When I came to consider what my Bond ‘comfort food’ would be, I was a little surprised that it came down to just two films: DAF and LALD. They have a particular laidback charm I can’t really describe…I guess it’s akin to a Saturday afternoon serial. Something easy-going that’s very re-watchable but is not going to be held in high esteem like CR or OHMSS. In fact, they’re more likely to be derided – which doesn’t actually make them bad, because everything has its place. MR could also classify as comfort food, but I think it’s more than that.
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My comfort food is definitely TND or OP. I’ve spoken at length about both films in other threads so I won’t regurgitate that here. Suffice to say, both films move at very brisk paces, are both very exciting, and neither is too heavy. It all adds up to, IMO, the most re-watchable films in the canon.
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It’s been awhile so:
- OHMSS - still my favourite, can’t wait to see it on the big screen at Christmas.
- Thunderball - a classy way to spend an afternoon.
- Casino Royale - can’t be ignored
- Diamonds Are Forever- I have come to realise just how much I love this mad jazz riff of a movie.
- Skyfall - class
- From Russia With Love - great thriller
- Moonraker- seeing it on the big screen again has made me realise it’s my favourite of Sir Roger’s tenure.
- Live And Let Die - it’s got such an individual style to it
- Quantum of Solace - real slice of Fleming.
- The Spy Who Loved Me - fantastic fun
- Doctor No - dated a bit but it zips along and doesn’t sag.
- The Living Daylights- boys own stuff and very watchable.
- Spectre - witty fun , I ignore the last act.
- Licence To Kill - would be much higher if it didn’t look so cheap.
- Goldfinger- still good but it has dated badly and the mysogyny is more noticeable the older I get.
- A View To A Kill- by all measures a poor film , but it’s a lot of fun.
- For Your Eyes Only- I found it a bit duller than the last time I watched it , it’s not tight enough for its taut story.
- Never Say Never Again - much more enjoyable than I remembered and less racist than Octopussy.
- Goldeneye- still my favourite Brosnan film , but it feels like a long trailer for a great Bond that never happened.
- Tomorrow Never Dies - diverting but forgettable.
- The Man With The Golden - wasted opportunity a fresh director could have made it a classic , like most 007s though it’s still a fun watch.
- You Only Live Twice - has some fantastic scenes but Connery’s petulant attitude took me out of the film.
- Octopussy- similarly to AVTAK I had to balance nostalgia with pragmatism. Octopussy lost.
- The World Is Not Enough- still criminally forgettable.
- Die Another Day - can’t love it , I’ve tried again it just leaves me cold.
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Serving taste👏 I would have Octopussy somewhere near the top though as Kamal Khan is a classic villain and the plane sequence at the end is still breathtaking
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Found my list from the old thread. This was from watching them all in order leading up to the release of “SPECTRE”, so the ranking is apt to change:
- Goldfinger
- From Russia with Love
- Casino Royale
- Dr. No
- GoldenEye
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Skyfall
- Moonraker
- The Man with the Golden Gun
- The Living Daylights
- For Your Eyes Only
- Tomorrow Never Dies
- You Only Live Twice
- Spectre
- Thunderball
- License to Kill
- Die Another Day
- Quantum of Solace
- Diamonds are Forever
- Octopussy
- Live and Let Die
- A View to a Kill
- The World is Not Enough
I have not done one of these in a while. I believe Moonraker moved up by one based on my recent watching and License to Kill also moved up several spots. While I haven’t watched DAD in a while, I do have a soft spot for it as I thought the first half was excellent - whereas the second half may be the worst half of a Bond film ever.
Comfort food - I need to find some new Bond comfort food. For the last several years it was very much the Craig era but I think I may have over-watched them and they need a rest now. I may return to some of the better Moore and Brosnan’s ones and give them a chance. TLD was a long-time love but it got over-watched too. I am guessing I have seen it at least 70 times (I could get it for free on VHS when it came out and watched it about 40 times). I now watch it every few years.
From Russia with Love
Skyfall
Goldfinger
Casino Royale
Thunderball
For Your Eyes Only
The Living Daylights
GoldenEye
Dr. No
Spectre
Live and Let Die
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Quantum of Solace
You Only Live Twice
The Man with the Golden Gun
Tomorrow Never Dies
License to Kill
The World is Not Enough
Octopussy
Diamonds are Forever
Die Another Day
The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
A View to a Kill
- Moonraker
- For your eyes only
- The spy who loved me
- Goldfinger
- On her majesty’s secret service
- From Russia with love
- Thunderball
- You only live twice
- Diamonds are forever
- Octopussy
- Live and let die
- GoldenEye
- Casino Royale
- The man with the golden gun
- Dr. No
- A view to a kill
- Never say never again
- The Living Daylights
- Tomorrow Never dies
- The world is not enough
- Die another day
- Spectre
- Skyfall
- Licence to Kill
- Quantum of Solace
- Casino Royale '67
#1-4 FRWL, OHMSS, CR, GF
My top four Bond films has been pretty much unchanged for me for years now.
