James Bond is back in theaters. Daniel Craig stars as 007 in Quantum of Solace, and we at RT thought it was a perfect time to rank every Bond film by Tomatometer. Find out how Quantum of Solace stacks up!
What Sherlock Holmes is to fiction, James Bond is to cinema: its definitive and most enduring archetype. Times may change, but 007's aura remains fixed in the public consciousness; he's cool, suave, hyper-competent, and ultimately a force for good in a perilous world. If the 23 films listed below (21 official and two non-EON productions) are uneven in quality, and if their plots can sometimes run together, there's little doubt that the Bond movies have exerted a profound influence on popular culture. Without further ado, here is every James Bond film ranked in ascending order by Tomatometer!
29%
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24. Casino Royale (1967, 29%)By the mid-1960s, Bond-mania was in full force. As a result, 007 spoofs were everywhere, from the big screen (Our Man Flint, Modesty Blaise) to the boob tube (Get Smart!). The off-beat, non-canonical Casino Royale took things to another level, resulting in a hopelessly dated gonzo parody that features some of the swingin' sixties' worst comedic excesses. David Niven stars as the original Bond, retired but coaxed back into action when a number of agents are missing or dead; broad gags and surrealism ensue. Think Benny Hill meets Salvador Dali. Helmed by five directors (including John Huston!), scripted by 13 writers (included uncredited work from Billy Wilder and Ben Hecht!), and featuring Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Orson Welles, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, and o.g. Bond girl Ursula Andress, Casino Royale may be long on pedigree, but it's short on laughs -- and coherence. Roger Ebert called it "a definitive example of what can happen when everybody working on a film goes simultaneously berserk." |
39%
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23. A View to a Kill (39%)The worst-reviewed of the canonical Bond films, A View to a Kill brought Roger Moore's tenure as 007 to an ignoble close. It's probably better remembered today for Duran Duran's title tune than its plot, which finds our hero on a mission to stop rogue computer innovator Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) from destroying Silicon Valley and other Bay Area landmarks while avoiding harm at the hands of May Day (Grace Jones), Zorin's super-strong henchwoman. Absurd even by Bond standards, A View to a Kill found the series running on fumes; even Moore said it was his least favorite outing. "As lavishly escapist as they are, the latest James Bond films have become strenuous to watch, now that the business of maintaining Bond's casual savoir-faire looks like such a monumental chore," wrote Janet Maslin in the New York Times. |
48%
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22. Octopussy (48%)The 1980s were not kind to 007, who was looking increasingly like a relic of an earlier time. Roger Moore was planning to leave the series before the producers learned Sean Connery would be starring in the Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again, so he was pressed into duty for Octopussy. His mission: head to India to track down a valuable Faberge egg and derail a plot by rogue Soviet agents to trigger a global conflict. Octopussy reeled off an electrifying action sequence or two (including a notable chase atop a moving train), and it outperformed Never Say Never Again at the box office, but critics still felt the series was treading water. "[Octopussy] may satisfy die hard Bond fans, but won't work for anyone else," wrote Forrest Hartman of the Reno Gazette-Journal. "Among the franchise's weakest efforts." |
(1-20 of 47 posts) | Reply
on Nov 12 2008 06:01 PM The list seems just right. I really can't complain about how everything is arranged... (Reply to this) |
on Nov 12 2008 06:28 PM If we were to include Solace now, it would be number #10. I think that's pretty good(but let's hope for better!) (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 06:32 PM Die another Day rated higher than The World is not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies? WTF? Oh well.. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 07:00 PM Die Another Day was terrible. Both Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough deserve to be above Die Another Day (even if it's as simple as thrusting it to the bottom of the list). This list goes to show that Bond movies are evaluated through a different standard. Using my previous example, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough are superior action movies, but not superior Bond movies. Also, On Her Majesty's Secret Service would've easily been number one if Sean Connery were Bond. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 07:32 PM Connery is the definitive Bond but some of the movies, Twice and Diamonds specifically, are way overrated. If anyone had starred in them, they would have been at the bottom. It is Connery bias if you will. Brosnan's are broadly underrated. Tommorow is better than listed and Goldneye should be near the top. Casino Royale will ultimately be seen as the best of this list with Russia closely on its heals. