What is the best order to watch the James Bond movies?

3 years ago 339

(Pocket-lint) - James Bond is 1 of the longest moving franchises, telling the stories of British cause James Bong. With the latest release, No Time To Die getting itself pushes backmost and back, we've yet reached the constituent wherever this latest installment - and Daniel Craig's past - is astir to person its premiere.

If you privation to re-watch the full franchise to observe Bond oregon simply to hole yourself for the adjacent installment, we've compiled this useful usher of each the movies to day - adjacent the ones not portion of the authoritative Eon/MGM canon. It's successful bid of theatrical release, starting with the Connery era, close up to Craig. (Don't worry: We've appended a spoiler-free mentation of our usher astatine the bottom.)

Those of you who privation to premix things up a spot much tin cheque retired our alternate viewing orders, astatine the bottom. For instance, we made a database based connected the bid of Ian Flemings' novels (he created the character). There are besides speed-run viewing orders with chiseled communicative tie-ins. All these lists astatine the bottommost of our usher are escaped of spoilers. So, peruse them, and fig retired which 1 sounds best.

Either way, you'll beryllium bully to spell for Bond 25 aboriginal this year.

James Bond movies successful bid of release

NOTE: THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW.

Eon/MGM studios

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Dr. No (1962)

Starring: Sean Connery

The precise archetypal James Bond movie sees Scottish histrion Sean Connery bring the British quality to beingness connected the large screen. Agent 007 goes to Jamaica to analyse the decease of a British quality chief. There, helium meets Honey Ryder, the archetypal Bond girl, played by Ursula Andress. Bond besides discovers the beingness of an evil enactment known arsenic Spectre (or Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion).

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Eon/MGM studios

Bond Gallery representation  3

From Russia with Love (1963)

Starring: Sean Connery

The 2nd Bond movie fleshes retired the Spectre organisation, by showing its numerical hierarchy. Number 5 successful Spectre, a chess grandmaster named Kronsteen, devises a program to get a Lektor cryptographic instrumentality from the Soviets portion besides readying revenge connected Bond for sidesplitting Spectre operative Dr. No. The person of the organization, the unseen Number 1, dispatches Rosa Klebb, aka Number 3, to marque Kronsteen’s program a reality.

Eon/MGM studios

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Goldfinger (1964)

Starring: Sean Connery

James Bond is up against 1 of the top villains of each time, the gold-obsessed Auric Goldfinger. Goldfinger hatches a program to bargain each the golden from Fort Knox successful the US - and lone 007 tin halt him, of course. The movie besides has 2 of the much celebrated characters successful the franchise: Oddjob, Goldfinger’s Korean manservant; and Pussy Galore (giggles), a Bond miss played by Honor Blackman.

Eon/MGM studios

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Thunderball (1965)

Starring: Sean Connery

Spectre has hijacked a level loaded with 2 atomic bombs and is demanding a ransom of £100 cardinal successful diamonds. Bond is connected the lawsuit to find the 2 bombs, and helium tracks a pb to the Bahamas. There, helium meets CIA cause Felix Leiter and discovers the individuality of Spectre’s Number 2.

Eon/MGM studios

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You Only Live Twice (1967)

Starring: Sean Connery

A spacecraft is stolen and lands successful the Sea of Japan, and James Bond heads determination to investigate. Once helium arrives, helium discovers the individuality of Number 1, the person of Spectre: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He besides uncovers Blofeld's program to deceive the nations of the satellite into starting WWIII.

Eon/MGM studios

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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Starring: George Lazenby

Sean Connery retires from the franchise astatine this point. So, an Australian actor, George Lazenby, steps successful to instrumentality implicit the relation for a azygous film. We spot him hunt for Blofeld. He besides falls successful emotion with and - for the archetypal (and lone time) - marries a Bond girl, Contessa Tracy di Vicenzo. This movie is thought to travel Ian Fleming's caller crippled the most, and it's besides much of an play than immoderate of the different films successful the franchise.

Eon/MGM studios

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Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Starring: Sean Connery

Sean Connery concisely returns to foil a diamond-smuggling ring. He travels each implicit the world, earlier making it to the Whyte House casino successful Las Vegas, wherever helium learns Blofeld is down the diamond-smuggling operation. Blofled wants to usage a laser-armed outer to destruct each the atomic weapons successful the US, Soviet Union, and China, and frankincense unit the countries into a bidding war. We besides conscionable Bond miss Plenty O'Toole, possibly the silliest sanction successful the franchise aft Pussy Galore.

Eon/MGM studios

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Live and Let Die (1973)

Starring: Roger Moore

This is British histrion Roger Moore's archetypal movie arsenic Bond. We spot him effort to halt Mr. Big, a cause lord who has a program to monopolise heroin by giving distant 2 tons of it for free, each successful an effort to propulsion different dealers retired of business. In this film, Bond goes from Harlem to New Orleans, and finally, to the fictional land of San Monique. This is besides the archetypal movie to diagnostic a achromatic pistillate arsenic a Bond girl, with Rosie Carver played by Gloria Hendry.

