Whenever there is a discussion on the best action thrillers, sooner or later, the one common movie series that we are bound to acknowledge is the James Bond franchise. Known for creating history, the global man of mystery, who is a master of using devices and creating thrills, and the spy agent who never failed to meet the requirements of his projects— be it in any place, any country on Earth, or beyond that— James Bond is definitely a legendary fictional character. Let’s go back in time and explore all the movies that have been a part of the franchise, ranking them from the least favorite spectators to the most favorite ones.
26. A View to a Kill (1985)
Starring: Grace Jones, Roger Moore, Tanya Roberts, Christopher Walken
Directed By: John Glen
Plot- The fourteenth movie in the overall James Bond series brings Bond to investigate a microchip upon locating it from a dead colleague’s body in Russia. After looking for more details, he comes to know that the technology had been planted for sinister applications and is led to Max Zorin, who is the leader of Zorin Industries. Soon after that, Agent 007 confronts the villainous Zorin and his defender, May Day, who had been planning together to bring in huge destruction eliminating the competition.
25. Casino Royale (1967)
Starring: David Niven, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Peter Sellers
Directed By: Richard Talmadge, Kenneth Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath
Plot- Starring David Niven as the legendary sophisticated spy, who is now living a peaceful retired life, this offbeat movie of James Bond brings back Bond on duty after a mysterious institution named Smersh starts assassinating the secret agents of Britain. One thing follows another, and several possible suspects get involved, including the villainous Le Chiffre, Bond’s own nephew, Jimmy Bond, and the seasoned plunger Evelyn Tremble. It has been marked as a wacky and dated parody of detective movies, bringing all the cast members on a zigzag and comic script.
24. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Starring: Roger Moore, Britt Ekland, Christopher Lee, Maud Adams
Directed By: Guy Hamilton
Plot- The second movie in the overall series to star Roger Moore is James Bond’s role, the fictional MI6 agent. Bond looks out for a stolen invention capable of turning the sun’s heat into a disastrous weapon and comes across the minacious Francisco Scaramanga, a skilled hitman. For unfolding the mysteries of the case, Bond works together with Mary Goodnight, his assistant, and confronts Scaramanga on a tropical island hideout where both of them enter into a dangerous maze for the last duel.
23. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Robert Carlyle, Sophie Marceau, Denise Richards
Directed By: Michael Apted
Plot- In the third film, with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, James Bond is compelled to race to defuse an international power struggle, protecting the daughter of the dead oil tycoon, Elektra King, while the oil supply of the world hangs for balancing. The antagonist, Renard, lodges a bullet in his brain, making him unable to feel any pain. The film title has been taken from the coat of arms of the Bond family, from English heraldic Arms, which was first seen in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’
22. Octopussy (1983)
Starring: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn
Directed By: John Glen
Plot- The thirteenth film in the series, Octopussy, involves a disastrous military plot to erase the détente. Owing to a fake Fabergé egg, and the death of a fellow Agent, James Bond gets determined to expose a jewel-smuggling operation led by Octopussy, under which a nuclear attack, is under process, on the N.A.T.O. forces— rushing through the palaces of India, the swift circus train in Germany, and a fight on the wings of a private jet.
21. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce, Don Baker
Directed By: Roger Spottiswoode
Plot- When Media mogul Elliot Carver couldn’t accept the Chinese government’s rejection against the broadcast of his media empire in China, he determines to use his empire to wage war between China and the Western countries. James Bond takes up the responsibility to stop the insane tycoon from fulfilling his evil motives and. Although the movie is not something we can assume to have the most original storyline, the movie’s amazing action sequences are genuinely thrilling.
20. Die Another Day (2002)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Halle Berry
Directed By: Lee Tamahori
Plot- The movie marks the fourth and final film to feature Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, the MI6 agent. As far as the storyline is concerned, the movie centers on Bond attempting to find a mole in the British Intelligence who had deceived him and a billionaire from Britain who somehow has connections with a North Korean operative, who seemed to have been killed by Bond. The movie is wonderfully framed and manages to evoke the classic themes of James Bond, like the earlier movies of the series.
19. Spectre (2015)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Christoph Waltz
Directed By: Sam Mendes
Plot- The twenty-fourth movie of the franchise, ‘Spectre, ‘ marks Daniel Craig’s return for the fourth time, where, due to a mysterious note from the past, Bond goes to Mexico and Rome, where he comes across the alluring widow of a notorious criminal. He discovers the existence of an evil organization named Spectre after invading into a secret meeting. As he searches for the organization’s core, he comes to know of a disturbing connection between his enemy and himself.
