the best james bond movies in order
by smith-d-c | created - 29 Sep 2010 | updated - 18 Nov 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Goldfinger (1964)
PG | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
While investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton
Votes: 202,657 | Gross: $51.08M
The best of Connery! The most fun, stylized, and greatest of them all.
2. From Russia with Love (1963)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond willingly falls into an assassination plot involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Daniela Bianchi
Votes: 145,436 | Gross: $24.80M
Connery and Robert Shaw are awesome. A Bond that runs like a Hitchcock thriller.
3. Dr. No (1962)
PG | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Bernard Lee, Joseph Wiseman
Votes: 179,498 | Gross: $16.07M
The start of Bond. Connery is tough and charming. Ursula Andress is still the Bond girl to beat.
4. Casino Royale (2006)
PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
After earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 694,912 | Gross: $167.45M
Daniel Craig does the unthinkable, makes a good Bond movie. The action is superb as are the dialogue and storytelling.
5. Thunderball (1965)
PG | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi
Votes: 127,164 | Gross: $63.60M
A great Connery Bond, interesting plot, good villains, and great locations.
6. Octopussy (1983)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn
Votes: 113,036 | Gross: $67.90M
My first Bond movie I saw in the theater. It may have a slightly dated feel but I loved the stunts, the dialogue, the villains, and Roger Moore was great as Bond.
7. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
PG | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Secret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson
Votes: 108,347 | Gross: $62.30M
A down to earth Roger Moore with spectacular stunts throughout. A good story and tight script.
8. Live and Let Die (1973)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organisation and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, Clifton James
Votes: 115,544 | Gross: $35.38M
Roger Moore steps in nicely as Bond. Yaphet Kotto makes a good villain and the setting and style are fun. One of the best theme songs.
9. The Living Daylights (1987)
PG | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker
Votes: 105,900 | Gross: $51.19M
Dalton comes to Bond with dryness bringing back the Ian Fleming novel character. The villains and plot aren't that interesting but the stunts are terrific.
10. GoldenEye (1995)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Years after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. James Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen
Votes: 270,330 | Gross: $106.60M
Brosnan makes a good Bond with great stunts, a unique look, and Judi Dench playing a great M.
11. You Only Live Twice (1967)
PG | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 117,603 | Gross: $43.08M
A big Japanese set Bond. Connery is still great, the action scenes are first rate, and the first introduction to Blofeld.
12. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
PG | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. agent whose lover he killed.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel
Votes: 116,321 | Gross: $46.80M
The biggest and best looking of the Bonds. Roger Moore is good and the stunts are great. Nobody does it better.
13. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
PG | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood
Votes: 114,200 | Gross: $43.82M
Say what you will I love this Bond. Connery is at his comic best and the villains are memorable. To me, the first half flies by with some of the best Bond dialogue.
14. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
PG | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin, while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams
Votes: 113,134 | Gross: $20.97M
Roger Moore has a good script in the first half but the film loses its way at the end. Christopher Lee is a good Bond villain.
15. Skyfall (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
Votes: 731,420 | Gross: $304.36M
There are a lot of things I liked about this movie, but for me it comes down to Bond is entertainment. This film was entertaining in parts, and anytime it references Bond of the past, I cheered. I am still not convinced on Craig. In this film in particular, he looked disgusting like he needed a shower and couldn't imagine any woman with him. This is not a Bond for repeated viewings. It is way too long, too dark, too serious, but then it throws in scenes of silliness. I miss the days when Bond was just the greatest hero on screen in a glamorized fantasy, instead of a broken, alcoholic, brooding, depressing sociopathic figure that it has become. However, the end of the film gave me hope for the next one and bonus points for Adelle's theme song.
16. Never Say Never Again (1983)
PG | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent has stolen two American nuclear warheads, and James Bond must find their targets before they are detonated.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow
Votes: 73,177 | Gross: $55.50M
Connery returns older but still great. Klaus Maria Braudauer makes a terrific villain and it is fun.
17. A View to a Kill (1985)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
The recovery of a microchip from the body of a fellow British secret agent leads James Bond to a mad industrialist scheming to cause massive destruction.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones
Votes: 104,963 | Gross: $50.33M
Roger Moore is still good but he is getting a little too old for Bond. Christopher Walken has a lot of fun with the villain. The stunts are not as memorable and the film is way too long.
18. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while protecting an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards
Votes: 210,038 | Gross: $126.94M
Brosnan is fine, Sophie Marceau is good, the stunts are good, but the story loses its way and Denise Richards is ridiculous as the Bond girl.
19. Moonraker (1979)
PG | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle, and discovers a plot to commit global genocide.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel
Votes: 108,841 | Gross: $70.31M
Roger Moore, the first half hour, and the stunts are great; but this film is absolutely ridiculous and is the "Spy Who Loved Me" in space.
20. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond sets out to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher
Votes: 204,756 | Gross: $125.33M
I don't remember any action scenes that stood out as Bond style. Not a good sign.
21. Die Another Day (2002)
PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens
Votes: 229,250 | Gross: $160.94M
Halle Berry is a terrible actress. The story is forgettable, as are its villains, and supporting characters. Bond also goes crazy with overdone CGI special effects.
22. Licence to Kill (1989)
PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A vengeful James Bond goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near death.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Timothy Dalton, Robert Davi, Carey Lowell, Talisa Soto
Votes: 112,140 | Gross: $34.67M
Dalton is at his grittiest, violent, and dullest portrayal of Bond. The film has too many scenes of political correctness and not enough Bond style action.
23. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
PG | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
British agent James Bond goes undercover to pursue the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is planning to hold the world to ransom.
Director: Peter R. Hunt | Stars: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Gabriele Ferzetti
Votes: 99,499 | Gross: $22.80M
George Lazenby is dreadful. The plot is ridiculous. The fights are sloppy. The film reeks of the 1960s and the Bond I love is gone.
24. Quantum of Solace (2008)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
James Bond descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organisation from eliminating a country's most valuable resource.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench
Votes: 470,995 | Gross: $168.37M
This is not Bond! Craig is okay but the action is incomprehensible and so stylized that it takes you away from the story. Bond movies are supposed to be glamorized fantasy with the best looking action ever not realistic, angry political statements copies of the Bourne movies.
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