Top 5 Bond Films

Even today, Goldfinger is the best of them all, hands down. Every clichéd element of the formula is present, only in this movie, they're not clichéd. This is the movie that established the formula and propelled the Bond franchise into the forefront of popular culture. Sean Connery is at the top of his game as the super-spy. Bond does everything wrong in this movie (see the article linked above) and yet manages to save the world in the end simply on the basis of his good looks, charm, and animal magnetism. Sean Connery is the “man's man” Bond. Throw in one of the best villain's in Auric Goldfinger, a hat throwing henchmen named Odd Job, and the impossibly named heroine Pussy Galore, and you've got one entertaining piece of celluloid.

The only film featuring Australian model George Lazenby as Bond, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is unlike any other Bond film. It’s a 1960’s love story with a Bond film stuck in the middle of it. Lazenby is the “sensitive man’s” Bond and gave the role an emotional depth and vulnerability that would have made Connery vomit. The unbelievably hot Diana Rig plays the Bond Girl to end all Bond Girls, as she actually gets the super-spy to marry her in the end. That’s right, Bond got hitched. OHMSS is also the only film in the series without a happy ending. If you’re girlfriend refuses to watch Bond films with you, make her watch this one. She’ll be crying in your shoulder by the end of it.

Contrary to popular belief, Roger Moore actually mad a few good Bond films. They Spy Who Loved Me being the best. Moore, the “gentleman’s” Bond, is still young enough to play the part with the right balance of humor and sophistication, while the writing hasn’t quite succumbed to the “anything for a laugh” philosophy that would dominate his later films. With the best score, composed by Marvin Hamlisch, one of the best themes, Carly Simon singing Nobody Does It Better, one of the best directors, Lewis Gilbert who directed the original Alfie, and the best henchman, Richard Kiel as Jaws, the film’s only flaw is Barbara Bach’s lack of acting ability. Fortunately, she’s good looking.

That’s right, Casino Royale makes my top 5 list. Why? Because it reinvented the franchise in the style of the Bourne Identity, which, quite frankly, needed to be done. The chase sequence on the construction cranes is one of the best ever put to film and Daniel Craig excels as the “everyman” Bond. Ok, yes, the movie does suffer from Peter Jackson Multiple Ending Syndrome, but I forgive it that.

The best film featuring Pierce Brosnan as Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies makes my list almost entirely based on the performance of Michelle Yeoh. She’s the most bad-assed Bond Girl and plays well off Brosnan, the “Remington Steele” Bond, who played a well layered version of the character. I also have to admit that I love the highly underrated Jonathan Pryce as the villain and Teri Hatcher as Bond Girl 2. That, and it’s “Don’t Trust the Media” story line is still topical 10 years later.