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 07:49 PM die another day deserves to be at the bottom of this list, just awful. what were they thinking? (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 07:51 PM Tomorrow Never Dies should be right beneath Goldeneye at #9. Diamonds are Forever should be at the bottom. Other than that, the list is fine. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 08:01 PM I feel bad that I haven't seen any of the Connery Bond films (I know, I know), but I enjoy Brosnan a lot, and Goldeneye and World are 2 of my favorites. Casino Royale is also very good. I really want to see Dr. No, Secret Service, Russia, Goldfinger and the Dalton films. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 08:19 PM I think it's strange to put Dr. No as #1. I think its good... but I don't think the franchise had evolved into its full potential yet. I would prefer Goldfinger in the top spot. Also, Die Another Day and DIamonds Are Forever should be lower. Tomorrow Never Dies and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, higher. But overall, its pretty accurate. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 12 2008 08:20 PM Honestly, Casino Royale is one of the three best Bond movies. It's significance to the series is on par with any other Bond film (if it wasn't a success, the series may have been done), it is an excellent film in its own right, and it seamlessly incorporates the rich Bond history with relevant personal and contemporary themes. Many of the other Bond films, though they may have higher ratings, simply do not hold up to re-examination. Casino should be higher. (Reply to this) |
on Nov 12 2008 09:00 PM My favorite is Casino Royale. And I like From Russia with Love, but it's a little overated. Okay list. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 12:29 AM Live and Let Die below Diamonds? Moonraker so high? Goldeneye so low? Die Another Day so high? There are a few strange positions. It shows how reviews and opinions develop and change with time. If this list was redone now it would look very different. We need Ryan's list from Bonding with Bond!!!!! (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 12:59 AM Wat the hell is this list??!! Some kind of homage to Sean Connery? Don't get me wrong I think that Sean was 1 of the best to play 007 but lets be a lil more objective please! How could they rate License to kill so highly? I slept everytime I tried to watch the movie for heaven's sake! Dalton in Living Daylights was much better License should be somewhere at the bottom. And to yall who think Die Another Day aint so good. Please tell me which other Bond movie had Bond in such a tight corner? Die for me had the best of all that is Bond. Bond movies are not just about the possible or even the plausible Bond movies are supposed to be so fantastic u hold breath throughout the movie. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 01:00 AM Wat the hell is this list??!! Some kind of homage to Sean Connery? Don't get me wrong I think that Sean was 1 of the best to play 007 but lets be a lil more objective please! How could they rate License to kill so highly? I slept everytime I tried to watch the movie for heaven's sake! Dalton in Living Daylights was much better License should be somewhere at the bottom. And to yall who think Die Another Day aint so good. Please tell me which other Bond movie had Bond in such a tight corner? Die for me had the best of all that is Bond. Bond movies are not just about the possible or even the plausible Bond movies are supposed to be so fantastic u hold breath throughout the movie. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 06:23 AM 3 of Moore's bond films is all at the bottom 4! HA! (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 08:10 AM A straight rotten tomato-meter isn't particularly fair. The Bond films of yesteryear had little competition, whereas today they have to compete with everything else. Connery's Bond films may have been great at their time according to critics, but to have the first four Connery films in the top 5 feels disengenious. Also, there hasn't been enough time for Casino Royale's impact to fully sink in. Whether it will fall out of the top 5 or closer to number one will be determined after closer examination and after a few more years. (Reply to this) |
on Nov 13 2008 09:35 AM Wow... I'm intrigued. (Reply to this) |
on Nov 13 2008 11:08 AM Good list. And though I know it's all by Tomatometer, I'm appalled that DIE ANOTHER DAY wasn't LAST on the list. I enjoyed the original CASINO ROYALE more. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 11:39 AM In reply to this comment (#2126607) I sincerely expected Die Another Day to be way down on the list but I guess having a villain with Diamonds in his face is bad *** enough to keep the film afloat. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2008 12:09 PM GoldenEye was a little too high. BTW, I actually thought Die Another Day was the best Pierce Brosnan Bond. (Reply to this) |
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