving a golden bullet with James Bond's code "007" etched into its surface M relieves Bond of a mission locating a British scientist, Gibson, who has invented the "Solex agitator", a device to harness solar power, thereby solving the energy crisis. The bullet signifies Bond is a target of assassinFrancisco Scaramanga and Bond sets out unofficially to find him. From a spent golden bullet, Bond tracks Scaramanga to Macau, where he sees Scaramanga's mistress collecting golden bullets at a casino. Bond follows her to Hong Kong, where he witnesses the murder of Gibson and the theft of the Solex agitator. Bond is subsequently assigned to retrieve the agitator and assassinate Scaramanga.

Bond meets with Hai Fat, a wealthy Thai entrepreneur suspected of arranging Gibson's murder, and is captured, but subsequently escapes. He tracks Scaramanga to an island in Red Chinese waters, where the two men fight a duel: Bond kills the assassin.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Main article: The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
Bond is tasked with investigating the disappearance of British and Soviet ballistic missile submarines and the subsequent offer to sell a submarine tracking system. Bond works alongside MajorAnya Amasova of the KGB. The pair track the plans across Egypt and identify the person responsible for the thefts as shipping tycoon, scientist and anarchist Karl Stromberg.

Bond and Amasova follow a suspicious tanker owned by Stromberg and establish it is responsible for the missing submarines; the submarine in which they are travelling is also captured by Stromberg. Stromberg plans to destroy Moscow and New York, triggering nuclear war: he planned to then establish a new civilisation. Bond escapes, freeing the submariners captured from the other submarines and follows Stromberg to his headquarters, where he shoots the tycoon and a torpedo destroys the base.

Moonraker (1979)
Main article: Moonraker (film)
A Drax Industries Moonraker space shuttle on loan is hijacked and Bond is ordered to investigate. Bond meets the owner of the company, Hugo Drax and one of Drax's scientists, Dr. Holly Goodhead. Bond follows the trail to Venice, where he establishes that Drax is manufacturing a nerve gas deadly to humans, but harmless to animals. Bond again meets Goodhead and finds out that she is a CIA agent.

Bond travels to the Amazon looking for Drax's research facility, where he is captured. He and Goodhead pose as pilots on one of six space shuttles being sent by Drax to a hidden space station. There Bond finds out that Drax plans to destroy all human life by launching fifty globes containing the toxin into the Earth's atmosphere. Bond and Goodhead disable the radar jammer hiding the station from Earth and the U.S. sends a platoon of Marines in a military space shuttle. During the battle, Bond kills Drax and his station is destroyed.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Main article: For Your Eyes Only (film)
After a British spy boat sinks, a marine archaeologist, Sir Timothy Havelock, is tasked to retrieve its Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator (ATAC) communication system before the Russians do. After Havelock is murdered by Gonzales, a Cuban hit-man, Bond is ordered to find out who hired Gonzales. While investigating, Bond is captured, but Gonzales is subsequently killed by Havelock's daughter Melina, and she and Bond escape. Bond identifies one of those present with Gonzales as Emile Leopold Locque and so follows a lead to Italy and meets his contact, Luigi Ferrara, and a well-connected Greek businessman and intelligence informant, Aris Kristatos. Kristatos tells Bond that Locque is employed by Milos Columbo, Kristatos' former organised crime partner.

After Ferrara is murdered—and the evidence points to Columbo—Bond is captured by men working for Columbo. Columbo then explains that Locque was actually hired by Kristatos, who is working for the KGB to retrieve the ATAC. Bond and Melina recover the ATAC but are captured by Kristatos. They escape and follow Kristatos to Greece, where he is killed and the ATAC is destroyed by Bond.

Octopussy (1983)
Main article: Octopussy
Bond investigates the murder of 009, killed in East Berlin while dressed as a circus clown and carrying a fake Fabergé egg. An identical egg appears at auction and Bond establishes the buyer, exiled Afghan prince, Kamal Khan is working with Orlov, a renegade Soviet general, who is seeking to expand Soviet borders into Europe. Bond meets Octopussy, a wealthy woman who leads the Octopus cult. Bond finds out that Orlov has been supplying Khan with priceless Soviet treasures, replacing them with replicas, while Khan has been smuggling the real versions into the West, via Octopussy's circus troupe.

