As of right now, we can not help but wait for the new No Time To Die movie starring James Bond to hit the theatres. Also, after Billie Eilish has dropped her new music out, which will be featured in the film, the anticipation level has skyrocketed. The teen singer, along with her producer brother Finneas has already scored a Grammy for this track. The release date of this blockbuster is going to be pretty late in October of 2021, but in the meantime, there is a lot of catching up to do. This newest installment of the James Bond has ever been pushed back and back due to the rising concerns regarding the Corona Virus, and it has been pretty depressing to see. But well, since we know the 8th of October 2021 (hopefully the final release date of No Time To Die) is not so near, and we still have the whole summer to us, why not satisfy our Bond cravings by re-watching the old movies from this franchise. Over the course of the films, we have seen almost six actors change their roles as James Bond in the films, but the movies never stopped to be fascinating. Well, without wasting a single moment, we shall introduce you to the list of Bond films that we have ranked. It is a shortlist, but you will have the idea of where to start your re-watching process with. Also, we have ranked the top best film of this franchise so that you can start your movie marathon from this point.
1. Goldfinger
No one can even argue against this choice of Goldfinger legit being the best Bond movie to date (only if No Time To Die decides not to upstage it). Even the critics have made their decision in this regard, saying that this entry of James Bond back in 1964 with actor Sean Connery reprising the titular role, has to be awarded the best Bond movie of all time. Everyone can agree that this tale had enlisted all the elements which were necessary for having an amazing blend of film. Firstly, we had the antagonist who literally suffered from megalomania and had the top-notch scheme to murder the citizens. Then again, we had a henchman who had his own, another intriguing way to kill off people with the help of Oddjob as well as his hat. The other details of the character were also kept in a fashionable manner by the creators of this franchise. As we all could witness, the movie had such big set pieces which came along with action sequences that can never be matched against. Also, what serves us best than witnessing James Bond himself in a dinner jacket? At that point in time, the film went on to gross the highest value for a movie that the franchise has ever received, that is, 124.9 million US dollars from around the world. Goldfinger has also bagged the first Oscar for the series that was dedicated to its amazing sound effects.
2. From Russia With Love
This is the second entry in the franchise of James Bond films, and no wonder the critics loved it so much. The hype around this tale was so much, and after all, the creators really had to produce a masterpiece in order to compete against the first film. Everyone agrees that the second James Bond film is indeed the second-best film that is made in the franchise. You can not deny otherwise until you have watched the whole franchise films and have a solid argument regarding it. The level of retro aesthetics in From Russia With Love is to die for. The film had listed Lotte Lenya in the character of Bind Baddie Rosa Klebb. On the antagonist side, we witnessed having Robert Shaw as the assassin from SPECTRE who is madly tailing Bond in order to kill him. It was when this film released that the audience started to become more engaged in the James Bond films. This film went on to bag 78.9 million US dollars from the entire world, and given how its popularity shooted high with this entry, it surely is not a bad score. There has been a lot of praises among the audience regarding the setting of the whole story and how perfectly it was executed.
3. Skyfall
Skyfall is the top-grossing James Bond movie that has ever been released, and it is, of course, for a reason. At the time of its release in 2012, we witnessed that the film has scored over 1.1 billion US dollars from around the world. In this film, we see actor Daniel Craig starring in the lead role. There even are critics who argue that Skyfall has to be the best agent 007 movies in which Daniel Craig has reprised the role of the main character. Also, there was a lot of appreciation and hype revolving around Skyfall at the time it came out in theatres. It was marked by James Adams from Toronto’s Globe and Mail that Skyfall can easily be dubbed as the best Bond films that we have ever seen in the golden years of history of James Bond films. This tale has even managed to get two Oscars, which I remind you, is no easy task to bag. Also, major appreciation was bestowed upon the film for the sound editing (the thing that James Bond films are majorly famous for) as well as the title song which was sung by Adele at the time.
4. Casino Royale
Another James Bond film starring Daniel Craig has made up at the top tier of this list. Also, you guys should know that Casino Royale also happens to mark the transition between the lead actor of the film and had Daniel Craig starring in this franchise for the first time. There was so much in this modern era spy film that even the critics had positive reviews when it came to discussing the film. It evolved the whole concept in detective films and introduced a very intriguing concept of thrill to moviegoers. Joe Morgenstern from the Wall Street Journal wrote that the role enacted by actor Daniel Craig is as worthy and capable as the ones enacted by the heroes before him and might even have the strength to beat them in sheer intensity. All this while, there even were some of the important revelations that were done by the creators in this film, and nobody could help but simp for it all. So the first factor that was included in Casino Royal was the reason why James Bond is known as Agent 007 and how he earned those two zeroes in the front. All the people who have read the James Bond novels penned down by author Ian Flemming were fully satisfied with how this tale remained fully on track with the story mentioned in the book even when it was published back in 1953 and the film released almost after half a century. The film performed remarkably among the audience of all sorts and was appreciated by the fans as well as the new people who started watching the franchise. Casino Royale is also has a key factor in taking the career of Daniel Craig in the entertainment sector to a whole new level after he was cast in this franchise.
