Before you know it, James Bond will return, this time under the watchful eye of Amazon MGM Studios, which now has full creative control of the franchise. The identity of the brave soul who will take on the mantle of MI6’s legendary hero remains unknown, with rumors circulating about who is in the running, being considered, or has been looking remotely Bond-like while standing around in a tuxedo. Regardless of who secures the part, we can only imagine the extensive Bond binge-watching that will occur for them in order to delve into the character’s psyche or perhaps even to avoid the missteps of previous portrayals that each delivered their own unique take on 007. The good news is they won’t have to watch all 25 official Bond films, as six specific entries will suffice.
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Should any aspiring secret agent wish to grasp what makes James Bond one of the greatest cinematic heroes of all time, a select handful of films will be just the ticket. These movies not only explore what makes 007 iconic but also propel Bond into new territory to ensure that this “relic of the Cold War” remained refreshing for audiences. In retrospect, some films are undoubtedly products of their time but still provide unabashed fun, while others have managed to strike a balance and demonstrate that even amidst the barrage of comic book heroes and their varying costumes, sometimes all you need is a secret agent in a suit, slightly tipsy from a few martinis, to save the day.
Goldfinger
A 007 film so well constructed you’d think it came straight out of Q branch, “Goldfinger” isn’t just one of the essential Bond films you have to see, it might be the most important entry. Every future villain, assassin, and secret lair infiltrated by our hero with a questionably named female ally he probably spent a prior evening with from here on out is molded from Sean Connery’s beloved third turn as the secret agent. It also comes with that hair-raising theme song, Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” that would set the template of every Bond movie needing its own memorable ballad.
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Directed by Guy Hamilton, “Goldfinger” finds our hero on the hunt for the titular villain played by Gert Fröbe, who has an elaborate scheme to infiltrate Fort Knox and go from a card-cheating, golf-score-tweaking mastermind into a billionaire. Standing in his way is 007, who, with the help of some nifty equipment and an Aston Martin DB5 armed to the teeth, is bent on stopping the film’s titular foe.
Throw a razor-sharp-rimmed hat in any direction, and you’re guaranteed to see iconic moments that aren’t just what laid the groundwork for future Bond movies but the action-adventure genre as a whole. High-speed chases, legendary shootouts, and 007 firing off one-liners that are matched by the adversary he’s up against (“You expect me to talk, Goldfinger?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!”). When making a brand new Bond adventure, this is the gold standard that should always be considered.
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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
He may have had only a single stint as the secret agent, but George Lazenby’s role in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is regarded as one of the best films in the franchise. Christopher Nolan even cites it as his favorite Bond film, with the climactic siege at a snow-capped mountain lodge influencing his own “Inception.” Most importantly, it strikes an emotional chord that other installments couldn’t replicate — aside from “No Time To Die,” which unashamedly steals its soundtrack and even takes direct lines from it to try to hit the same nerves.
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Former editor Peter R. Hunt directs this Bond adventure that is as much a love story as it is a spy mission, with James getting swept up in a romance with Diana Rigg’s troubled Tracy di Vincenzo. Rigg’s character broke new ground as a Bond girl, being the first to actually save our secret agent as well as marry 007, even if their union doesn’t endure.
Despite these intriguing alterations and the bold attempt to portray Bond as a more complex, emotive hero, the finely-tuned formula established during the Connery era remains intact. Blofeld (Telly Savalas) has a base with an array of femme fatales that are either mind-controlled or wielding lethal footwear, and there’s a legendary Bond song that can bring a tear to any 007 fan after one of the most shocking finales in the secret agent’s history. You have all the time in the world to watch the other films, but be sure to watch this one.
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The Spy Who Loved Me
The 007 tropes were turned up to 11 in Roger Moore’s era, and there is no better example of this than “The Spy Who Loved Me.” Opening with what is perhaps the most eye-rolling but equally awesome set piece ever, Bond out-skis enemy henchman before jumping off a cliff and deploying a Union Jack-themed parachute (because, as a spy, he’s just all about being discreet), and then we’re off. From there, the tone is set for yet another portion of 007’s era that was all about tongue-in-cheek comments to any female he’s in proximity to, all while taking out a villain with a base that looked like it took its design inspiration from Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom hideout.
