007: Every James Bond Movie, Ranked (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

The 007 franchise is one of the most legendary movie series of all time. With over two dozen films, six actors to date have taken up the mantle of the legendary British agent, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, all of whom have made their own mark. However, as with most film franchises, some entries in the series are considered to be far better than others.

So, what’s the best James Bond movie? Every fan has their favorite Bond era, actor, and individual movie, but a ranking by Rotten Tomatoes score gives an interesting viewpoint on the series’ highest and lowest moments.

Updated on October 21st, 2021 by Mark Birrell: With the belated release of No Time to Die bringing the number of Eon Productions’ James Bond movies to 25, and the total number of films starring the superspy to 27, now is a great time to be looking back at such a rich cinematic history launched by one beloved character. Though not every 007 film is considered a winner in the eyes of critics, each has its charms and the best Bond movies seem to embody the widest range of these distinct characteristics.

27 Casino Royale (1967) – 25%

• Available for purchase on Prime Video

Though Ian Fleming’s original Bond novel had a very respectable adaptation in the official Eon Productions lineup of 007 movies with 2006’s Casino Royale, the first take on the material was designed to be a spoof that lampooned the spy genre at the height of its popularity.

Though it was a financial success, it has never been particularly well-liked by either critics or fans, a noteworthy feat considering the breadth of talent involved both in front of and behind the camera, including Peter Sellers, John Huston, and Orson Welles, amongst many others.

26 A View To A Kill (1985) – 38%

• Available on Pluto TV

Roger Moore’s final film as James Bond is the worst of the Eon Productions series according to critics’ scores on Rotten Tomatoes, with following 007 Timothy Dalton taking the franchise back to its roots for the next movie.

A View to a Kill has, nevertheless, remained a well-known and even well-liked Bond title thanks in part to its chart-topping theme song from Duran Duran and great villains in Christopher Walken’s unhinged businessman, Max Zorin, and Grace Jones as his formidable henchwoman, May Day.

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25 The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) – 39%

• Available for purchase on Prime Video

The Man With The Golden Gun was Roger Moore’s second film as 007 and stars Christopher Lee as the titular villain, Francisco Scaramanga, a world-class assassin who hunts people on his private island for sport. Naturally, Scaramanga meets his match in Bond but not before a game of cat and mouse between the two across China and Thailand.

Despite rarely being championed as one of the franchise’s best entries, Scaramanga lives on as one of its most famous villains, though this is one of the few aspects of the movie that’s praised.

24 Octopussy (1983) – 43%

• Available on Pluto TV

Roger Moore’s Bond rarely caught much of a break with critics despite his long and successful run as the character and his sixth outing as 007 also proved to be a dud with reviewers. Investigating the murder of fellow agent 009, Bond embarks on an adventure that takes him to Germany and India, where meets the mysterious businesswoman “Octopussy”.

The story contains a number of tropes and hallmarks from the series’ most popular entries but it has always had a reputation as a lesser rendition of them.

23 The World Is Not Enough (1999) – 52%

• Available on Pluto TV

Pierce Brosnan’s third movie as James Bond followed a downward trend for the franchise which began with Brosnan’s previous movie in the series, delivering on the hallmarks of the frachise but ultimately failing to supply fans with anything distinctly new or memorable.

The plot of The World Is Not Enough revolves around the world of oil and, despite a third-act set piece aboard a nuclear sub, it proved to be still too drab to be an entertaining action movie and too campy to be considered a serious spy movie.

22 Die Another Day (2002) – 56%

• Available on Pluto TV and Prime Video

The final Bond movie of Pierce Brosnan’s tenure, Die Another Day opens with 007 being captured by North Korean forces. After being tortured in captivity, Bond is freed and is convinced that a traitor is responsible for his ordeal. Heading to Cuba, 007 uncovers a conspiracy that leads to a gigantic doomsday weapon in the same vein as ones that were seen in previous Bond movies, including Brosnan’s debut outing.

The lack of originality certainly didn’t help the movie’s overall reception but the ridiculousness of the CG-heavy action sequences, in particular, proved to be a bridge too far for even longtime fans of the series also.

21 Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – 56%

• Available on Pluto TV and Prime Video

In Pierce Brosnan’s second outing as 007, the superspy has to stop Elliot Carver, a media mogul, from using his news empire to cause a war between the West and China.

The plot bears a number of similarities to Sean Connery’s iconic Bond movie You Only Live Twice, which also took most of its action to Asia, but it has never stood out to either fans or critics as one of the most memorable 007 adventures despite great support from Michelle Yeoh as a Chinese agent helping Bond and Jonathan Pryce as the dastardly Carver.