18. Moonraker (1979)
Starring: Roger Moore, Michael Lonsdale, Lois Chiles, Richard Kiel
Directed By: Lewis Gilbert
Plot- The series has Bond investigating the robbery of a Space Shuttle, which leads him to the president of the Shuttle’s production firm, Hugo Drax. With the help of Dr. Holly Goodhead, the space scientist, James Bond follows the chain, going from California to Venice, from Rio de Janeiro to the rainforest of Amazon, and finally to the outer space, to prevent the scheme of the other party, who were determined to wipe out the entire human race, and recreate new humanity with a superior race. The movie features a silly plot but is flavored with fabulous gadgets and amusing sets, making it entertaining to watch.
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17. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Starring: Sean Connery, Lana Wood, Charles Gray, Jill St. John
Directed By: Guy Hamilton
Plot- ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ is the sixth and the final Eon movie to feature Sean Connery, where Bond, while inquiring about the mysterious activities going on in the global diamond market, comes to know that his old enemy, Blofeld, is amassing the gems to use them in his dangerous laser satellite. He sets out to rescue the world with the help of Tiffany Case, who is a smuggler.
16. Quantum of Solace (2008)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko
Directed By: Marc Forster
Plot- The film ‘Quantum of Solace’ is a direct sequel to ‘Casino Royale,’ and the second one to feature Daniel Craig as the James Bond. The movie showcases Bond seeking revenge for his love’s demise, Vesper Lynd, with the help of Camille Montes, who is determined to take revenge for her own family’s murder. After a series of incidents, they eventually find a rich businessman named Dominic Greene, who is a part of the Quantum organization, which aims at staging a coup d’état in Bolivia for grabbing the management of the water supply.
15. Never Say Never Again (1983)
Starring: Sean Connery, Barbara Carrera, Max von Sydow, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Directed By: Irvin Kershner
Plot- The movie is inspired by the 1961 novel titled ‘Thunderball,’ which was previously adapted into a film going by the same name in 1965. After an aging Bond makes a notable mistake during a regular training mission, M begins to believe that it is high time for the iconic British Intelligence investigator to retire. He suspends Bond from executing his duties for an indefinite period of time. Still, when a member of Spectre named Fatima Bush and her companions manages to steal two of the nuclear missiles from the United States’ military, M is bound to bring back Bond, who seems to be the only one to beat Spectre.
14. Live and Let Die (1973)
Starring: Julius W. Harris, Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto
Directed By: Guy Hamilton
Plot- It is the first movie to star Roger Moore as the titular character, where Bond becomes a target of the enemies while inquiring about the murders of three of his agents. While he tries to avoid the vicious assassins, he approaches the powerful Kananga, known as Mr. Big on the streets, who is trying to coordinate a threat on the world, using loads of self-produced heroin. Bond comes across a beautiful tarot-card reader, Solitaire, whose magic is important for the antagonists, while he executes his master plan.
13. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Starring: Roger Moore, James Villiers, Lois Maxwell, Carole Bouquet
Directed By: John Glen
Plot- The movie marks John Glen’s debut as a director, who had previously worked as an editor and the second unit director in three of the other movies of the franchise. When a ship from Britain gets sunk in the international seas, an agitated search from the global superpowers starts to find the cargo, with a nuclear submarine control setup. James Bond is always sent for one of the fascinating adventures of his life to prevent worldwide devastation.
12. The Living Daylights (1987)
Starring: Joe Don Baker, Timothy Dalton, Jeroen Krabbé, Maryam d’Abo
Directed By: John Glen
Plot- The movie marks the first out of the two movies to feature Timothy Dalton as James Bond. In this installment, the British Intelligence spy, James Bond, assists the defection of Georgi Koskov, the KGB officer, during the performance of the symphony. During this, Koskov discloses that the new head of KGB, Leonid Pushkin initiated a rule of assassinating the defectors. However, while Bond navigates the threat, another treason comes on the surface, which involves a shady arms dealer and two Russian assassins, named Kara Milovy and Necros.
11. Licence to Kill (1983)
Starring: Carey Lowell, Timothy Dalton, Talisa Soto, Robert Davi
Directed By: John Glen
Plot- The second and last movie to feature Timothy Dalton as the lead character, the movie follows Bond, who has been suspended from MI6, for pursuing a drug lord named Franz Sanchez, who had asked to kill Felix Leiter, who is Bond’s CIA friend, and his wife, just after they got married. Bond takes on one of his most daring cases, to track down a powerful and brutal international drug cartel leader, and seek justice for his demised friend.
10. GoldenEye (1995)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Famke Janssen, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco
Directed By: Martin Campbell
Plot- The goldenEye marks the first movie in the James Bond franchise, which is not based on Ian Fleming’s works but is conceived and penned down by Michael France. After Alec Trevelyan, a former agent of British Intelligence, now turned into an enemy, gets hold of a powerful and dangerous satellite system, which can destroy the entire population, James Bond can only save the world. While squaring off his former ally, Bond confronts Trevelyan’s supporter, Xenia Onatopp, as well, who uses seduction as her secret weapon.
