Top 10 James Bond films ranked with Sean Connery taking three spots but not No 1
The Top 10 James Bond films have been ranked with Sean Connery taking three spots but not No 1.
The six official James Bonds
(Image: GETTY)To date, there have been 25 official James Bond movies from Sean Connery’s Dr No in 1962 all the way up to Daniel Craig’s No Time To Die in 2021.
Across the past six decades, Ian Fleming’s 007 has been played by Connery six times, not including the unofficial Never Say Never Again.
Meanwhile, Bond was portrayed by George Lazenby once, Roger Moore sevenfold, Timothy Dalton twice, Pierce Brosnan four times and Daniel Craig five.
But which are the very best James Bond movies? Check out our Top 10, which features at least one outing for each 007, but you may be surprised that a certain Connery film isn’t our No 1.
10. You Only Live Twice (1967)
A climax to the SPECTRE narrative built up since Dr No, the Roald Dahl-penned script took Connery's 007 to Japan. There, he meets No 1 aka Ernst Stavro Blofeld – played brilliantly by Donald Pleasence – face-to-face for the first time in his volcano lair. A spectacular Bond movie that really should have been where the original 007 star left it, after completing something of a five-film arc – a narrative device replicated in the Daniel Craig era.
(Image: GETTY)9. From Russia with Love (1963)
Having kicked off Connery’s 007 in Dr No, this is when the Bond tropes fans know and love really got going with SPECTRE and the gadgets. Meanwhile, Rosa Klebb and assassin Red Grant are some of the best Bond villains to date. Plus that train fight is something to behold; one that no doubt inspired the scrap with Mr Hinx in Daniel Craig’s Spectre.
(Image: GETTY)8. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
George Lazenby may not be as well remembered as other Bonds but his sole 007 film is a cult classic and even the favourite of super-fan Christopher Nolan. The plot takes Bond to the Swiss Alps to battle Telly Savalas’ Blofeld. Who can forget Louie Armstrong’s iconic We Have All The Time in World, 007’s kilt and that bobsled chase? Perhaps the biggest highlight of this outing is seeing Bond’s sensitive side and the tragedy of losing Diana Rigg’s Tracy on their wedding day.
(Image: GETTY)7. The Living Daylights (1987)
After a seventh and final 007 film from an ageing Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton’s debut breathed new life in the franchise. The younger star captured the grit of Fleming’s Bond from novels better than ever before, with a cigarette-puffing ruthlessness. The best moment in this mission? It has to be the cello case sled.
(Image: GETTY)