Every James Bond Movie, Ranked Worst to Best
With this month's arrival (finally!) of No Time to Die, there have now been 25 official films in the EON-produced James Bond film franchise based on author Ian Fleming's British spy character. In the gallery on this page, we rank every one of those films—plus two additional Bond features from outside producers—from worst to best based on their Metascores, which represent the consensus of a group of top professional film critics.
Right now, it's fairly easy to find most of the Bond films on streaming services (and if it's not on the streaming service you have, it likely will be shortly, as the films are deleted from and re-added to various services every few months). That could change in the future thanks to a recent deal by Amazon to acquire MGM, which currently holds the home video rights to most of the Bond catalog, though there are no definitive plans to make Prime Video the exclusive home of 007 ... yet.
All photos courtesy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios except Casino Royale (1967) by Columbia Pictures and Never Say Never Again by Warner Bros.
The year: 1969
The 007: George Lazenby
The (non-UK) location(s): Swiss Alps, Lisbon
The theme song: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service [instrumental]" performed by the John Barry Orchestra
When Sean Connery retired (for the first time) from the role of 007, he was replaced by Australian model George Lazenby, whose prior acting experience consisted solely of a few TV commercials (and who was reportedly selected from hundreds of names including Dick Van Dyke, Adam West, Michael Gambon, Oliver Reed, John Richardson, and Timothy Dalton—who would get the part much later in his life). The latter's tenure as Bond encompassed just one title: 1969's wintry On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which also featured a first-time film director, Peter R. Hunt.
Hunt opted for a very faithful adaptation of Fleming's 10th Bond novel after recent Bond films had taken great liberties with their source material, and though the result wasn't well-liked at the time of its release, the film eventually earned the respect of critics and is perhaps best remembered for its extended ski chase scenes set in the Swiss Alps as well as for its strong supporting cast that also included Telly Savalas (taking over the role of the villain Blofeld, temporarily) and Diana Rigg (who plays Bond's love interest and gives the film its tragic ending, making it a rarity in a series that usually finishes on an upbeat note). Under contract for seven films, Lazenby did not enjoy his experience making OHMSS and opted not to come back for a sequel, paving the way for Connery's return.
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the only Bond film that gets beyond the dirty boy’s-book spirit of the series to a core of real emotion. It also has what are probably the best action sequences of any 007 adventure.” —Charles Taylor, Salon
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