BOND MONTH: Top 5 Bond films

So after listing the Top 5 worst James Bond films, it's time to end Bond Month on a high note. So, without further ado, here are my picks for the Top 5 best Bond films of all time.

5. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)



'OHMSS' is sadly one of the most underrated Bond films of all time, which is most likely because it was that one Bond film that came out in-between Sean Connery's run as James Bond that did not star Connery after his first 'retirement' from the role following 'You Only Live Twice'. As such, the lead Bond of this film, George Lazenby, is usually remembered as 'that one guy who starred in that one Bond film that no remembers'. That being said, this is easily one of the best written Bond films of all time. Sure he may not be Sean Connery, but Lazenby still does a fine job as Bond. Telly Savalas is also the best actor to have ever played Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is given much more to do than his predecessor Donald Pleasence. But really the most important aspect of the film is the relationship between Bond and Diana Rigg's Tracy, who later becomes Bond's first and only wife. I've already talked about the ending of this film multiple times already but seriously, that tragic scene just establishes this film as one of the best in the series and one that, unfortunately, isn't as appreciated as some of the other great Bond films.

Rating: 4.5/5

 



4. CASINO ROYALE (2006)







Q: What do you do when you're looking to reboot the Bond franchise?

A: Make one of the most bad-ass Bond films ever made.

And that's Casino Royale in a nutshell for you. After a four-year hiatus, Bond returned in style with the most gritty and realistic Bond movie to date. More than a decade after he modernized Bond for the 90's with Goldeneye, director Martin Campbell once again modernizes Bond for the present day in the wake of films like the Bourne franchise. Daniel Craig is excellent in his first outing as James Bond, who gives us a more emotionally-driven Bond than we have ever seen before. Really, what hasn't been said about this film that hasn't been said before? It's just an outstanding entry in the series.

Rating: 5/5!

 

3. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)







 

 



'Dr. No' may be the first Bond film, but when you look at it today, it is actually pretty outdated compared to later entries. From Russia With Love is the film that really set the bar for future Bond films to follow, with its thrilling plot of Bond in a race against time as he aids in the defection of consulate clerk Tatiana Romanova, while SPECTRE looks to enact revenge on Bond for the death of Dr. No from the previous film. From Russia With Love has two of the best villains in franchise history in Robert Shaw's Red Grant, an assassin who served as Bond's first real nemesis in the series, and Lotte Lenya's Rosa Klebb, the fierce agent of SPECTRE who keeps Romanova under her watch. This is a must-see as far as Bond films go, and that is why it's one of the best.

Rating: 5/5!

2. GOLDFINGER (1964)





Usually it comes down to either this film or 'From Russia With Love' as the best Bond film of all time for a lot of people. To me, Goldfinger is the better film because it is such an excellent mix of action and humor. Like 'FRWL', it has some of the most iconic villains (Gert Frobe's Goldfinger and his assistant Oddjob), Bond Girls (Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore), and memorable scenes, from Bond being interrogated by Goldfinger to Bond girl Jill Masterson found dead and covered in gold paint, in franchise history. This is just a classic Bond film in every sense of the word.

Rating: 5/5!

 

 

1. SKYFALL (2012)



Yes, I really loved James Bond's newest adventure so much that it became my pick for the best Bond film of all time. There are many reasons for this. First off, we have one of the best villains in franchise history in Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva, whose back-story makes him more than just your typical bad guy. Second, the filmmakers do a great job at taking Bond into the modern age, as they raise the question of whether or not someone like him is needed anymore. They also go to huge lengths to further the relationship between Bond and M, as Judi Dench is given her most substantial role to date as M. We also get our first real look into Bond's back-story, which was only briefly mentioned in other films. Besides that, the filmmakers did a phenomenal job at reintroducing some familiar faces, including Naomie Harris as the new Miss Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw as the new Q. Ralph Fiennes' Mallory even becomes the new M, with Dench ending her tenure in the Bond franchise on a solid note. Needless to say, this is a fantastic Bond film. It's easily Daniel Craig's best Bond film for not only taking the character where he hasn't gone before, but for still retaining the classic elements of any great Bond film.

Rating: 5/5!