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The big bad in question is Curt Jurgens as Karl Stromberg, a megalomaniac set on kicking off World War III to destroy the planet and see the remnants of humanity take refuge underwater in his newly built base, Atlantis. Bond is hot on his tail, though, alongside a Russian spy by the name of Triple X (Barbara Bach), who naturally hates our hero only to end up in bed with him because he’s James Bond. The cookie-cutter plan is as dated as some of 007’s one-liners (“keeping the British end up” while under the sheets with Triple X is an all-timer), as is Richard Kiel’s Jaws, the silent Frankenstein’s monster-like assassin that eats chains and foldout tables and whose weakness is damaged light fixtures. It’s all absolute nonsense, but honestly, for Moore films, it’s an undeniably fun time.
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License to Kill
What feels like the spiritual successor to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Agent” and the final film from Timothy Dalton has Bond going more rogue than usual in what, for its time, hits like one of the darkest 007 chapters. “License to Kill” is the fifth and final film in the franchise from director John Glen, and has Bond on the warpath after his FBI pal, Felix (David Hedison), is tortured at the hands of Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) after being fed to a great white shark (“he disagreed with something that ate him”). Tapping into an edgier nature that one of Dalton’s successors would flourish in, “License to Kill” has Bond off the leash in a film that’s more about revenge than queen and country. Taking part in an off-the-books operation that has M seeing red, Bond goes on the hunt for Davi’s drug baron (who is pretty small-time when you compare it to the other bad guys with plans of world domination).
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By minimizing the stakes and cutting Bond off from MI6 (this was the first movie filmed entirely outside of the U.K.), it’s a more cold-cut entry in the franchise, chilled to even greater depths thanks to Dalton’s take on the character. A major step away from Moore’s misogynistic agent, Dalton’s version is a tense almost wolf-eyed hero, which might have been a miss for its time but carried an edge that would be resharpened when Daniel Craig donned the tuxedo 17 years later.
GoldenEye
It had been six years since the Broccolis had experimented with the more brutal Bond in “License to Kill” before they dared to call 007 back into service. The pressure was on to bring Bond back to his glory days while still meeting in the middle with an action genre that had taken a drastic change. They found the perfect agent in Pierce Brosnan and gave him an excellent introduction in “GoldenEye.” The 1995 film made sure to double down on the signature ingredients that the franchise had built and briefly lost with Dalton’s era. There was a stupidly suave Brosnan brandishing wristwatches with lasers, explosive pens, and an Aston Martin that had nothing but a champagne cooler in its arsenal.
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The real secret weapon with Goldeneye, however, might be with its cast. Besides Brosnan’s first shot at brandishing the Walther PPK, there’s a great supporting force fighting for and against our heroic agent. The 1995 movie also marked the debut of Judi Dench’s fiery MI6 boss, M, who puts 007 in his place immediately and becomes a Bond girl in her own right in the process. Throw in Sean Bean as 006 and Famke Janssen bringing back the trope of innuendos for surnames as Xenia Onatopp, and you’ve got what might be the perfect amalgamation of everything that made the classic Bond brilliant. (It also made for a bloody great Nintendo 64 game.)
Skyfall
Bond needed a big blowout for his 50th anniversary, but what he got was the most successful film in the franchise’s history. In his third term as MI6’s top employee, Daniel Craig returned with his stubborn, steamrolling iteration of the agent, bringing with him a perfectly molded movie that was paying homage to the franchise’s history and everything that made it great. This time, Bond is taking on one of M’s former assets who has now gone rogue: Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem. Proving once again he’s at his most terrifying when he has a mad hairstyle, this blonde-haired baddie with a face like a jigsaw puzzle is one of the best Bond villains ever, fighting against a truly wonderful supporting cast coming to James’ aid, all through a lens that turns “Skyfall” into something special.
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No Bond film has ever looked as breathtaking as this one, thanks to the incredible work of cinematographer Roger Deakins. Like Bond, who is left to his own devices in the film’s most tense moments (even in the “Home Alone”-like final act), “Skyfall” easily stands as the coolest-looking 007 movie ever, featuring a star who at this point had fully earned the double-O rank. From the opening train chase (that improvised cuff check is pure gold) to his T-1000-like run to M’s aid, Craig makes a compelling case for being the best Bond of all time – one with a heroic heart, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. Good luck to whoever takes on the role next.
