Peter James Mann
This list is all shook up
Daniel Craig says goodbye to our favorite Super Spy with No Time to Die, which comes out today! But it’s hard to say farewell, especially to the actor playing the iconic role. Each Bond has their own unique aesthetic that reflects not only what’s popular in action films, but also what the particular actor brings to the table. So here’s our top 007 films!
001. Skyfall
Out of all of the Daniel Craig films, Skyfall really knocked it out of the park for me. Javier Bardem is a fantastic villain as Raoul Silva, a formidable foe for both James Bond and MI6. It’s also the final time we get to see Dame Judy Dench as M.
I grew up with her as that character, so it was as sad for me as when they retired Q’s Desmond Llewelyn. It’s a great story that actually digs a little further back into Bond’s mysterious past.
002. Dr. No
It’s the granddaddy of them all, the very first James Bond film starring the infinitely iconic Sean Connery. It is he who brought the swagger, charm, and general badassery that would come to define the character and be the shadow under which all other portrayals were judged.
It is also, arguably, one of the most parodied spy films, and generally for good reason. This is DEFINITELY a 1960s big budget action film, but it also came with iconic shots. I think we all know the beach scene with Bond and his Femme Fatale partner coming out of the ocean.
James Bond has to find and defeat the mysterious Dr. No on his island base in the Pacific. It’s a fairly barebones plot for a 007 movie, and a trope that does get revisited several times throughout the series, so it’s probably a good idea to see where it all started.
003. Goldeneye
Pierce Brosnan was actually my first James Bond, and this was my first Bond film! Of course, I watched it because I had Goldeneye 64 (which, from what I hear, is still as good as I remember). It also stars Sean Bean as 006 and contains an incredible fight in the finale that is arguably one of Sean Bean’s better villain portrayals.
A mysterious villain from Bond’s past appears as a computer virus named Goldeneye is threatening to launch every nuclear missile on the planet, creating the M.A.D scenario every Cold War kid hid under their desk for.
Did I mention Goldeneye 64? Such a great game. It might be better than the movie.
004. Casino Royale
This is Daniel Craig’s first appearance as our favorite secret agent and it holds up very well. Adapted from the original novel introducing 007, it also features Mads Mikkelson in his breakout role for American audiences as Le Chiffre. If it wasn’t for this, we might not have gotten NBC’s Hannibal.
There was a lot to prove. If you think the arguments over whether Bond should be a woman or another nationality are bad, you should have seen how P.O’d people were that Bond was going to be a guy with blonde hair rather than black. And was it going to be like the Bourne films? With SHAKY CAM (gasp)?!
It turned out to be the start of one of our longest, most beloved Bonds in years. It also served to bring Bond fully into the 21st century and show some of these new kids how it’s done.
005. Live and Let Die
Sir Roger Moore might have a new neighbor, but he was the first star on the 7007 block of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and for good reason. Some might argue that he was the best Bond we ever had. I’m talking about the level of arguments usually reserved for which Van Halen era one likes or which Star Trek series is best.
I do not participate in this on the reg.
The Voodoo vibes, the kickass theme from Paul McCartney, THE BOAT CHASE, all of it adds up to be a classic Bond Film for yours truly.
006. The Man with the Golden Gun
Not only is this THE BEST GUN in Goldeneye 64, it’s also the title of another great film led by Sir Roger Moore. Christopher Lee plays the world’s most expensive assassin, Scaramanga (only Lee could pull off a character named Scaramanga and being Hammer Film’s Dracula). It also features Herve Villechaize in one of his few roles outside of Fantasy Island, Nick Nack.
It has 007 on a mission to take back Solar Tech, but this is essentially a Bond version of The Most Dangerous Game, and that’s kind of why I love it so much. It’s cool to see the writers take such an iconic story and put Bond in it. And Lee is (chef’s kiss) fantastico.
007. Goldfinger
There’s one film that stands above the rest, one film that has the most riffed villain, the most iconic lines, and the most Bond flavor you can get, and it’s Goldfinger. Even Daniel Craig lists this as his top pick for quintessential Bond.
“Do you expect me to talk?”
“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”
HOLY S***! Imagine the reaction in the theater opening weekend when the villain of the film tells Bond, no, I don’t care what you know I’m just killing you. It’s the most menacing, and most intelligent move, any villain made with Bond. No, I’ll just murder you with my laser, starting at your groin, because I know how much you like it, Broheim.
Need I say more?! No? Oh…cool!
I hope you have a chance to go see No Time to Die this weekend so we can give our latest 007 the farewell he deserves. See you soon!
