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Bond movies - ranked into four tiers

gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
in Bond Movies Posts: 153
I have seen many lists on here but I find that I prefer to group my favourites into tiers of quality, without necessarily listing them in overly precise numerical order. So the top tier is basically the Premier League, with the next tier very good. The third tier is basically there for the average choices and the fourth tier is for the weakest entries. My choices may surprise many but I suppose that is the fun of the forum. I have not restricted each tier to a limit on numbers and have listed the films in alphabetical order. I can honestly say I do not have a consistent favourite Bond movie and this method of ranking helps me avoid the question that should never ever be answered! Here is my ranking of the 24 official films:

TOP TIER: Casino Royale, Dr No, Goldeneye, Octopussy, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Skyfall.
SECOND TIER: A View To A Kill, Goldfinger, Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, Spectre, Tomorrow Never Dies.
THIRD TIER: Diamonds Are Forever, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love, Licence To Kill, Live And Let Die, Quantum of Solace,The Living Daylights, The World Is Not Enough
FOURTH TIER: Die Another Day, The Man With The Golden Gun, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice.

To each his own!
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Comments

  • Problem_EliminatorProblem_Eliminator Ojai, CA
    Posts: 613
    Thunderball doesn't belong in bottom tier
  • mepal1mepal1
    Posts: 1,098
    Problem_Eliminator wrote: »
    Thunderball doesn't belong in bottom tier

    I agree........remember it was Thunderball, that was the Star Wars of its day, with the impact it had on the public.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited November 2015 Posts: 17,801
    I'll play! In release order though.

    TOP TIER:
    DN
    FRWL
    GF
    TB
    YOLT
    OHMSS
    TLD
    LTK
    GE
    TND
    CR
    QOS
    SP
    SECOND TIER:
    LALD
    TMWTGG
    TSWLM
    FYEO
    OP
    TWINE
    SF
    THIRD TIER:
    DAF
    AVTAK
    DAD
    FOURTH TIER:
    MR
  • gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
    Posts: 153
    Thanks for playing chrisisall. But you did not rank AVTAK and that is one of my controversial placings at second tier. Where would you put it?
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,399
    TOP TIER:
    DN
    GF
    YOLT
    OHMSS
    LALD
    TSWLM
    OP
    TLD
    TND
    SP

    GOOD TIER:
    FRWL
    DAF
    AVTAK
    GE
    QoS
    SF

    BAD TIER:
    TB
    CR
    TMWTGG
    MR
    FYEO

    BOTTOM TIER:
    LTK
    TWINE
    DAD


  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    gumbolt wrote: »
    Thanks for playing chrisisall. But you did not rank AVTAK and that is one of my controversial placings at second tier. Where would you put it?
    Fixed it. In third w/DAF & DAD.

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    As objectively as I can be:

    Top Tier:
    CR, FRWL, DN, TSWLM, TB, OHMSS, LTK, OP

    Good Tier
    TLD, GE, LALD, FYEO, QoS, SF, SP, OP, GF

    Average Tier
    TND, DAF, YOLT, TMWTGG

    Bottom Tier:
    TWINE, DAD, MR, AVTAK
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    bondjames wrote: »
    Average Tier
    TND,

    X(
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    chrisisall wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    Average Tier
    TND,

    X(
    Only my opinion. Pacing is superb, Brosnan is excellent, & the first half (up to Paris being killed) is as good as it gets in a Bond film for me (as good as SP was in its first half). From the BMW car chase on it doesn't quite do it for me, but I always enjoy it. Could sneak into the upper tier (in place of SP) in a future reassessment.
  • GeneralGogolGeneralGogol
    Posts: 928
    Hehe, here are my tiers and what I recommend to friends who have never seen the old Bond films.