Bond infiltrates the circus, and finds that Orlov replaced the Soviet treasures with a nuclear warhead, primed to explode at a U.S. Air Force base in West Germany. The explosion would trigger Europe into seeking disarmament, in the belief that the bomb was an American one that was detonated by accident, leaving the West's borders open to Soviet invasion. Bond deactivates the warhead and then he returns to India, leading an assault on Khan's palace.

A View to a Kill (1985)
Main article: A View to a Kill
Bond investigates millionaire industrialist Max Zorin, who is trying to corner the world market in microchips. He establishes that Zorin was previously trained and financed by the KGB, but has now gone rogue. Zorin unveils to a group of investors his plan to destroy Silicon Valley which will give him a monopoly in the manufacturing of microchips.

Bond uncovers Zorin's plan is to detonate explosives beneath the lakes along the Hayward and San Andreas faults, which will cause them to flood. A larger bomb is also on site in the mine to destroy a "geological lock" that prevents the two faults from moving at the same time. Bond destroys the bomb, and subsequently kills Zorin.

The Living Daylights (1987)
Main article: The Living Daylights
Bond aids the defection of KGB officer General Georgi Kosovo, by wounding a female KGB sniper, Kara Milovy, a cellist. During his debriefing Koskov alleges KGB's old policy of Smert Spionam, meaning Death to Spies, has been revived by General Leonid Pushkin, the new head of the KGB. Koskov is subsequently abducted from the safe-house and Bond is ordered to kill Pushkin.

Bond tracks down Milovy and establishes she is Koskov's girlfriend and that the defection was staged. He subsequently finds out that Koskov is a friend of the arms dealer Brad Whitaker. After meeting Pushkin and faking his assassination by Bond, Bond investigates a scheme by Koskov and Whitaker to embezzle KGB funds and use them to purchase diamonds, which they then use to purchase drugs. After Koskov purchases the drugs, Bond destroys them. Koskov is subsequently arrested by Pushkin, while Bond kills Whitaker.

Licence to Kill (1989)
Main article: Licence to Kill
Bond aids Felix Leiter in the capture of drugs lord Franz Sanchez; Sanchez escapes and maims Leiter, killing his wife. Bond swears revenge, but is ordered to return to duty by M. Bond refuses, and M revokes his licence to kill, causing Bond to become a rogue agent; although officially stripped of his status, he is unofficially given help by Q.

Bond journeys to Sanchez's home in the Republic of Isthmus and is taken onto Sanchez's staff, where he manages to raise Sanchez's suspicions against a number of his employees. When Bond is taken to Sanchez's main base and drugs refinery, he is recognised by one of Sanchez's men and captured. He escapes, destroying the refinery in the process, and pursues Sanchez, killing him.

GoldenEye (1995)
Main article: GoldenEye
In 1986 Bond and Alec Trevelyan—agent 006—infiltrate an illicit Soviet chemical weapons facility and plant explosive charges. Trevelyan is shot, but Bond escapes from the facility as it explodes. Nine years later, Bond witnesses the theft by criminal organisation Janus of a prototype Eurocopter Tigerhelicopter that can withstand an electromagnetic pulse. Janus uses the helicopter to steal the control disk for the dual GoldenEye satellite weapons, using the GoldenEye to destroy the complex with an electromagnetic pulse; there is one survivor of the attack, a programmer, Natalya Simonova.

Bond investigates the attack and travels to Russia where he locates Simonova and learns that Trevelyan, who had faked his own death, was the head of Janus. Simonova tracks computer traffic to Cuba and she and Bond travel there and locate Trevelyan, who reveals his plan to steal money from theBank of England before erasing all of its financial records with the GoldenEye, concealing the theft and destroying Britain's economy. Bond and Simonova destroy the satellite facility, killing Trevelyan and Grishenko in the process.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Main article: Tomorrow Never Dies
Bond investigates the sinking of a British warship in Chinese waters, the theft of one of the ship's cruise missiles—and the shooting down of a Chinese fighter plane. He uncovers a link to media mogul Elliot Carver which suggests that Carver had purchased a GPS encoder on the black market.

