Ask JKM a Question: How would you rank the Bond movies by actor?

A reader named Mike writes;

"Hi John. I'm a life-long James Bond fan who actually grew up during the Goldfinger boom and it was a magical time in my childhood. I just found your 007 week from last year and I loved it. Your reviews brought back some fantastic memories.

However, I couldn't help but notice that some Bond movies you didn't review at all! I also read your recent ranking of Star Wars movies, so that made me think. 

How would you rate the Bond movies by each actor? For me, Sean Connery will always be the one and ONLY 007."

Hi Mike. Thank you for writing about this subject. I am not huge on ranking in principle, and I reserve the right to change my mind. I prefer to take each film on individually, and look at the merits of deficits or each. 

But readers keep asking me to rank movie series lately, so I will continue to answer the question.

Here goes: Best to worst for each 007 Era/Actor. I don't think there's any point including George Lazenby, who made one film, on the list.

Sean Connery

Mike, your favorite James Bond, Sean Connery also made some of the films that hold up best, even today.  

My all-time favorite Bond movie is From Russia with Love, but Goldfinger is obviously a great film as well, and the most famous (and perhaps beloved) of the 1960s. 

Against the tide of conventional wisdom, I also love Never Say Never Again, and the way it updated the (too-long Thunderball) for the Reagan era of the Cold War. I also approve of the way it allowed 007 to age gracefully, rather than remain forever young.

I judge Diamonds are Forever the worst of this era. It's too campy, Sean Connery is out of shape, and the lounge lizard look of the whole thing makes me sick.

1. From Russia with Love (1963)
2. Goldfinger (1964)
3. Dr. No (1962)
4. Never Say Never Again (1983)
5. Thunderball (1965)
6. You Only Live Twice (1967)
7. Diamonds are Forever (1971)

Roger Moore

Mike, I grew up with Roger Moore, so he was my "first" Bond. I have always enjoyed his performances as 007, and feel that it was the right move not to imitate Sean Connery. In fact, Roger Moore's decision to "spin" the character in a new direction may be the very thing that led to the longevity of the series after Connery departed from the role.

Still, I think there were a lot of campy excesses in the Moore Era, and as a consequence I prefer the more "grounded" Moore films. He still brought his interpretation to the role, but the films remained recognizable as Bond movies, and not as superhero films.  

My favorite of this epoch is For Your Eyes Only, which features an incredibly suspenseful climax (the mountain-climbing sequence), but I also think that the "big" style Bond of The Spy Who Loved Me works better with Moore than that style does with Connery. That's a great Bond film, with the best pre-title scene in series history.

A View to a Kill (1985) is the worst of Moore's era, despite fascinating casting choices in terms of villains. But Tanya Roberts was awful in the film, and Moore looked disinterested...and ten years too old for the role.

1. For Your Eyes Only (1985)
2. The Spy Who Loved Me (1976)
3. Live and Let Die (1973)
4. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
5. Octopussy (1983)
6. Moonraker (1979)
7. A View to a Kill (1985)

Timothy Dalton

Both of Dalton's films are terrific, I feel. I give the nod (by an inch) to Licence to Kill, because it forecasts the age of the edgy, angry Bond so completely. Dalton is at his best in that entry, I feel. It was tailor-made for his interpretation, and his 007 is tough, deadly, and independent.

1. Licence to Kill (1987)
2. The Living Daylights (1989)

Pierce Brosnan

I like Pierce Brosnan, but I feel his films never lived up to his capabilities. He could have given us the best, most world-weary 007 of all, but the writing in his films was never up-to-snuff. 

A lot of people love Goldeneye the most from this era, but I feel that it hasn't aged well, especially in terms of its lugubrious soundtrack.  The first three films all feel like generic action movies, but are generally also a lot of fun.

 Die Another Day is a full-fledged disaster and an ignominious end to an era.

1. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
2. Goldeneye (1995)
3. The World is Not Enough (1999)
4. Die Another Day (2002)

Daniel Craig

Going out on a limb, I'll say that I feel Craig's 007 films range -- so far -- from great to above-average. 

Ranking them is tough. Casino Royale is one of the greatest Bond films ever made. Skyfall is great too.  I like Quantum of Solace more than most reviewers did, and feel it is a terrific book-end to the first Craig film. 

Spectre is, objectively, the worst of the era. But I wouldn't call it a terrible film (especially when weighed against Diamonds are Forever, A View to a Kill, or Die Another Day).

1. Casino Royale (2006)
2. Skyfall (2012)
3. A Quantum of Solace (2008)
4. Spectre (2015)

I would love to see some reader lists ranking the 007 films by actor! Either comment below, or send me at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com, your Bond rankings by actors, and explanations, if you can!