    1st Tier - The absolute must-sees for anyone new to the series, coinciding with my favourites: DN, FRWL, TB, OHMSS, CR, SF
    2nd Tier - A cross-section of the next best films from nearly each decade and actor: GF, YOLT, TSWLM, FYEO, TLD, LTK, GE, QOS, SP
    3rd Tier - Still good adventures, but formulaic at best: LALD, TMWTGG, MR, OP, TND
    4th Tier - For hardcore Bond fans only: DAF, AVTAK, TWINE, DAD
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    1st Tier: DN, FRWL, TB, OHMSS, TMWTGG, TSWLM, FYEO, OP, AVTAK, TLD, LTK, GE, TND, CR, QOS, SF, SP
    2nd Tier: GF, YOLT, LALD, MR, TWINE
    3rd Tier: DAF
    4th Tier: DAD
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    edited November 2015 Posts: 5,131
    I'd shift LALD up a notch....but....what a great list! A DN lover too....you have taste sir.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    My hyperbole addition to this discussion: those whom do not place DN in the 1st tier are not true Bond fans. ;)
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    A simple four tier system with six films apiece.

    Vesper Martini
    FRWL, OHMSS, TSWLM, GE, CR, SF

    Scotch and Soda
    DN, GF, LALD, FYEO, TLD, QoS

    Heineken
    TB, MR, OP, AVTAK, TWINE, SP

    Siamese Vodka
    YOLT, DAF, TMWTGG, LTK, TND, DAD
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    pachazo wrote: »
    Scotch and Soda
    DN
    Friends don't let friends post drunk.
    :))
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    I might lose a significant amount of my posts then! Seriously though, it was a tough choice. DN is certainly knocking on the top tier's door.
  • SoundofthesinnersSoundofthesinners
    Posts: 3,236
    Hmm...I usually break them down into five or six tiers, but here's my go:

    Top Tier/Great:
    1. Goldfinger
    2. From Russia With Love
    3. Casino Royale
    4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    5. GoldenEye
    6. Skyfall
    7. The Spy Who Loved Me
    8. Dr. No

    Second tier/Good:
    9. Licence to Kill
    10. For Your Eyes Only
    11. You Only Live Twice
    12. The Living Daylights
    13. Tomorrow Never Dies

    Third tier/Average:

    14. Thunderball
    15. Quantum of Solace
    16. Spectre
    17. Octopussy
    18. The World is not Enough
    19. Live and Let Die

    Fourth Tier/Line of shame:
    20. Diamonds are Forever
    21. A View to a Kill
    22. Die Another Day
    23. The Man with the Golden Gun
    24. Moonraker
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited November 2015 Posts: 7,134
    First tier (absolute favourites):
    FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
    THUNDERBALL
    ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
    THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
    LICENCE TO KILL

    Second tier (other favourites):
    DR. NO
    GOLDFINGER
    THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
    THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
    A VIEW TO A KILL
    GOLDENEYE
    TOMORROW NEVER DIES
    CASINO ROYALE
    SKYFALL

    Third tier (overall sufficiently enjoyable):
    YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
    DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
    LIVE AND LET DIE
    FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    OCTOPUSSY
    THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
    QUANTUM OF SOLACE
    SPECTRE

    Fourth tier (only watchable when bored):
    MOONRAKER
    DIE ANOTHER DAY

    Tiers ranked chronologically
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    edited November 2015 Posts: 14,584
    1 FRWL TB OHMSS TSWLM FYEO TLD LTK GE CR
    2 DN GF LALD MR OP TND TWINE QOS SF
    3 YOLT NSNA AVTAK
    4 DAF TMWTGG DAD

    It was difficult trying to rate some of them this way. For example, FYEO and the Dalton duo would sit between tier 1 and 2.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Excellent tier: DN, FRWL, GF, OHMSS, FYEO, CR, SF, SP

    Very good tier: TB, TSWLM, TLD, LTK, QOS

    Good tier with some obvious weaknesses: YOLT, DAF, LALD, TMWTGG, MR, OP, NSNA, AVTAK

