Film Junk Poll: What is the Worst James Bond Film?
Whenever a new James Bond movie hits theatres, it usually ends up rekindling the standard debates over who is the best Bond and what is the best entry in the series. This time around, however, I thought we’d take the conversation in a slightly different direction and cover the low points of the franchise instead. Although it sometimes seems like fans tend to romanticize the older films and criticize the newer ones, it’s hard to deny the fact that there have been some serious missteps over the years. Granted, many of the lesser movies can still be fun, but it all depends on what you want to get out of a 007 adventure. Campy costumes and special effects, rampant misogyny, ludicrous action sequences and corny dialogue are all par for the course. But which one is the worst offender? Cast your vote in this week’s poll and then sound off in the comments below.
Comments (31)
Most of the Moore films are poor IMO. The locations and sets in particular feel very ‘plastic’. But then again I’m not a huge Bond fan, I tend to think the older fan favourites are, as you say, romanticized (still good though).
Posted by IchigoNL on November 8th, 2012I’m going to lean towards Quantum of Solace even though I think a lot of the others are awful. I still could watch Octopussy (worst title), or maybe Die Another Day and groan my head off. But Quantum is the only one that I have actually turned off. And I tried it twice! I have never really put my finger on why that film just seems to bore me to death…and it’s short, so you’d think it wouldn’t that hard to get through it. Each to their own.
Posted by James on November 8th, 2012Oh, c’mon guys…Moonraker’s so bad it’s good, right?
Posted by James on November 8th, 2012Quantum of Solace will one day be looked upon as a this decades OHMSS. And how can you have a poll with just a few of the Movies? already you have shown your own opinions. Octopussy is diabolikal, pop culture reference to a UK dog trainer! although the opening set piece is quite good. Die Another Days CGI, as Jay would say Shittest. It’s all relevant, Moonraker in it’s day was great fun. Skyfall should be in this list, trust me it’s Shittest.
Posted by UKMark on November 8th, 2012“Quantum of Solace will one day be looked upon as a this decades OHMSS”
#4 UKMark, am curious as to whether you mean “A hidden gem no one appreciated until later”, or “The one no one seems to remember”. I like OHMSS a lot actually. I think it has arguably the best musical score of all of them.
Posted by James on November 8th, 2012Sean have you guys decided which Bond films will be covered in the premium?
Posted by Indianamcclain on November 8th, 2012- Goldfinger
Posted by Sean on November 8th, 2012- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- Live and Let Die
- Moonraker
- The Living Daylights
- Goldeneye
- Casino Royale
Good choices, Sean.
Posted by James on November 8th, 2012Probably Moonraker, where the Moore era reached the apex of camp and silliness, never to be equaled again.
But I love it anyway. The movie is just totally bonkers, but despite everything it gave us some classic scenes in the series.
Posted by Lior on November 8th, 2012For me, the worst film is Die Another Day. A plot that loses steam in the second act, a lame villain, an unnecessary Madonna cameo, lame twists, awful CGI that wasn’t needed, and the invisible car.
2. Quantum of Solace (too much action, fast-breaking editing, not enough action, and a weak villain)
3. The World is Not Enough (the twist and Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist)
4. Octopussy (a weak villain, Tarzan yell, and other ridiculous things)
5. A View to a Kill (a dim-witted Bond girl, Roger Moore looking very old, and Christopher Walken not camping it up)
If you want to count the non-official Bond films, the 1954 TV version of Casino Royale and its 1967 parody film should be in the list as among the worsts.
Posted by Steven Flores on November 8th, 2012Thanks Sean
Posted by Indianamcclain on November 8th, 2012Looking forward to giving my £5 up for the Premium. @James OHMSS was and still is overlooked, and John Barry was and still is the man when it comes to Bond.
Posted by UKMark on November 8th, 2012How dare you include Moonraker on this list.,
. I know it’s looked upon negatively by the masses, but I have a soft spot for Bond in Space.
Posted by rjdelight on November 8th, 2012Looking forward to the next premium. It’s a tossup. For the longest time I though I was the only one in my little social group that disliked (or at least was generally underwhelmed with) Quantum of Solace. I wanted to originally say Die Another Day but in terms of rewatchability, it’s still a fairly harmless watch. I think OHMSS is definitely underrated in retrospect. If nothing else, hey, James Bond gets married!!!