Bond encounters Chinese agent Wai Lin, who is also investigating the matter and the two agree to work together. They discover that Carver had used the GPS encoder to push the British ship off course and into Chinese waters in order to incite a war for ratings. With the British fleet on their way to China, Bond and Wai Lin find Carver's stealth ship, board it and prevent the firing of a British cruise missile at Beijing. They blow a hole in the ship, exposing it to radar, leading to its sinking averting war between Britain and China.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Main article: The World Is Not Enough
Bond recovers money for Sir Robert King, a British oil tycoon and friend of M, but the money is booby-trapped and kills King shortly afterwards. Bond traces the money to Renard, a KGB agent-turned-terrorist, who had previously kidnapped King's daughter Elektra. MI6 believes that Renard is targeting Elektra King a second time and Bond is assigned to protect her: the pair are subsequently attacked.

Bond visits Valentin Zukovsky and is informed that Elektra's head of security, Davidov, is in league with Renard: Bond kills Davidov and follows the trail to a Russian ICBM base in Kazakhstan. Posing as a Russian nuclear scientist, Bond meets American nuclear physicist Christmas Jones. The two witness Renard stealing the GPS locator card and a half quantity of weapons-gradeplutonium from a bomb and set off an explosion, from which Bond and Jones escape. Elektra kidnaps M after she thinks Bond had been killed and Bond establishes that Elektra intends to create a nuclear explosion in a submarine in Istanbul in order to increase the value of her own oil pipeline. Bond frees M, kills Elektra and then disarms the bomb on the submarine and kills Renard.

Die Another Day (2002)
Main article: Die Another Day
Bond investigates North Korean Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, who is illegally trading African conflict diamonds for weaponry. Moon is apparently killed and Bond is captured and tortured for 14 months, after which he is exchanged for Zao, Moon's assistant. Despite being suspended on his return, he decides to complete his mission and tracks down Zao to a gene therapy clinic, where patients can have their appearances altered through DNA restructuring. Zao escapes, but the trail leads to British billionaire Gustav Graves.

Graves unveils a mirror satellite, "Icarus", which is able to focus solar energy on a small area and provide year-round sunshine for crop development. Bond discovers Moon has also undergone the gene therapy and has assumed the identity of Graves. Bond then exposes Moon's plan: to use the Icarus to cut a path through the Korean Demilitarized Zone with concentrated sunlight, allowing North Korean troops to invade South Korea and reunite the countries through force. Bond disables the Icarus controls, kills Moon and stops the invasion.

Casino Royale (2006)
Main article: Casino Royale (2006 film)
A reboot of the series, with Bond winning his 00 status in the pre-credits sequence. Bond is instructed to investigate the funding of terrorism. He tracks down and kills a bomb-maker and takes his mobile phone. Searching through the phone, Bond discovers a text message which he traces to Alex Dimitrios, and then on to financer Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre's investments involve short-selling stock in successful companies and then engineering terrorist attacks to sink their share prices. Bond foils Le Chiffre's plan to destroy the prototype Skyfleet airliner, which forces Le Chiffre to set up a high-stakes poker tournament at the Casino Royale to recoup his fortune. Bond is instructed to beat Le Chiffre and is aided by a member of HM Treasury, Vesper Lynd.

Bond beats Le Chiffre at the poker table, but Lynd is kidnapped by Le Chiffre after the game, as is Bond, who is captured whilst pursuing them; Lynd is ransomed for the money and Bond is tortured. Le Chiffre is subsequently killed by Mr. White, a liaison between Le Chiffre and a number of his clients. Bond learns that his poker winnings were never repaid to the Treasury, which Lynd was supposed to have done, and Bond establishes that she was a double agent. Bond pursues her and is attacked by members of White's organisation: he survives, but White takes the money and Lynd commits suicide. Bond subsequently finds and captures White.

Quantum of Solace (2008)
Main article: Quantum of Solace
Along with M, Bond interrogates Mr. White regarding his organisation, Quantum. M's bodyguard, Mitchell, a double agent, attacks M, enabling White to escape. Bond traces the organisation to Haiti and a connection to environmentalist Dominic Greene.

