Bond Week, Day 4: Best Bond Movies

    Countdown to Skyfall, Day 4...

     If we’re being completely honest, there are far more Bond movies not worth the film they’re printed on than are - sticking so closely to a formula for fifty years doesn’t always lend itself to quality. But when they are good, they’re often great, and even the worst of the Bonds have some memorable scene or character to keep fans interested.

    So… the Five Best Bond films:

BEST:

5: Goldeneye, 1995

    Pierce Brosnan’s debut is still his best, and one of the slickest in the whole series. Brosnan narrowly missed out on the part before Timothy Dalton the last go round, and his excitement here at finally getting his shot at 007 is sort of infectious. The movie surrounding him is pretty solid to boot - one of the better plots of the series, briskly paced by director Martin Campbell, but not wall-to-wall action and explosions. Add in some nice chemistry with his leading ladies (including Famke Janssen as a lust-murdering hellcat), a great villainous turn by Sean Bean, and the fantastic Judi Dench’s debut as M, and you have one of the most enjoyable films of the series.

4: Goldfinger, 1964

    In many ways the ultimate Bond movie - this one sets up the pins that would be continually reset and knocked down time and time again throughout the series. Goldfinger has it all: sexy women, the tricked out Aston Martin, a dastardly henchmen with an odd (sorry) trait, and a menacing torture device that threatens to kill 007 crotch first. Topping that all off is Sean Connery, who here in his third outing eases into the role of Bond so naturally that it doesn’t really feel like a performance so much as an icon being etched in stone.

3: From Russia with Love, 1963

    The earliest Bond films were basically sub-Hitchcock thrillers, and it doesn’t get anymore sub-Hitchcock than From Russia with Love. All the director’s hallmarks are there - there’s a Macguffin, a tense set-piece aboard a moving train, and a breathless showdown between Bond and a helicopter that owes more than a little to North by Northwest. From Russia with Love may not be quite up to par with Hitch‘s films, but with direction from Terrence Young and fine performances from actors like Sean Connery, Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya, the movie is a nice reminder of a time when Bond wasn’t constantly shooting people, and was actually a spy who did spy stuff (which occasionally required him to shoot the odd person). Also, I believe this is the first time we got a look onscreen at the type of villain’s lair where henchmen dodged fireballs across the way from others honing their kung-fu skills, so there’s that.

2: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969

    While working for British Intelligence during World War II, Bond creator Ian Fleming had an affair with a courier that was cut short when she caught a piece of shrapnel during one of London’s many air raids. The incident clearly shook Fleming, and the pain of losing a lover is all over On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, adapted perfectly in the 1969 film. Peter Hunt graduated from editor to director, and here is very ahead of his time in the tremendous, quickly-cut set pieces. Long considered the black sheep of the Bond family, OHMSS has been reconsidered over the last decade as one of the very best of the series. Even though it’s leading man George Lazenby has long been thought of as the worst Bond, you can’t deny that the film surrounding him is utterly fantastic (and Lazenby isn’t all that bad, really). Superior actors like Telly Savalas and Diana Rigg add much class to the proceedings, and the music by John Barry is probably the composer’s best contribution to the Bond series (which is saying something). But on top of all of that is the sublime finale… One of the chief criticisms of the Bond films would be how distant they are from the audience; nothing really connects on an emotional level. Not so for the heart-breaking conclusion here, the very best ending to any of the Bond films yet made.  

1: Casino Royale, 2006

    It’s a close call between this and OHMSS, but Casino Royale edges out the competition by virtue of its leading man, incoming and current Bond Daniel Craig. Here we get a Bond who finally feels closer to Ian Fleming’s original creation - a brooding, depressive alcoholic more in line with a hired assassin than the superhero 007’s so often portrayed as. Martin Campbell returns for his second outing in the director‘s chair, providing even more confident, assured direction in this scaled-back adventure. It’s entirely thrilling that the film’s most exciting scene occurs at the poker table, where it’s all about the characters and the stakes they're playing for. Which is not to say the filmmakers have forgotten the flash and awe needed for a Bond picture (as evidenced by the fantastic foot chase that opens the movie, showcasing some of the best stunt-work in the entire series), but the more grounded approach proved successful both critically and financially. In a movie climate where other spies like Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt were fast threatening to overtake 007’s crown, Casino Royale was a bold throwing down of the gauntlet - proving that, once and for all, nobody does it better.