20 Moonraker (1979) – 60%

• Available on Pluto TV

One of the most infamous James Bond films ever made, Moonraker was, in part, a reaction to the immense success of the original Star Wars movie and took 007 to space to stop a villain seeking to end all life on Earth.

With laser guns and the return of fan-favorite henchman Jaws from Moore’s popular 007 entry The Spy Who Loved Me, the movie had plenty of ridiculous action and was a big box office success for the series despite persistent criticism against its excessive camp factor.

19 Spectre (2015) – 63%

• Available on Fubo TV

One of the most recent 007 movies so far, Spectre is the Daniel Craig movie that follows Skyfall. Pursuing the clues of a cryptic message left for him by Judi Dench’s M, James Bond comes across a secret meeting where he discovers the Craig era’s version of the hidden organization known as SPECTRE, led by the iconic villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Despite the returning favorites, including the freshly minted new versions of Q and Moneypenny from SkyfallSpectre failed to live up to the expectations set by director Sam Mendes’ first Bond movie.

18 Diamonds Are Forever (1971) – 64%

• Available on Pluto TV

The last film starring legendary original Bond actor Sean Connery in the official Eon Productions line-up, Diamonds Are Forever sees the secret agent on a mission where he infiltrates a diamond smuggling ring. Out of all the films that Sean Connery has been in, this film was deemed to be one of the wackiest by critics.

While not sharing quite the same level of quality seen in his previous films starring the character, Connery’s costly return proved to be a successful move for the series, ensuring its longevity.

17 Quantum Of Solace (2008) – 64%

• Available on Prime Video

The sequel to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace is the second film starring Daniel Craig as 007. It has largely been seen as a disappointing follow-up, due in part to issues stemming from the writers’ strike that occurred during production and a more uncharacteristic approach to the style of the genre, which fell more in line with the popular Jason Bourne movies.

Following on directly from the events of Casino Royale, the story sees James Bond on a mission of revenge which leads to the Quantum organization for a more violent and dour outing for the character that has yet to be counted as one of the franchise’s best by a majority of either critics or fans.

16 Live And Let Die (1973) – 65%

• Available on Pluto TV

Live and Let Die is the first film that starred Roger Moore as 007. The plot sees James Bond investigating the deaths of three agents, linking them to a notorious drug lord named Mr. Big.

Iconic henchmen Baron Samedi and Tee Hee Johnson have helped it to stand out as one of the most memorable Bond movies, even if its campier tone has never been as praised as some of the more serious adaptations of Ian Fleming’s original stories.

15 Never Say Never Again (1983) – 70%

• Available for purchase on Prime Video

A rare deviation in Bond movie history occurred when a rights issue allowed the co-writer of a storyline used for Ian Fleming’s novel Thunderball to produce their own film adaptation almost 20 years after Eon Productions released its version. Stranger still, Never Say Never Again managed to secure Sean Connery, who played Bond in the original Thunderball movie, back in the role after Connery had retired from it twice already at that point.

Though not as well-regarded as most of Connery’s other portrayals of the character, the quintessential 007 story still shined even with a more explosively ’80s style to the proceedings.

14 For Your Eyes Only (1981) – 73%

• Available for purchase on Prime Video

A more serious Roger Moore outing as 007, For Your EyesOnly revolves around a story about a sunken submarine within foreign seas. James Bond is tasked to go find its nuclear control system and he teams up with a woman who’s seeking revenge for the murder of her parents.

Though the more grounded approach to the character didn’t do much for critics at the time, even with its proximity to the outlandish Moonraker, the serious tone has aged very well over time.

13 You Only Live Twice (1967) – 73%

• Available on Pluto TV

With a secret volcano villain lair, Blofeld at his most iconic and plenty of gadgets, You Only Live Twice remains quintessential Bond movie viewing. Taking the action mostly to Japan, Bond must work to stop Blofeld’s plan to incite war between the US and Russia by stealing spacecraft right out of orbit.

Full of huge set pieces and striking designs, the movie is also notable for having a screenplay written by famed children’s author Roald Dahl.

12 The Living Daylights (1987) – 74%

• Available on Pluto TV

Following the Roger Moore era, James Bond went back to his more serious roots. The first movie starring Timothy Dalton as 007 sees Bond allying with the KBG to take down a corrupt agent and his arms-dealing cohort.

With double-crosses and plenty of assassinations, the film was known for its far more serious tone compared to the previous films, one that has aged well as time has gone by, being better appreciated by both fans and critics upon later re-evaluation.

11 License To Kill (1989) – 78%

• Available on Pluto TV and Paramount+

The second anD final James Bond movie that starred Timothy Dalton as 007, License to Kill was noted for being darker and more violent than most entries in the series, similar to The Living Daylights.