Bond uncovers a plot between Greene and an exiled Bolivian General, Medrano, to put Medrano in power in Bolivia while Quantum are given a monopoly to run the water supply to the country. Bond ascertains Quantum are damming Bolivia's supply of fresh water in order to force the price up. Bond attacks the hotel where Greene and Medrano are finalising their plans and leaves Greene stranded in the desert with only a tin of engine oil to drink. Bond then finds Vesper Lynd's former lover and member of Quantum, Yusef Kabira.

Skyfall (2012)
Main article: Skyfall
After an operation in Istanbul ends in disaster, Bond is missing and presumed to be dead. In the aftermath, questions are raised over M's ability to run the Secret Service, and she becomes the subject of a government review over her handling of the situation. The Service itself is attacked, prompting Bond's return to London. His presence assists MI6's investigation in uncovering a lead, and Bond is sent to Shanghai and Macau in pursuit of a mercenary named Patrice. There, he establishes a connection to Raoul Silva, a former MI6 agent who was captured and tortured by Chinese agents. Blaming M for his imprisonment, he sets in motion a plan to ruin her reputation before murdering her. Bond saves M and attempts to lure Silva into a trap, and while he is successful in repelling Silva's assault, M is mortally wounded. Bond returns to active duty under the command of the new M, Gareth Mallory.

Remember, your TOP 5, in no particular order... and don't forget to say why!
 
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I've gone for LALD, TSWLM, LTK, DAD and CR

Live and Let Die - It was the first Bond film I saw. Never saw it all the way through, it was just the boat chase and I thought it was awesome and the theme song has stuck with me ever since. Also defaults Moore as my favourite Bond, even though all he could do was raise his eyebrow and sleep with women. I'm sure he had a stuntman just to do a running scene.

The Spy Who Loved Me - The ski jump at the beginning and the Lotus scene. Need I say more?

Licence To Kill - When I first saw it I loved how different it was compared to previous films and how much more dark it was. I believe it was the first and so far only Bond film to have a 15 rating in Britain.

Die Another Day - The first Bond film I saw all the way through in the cinema and it made me fall in love with the original Vanquish.

Casino Royale - When I saw this, within around 15 minutes I decided that Daniel Craig has been the best Bond. (So far) Just seemed like what a Bond film should be. A ruthless guy who can kick the crap out of anyone he needs to and takes their girlfriend to bed to rub it in their face.
 
Licence To Kill - When I first saw it I loved how different it was compared to previous films and how much more dark it was. I believe it was the first and so far only Bond film to have a 15 rating in Britain.

Wasn't too much of a fan when I was younger. The scene with the decomp tank, Felix being fed to Sharks, Benicio del Torro being dropped into the grinder, and Sanchez being set on fire at the end were, at the time, I guess more grizzly than bond viewers were used to.. Both of Dalton's films though had a certain degree of relevance to them, which I liked. And I did like him as Bond.
 
Wasn't too much of a fan when I was younger. The scene with the decomp tank, Felix being fed to Sharks, Benicio del Torro being dropped into the grinder, and Sanchez being set on fire at the end were, at the time, I guess more grizzly than bond viewers were used to.. Both of Dalton's films though had a certain degree of relevance to them, which I liked. And I did like him as Bond.

I only full appreciated it until I was older. I do like both his films and felt he deserved a third if the producers weren't fannying about in the early '90s.

I'm glad you put this thread up. I have an urge to watch all the films now! Went to a James Bond themed birthday party last weekend and it was pretty awesome!
 
This is one of the few lists that I can easily put into order:

1) You Only Live Twice
Odd how Connery (my favourite Bond) only has one spot on my list, but YOLT will always take top spot. Aside from the whole Japanification process, I always loved the 60s Japan setting this movie provided. Donald Pleasence's volcano-dwelling Blofeld remains the most memorable vision of a stereotypical megalomaniac. One the later incarnations could never match (Savalas did quite well considering what who he had to deal with in OHNSS).

2) The Living Daylights
Good old Dalton. while I enjoy Licence to Kill a great deal (6th on my list), TLD always had more scope which was characteristic of most Bond movies up to that point. This is also only Bond movie with an Aston driving on ice that's worth a damn.

3) Goldeneye
Never had much fondness for Brosnan's Bond, but they had Sean Bean as a wonderful antagonist and by far the best opening sequence.

