All 27 James Bond Movies, Ranked According to Rotten Tomatoes

From the iconic one-liners to the action thrills, the Aston Martins, and even the womanizing ways, there can be little doubt that James Bond is one of cinema’s most definitive on-screen icons. Ranging from Sean Connery’s debonair portrayal of Ian Fleming’s gentleman spy to Daniel Craig’s cool yet coarse and combative iteration, the series has produced a staggering 27 films to date.

Going so far as to include the two non-Eon Bond films in 1967’s Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again, Rotten Tomatoes has made it easy to rank all 27 James Bond movies by the Tomatometer, an aggregate score based on critics’ reviews. With eight “rotten” films, six fresh, and an impressive 13 certified fresh with praise from the industry’s top critics, the franchise has had its share of ups and downs. Whether you love the grit of the new-age Bond or cherish the charm of the old-school entries, make yourself a Martini – shaken, not stirred – and discover where your favorite 007 movie ranks.

27 ‘Casino Royale’ (1967)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 26%

By far the lowest-rated Bond film according to Rotten Tomatoes (and most Bond fans), Casino Royale was a missed opportunity as well as a disappointing film. A spy parody film, it follows retired MI6 operative Sir James Bond (David Niven) as he is called back into action to combat criminal organization SMERSH.

Featuring many Hollywood titans including Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, and Woody Allen, Casino Royale criminally wasted its astonishing cast as it failed to weave an engaging or even remotely funny story. It wasn’t received well upon release and hasn’t won many admirers since.

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26 ‘A View to a Kill’ (1985)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 37%

While Roger Moore is one of the more renowned Bond actors, some of his movies didn’t exactly hit their mark. His seventh and final Bond performance in A View to a Kill did little to improve his legacy and is largely viewed as the worst of Eon Productions’ Bond pictures.

It follows Bond as he investigates a mysterious microchip which leads him to crazed industrialists planning on destroying Silicon Valley for self-gain. While Grace Jones’ May Day made for an iconic character, Moore was clearly too old for the part, and the film too camp and absurd.

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25 ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’ (1974)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 40%

While many Bond films have found a defining trait in their eccentric villains, The Man with the Golden Gun suffered because of how excellent its antagonist was. Christopher Lee stole the show as Francisco Scaramanga, a contract killer hired to kill Bond as he attempts to recover a powerful solar energy device.

In addition to Lee’s screen dominance, The Man with the Golden Gun was also hampered by lousy dialogue and a lack of gadgetry. It failed to appease critics and audiences alike, and is widely viewed as one of the franchise’s lesser installments.

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24 ‘Octopussy’ (1983)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 42%

Following Bond as he investigates a jewel-smuggling circus operation being used to cover for a looming nuclear attack, Octopussy earned plenty of praise for the film’s heart-stopping action sequences. Sadly, it earned criticism for just about everything else.

Octopussy’s story was slow, its comedic beats fell flat, and it strived for a sense of chauvinism which was unflattering and outdated even for its time. A critical disappointment for the franchise, it signaled the beginning of the end of Moore’s era and has come to be viewed among the lesser Bond films.

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23 ‘The World Is Not Enough’ (1999)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%

While he is often ranked highly among the Bond actors, Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as 007 didn’t produce the greatest films. The World Is Not Enough, Brosnan’s third movie in the franchise, was marred by poor writing, unbalanced performances, and a formulaic story.

It follows Bond as he is tasked with protecting the daughter of a murdered oil tycoon and uncovers a deadly nuclear plot in the process. While it has some outstanding action sequences, The World Is Not Enough was largely forgettable and rather messy.

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22 ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 57%

Great action being undermined by unimaginative stories was something of a trend throughout Brosnan’s era, and Tomorrow Never Dies was the epitome of exactly that, even with the film being praised for its prescience which teetered on the cusp of satirical brilliance.

