Terrible puns. Rampant misogyny. Disposable female characters. A frequently stale rotation of vodka martinis, gun fights and stiff-upper-lip bureaucracy. Bond movies are very easy to make fun of – and, let’s face it, of the 25 that have so far been released over the past six decades, a majority are pretty forgettable. But, there are a handful that are worth watching, even if you actively abhor the subgenre.
Ahead of the appointment of a new 007 – will it be Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Josh O’Connor or someone else entirely? – we present eight Bond films that are actually decent.
Where it all began. A suave Sean Connery, Ursula Andress as the bikini-clad Honey Ryder, the pristine white beaches of Jamaica… this Terence Young-helmed first instalment of the franchise laid the blueprint for everything that followed, but is also a thoroughly entertaining romp in its own right. It’s easy to see why it became a box office bonanza and birthed a cultural phenomenon that endures to this day.
“Do you expect me to talk?” growls Connery. “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!” retorts Gert Fröbe’s hulking, laser-wielding Auric Goldfinger (a role which was nearly played by Orson Welles, if you can believe it). For its quippy repartee, Shirley Bassey’s soaring opening track, a lethal bowler hat-wearing sidekick named Oddjob, and an all-female troop of pilots led by Honor Blackman, Guy Hamilton’s glittering thriller is pretty unbeatable.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
George Lazenby took on the mantle – just the once; what could be chicer? – for the sixth Bond movie, a spy caper with a decidedly more romantic bent, given it features the womanising 007 finally meeting his match in Diana Rigg’s turbulent countess. The ski chases, as crafted by director Peter R Hunt, are thrilling, but it’s the film’s jaw-dropping, heartbreaking ending which makes it one for the ages.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
On the whole, the less said about Roger Moore’s stint as Bond, the better – though, I’ll make an exception for this campy riot from Lewis Gilbert. The ethereal Barbara Bach as a Soviet KGB agent? Richard Kiel’s menacing henchman Jaws, who chows down on his enemies with his giant steel teeth? (He was initially supposed to die in this film, but was so beloved by audiences at test screenings that the script was changed, allowing him to survive and return for 1979’s .) Say no more.
(1987)
Then came the dashing Timothy Dalton, whose notably more serious take on the character in this John Glen-spearheaded action epic (plus 1989’s Licence to Kill) is both impressive and criminally under-seen. The stunts are bananas, the synthy ’80s music a delight, and Maryam d’Abo a standout as a cellist who moonlights as a sniper.
Pierce Brosnan’s four outings as Bond provided diminishing returns, but the first, directed by Martin Campbell, is a memorable one thanks to a range of factors: Dame Judi Dench as the franchise’s steely new M, Sean Bean as the dastardly 006, Robbie Coltrane as a Russian gangster, Alan Cumming as a slimy computer programmer and Famke Janssen as the hilariously evil Xenia Onatopp, as well as the clean-cut polish our new Irish leading man brings to the role.
I’ll just say it: this return to form, once again helmed by Martin Campbell, which introduced Daniel Craig in the part of the tormented MI6 agent, is the best Bond film to date. It has the perfect balance of grit and gloss, Eva Green as his slippery foil, a bloody-eyed Mads Mikkelsen and a climactic Venetian set piece which has to be seen to be believed. Incredible.
“This is the end…” Adele’s swooning vocals on her Oscar-winning title track always send a shiver down my spine, and perfectly set the tone for Sam Mendes’s gripping take on the well-worn formula. It opens with a train ride from hell, and builds to a crescendo in the Scottish Highlands, with everyone from a snarling Javier Bardem to franchise newcomers Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes all getting in on the action. It’s proof that a Bond movie can tick all the requisite boxes and also be spectacular cinema. The next instalment, now from Amazon Studios and directed by Denis Villeneuve, certainly has a lot to live up to.