    Goddamn stupid tier: GE, TND, TWINE, DAD
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    edited November 2015 Posts: 5,131
    First class tier: FRWL, CR, OHMSS, DN, GF, TB. Middle class tier: LTK, TLD, LALD, SF, SP, FYEO. Economy class tier: GE, QoS, TSWLM, TMWTGG, OP, NSNA, YOLT. Council housing: AVTAK, TND, TWINE, MR, DAF. Homeless: DAD.
  • gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
    Posts: 153
    Interesting tier category names suavejmf - I think council housing is probably superior to economy class to be brutally honest!
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    Can't resist a ranking:

    Creme de la creme:
    FRWL
    GF
    OHMSS
    TSWLM
    FYEO
    OP

    Presque parfait:
    CR
    TLD
    LTK
    SF
    DAF
    LALD

    Flics divertissants:
    AVTAK
    TMWTGG
    TND
    GE
    DN
    TB

    Faible:
    YOLT
    MR
    QOS
    SP
    TWINE

    Die Another Day:
    DAD


  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    After Spectre, I've been stuggling to rank the Bond films. This tier system should help. I'm going with 6 films per tier, as @pachazo did. Ranking it chronological order.

    Excellent Tier -
    Dr. No, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Casino Royale

    Almost Excellent Tier -
    Goldfinger, Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, The World Is Not Enough, Skyfall, Spectre

    Very Good Tier -
    You Only Live Twice, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Quantum of Solace

    Entertaining, but not enthralling, Tier -
    Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, Moonraker, A View to a Kill, Die Another Day
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    Also rising to the challenge of six per tier:

    Platinum:
    DN, FRWL, GF, OHMSS, TLD, CR

    Gold:
    TB, YOLT, TSWLM, FYEO, GE, SF

    Silver:
    LALD, OP, LTK, TWINE, QoS, SP

    Bronze:
    DAF, TMWTGG, MR, AVTAK, TND, DAD
  • andmcitandmcit
    edited November 2015 Posts: 1,068
    Seems I'm in a minority that really loves AVTAK? Great idea for a thread and it's actually how I rate / compare the films rather than a 1 > 24. I believe for me having watched most of them now countless times it really comes down to can I actually sit and enjoy a full play and not feel the urge to zap to the next scene (or DVD!) - call it familiarity stirring a degree of ambivalence if not contempt. I do love them all and even (in the right mood!) DAD. Just not SF. That's my Turkey.

    Trouble is I struggle with the older SC films these days too however magnificent they may be. I'm finding I can only watch DN TB and FRWL and even then more for the girl not SC!

    I do like the hierarchy of Platinum to Bronze - there's not really any loser among the series, DAD has it's moments though I struggle badly with SF, however much I like DC. I just find in SF I actually don't care for Bond and find him intensely annoying / irritating and irrationally stupid. Heyho

    1: OHMSS SP GE TSWLM TLD CR FYEO
    2: QOS LTK TB FRWL AVTAK MR DN
    3: YOLT TND LALD MWTGG OP
    4: SF DAF DAD TWINE GF
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2015 Posts: 23,883
    So where do you place DAD @andmcit? It's not in your rankings above. Surely it's supposed to be in the bottom pile.....
  • andmcitandmcit
    Posts: 1,068
    It is - edited it just as you posted
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I could almost see a placeholder for it when I started reading your email. I'm surprised you rank GF so low. It's not my favourite either (not by a long shot) but it is quite iconic.
  • andmcitandmcit
    edited November 2015 Posts: 1,068
    I believe I've watched GF just too many times now. Maybe I'm currently in a place where I've had too much of a good thing? I may feel differently in a while where I catch myself wanting to see the sharp suits, tricked out DB5 and brassy Bassey. It's not last on the 4th tier as in last of the whole listing - it's probably somewhere in the grey area behind OP and LALD
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