4) The Spy Who Loved Me
Easily the strongest Moore offering. Even with one of the cheesiest endings in the franchise, it still had the coolest non-Aston Bond car, the perfect 70s villain introduction and... well, the perfect 70s villain (Stromberg who?).

5) Moonraker
Yes, it was a silly OTT dawn-of-the-shuttle-era escapade (IN SPACE!). But Moore had already starred in worse Bond outings by that point (TMWTGG) and compared to the Joel Schumacher-esque stupidity of Die Another Day, it holds up rather well. Plus it had the best John Barry score ever.


Honourable mention: Never Say Never Again. Best Bond movie of 1983, which wasn't hard when it was up against the likes of Octopussy.
 
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Of the Moore films The Man with the Golden Gun and the Spy Who Loved Me were both enjoyable. TMWTGG, Christopher Lee as the Villain, Kung Fu stuff, some interesting locations, Britt Ekland, the car barrel roll, the somewhat trippy end game.... TSWLM was good too, with the Lotus, and Barbara Bach (Agent XXX) - who I think was one of the hottest Bond girls :D - but (nothing against Richard Kiel), as soon as Jaws crops up, I kinda turn off a little... I've got to go with View to a Kill as pretty much my all round favourite though. Moore was Bond when I grew up, Christopher Walken as the Villain -- doesn't get much more badass than that :D --, great theme-song by Duran Duran, with the orchestral versions that littered the film being really effective too. It also starred Patrick MacNee (who I liked from the Avengers). The climactic scene with the Golden Gate bridge is kind of Iconic for me too (at least in terms of Bond). It's plot wasn't great, but in isolation each of it's aspects was plausible enough.... and did I mention, Christopher Walken as the bad guy :D

Dalton did a couple of good films, the Aston Martin V8 definitely swinging it to Living Daylights, as-well as a catchy 80's theme song by A-ha. Again, all relatively feasible stuff too. It tailed off a bit at the end, but, maybe I just think that because I've probably seen it more than any other Bond-film.

Picking a Connery film isn't easy... Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice are all pretty good... Goldfinger is quintessential Bond, but it's almost become a stereotype of itself. There are lot's of aspects of Thunderball that I like (the Vulcan for one:D), but overall, it's a little forgettable I guess. YOLT is good, and kind of set the stage for the feel of many of the films to follow. It had a memorable theme song too, it's just pretty difficult to watch it now without thinking about Austin Powers! Tough choice... think it's going to have to be Goldfinger though, it just is Bond.

After Brosnan took over, things went downhill, but Goldeneye does stand out as being pretty likable - shame he had to get a part-time job as a hair dresser in order to get a new car for this one though :D ... also Izabella Scorupco ;) I was 16 when it came out, and although View to a Kill was one of the first films I ever saw, Goldeneye was the first Bond film I remember getting excited about as being a 'new Bond Film'...

... but then, I was pretty excited about Casino Royale too. It did bristle with a different energy for Bond, and whilst they've now spent 3 films reinventing Bond, yet reminding us who he is....and I've come to dislike Casino Royale, at the time I was pretty hyped by it, so I think in time, I will come to enjoy it much more again - Also my First Blu-Ray (got it with the PS3 :D)

I actually found that harder to decide on than I thought, there's lots of aspects I like about most of the films, just some put them together better than others. I only find Diamonds are Forever, and Die Another Day to be pretty devoid of any redeeming features - and Moonraker was really spoiled by the space-station shoot out at the end (dat "I think he's attempting re-entry" tho :D).

I do think OHMSS is under-rated, mostly because of Lazenby I guess, although it did have a DBS, and Diana Rigg. The 750 in the car park sequence from Tomorrow Never Dies was great, and so would the Z8 from The World is Not Enough be, if it actually did anything cool for more than 3 seconds. On the subject of TND, Jonathon Pryce was a good bad guy, but the film wasn't great.. felt too much like a low-budget TV movie despite some good action sequences. Fun fact, I sat next to the Stunt-woman who played Michelle Yeoh's part in the bike chase at my cousins wedding reception.
 
I was very hard-pressed to turn my top six into a top five.

