Spanning six decades with 25 official entries, Eon’s James Bond series is the gold standard of film franchises. Run by the Broccoli family of producers and a tightly-knit, tightly-lipped machine, the spy adventure films have maintained a remarkable, perhaps unrivaled level of quality control for over half a century. The Bond series' lowest points are still solid and rewatchable diversions; there’s no comparing something likeThe Man With the Golden GunorDie Another Dayto outright mega-franchise disasters likeThe Rise of SkywalkerorThe Marvels.
That said, as is inevitable with a series that’s run for decades, much less six of them, the James Bond movies have seen ups and downs, and the films notably exist within six distinct eras, with six iconic actors as British operative 007. The following is not a ranking of the actors and their performances (we have that here), but rathera ranking of all six eras by consistency, impact and overall greatness.This ranking only takes the Eon series into account (which is the way things should be).
6The Daniel Craig Era
(2006-‘21)
Now that the dust has settled, it’s hard to deny the modernDaniel Craigera of Bond, which covered a franchise-record 15 years, wasoverall the most uneven, least rewatchable, and simply the worst of all Bond eras.That’s not to say there weren’t bright spots; there were at least two, in fact.Casino Royaleis a genuine classic, andSkyfall, if a little wan and overrated, recaptured a lot of that magic, to the tune of a box-office billion. Was it really that hard to make one of these a dose of pure escapism, pure fun? It’s more than likely there isn’t an actively bad Eon Bond film, but so much of the series’ Craig era stands out as uncharacteristically joyless.
If anything,Casino Royalewas so good it put the movies that followed at a disadvantage.The biggest reason it was so good, though, obviously, is that it was based on a gripping book. The following films struggled to find fresh or even interesting ideas but maintained the downbeat tone that works on occasion for Bond, but shouldn’t be the rule. It also must be said that Craig’s performance itself is all over the shop in these pictures, especially post-Skyfall. He was a raw revelation at the start,but appeared increasingly, indubitably disinterested. If Bond himself doesn’t want to be there, why on Earth should the fans?
Casino Royale
5The Timothy Dalton Era
(1987-‘89)
Long courted by Bond producers to don the tux,Timothy Daltonfinally played Bond in the late ’80s.The Living Daylightsis a briskly paced, character-driven and rather romantic thriller that sees Dalton’s Bond investigate international counter plots involving a sketchy arms dealer (Joe Don Baker) and a beautiful cellist (Maryam D’Abo). InLicence to Kill, things get uncommonly personal (and uncommonly violent, as this was the first PG-13 film in the series) as Bond seeks vengeance against drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi).
Both of these pictures are very Fleming-esque, as is Dalton’s lead performance.It’s a brief tenure that’s been re-assessed and seems to be more well-liked with every passing year.Dalton eventually moved on entirely, but the dedicated Thespian of stage and screen left behind two rock-solid Bond films. It’s just that it’s such a short window of time that it left a relatively limited legacy.
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights: British secret agent James Bond is tasked with aiding a Soviet general’s defection to the West, but a complex web of deception soon leads him into a global conspiracy involving arms deals and assassinations. Amidst political intrigue and high-stakes espionage, Bond relies on his skills to unravel the truth.
4The Roger Moore Era
(1973-‘85)
Some go a little harsh on theRoger Mooreera for its excess and sharp turn into a lighter, more comedic tone. Still, it’s really important to remember just how successful these movies were, and for how long Moorewasagent 007.Moore’s Bond is a different animal, and you’re either in or you’re out.
After stumbling significantly inThe Man With the Golden Gun, theSaintstar deserves enormous credit for making Bond entirely his own; he’d ultimately star in more Bond movies (seven) than any other actor. Thanks in no small part to his perfectly balanced performance, the giddy and opulentThe Spy Who Loved Meis god-tier Bond, and outings likeLive and Let Die,For Your Eyes Only, andOctopussyaren’t far behind. Moore’s swan songA View to a Killis at once indefensible and enormously entertaining in a schlocky kind of way. Though he stayed on for a picture too long, Moore is perhaps the definitive Bond for those in the audience who just want a sweet distraction for an hour or two.
Live and Let Die
3The Pierce Brosnan Era
(1995-2002)
The Craig era ended with such a whimper, and left such a bitter aftertaste, that it’s made it only easier to look upon his predecessor’s era with more fondness. The first threePierce Brosnanfilms were a uniformly entertaining blend of muscular action and polished, occasionally self-aware and even deconstructionist, wit. DamnDie Another Daybecame a weightless circus, and it’s so unfortunate that it had to be the finale of such a great star, not to mention an entire golden era that spawned numerous classic video games and other media crossovers.The Brosnan films made everyone excited about James Bond.
Marrying the steely sophistication of Connery with the self-aware lightheartedness of Moore, and right from the jump withGoldenEye,Brosnan was the most consistently perfect Bond actor, even in his unfortunate swan song.He was reportedly game to star in more entries, despite not being asked back for a fifth film. Maybehe really should be the next 007.
2The George Lazenby Era
This may seem like a hot take, but if you think about it in relation to the aforementioned criteria we’re ranking things by, it really isn’t.The black sheep of the James Bond series is a near-perfect and uniquely consequential installment that’s been re-assessed over the years.Australian modelGeorge Lazenbyonly appeared in one Bond film, but what a film. And the performance, if a little wobbly in places, deserves far more credit than it gets. Every Bond actor has been inconsistent to some extent, except for maybe Brosnan, and Lazenby is downright brilliant in the romantic scenes here, if undeniably a little stiff overall.
Visually arresting, just outlandish enough, and romantic in a deep kind of way,On Her Majesty’s Secret Serviceis very possibly the best film in the series(evenChristopher Nolanthinks so). Contrary to how history may have remembered it, the film was a financial success, and Lazenby willingly left the series at the suggestion of his agent (which must surely be the worst advice in the entire history of movie-making). It’s impossible not to get lost in thought over what might have been.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
1The Sean Connery Era
(1962-1971)
Impossibly beautiful to look at, wryly hilarious, and downright scary in the violent scenes,Sean Connery’s James Bond is the reason this whole damn thing took off in the first place. In the wake of three initial entries that steadily got bigger and better, the James Bond franchise became a phenomenon unlike anything previously in movie history; it’s still cinema’s greatest mega franchise, and that all starts here.
There were definitely low points, especially inYou Only Live Twice, where the actor had very visibly lost interest (also, Bond’s Japanese makeover is cringe as hell, but the way the movie forgets about it minutes later is unforgivable), but that really isn’t enough to change the fact that Connery is the actor who originated the single greatest and most enduringly popular movie character of all time.Nobody did it better. It’s unlikely anyone ever will.And as for the movies: the best of these, especially the initial trilogy, are about as iconic as movies can be.
A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.