Following Bond as he tried to prevent a media tycoon from inciting war for self-gain, Tomorrow Never Dies had enough excitement to surpass a 50% approval rating, but only just. That being said, it does deserve added praise for featuring Michelle Yeoh as one of the best Bond girls in the franchise.

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21 ‘Die Another Day’ (2002)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

Despite a clear effort to retrieve the magic of the earliest Bond films, Brosnan’s final outing was only slightly better than his previous two. Definitely one for fans who love their Bond movies campy and ridiculous, it follows Bond as he attempts to locate the mole who betrayed him while investigating a mysterious British billionaire.

While its 55% rating from 225 critics is far from terrible, Die Another Day was met with a meager 41% from audiences. Its case wasn’t helped by the release of The Bourne Identity just a few months prior, and it has come to be viewed as mediocre and forgettable.

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20 ‘Moonraker’ (1979)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 59%

Moonraker remains one of James Bond’s silliest outings, but there is a certain charm to that label. Following Bond’s investigation into a hijacked space shuttle, it ventures to outer space where a power-drunk industrialist plots to destroy all human life on Earth.

While the story veered from one unbelievable twist to the next, it did offer plenty of opportunity for Bond to play with some fantastic gadgets and featured some of the franchise’s most wondrous sets. Depending on what audiences crave in a Bond film, Moonraker is either the franchise’s most adventurous entry, or the most frustratingly illogical. It was the highest-grossing film in the franchise for nearly two decades.

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19 ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (1971)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%

The first of Sean Connery’s returns to the James Bond franchise, Diamonds Are Forever is the actor’s lowest-rated outing as 007 but is still fresh with a score of 63%. It follows Bond as he investigates the international diamond market to uncover a smuggling conspiracy and discovers Blofeld’s (Charles Gray) dastardly extortion scheme.

While the film had some great action sequences and witty dialogue, Diamonds Are Forever also served as emphatic proof that Connery’s charismatic Bond could carry a film. As entertaining as it was, it was criticized for being derivative, and ultimately lacked the exhilarating thrill of Connery’s earlier work.

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18 ‘Spectre’ (2015)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%

Whereas the first three Daniel Craig-era Bond films presented a daring commitment to gritty action-violence, Spectre offered an ominous step back towards Bond of old. Having received an obscure message from his past, Bond investigates an international criminal operation known as SPECTRE.

With a score of 63%, Spectre is classified as fresh largely thanks to its action extravagance spawned from its stupendous budget. Still, stuck somewhere between the Craig-era re-imagining of Bond and nostalgically calling back to the franchise’s roots, it is a tad imbalanced and resorts to the Bond movie formula to function.

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17 ‘Quantum of Solace’ (2008)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%

Affected by the 07-08 writer’s strike, Quantum of Solace had all the attitude of Craig’s other Bond films but lacked the compelling narrative and electric dialogue to match. Still reeling from the death of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), Bond seeks vengeance on those who blackmailed her, leading him to investigate a shady businessman.

Between its frantic action and tender emotional beats, it largely overcame its pitfalls to be an entertaining movie. However, it did struggle to escape the shadow cast by Casino Royale and is the least defined film in Craig’s tenure as Bond.

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16 ‘Live and Let Die’ (1973)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%

While some of Moore’s Bond movies missed their mark, his debut was a success. Tracking 007 as he investigates the deaths of British agents in New York City and New Orleans, Live and Let Die proved to be a pivotal step for the franchise to show Connery wasn’t a necessity for a good Bond film.

It introduced Moore’s Bond to audiences as a flashy and intelligent spy with a penchant for winking humor and sharp wit. While met with mixed reviews upon release, it has since been lauded by critics for its importance in the Bond franchise.

15 ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%

The fifth of Roger Moore’s seven Bond films, For Your Eyes Only offered a return to form for the actor following Moonraker. It evicted some of the franchise’s more absurd tendencies while keeping in touch with its penchant for action thrills to make for a more somber affair.