In the end, I chose FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, because it was a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel (one of my favourites), and Tatiana has always been one of my favourite Bond girls.

I also chose FOR YOUR EYES ONLY and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS because, along with FRWL, I think they best represent the character and the Cold War.

I know THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH gets a bad rap, and I know why, and yet I can't help but love it. It was my first Bond film, or at least the first one I remember; I saw it in the cinema on my thirteenth birthday.

Finally, I chose SKYFALL. I'm trying not to get caught up in recentism; I think it's one if the best-made, best-written and best-performed in the series.
 
1) The Living Daylights
2) From Russia With Love
3) Goldeneye
4) For Your Eyes Only
5) Licence To Kill

Time for some justification

The Living Daylights

For me, this is the Bond closest to the books. I absolutely love the driving scene with Saunders after Bond intentionally misses shooting Kara; telling Saunders to stuff M's orders because Bond only kills professionals and Bond'd be glad if M sacked him. Bond isn't a Roger Moore effortlessly cheerful smarm machine. He's a burnt out mercenary who hates what his job is but does it because he's good at it, and Dalton really got that in this film, and explored it a lot more in his next film.

I also really like the story. In a way it's much simpler because there are no supervillians, no plans of global domination, no volcano / underwater super-secret lairs. An arms and drugs deal amongst the backdrop of the Cold War at a time when the Cold War was reaching an apex with Soviets in Afghanistan. It felt a bit more like an espionage film. Brilliant.

And then there's the V8 Vantage. And exploding milk bottles. Awesome.

GoldenEye

I am swapping positions. GoldenEye 2nd, From Russia With Love 3rd.

Similar to what prisonermonkeys says with The World Is Not Enough, this was the Bond film I watched growing up. Even though I was 4 when it was released, it was replayed a lot in my house. God damn it I love 006 and Ouromov in this. GoldenEye was the film that got me liking and rooting for villains. And then there was the N64 game to go along with it... a perfect mix for a young 90s child.

In-universe, I think this film works well. The cold war is over, Bond deals with a betrayal instead. Such a shame that the series tapered off after this and became more insane and more like science fiction.

From Russia With Love

Much like The Living Daylights, it's a less convoluted story in comparison to later films. This is Connery at his best and features the superb Red Grant. The dynamic between Bond and Tatiana is really good and it's a thoroughly enjoyable film with good suspense and action.

For Your Eyes Only

The retrospective Roger Moore equivalent of The Living Daylights (even though it was three films prior). A genuine Moore film that felt more like a spy film than a Benny Hill goose chase. An interesting twist with Kristatos and Columbo mixed in with Locque, octagon glasses and the Mercedes. This film is far easier to watch and much more tolerable than any other Roger Moore film.

And then Melina Havelock. Wow.

Licence To Kill

Expanding on Dalton's burnt out mercenary who hates his job theme, this is a superb film. Bond gone rogue, out for himself and the quest for vengeance on behalf of Felix and his bride. I love Robert Davi and his death is particularly brutal after a very enjoyable chase scene in Kenwood trucks; I can even look past the stunt where the tanker goes on two wheels because it looks amazing.
 
Bond isn't a Roger Moore effortlessly cheerful smarm machine. He's a burnt out mercenary who hates what his job is but does it because he's good at it, and Dalton really got that in this film, and explored it a lot more in his next film.

It is a shame the Dalton only got two films, I gather the 3rd film he was expected to do was canned during the courtcase over rights, but apparently he'd been approached much much earlier, (ie. possibly pre-Moore to fill the role) but declined. My biggest problem wasn't with Moores personification of Bond - though he's a long way from a burned out killing machine - it's with his age. He retired far too late, and just wasn't convincing in the action sequences, or in the romance department by his later films.
 
It is a shame the Dalton only got two films, I gather the 3rd film he was expected to do was canned during the courtcase over rights, but apparently he'd been approached much much earlier, (ie. possibly pre-Moore to fill the role) but declined. My biggest problem wasn't with Moores personification of Bond - though he's a long way from a burned out killing machine - it's with his age. He retired far too late, and just wasn't convincing in the action sequences, or in the romance department by his later films.

This.

A View To A Kill where he beds May Day....cringe.
 
