With Spectre (the twenty fourth Bond film) coming soon, we felt it was time to rank each instalment so far, starting at the worst.
23) Octopussy (1983)
Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jordan
Box-office: $183 million
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 42%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: “All Time High” by Rita Coolidge
Summary: Moore’s Bond embraces camp with horrifically formulaic results.
22) Diamonds are Forever (1971)
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Sean Connery, Jill St John, Charles Gray
Box-office: $116 million
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 65%
Oscar noms: 1 (Sound)
Song: Diamonds are Forever by Shirley Bassey
Summary: A bitterly disappointing end to Connery’s time in the role that foreshadowed the direction that his replacement Moore would take.
21) Die Another Day (2002)
Director: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike
Box-office: $431 million
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 57%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Die Another Day by Madonna
Summary: If it hadn’t already been proved that sci-fi was a bad move for Bond, this may have been forgivable.
20) Moonraker (1979)
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Richard Kiel
Box-office: $210 million
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 62%
Oscar noms: 1 (Visual Effects)
Song: Moonraker by Shirley Bassey
Summary: Catching the fever of mega-hit Star Wars, space wasn’t the start of a new Bond frontier. Also, it ruined Jaws.
19) For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Julian Glover
Box-office: $194 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 73%
Oscar noms: 1 (Original Song)
Song: For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton
Summary: Trying to reapproach the series’ roots only ended up with one of the weakest and unmemorable instalments.
18) The World is Not Enough (1999)
Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards
Box-office: $361 million
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 51%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: The World is Not Enough by Garbage
Summary: Decently well crafted action but the over-sexualisation starts to become too creepy for the turn of the century.
17) A View to a Kill (1985)
Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Grace Jones, Christopher Walken
Box-office: $152 million
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 36%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: A View to a Kill by Duran Duran
Summary: Walken shines and the Golden Gate Bridge sequence is thrilling but the premise (destroying Silicon Valley with an earthquake) is too much.
16) Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce
Box-office: $333 million
IMDb/RT: 6.5/10 – 57%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow
Summary: Slightly more grounded but oddly flat and impersonal.
15) Licence to Kill (1989)
Director: John Glen
Starring: Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi
Box-office: $156 million
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 76%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight
Summary: Some significantly darker moments but sometimes dull and cliched.
14) You Only Live Twice (1967)
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Sean Connery, Donald Pleasance, Mie Hama
Box-office: $111 million
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 72%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra
Summary: Writer Roald Dahl applies some imagination in gadgetry to Fleming’s work and without some of the more ridiculous moments we’d never have Dr Evil.
13) Live and Let Die (1973)
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto
Box-office: $161 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 66%
Oscar noms: 1 (Song)
Song: Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings
Summary: An entertaining adventure bogged down by date racial overtones.
12) The Living Daylights (1987)
Director: John Glen
Starring: Timothy Dalton, Maryam D’Abo, John Rhys Davies
Box-office: $191 million
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 75%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: The Living Daylights by A-ha
Summary: The grittier elements are welcome but lack’s Connery’s style.
11) The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland
Box-office: $97 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 46%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: The Man with the Golden Gun by Lulu
Summary: Late great Christopher Lee steals the show as the titular marksman.
10) Quantum of Solace (2008)
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric
Box-office: $586 million
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 64%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Another Way to Die by Jack White and Alicia Keys
Summary: It comes across as blunt sometimes but we can appreciate the grim intentions.
9) The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Richard Kiel
Box-office: $185 million
IMDb/RT: 7.1/10 – 78%
Oscar noms: 3 (Art Direction, Song, Score)
Song: Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon
Summary: The lighter moments are made all the more charming by some genuine suspense from Jaws, cinema’s most iconic henchman
8) From Russia with Love (1963)
Director: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Robert Shaw
Box-office: $78 million
IMDb/RT: 7.5/10 – 96%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: From Russia with Love by Matt Monro
Summary: Bond evolves into a Hitchcockian euro-caper with serious action.
7) Dr No (1962)
Director: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Joseph Wiseman, Ursula Andress
Box-office: $59 million
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 98%
Oscar noms: 0
Summary: The first ever Bond set an exciting and iconic foundation for the franchise.
6) GoldenEye (1995)
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen
Box-office: $352 million
IMDb/RT: 7.2/10 – 82%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: GoldenEye by Tina Turner
Summary: A playful and action packed debut for Brosnan (form that he didn’t keep up in later films).
5) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Director: Peter Hunt
Starring: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
Box-office: $64 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 81%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: We Have all the Time in the World by Louis Armstrong
Summary: The re-casting and controversially brutal ending infuriated fans at the time. Sadly, Lazenby was never truly given the time to become Bond but – on a technical level – OHMSS is one of the series’ best.
4) Thunderball (1965)
Director: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi
Box-office: $141 million
IMDb/RT: 7.0/10 – 85%
Oscar noms: 1 (winning Visual Effects)
Song: Thunderball by Tom Jones
Summary: The underwater sequences may have aged but the film’s design and creativity remains stunning.
3) Skyfall (2012)
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Berenice Marlohe
Box-office: $1.108 billion
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 92%
Oscar noms: 5 (Cinematography, Score, winning Song) – 8 BAFTAs (Supporting Actor/Actress, winning British film)
Song: Skyfall by Adele
Summary: Oscar winner Sam Mendes’ take on Bond was bold, provocative and suspenseful with series best performances from Craig and Bardem
2) Goldfinger (1964)
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Frobe
Box-office: $124 million
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 96%
Oscar noms: 1 (winning Sound)
Song: Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey
Summary: Stylish and inspired, Goldfinger remains one of the most masterful thrillers of all time.
1) Casino Royale (2006)
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelson
Box-office: $600 million
IMDb/RT: 8.0/10 – 95%
Oscar noms: 0 – BAFTAs 8 (Actor, Editing, Cinematography, Screenplay, British Film)
Song: You Know My Name by Chris Cornell
Summary: The Dark Knight of Bond, it’s a slick, dynamic gut-punch of an action flick that could have been very different: Quentin Tarantino nearly, considered for Vesper Lynd were Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Audrey Tautou while Bond was almost Karl Urban, Sam Worthington or Henry Cavill.
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