#10: I find Casino Royale so campy that it’s actually quite enjoyable as the farce it is.
Posted by devolutionary on November 8th, 2012Whoever said that all of Roger Moore’s films were poor needs to be fed to Kananga’s sharks!
The worst Bond movies are all of Pierce Brosnan’s, apart from Goldeneye. I just voted for The World is not Enough but they all blend into a steaming pile of poo poo.
Posted by JohnnyBlazed on November 8th, 2012Let me vote for The Spy Who Loved Me. Oh …..
Posted by Gerry on November 8th, 2012Sorry, but License to Kill doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near this list. Great villains, sexy Bond girls (that can somewhat act), and more Q, all result in one of the better films in the series. Also Moonraker is fun in a campy sense and co-stars Jaws.
Posted by Zac on November 8th, 2012Licence To Kill is amazing and so underrated it’s a crime. I think its greatest issue might be that it’s a non-classic Bond film, i.e, a lesser Bond film, but it’s a tremendous action movie.
I think now, that Casino Royal has ushered in the age of the more realistic, tough Bond, it’s time to re-evaluate LTK. If nothing else, the end chase sequence with the lorries can rival the best action set-pieces in any film, not just a Bond one.
Also, a great theme song.
Posted by Lior on November 8th, 2012You Only Live Twice is amazing, it makes me cry that its on this list.
Posted by JohnnyBlazed on November 8th, 2012I can’t vote, because I want to choose either of the Timothy Dalton films.
Posted by Deven Science on November 8th, 2012Shit! Never mind. How did I not see one was on there?
Posted by Deven Science on November 8th, 2012You Only Live Twice and Tomorrow Never Dies don’t belong anywhere near this list
Posted by bullet3 on November 9th, 2012Not Quantum of Solace, that’s for sure. Probably one of the late Brosnan ones..
Posted by patrik on November 9th, 2012wow. it seems that because of big quantity of bond films there’s something for everyone, opinions differ a lot in here.
Posted by anton on November 9th, 2012but I agree with #15, brosnan’s era was the worst (except golden eye of course).
Zac and Lior, you guys are DEAD ON. LTK is my favorite of all the Bond films for all the reasons you said and more. Everyone talks about how intense Craig is but then fail to remember that Dalton gave us an intense, gritty take on Bond over 20 years ago! And Robert Davi is a true villain without any of the camp or world domination stuff. LTK was the blueprint for Casino Royale in more ways that people realize.
Posted by Dennis on November 9th, 2012@Dennis
I think Licence To Kill has been stigmatized for years as the movie that stopped the series dead in its track for six years, after bombing in the box office.
The audience in 1989 was just not ready for a Bond that goes rogue. A Bond that is not “sent on a mission”. Not ready for a brooding, conflicted Bond. It was a huge departure from the formula. The producers took a risk, but the audience didn’t respond. If that movie would’ve come out now, after the Bourne films and the more realistic treatment of comic-book heroes like Batman, the audience would’ve been more forgiving and it would’ve been a hit.
So yeah, totally agree. It was ahead of its time.
Posted by Lior on November 9th, 2012Licence to Kill is fucking awesome and does not belong on this list and neither do the two Connery films.
Posted by T on November 9th, 2012Everyone with Brosnan, but i could only vote for one. And Golden Eye wasn’t even on the list.
Posted by Markus Krenn on November 9th, 2012Even seeing it as a child, I really enjoyed License to Kill. However, I found a few nitpicks with the movie that brought it down a notch for me, particularly towards the end. The first 2 acts are still extremely thrilling but the gritty tone was lessened for me in the third act w/ the televangelist (just didn’t jive as effectively as the first two). It’s still much better than The Living Daylights and may well be the best “Bond goes rogue” film of the lot. I think Quantum qualifies moreso than the new Casino Royale for that category.
Posted by devolutionary on November 9th, 2012The Brosnan films stray into Clooney Batman territory, just awful.
Posted by Lucas3D on November 11th, 2012Skyfall, left me underwhelmed, not making it bad, but a Bond film that fails to excite can be considered a failure, even if it was filmed competently. For me, a Bond film that is boring is bad. Personally I find From Russia With Love tedious to watch, but also feel that certain parts are quite iconic to Bond, but a movie must be judged in it’s entirety, not propped up by a couple of visually striking scenes.
Posted by duketogo on November 12th, 2012Leave a Reply