This.

A View To A Kill where he beds May Day....cringe.

Moore was nearly 60 when View to a Kill was released.. the notion of him merrily hoping into bed with any buxom young lady was pretty thin way before then.. although the inclusion of Grace Jones does make it all the more freaky.

I watched AVTAK this weekend... first time I noticed that Dolph Lundgren is a KGB henchman in the background... barely seen, no lines... (on an old VHS copy you wouldn't even have made out his face!) in the same year as he played Ivan Drago in Rock IV -- shame he was under utilised.... Walken and Lundgren combo.
 
A View To A Kill is a case of so bad, it's good.

But nowhere near the top 5.
 
A View To A Kill is a case of so bad, it's good.

But nowhere near the top 5.

B.b..b.ut it's my favourite.

moonraker-1979-14-g.jpg



:D

I'd bet there is a good correlation between top votes and age.
 
Moore was very much a product of his times. By the 1970s, it was obvious that the Cold War was going to start dragging on, and people didn't want to be reminded of it in their entertainment. So they went for the light-hearted approach. It was also around the time that they ran out of novels to adapt in some form and had to start creating original stories. The only untouched stuff in the Bond canon is the stuff that is unfilmable.
 
No Love for Dr. No yet...

So, I watched Tomorrow Never Dies last night.... Gerard Butler was a Radar Operator with one line...
 
TND was horrible. It was a poorly conceived and poorly executed YOLT knock-off that, despite some impressive stunt work, just devolved into a generic action film by the end.

Although having said that, it's not in my bottom five. Those dubious honours go to:

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - one of Fleming's best novels was completely ruined by George Lazenby, who was a sleazy and foppish second-rate substitute for Sean Connery. And some of the direction was terrible; I regularly use it as an example of film-making gone wrong in class.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN - two separate films that were lazily patched into one another; one has Bond sqaure off against Scaramanga, while the other is about the energy crisis of the 1970s. Halfway through the film, the tone randomly shifts as it wastes twenty minutes deciding what it wants to do, and then everyone breaks character.

GOLDFINGER - probably my most controversial choice, since it's so popular. But I've always felt that the laser scene is the only thing holding it up. Take that away, and Bond is completely incompetent, spending most of his time in captivity and relying on others to get him out, and the film wastes time with the Tilly Masterson sub-plot, which starts for no reason and serves no purpose as she dies before it can be resolved.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - God, I hate Anya. When she's not being inconsistent (she steals the plans to the submersible car, has no idea that it is submersible, then displays an excellent knowledge of its submersible features), she's busy being unconvincing as she bounces between the Soviet Union's most elite agent, and a damsel in distress.

DIE ANOTHER DAY - because DNA transplants.

-------

This is probably how I'd rank all twenty-three films:

A - FRWL, FYEO, TLD, TWINE and SF
B - TB, LALD, GE and CR
C - DN, OP, LTK and QOS
D - YOLT, DAF, MR, AVTAK and TND
E - GF, OHMSS, TMWTGG, TSWLM and DAD
 
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I cannot suspend my disbelief with Moonraker. It was going so well until the end when it's actually in space and Bond effortlessly uses the shuttle's cannon.
 
It's still better than TSWLM. It's pretty much TSWLM done properly.

Although a straight adaptation of the novel would have been phenomenonal.
 
Definitely. Moonraker is a top novel. Especially with Drax (novel) 's backstory.
 
It's probably the only as-yet-unadapted source material that could be adapted to film. That, and Dr. No's tortuous obstacle course.
 
Were they not somewhat alluding to that with Gustav Graves in Die Another Day? They way they did it, the explanation and the actual ability to pull that off were simply awful but it reminded me of the original Drax somewhat.

Given that Drax has a story ingrained in WWII and its aftermath, it's something that might not be possible in today's stories given that too much time has passed. Unless they switched WWII for the first Gulf War.
 
I don't get to see Spectre until the 11th, but I think that it will be hard-pressed to break into my top five. Skyfall might have bumped Casino Royale out, but the other four have been a steady part of my line-up since 1999.
 
1. Goldeneye
2. Goldfinger
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. The World is Not Enough
5. Die Another Day

.... Yet to see Spectre.
 
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