James Bond Movies: Rankings Might Help Smoke Out Next 007 And Bond Girl


James Bond movies have been ranked from best to worst, all 25 of them thus far. Once the next James Bond is chosen, the number can only go up to No. 26 and so on. What’s in store for the longest movie franchise in history? Just imagine over 50 years of entertaining the masses with a British Secret Service assassin and spy who has had so many “incarnations” such as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. The exclusive 007 club, which has rounded up a league of extraordinary gentlemen, is now awaiting the next club member after Daniel Craig recently resigned from the role.

Craig is seen by many as the most hardworking of the bunch; although, he only managed to star in four James Bond movies. Yet, because he aimed for quality rather than quantity, Craig was rewarded with having starred in the best James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Note that he also played Mr. Bond in the No. 3 movie, Skyfall. And not only that, he also made the most money.

According to Moviefone, Casino Royale is the best Bond film of all time because in it Craig surprises audiences with an authentic James Bond who not only says and repeats his name as if the line belongs to him alone. The film is also noted for having a great plot, believable and engaging villains, top-of-the-line Bond girls, and heart-stopping action scenes.

And to think that Casino Royale was Daniel Craig’s first James Bond movie, for him to have settled in with the role so quickly and so credibly is truly exceptional. After all, in contrast, many critics noted Pierce Brosnan never really settled in with the role from his first to his last James Bond portrayal. Critics said it was as if Brosnan was impersonating rather than owning the role of James Bond.

  1. Casino Royale
  2. Goldfinger
  3. Skyfall
  4. The Spy Who Loved Me
  5. Thunderball
  6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
  7. Dr. No
  8. For Your Eyes Only
  9. You Only Live Twice
  10. Goldeneye
  11. From Russia With Love
  12. The Living Daylights
  13. Octopussy
  14. Live And Let Die
  15. License To Kill
  16. Quantum Of Solace
  17. Spectre
  18. The World Is Not Enough
  19. Tomorrow Never Dies
  20. The Man With The Golden Gun
  21. Never Say Never Again
  22. Moonraker
  23. Diamonds Are Forever
  24. A View To A Kill
  25. Die Another Day

Now that the rankings are out, the next question is, why is Die Another Day at the bottom of the list? Well, according to the source, it was the use of bad CG sequences and a pun-happy script that brought the movie down.

It is hard to make a new James Bond movie in the present time that is truly original. This is because, after 50 years, it looks like all the major themes have been used already: Cold War, psychological warfare, space, futuristics, information technology, terrorism, energy crisis, mass media and even a reboot, which was what Daniel Craig embarked on in Casino Royale. A few novel themes perhaps worth pursuing are Brexit, gender (for example, a transsexual Bond girl), aliens, and darkness (i.e., James Bond going bad similar to what audiences have seen from other heroes like in Batman v Superman).

Going retro is another option. In fact, it’s still all right if James Bond returns to any of the themes it has used before, so long as the treatment or the circumstances are new. Whatever the producers think of, they might want to follow the lead of Craig, who really knows how to breathe life into James Bond’s old shoes. Creativity is a must if the James Bond money machine is to continue to thrive in the 21st century.

Should the decision makers settle on Tom Hiddleston as the new James Bond, they might want to consider signing up Taylor Swift as a Bond girl. There is no doubt that she can inject a lot of creativity on the work in progress that is 007. Such one-stop-shop approach may even help with finding a custom-fit theme song for the next James Bond movie. If it’s true, according to Movie Web, that Taylor Swift is secretly plotting to become a Bond girl, then there should be no problem with getting her to jump on the bandwagon.

[Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images]

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