#5-10 TSWLM, DR. NO, TB, SKYFALL, FYEO, GE
Skyfall is a recent inclusion in the top ten list after feeling just okay about it when it came out in 2012. Javier Bardem makes the film worthwhile for repeat viewings; GE and FYEO are interchangeable between #9 and #10 sometimes. I feel GE is too much of a safe choice to actually rank it this highly, with a lot of good things in it but overall it is very formulaic. I understand why Broccoli and Wilson went this route to have Bond return with the usual hallmarks, but the film is dated. Perhaps my love for the video game has unfairly projected my feelings onto the film.
#11-12 OP, YOLT
I always get shocked when several mainstream sites usually dismiss OP and rank it very low on their lists. The usually lazy criticisms of the film (Tarzan yell, monkey suit, clown suit) does not diminish the effectiveness of the film surprisingly. The second half is great, and Kamal Khan is good, but unmemorable. This may be an unpopular opinion but I didn’t find Maud Adams’ Octopussy character very interesting, nor do I care for her acting.
#13-17 LALD, LTK, TLD, MR, QOS
This is part of my list where I struggle to decide which film to rank properly. They are all undoubtedly flawed but I go by a certain criteria with these films: “How well does the film hold my attention?” and “Is this Bond film (e.g. LTK) more entertaining than the other four Bond films?” I like LALD’s visual aspects, but the story is weak and the overlong chase sequences deviates my attention span.
LTK has waned over time for me even though I am still entertained by some of its aspects (villain, Bond’s plot to destroy Sanchez from within). However the film feels cheap and lacks the scope of its more panache predecessor, TLD. Dalton’s Bond characterization is much more interesting in TLD. Dalton is a bit dull and goes through the motions in his final outing as Bond; TLD’s story is fine, but it is 20 minutes too long. I do not have to mention the baddies in TLD because it seems like a consensus in Bond fandom that they are arguably the worst in the franchise. Unless someone has an argument that another Bond villain is considered to be less worthy.
MR and QoS have significantly improved in my rankings over the years. For a long time I considered MR to be in my bottom three but there are too many entertaining sequences to ignore. The pre-title sequence always ranks high in my top Bond action sequences and the Gondola chase is underrated (helped by a strong Barry score). Perhaps I should rank MR more high on the list, and I debate whether or not it is better than LALD, but like that film the pace is a major weakness. I feel I am already tuned out by the time Bond finally enters orbit; With QoS I may have it ranked #17 but it can easily bypass the others and be ranked #13. It holds my attention better than the previous films mentioned, but it can be too grim for rewatchable purposes. I like a fine balance between serious and playfulness in my Bond films. MR fulfilled too much of the latter and QoS had too much of the former.
#18-21 DAF, AVTAK, TND, TWINE
AVTAK has improved over time as well, but I simply watch it because of how entertainingly bad it is; TND has a pretty good first half, but gets progressively flat in the end.
#22-24 TMWTGG, SPECTRE, DAD
I need to re-watch Spectre to re-evaluate its ranking, but it was simply a bore to watch the first time.
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- Tomorrow Never Dies
- Spectre
- The Living Daylights
- Dr. No
- Quantum of Solace
- From Russia With Love
- Skyfall
- Octopussy
- GoldenEye
- Casino Royale
- The Man With The Golden Gun
- You Only Live Twice
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Moonraker
- Goldfinger
- For Your Eyes Only
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- The World Is Not Enough
- Live and Let Die
- Licence to Kill
- Thunderball
- A View To A Kill
- Die Another Day
- Diamonds Are Forever
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Welcome to the site!
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Thanks!
Welcome and - wow, interesting ranking. With TND in first place and DR.NO before GF and TMWTGG before OHMSS. You don’t see that very often.
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Not often at all. Welcome!
Welcome 006!
Great to SPECTRE shown such love. Aghast at #24.
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Welcome 006! We don’t see eye to eye on our rankings at all, and that’s perfectly okay! Great to have you on board with us!
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Yeah, I love the variety of opinions here!
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I’m really sorry, DAF just doesn’t click for me, and yes, just finished re-watching SPECTRE and I love it
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Yeah I love controversial opinions
Finally! A kinsman!!
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No apologies necessary, 006. I do understand that for some people DAF is the Marmite of Bond films.
And I love your provocative placement of OHMSS in the bottom third–a ranking I am sure caused some community members to take to their fainting couches (FRWL at #6 softened the shock I am sure).
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