5. Dr. No
Well, this is the first film of James Bond to be ever made. But all the people who lived during that era know that it was not released in the United States until much later in 1963. According to what the critics around the whole world have to say, Dr. No is a simple, yet unique take on spy films and can be considered as one of the best movies of this franchise. It all started with the casting of actor Sean Connery in these films. Also, it was noted by Variety that the lead actor has done an extravagant job of doing the part of that subtle detective that wants to hide his identity from the world and yet gets the job done. This film has enlisted actress Ursula Andress in the role of that original Honey Ryder Bond Girl and our hearts could not help but skip a beat after witnessing her in the films. Dr. No established itself as one of the Top 10 grossing films from the 1960s and was the box office hit. It was seen that this James Bond entry bagged a decent score of 59.6 million from around the world. Given the fact that this is where the whole Bond magic started to happen, the fans have a huge amount of love and respect for the Dr. No Bond film.
6. Never Say Never Again
This is the James Bond film which stars the actor Sean Connery and has made the most money with him. Never Say Never Again was much adored by the audience back in 1983 when it came out in the American media and the theatres saw lines out of their halls of people ready with their tickets to view this film. Although, Never Say Never Again was the last film in the franchise to star Sean Connery as the titular role again. But this does not mean that it was any sad movie or something. We saw how much the creators created a bash around this installment in the franchise and departed the first James Bond actor with praises. Also, there were many factors that donated to the contribution of this James Bond film. The fact that it was released towards the end of the Roger Moore era, further developed the interest in fans regarding the whole film. Richard Schickel belongs to the Time and while discussing Never Say Never Again, he said that it was quite amazing to watch that style which Sean Connery generally carries within himself and puts it all in action while being a part of James Bond films. He also says how this effect which Sean brings along with his skills, makes the role look effortlessly lively and genuine. We can not help but agree more with what Richard has to say.
7. Moonraker
This film was released at a time when the Star Wars franchise was just released among the audience and everyone could not help but go crazy over its plotline. Moonraker came out back in 1979 and marked the fourth James Bond film to have actor Roger Moore. As there was a general hype surrounding space, given the effects of the release of Star Wars in the media, this detective film send our titular character to outer space. This was a fairly new concept to be explored by a spy film at that point in time and thus created major enthusiasm in the moviegoers to watch the whole new concept. Also, it was averagely appreciated by the critics too even though there was not so much great anticipation. Gary Arnold belongs to The Washington Post and penned down that Moonraker is a fully satisfying tale that mixes the already known concepts in a new manner. Moonraker saw actress Lois Chiles alongside the worldwide renowned detective. She was given the role of Holly Goodhead, a fellow astronaut who assists James in his missions. It is put at the ninth level to gross the top charts among the James Bond films and sits at 210.3 million US dollars from around the world. Also, you guys should know that the audience has reviews Moonraker in the best way possible.
8. Golden Eye
GoldenEye marked the first film to have actor Pierce Brosnan star in the role of James Bond. Also, this was when the whole world went fanatic over those sharp looks that the actor had to offer and he was loved by all. Also, as per the statement issued by the critics from all around, this James Bond movie in the franchise can be stated as the best film which stars Pierce Brosnan. Desson Thomson works for The Washington Post and he wrote that Brosnan, at that time the new James Bond actor, can not be at fault for being cast as in lead role. Even the world knew how amazing Pierce looked as Bond and gave off those exotic vibes that we initially did not know we needed. Continuing, Desson describes that the new Bond film has depicted Pierce as a handsome spy who comes along with an English accent and the world could not be any more tranquil. Also, there was the addition of a fairly new story concept with this entry. We all saw Sean Bean who also was a double 0 agent but soon enough, takes the form of an antagonist in the film. This time, the Bond Girl was actress Famke Janssen who did the role of Xenia Onatopp. Also, Golden Eye went on to gross almost 356.4 million from around the world.
9. Thunderball
This James Bond film was released back in 1965 and starred Sean Connery in the lead role. The audience around the world has praised this entry with its overall performance in the box office, but we can not deny that the whole film was not as good as the other Sean Connery films we have witnessed. Kim Newman works for the Empire and he wrote that Thunderball, still has that effect where the story contributes to the glory years of the James Bond journey. Also, you guys should never forget the epic battle which happened under the water and had us glued to the screen till the time it was running. The film marked an auspicious installment of Sean Connery in the franchise and was even the highest-grossing film that had him in the lead role. In the global box office, the film was able to manage 141.2 million US dollars. Also, we shall keep in mind that this was one of the important entries too. Thunderball marked the template for the final James Bond outing which came out almost after twenty years, that is, Never Say Never Again. All in all, it is a must-watch film if you are a James Bond fan. Thunderball currently sits at a Metascore of 64.
10. Octopussy
This is the James Bond movie which starred actor Roger Moore as agent 007. There are many critics around the globe who would argue about how this tale is actually the second-best James Bond film to have Roger Moore. Jay Scott belongs to Toronto’s Globe and Mail and he has written in a fair tone that Octopussy is a film that surely has done well among the media but it has done so on automatic pilot. Despite it all, we know how interesting it was to watch this James Bond outing finally in the theatres. Well, there are a lot of talks about how Roger Moore suited fairly well in the role of agent 007 but we also have to cover up all the critics who did not appreciate him well enough as compared to the other actors enlisted in the franchise. Nevertheless, Octopussy went on to bag 187.5 million US dollars from around the world at the time of its release. Well, here we shall conclude our list of all the James Bond movies which have stood out among the fans including the critics. This was a list of the top James Bond films that you must never miss out on. Also, you guys have more than 4 months to legit cover all the James Bond movies if you haven’t already before the release of No Time To Die. Unfortunately, this new installment will mark the last entry to have actor Daniel Craig in the lead role but we can always hope for the better.
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