BOND MONTH: Best/Worst Bond Girls

Now we come to probably the most popular topic of discussion when talking about the Bond movies; the Bond girls. Who were the best leading ladies that graced the screen alongside the likes of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig? We'll get to those later, but first let's get the worst Bond girls out of the way. Going a bit shorter than before with only a Top 4 of the worst Bond girls in franchise history.

 



4. Jinx (Halle Berry) (Die Another Day)



 



For the record, I do think Halle Berry is a very good actress when given the right material. Can't say she really fits for a Bond movie, though. To simply put it, she uses a 'your mama' comeback in the film. Yes, a 'Your Mama' joke in a James Bond movie. Need I say more?

3. Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland) (The Man with the Golden Gun)

 



So you take one of Bond's secretaries from the Ian Fleming novels and reduce her to being a damsel in distress and give her nothing to do except go around in a bikini? That's what they did in this film and you can see how bad of an idea this was.

2. Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) (The World is Not Enough)

 



A Bond girl who has certainly graced many of the 'worst Bond girls' list, usually named the worst Bond girl of all time. But, I don't think she was that bad. Compared to the next Bond girl on this list, she at least helped Bond occasionally although that's still not saying much. Really, this was just a case of miscasting.

1. Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) (A View to a Kill)

 



Compared to Jones, Sutton was just a straight-up damsel in distress. I literally can't remember if she ever helped Bond once throughout the entire movie. She was just there to be saved by him all the time. Should I also mention that at the time this came out, Roger Moore was even older than Roberts' mother at this point? Moore was already too old to begin with, but that alone should have been a clear warning sign for the filmmakers at this point.

And now, the Top 5 Best Bond Girls of all time...

5. Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) (Goldfinger)

 



Probably the most famous Bond girl ever, and easily the one who has attracted the most controversy solely because of her name. Her name was almost changed just because the filmmakers were concerned about the censors. Still, even with that ridiculous name, she was one of the classiest Bond girls to have ever graced the screen alongside 007.

4. Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) (Tomorrow Never Dies)

 



While she wasn't the first Bond Girl to do so, Yeoh's Wai Lin is one of the few Bond girls who can rival Bond as a secret agent. In fact, Wai Lin might even be Bond's superior. She doesn't even really need 007 because she is very much capable of taking care of herself.

3. Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) (The Spy who Loved Me)

 



Like Wai Lin, Agent XXX is in every way Bond's equal. What makes her superior to Wai Lin is her own revenge storyline when she learns that Bond had killed her lover (during the opening sequence of the film), which creates some great romantic tension between them. Of course, like any great Bond girl, Bach has terrific chemistry with the leading Bond of the film, in this case Roger Moore.

2. Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) (Casino Royale)

 



Vesper is one of two Bond girls who ever stole the heart of '007', and probably the most complex Bond girl to date. When it is discovered that she betrayed him, it not only destroys Bond on a mental level, it drives him throughout 'Quantum of Solace' because he did truly love her. On top of that, Green has fantastic chemistry with Craig.

1. Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

 



It takes a special girl to not only be the love interest of Bond in a Bond movie, but to also be the only one he ever popped the question to. That honor belongs to Diana Rigg's Tracy, and while it's sadly true that their relationship ends on a tragic note, the film took its time to build up their relationship just to break our hearts when it ends. That final scene is not only the saddest moment in any Bond film, but one of the saddest moments ever put on film.

NEXT UP: MY TOP 5 WORST BOND FILMS OF ALL TIME

BOND MONTH: Best/Worst Villains

In honor of the recent release of 'Skyfall', here is the first of a series of blog posts where I honor the best and worst of the James Bond franchise. First, let's start off with the many villains that Bond has faced throughout the 23 EON Bond films. We will start off with everyone's favorite topic here on the internet with the worst villains in franchise history.

5. Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) (Quantum of Solace)

I'm starting this list off with the main villain of Daniel Craig's second Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Of course, as most of you know, 'QoS' was a disappointing follow-up to 'Casino Royale', and Greene is one of the prime reasons for this. No, he is not the worst Bond villain ever but there's nothing about him that really stood out.

4. Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) (Thunderball)

Like 'QoS', 'Thunderball' was a weak follow-up to its predecessor or, in this film's case, the three Bond films that came before it ('Dr. No', 'From Russia With Love', and 'Goldfinger') and once again, one of the biggest problems with the film is its villain. Like Greene, this guy really didn't stand out and just came off as a really generic member of SPECTRE... but with an eye-patch. Yeah, there's nothing to say after that.

3. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) (You Only Live Twice)

Sure, Blofeld may be one of Bond's most famous villains, but his first full appearance in a Bond film was rather lackluster. Of course, Blofeld first appeared in 'From Russia With Love' and 'Thunderball', but his face was never shown. It was 'You Only Live Twice' when he was completely seen for the first time. For the record, the film does build up the reveal pretty well, as he starts out with his face hidden like before. However, once he is revealed, the filmmakers don't give him anything to do. Thankfully this wasn't the last time we would see Blofeld, but even if Donald Pleasence does do a good job as Blofeld, the character's first role as the main antagonist of a Bond movie could have been much better.

2. Renard (Robert Carlyle) (The World is Not Enough)

Poor Robert Carlyle is underused as the terrorist Renard in Pierce Brosnan's third Bond movie. Like Blofeld, there's great buildup leading up to his first appearance on screen, but then he ultimately becomes second fiddle to the main villain Elektra King. Thankfully, King is a good enough villain so that this movie wouldn't have two bad villains in one Bond movie... unlike in an earlier Bond movie.

1. General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) and Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker) (The Living Daylights)

On the other hand, 'The Living Daylights' had two villains and neither of them were any good. First off we have Koskov, who starts off as an apparent good guy but is then revealed to be the villain... only problem is that I don't really recall him being that threatening. The same is said for Whitaker, who literally disappears from the movie altogether until the end of the movie just so Bond can fight him. Their henchmen Necros was more of a threat to Bond than they were. That is why these two are the worst Bond villains in franchise history because not only are both of them bad villains by themselves, they had to be in the same movie.

And now we move on to the other side of the spectrum as we look at the Top 5 best Bond villains of all time.

5. Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) (Goldeneye)

The man formerly known as '006' is a great villain because this allows for some really dramatic tension between him and Bond, due to how they were once friends before his alleged death nine years before the main events of Goldeneye. The only reason he isn't any higher is because he literally led himself to his own demise. He had the perfect opportunity to shoot Bond, but then he decides to just gloat about how 'he was always better', giving Bond ample time to get away. That's a lame way to go out, especially for a Bond villain as good as him.

4. Red Grant (Robert Shaw) and Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) (From Russia with Love)

Yes, in this list, I consider Grant to be one of the main villains, even if he is only supposed to be the henchman. Right from the beginning of the movie, we see how much of a threat he poses to Bond and the filmmakers do a great job at building up suspense for their final fight, which is one of the best fights in the entire series. For a more traditional 'villain', there's Lenya as the fierce and demanding agent of SPECTRE.

3. Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) (Goldfinger)

Gert Frobe has undeniable presence in the role of gold-smuggler Auric Goldfinger. Of course, we can't forget that classic line of his... 'no Mr. Bond, I expect you to die', which has to be the best line from any Bond villain.

2. Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) (Skyfall)

Yes, the most recent addition to James Bond's rogue gallery is certainly one of the finest villains that the series has ever seen and of course, Bardem is excellent in the role. In terms of his character, he's kind of like Trevelyan, but I think that Silva was the better overall villain for a few reasons. First off, his whole back story of being betrayed by MI6 is more compelling and overall, his plan is stronger. He's almost like the Joker from 'The Dark Knight' in how he is always one step ahead of MI6 no matter what they do to try and stop him. Also, in terms of how he went out, I'd say it's more dignified than how Trevelyan went out.

1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

While Blofeld may have also been amongst the worst Bond villains of all time in regards to his role in 'You Only Live Twice', he's the best Bond villain of all time when it comes to his role in the sole George Lazenby Bond film, 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', and Telly Savalas is easily the best actor to have ever played the role. Not only is he given more to do than Pleasence, but you can't forget that he had a key role in the murder of James Bond's wife Tracy, and I still can't get over the fact that they never resolved this in any future Bond films. That alone makes him the best Bond villain of all time.

NEXT UP: THE BEST AND WORST BOND OPENING SEQUENCES