9. You Only Live Twice (1967)
Starring: Sean Connery, Tetsuro Tamba, Mie Hama, Donald Pleasence
Directed By: Lewis Gilbert
Plot- The movie, unlike most of the other films in the franchise, does not closely follow Ian Fleming’s novel of 1964, bearing the same name. Set during the Cold War, when the Russian and the American spacecraft go missing, both parties blame each other. The situation worsens, and the world seems to start a nuclear war when the British intelligence comes to know that one of the spacecraft has landed in the Sea of Japan. Faking his own death, he ventures out for Japan, where he is helped by Tiger Tanaka and Aki, to uncover a vicious global conspiracy.
8. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Starring: Roger Moore, Richard Kiel, Curd Jürgens, Barbara Bach
Directed By: Lewis Gilbert
Plot- The movie brings in a world-stirring project that lets Bond skiing off the corners of cliffs along with letting him drive a car deep under the water. Bond joins hands with Anya Amasova, the Russian agent, to defeat Karl Stromberg, a megalomaniac shipping magnate, threatening to ruin NYC with nuclear arms. While dealing with this situation, he also needs to face a deadly adversary, a seven-foot giant with scary steel teeth known as Jaws.
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7. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Starring: George Lazenby, Ilse Steppat, Telly Savalas, Diana Rigg
Directed By: Peter R. Hunt
Plot- The only movie to feature George Lazenby as Agent 007, the movie stars one of the fascinating Bond girls, with Diana Rigg playing the role of Tracy di Vincenzo, along with some amazing ski chases. Bond, along with Tracy Di Vicenzo, battles the vicious Spectre in the mysterious Swiss Alps. However, they need to be careful during this time since the group leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, is planning to launch a calamitous scheme, which can take the lives of millions of people.
6. Thunderball (1965)
Starring: Sean Connery, Luciana Paluzzi, Adolfo Celi, Claudine Auger
Directed By: Terence Young
Plot- The movie features the evil, one-eyed Emilio Largo, the leader of the terrorist group ‘Spectre,’ who has hijacked, from a NATO plane, two of the warheads, threatening to cause widespread nuclear damage, extracting 100 million pounds. Bond is assigned to rescue the two warheads from Largo’s lair, located in the Bahamas, defying underwater pounces and men. Although the movie couldn’t grab a spot in the list of the top three movies of the series, the fascinatingly rendered set pieces, as well as the charm of Sean Connery, makes the movie an entertaining and adventurous one.
5. Skyfall (2012)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris
Directed By: Sam Mendes
Plot- In ‘Skyfall,’ a sharp turn of events occurs when Bond’s new project badly goes wrong, leaving the undercover spies around the world exposed, which attacks M16 as well, bounding M to shift the agency. With the situation falling off the controls, M can only trust one man— James Bond, to take care of the chaos, assisted by a field agent only. He follows a trail and comes to know about Silva, a man related to M’s past, aiming to settle an ancient grudge. This installment of the series is a smart and action-rooted thriller that is one of the best movies in the entire series.
4. From Russia with Love (1963)
Starring: Sean Connery, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Daniela Bianchi
Directed By: Terence Young
Plot- ‘From Russia with Love’ is the second film in the James Bond franchise, with Sean Connery in the lead character, where he battles Spectre, the secret crime organization. In this movie, the members of Spectre, Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen, goals to steal a decoding device called Lektor, with Tatiana’s help, to attack Bond into providing his help. As Bond travels to Istanbul to meet Tatiana, he must be careful enough to read the other party’s plots and escape in a chain of dangerous encounters with the evils.
3. Casino Royale (2006)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Judi Dench
Directed By: Martin Campbell
The movie marks the third screen adaptation of the 1953 novel by Ian Fleming, going by the same name, showcasing a much vulnerable and inexperienced James Bond. After receiving his grant to kill, Bond heads out to Madagascar to look for Chiffre, who seems to be financing the terrorist organizations. After getting a clue about Le Chiffre’s plans of collecting money in a high-stakes game of poker, M16 commands Bond to take over and gamble against them, with a plan to topple the organization.
2. Dr. No (1962)
Starring: Sean Connery, Jack Lord, Joseph Wiseman, Ursula Andress
Directed By: Terence Young
Plot- Knowing fully well that this is the first James Bond movie, it is impossible for us not to give it a spot in the top three. The movie has Agent 007, James Bond, confronting a crazy scientific genius who is determined to destroy the US’s space program. Bond moves to Jamaica, where he comes across the beautiful Honey Ryder, and together battles the unusual villain in his island headquarters. Packed with an immense of action, humor, and escapist thrills, the movie ‘Dr. No’ starts off the Bond series in style.
1. Goldfinger (1964)
Starring: Sean Connery, Shirley Eaton, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman
Directed By: Guy Hamilton
Plot- The movie features Bond facing one of the most infamous antagonists of all time, and should outwit the robust tycoon to stop him from fulfilling his vicious scheme of raiding Fort Knox, which is bound to shake the whole economy of the world. Flavored with a wide range of equipment, the movie remains one of the most popular movies in the franchise.