With Bond tasked with locating a sunken British vessel and retrieving its highly sought-after weapons encryption device, the film offers genuine espionage excitement throughout. It’s not the greatest Bond film, but it’s not the worst either, and has become an overlooked and underrated picture within the Bond franchise.

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14 ‘Never Say Never Again’ (1983)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 71%

Amid the see-sawing quality of Moore’s era came Never Say Never Again, which is still just the second James Bond film Eon Productions hasn’t produced. Featuring Connery’s return to the role some 21 years after his first appearance, it was a welcome retreat for lovers of old-fashioned Bond entertainment.

A rehash of Thunderball, it follows Bond as he is called in to locate two stolen nuclear warheads and thwart SPECTRE’s plan. A joyous last hurrah for Connery and a striking reminder as to why he was the greatest 007, Never Say Never Again certainly has an appeal for lovers of the original Bond movies.

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13 ‘The Living Daylights’ (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

While not fully appreciated upon release, Timothy Dalton’s grittier Bond movies have come to be viewed in higher regard more recently. The first of his two films, The Living Daylights, held no reservations about what Dalton’s Bond would be.

Following 007 as he tracks an American arms dealer in league with a Soviet General, the movie offered a thrillingly cynical turn for the franchise. Certified fresh with a 73% Tomatometer score, The Living Daylights still stands as one of the more daring Bond movies and paved the way for the coarser tone of Daniel Craig’s era.

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12 ‘You Only Live Twice’ (1967)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%

Boasting an abundance of Bond movie tropes, stunning locales, and scintillating special effects, You Only Live Twice overcame its flaws with wondrous adventure thrills. With a script penned by Roald Dahl, it follows Bond as he investigates the reappearance of a missing spacecraft as tensions rise between America and Russia.

While a notable step down from Connery’s earlier Bond films, You Only Live Twice still excelled as an enjoyable spy thriller even with some critics targeting its implausibility. Certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, critics have heaped praise on the film retrospectively for its memorability and its genre-defining sense of fun.

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11 ‘Licence to Kill’ (1989)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

Timothy Dalton’s second Bond film delved even deeper into the character’s dark intensity suggesting that, had he been given more opportunity, he could have been a spectacular 007. Just as much a revenge thriller as it was a spy flick, Licence to Kill sees Bond go rogue to locate a cartel boss and avenge his murdered colleague.

A brutal Bond film, Licence to Kill deftly balanced a much grittier tone with the franchise’s action extravagance. Ahead of its time and re-defining of what a Bond movie could be, it still stands as one of the most underrated films in the franchise.

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10 ‘GoldenEye’ (1995)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

While his ensuing Bond films were lackluster, Pierce Brosnan debuted with massive success in GoldenEye. The heart-racing thriller followed Bond’s pursuit of a rogue ex-MI6 agent in possession of a powerful satellite system.

With dynamic characters and monumental stakes, GoldenEye thrived as it modernized the franchise with high-tech thrills and a more contemporary comedic taste. It also introduced Dame Judi Dench as M and served as the basis for one of the most influential shooters in video game history.

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9 ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

As George Lazenby’s only Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is an often-overlooked addition to the Bond franchise. Set in the Swiss Alps, it distinguished itself from Connery’s Bond films with its unique, awe-inspiring visuals and some pulsating ski chases.

It follows Bond’s pursuit of SPECTRE’s ruthless leader Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas) as he plots to use germ warfare to devastate the world. The absence of Connery was probably too jarring for the film to be viewed fairly upon release, but it found high praise retrospectively, evidenced by its ranking on Rotten Tomatoes’ list.

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8 ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

The best of Moore’s Bond films, his third venture in the role built upon what worked in its predecessors. A riveting, globe-trotting adventure, it follows 007 as he investigates missing submarines carrying nuclear warheads with assistance from a KGB operative.

The Spy Who Loved Me also introduced Jaws (Richard Kiel) to the franchise as one of its most iconic and physically imposing villains. While its underlying absurdity did prove to be a sign of things to come, it was balanced nicely with a strong sense of style and witty dialogue in this film.

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