The plot sees James Bond going rogue as he seeks revenge against a vicious drug cartel for harming his longtime friend Felix Leiter and murdering his new wife, paving the way for darker takes on the often campy character in the future.

10 GoldenEye (1995) – 79%

• Available on Pluto TV, Hulu, and Paramount+

The first outing of Pierce Brosnan’s 007 started his tenure off with a bang. GoldenEye follows James Bond as he fights against former British agent Alec Trevelyan when the vengeful former ally gains control of a destructive satellite weapon.

With explosive and mostly pre-CG action and all the best-loved hallmarks of the franchise up to that point, it remains a firm fan-favorite entry into the franchise. It’s also noteworthy for its videogame adaptation, which is considered a classic and a game-changing first-person shooter.

9 The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – 80%

• Available on Pluto TV and Paramount+

The highest-rated Roger Moore Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me follows James Bond as he takes on the megalomaniacal Karl Stromberg, who plans to destroy New York City with nuclear weapons.

Although it isn’t as campy as later Moore films, it’s still a light-hearted and highly imaginative Bond adventure throughout, containing some of the best wit that the Moore era is famous for and strong villains, including the all-time great henchman, Jaws.

8 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – 81%

• Available on Pluto TV

The first and only movie that starred George Lazenby as 007, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service sees James Bond paired up with Tracy Di Vicenzo as they fight against the evil Blofeld.

The film is somewhat of an anomaly in the franchise, even seeing 007 tieing the knot, but its mountainous settings and a good sense of humor have allowed it to stand out to fans for more reasons than just being the odd one out.

7 No Time to Die (2021) – 84%

After extensive delays to its release, Daniel Craig’s final bow as 007 took his era out with a bang that has been ranked by critics as being one of the top 10 James Bond movies ever.

Bringing back numerous actors from Craig’s run as the character, including Blofeld and old ally Felix Leiter, Not Time to Die is a big celebration of all things Bond that, while not as highly-ranked by critics as Skyfall, showed that the franchise is likely to still be as spritely at age 60 as it was for its 50th anniversary in 2012.

6 Thunderball (1965) – 87%

• Available on Pluto TV

Thunderball is the fourth film in the franchise and stars Sean Connery as 007. In the classic story, James Bond is sent down to the Bahamas in order to infiltrate the evil SPECTRE organization.

The film was praised thanks to Sean Connery’s natural charisma and its strong set-pieces, including a huge underwater battle sequence.

5 Skyfall (2012) – 92%

• Available on Hulu and Paramount+

Skyfall is the third film that starred Daniel Craig as 007. A breath of fresh air for the series compared to Quantum of Solace, James Bond tracks a former agent following the destruction of MI6 and faces off against the sinister Silva.

Not only was the film praised for its strong performances and outstanding cinematography, but it also marked the franchise’s 50th anniversary in crowd-pleasing style.

4 Casino Royale (2006) – 94%

• Available on Prime Video

Casino Royale is the first film that starred Daniel Craig and is also one of the grittiest. Based on the first book ever written in the series, Casino Royale focuses on the early days of James Bond as a “double 0” agent.

The result is a more grounded Bond that foregoes all of the cool gadgets and jokiness, replacing it with brutal action scenes and emotional intensity.

3 From Russia With Love (1963) – 95%

• Available on Pluto TV and Paramount+

The second film in the entire franchise, From Russia With Love once again stars Sean Connery as James Bond. Fighting against SPECTRE for the first time ever, he is tasked with a series of dangerous missions that revolved around a decoding device known as the Lektor.

Though without the gadgets and tongue-in-cheek humor that would become the franchise’s trademarks, it remains a formidable spy-thriller story that is bolstered by great writing and action scenes.

2 Dr. No (1962) – 95%

• Available on Pluto TV, Hulu, and Paramount+

The very first film in the entire 007 franchise, Dr. No has been an undeniably significant influence in the history of popular culture. Not only does it introduce Sean Connery as 007, but it also started up many tropes that are still present in films to this day.

Dr. No follows James Bond as he stops the titular villain from destroying the US Space Program and features plenty of hallmarks that remain in the series to this day. It’s an absolute must for anyone interested in the franchise.

1 Goldfinger (1964) – 99%

• Available on Pluto TV and Paramount+

Often argued to be the best film of the Connery era, Goldfinger is typically considered by many to be the cream of the crop of not only Bond films but action films and spy thrillers in general. James Bond is tasked to stop an evil tycoon who has the plan of collapsing the economy by irradiating the gold in Fort Knox.

Not only is this the film that made James Bond a living legend, but it also brought in a variety of trademarks, from the Aston Martin DB5 to the standalone introductory action sequence.

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