Eon/MGM studios

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The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Starring: Roger Moore

Bond is relieved from work aft a aureate slug with "007" etched connected it is received by MI6. The slug is believed to beryllium from the famed assassin Francisco Scaramanga, who uses a aureate weapon to termination his targets. Bond sets disconnected to find Scaramanga and tracks down the determination of a tiny device, called the Solex Agitator, which tin harness the powerfulness of the Sun.

Eon/MGM studios

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The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Starring: Roger Moore

After British and Soviet Union submarines are captured, Bond joins forces with KGB cause Major Anya Amasova. The 2 of them enactment unneurotic to place the idiosyncratic down the thefts: Karl Stromberg, a shipping tycoon and scientist, who has a program to destruct some New York and Moscow successful bid to trigger a atomic warfare that volition let him to make his ain civilization.

Eon/MGM studios

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Moonraker (1979)

Starring: Roger Moore

Following the hijacking of the Moonraker abstraction shuttle, Bond indispensable find the determination of the stolen ship. He learns that Hugo Drax, the proprietor of the institution producing the abstraction shuttles, is down it all, and Drax is moving connected a program to hitch retired a ample information of the quality contention with a deadly nervus gas. Eventually, Bond indispensable task to abstraction to decision Drax connected his abstraction station.

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Eon/MGM studios

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For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Starring: Roger Moore

After a spy vessel carrying a instrumentality that’s susceptible of ordering the motorboat of ballistic missiles is sunk, Bond is ordered to assistance a marine archaeologist, named Timothy Havelock, retrieve the device. When the archaeologist is murdered, Bond not lone has to find the motorboat device, but besides fig retired who killed Havelock and why. Dun, dun, dun, duuuun...

Eon/MGM studios

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Octopussy (1983)

Starring: Roger Moore

Bond investigates the execution of Agent 009, who was killed successful East Berlin portion carrying a fake Faberge egg. This leads to 007 uncovering a atomic limb crippled successful West Germany. Octopussy has an ensemble of memorable villains, including knife-throwing identical twins. Meanwhile, the rubric Octopussy comes from the film's main antagonist and Bond miss - an planetary jewel-smuggler residing connected an land populated by women.

Eon/MGM studios

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A View To A Kill (1985)

Starring: Roger Moore

The seventh and last movie to prima Roger Moore sees James Bond pitted against Christopher Walken’s Max Zorin, an industrialist who’s attempting to country the marketplace successful microchips by destroying Silicon Valley. His program revolves astir bombs underneath lakes and responsibility lines that volition trigger the full of San Francisco Bay Area to beryllium destroyed by floods.

Eon/MGM studios

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The Living Daylights (1987)

Starring: Timothy Dalton

In his archetypal movie arsenic the MI6 agent, British histrion Timothy Dalton helps KGB Officer General Georgi Koskov defect from the Soviet Union. Once he’s successful allied hands, helium tells them General Leonid Pushkin reinstated the argumentation of smiert spionam ("death to spies"). Bond is ordered to get Pushkin earlier helium tin termination much agents and harm relations betwixt the Soviet Union and the West.

Eon/MGM studios

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License to Kill (1989)

Starring: Timothy Dalton

After Bond helps his aged person Felix Leiter successful capturing a cause lord, named Franz Sanchez, the transgression ends up escaping and grievously injuring Leiter and sidesplitting his wife. When M, the caput of the MI6, orders Bond to instrumentality to regular duty, helium refuses, causing M to revoke his licence to kill. That means Bond indispensable embark connected his ngo of vengeance arsenic a rogue agent.

Eon/MGM studios

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GoldenEye (1995)

Starring: Pierce Brosnan

This is Irish-American histrion Pierce Brosnan's debut movie arsenic Bond. His chap MI6 agent, Alec Trevelyan, is murdered. But, 10 years later, pursuing an onslaught connected a bunker successful Siberia and the theft of the power disk for a outer limb known arsenic Goldeneye, Bond learns he's really alive.

Eon/MGM studios

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Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Starring: Pierce Brosnan

Bond finds himself investigating the sinking of a British warship successful Chinese waters and discovers a transportation to media mogul Elliot Carver. With the assistance of a Chinese peculiar agent, Bond uncovers Carver’s program to commencement a struggle betwixt the British and Chinese, with the committedness from a rogue Chinese wide that Carver volition person exclusive broadcasting rights successful China.

Eon/MGM studios

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The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Starring: Pierce Brosnan

Bond is sent to retrieve wealth for Sir Robert King, a person of M, the caput of MI6, lone to person the wealth crook retired to see a hidden weaponry that kills King. Agent 007 soon realises a erstwhile KGB agent-turned-terrorist named Renard acceptable the trap. M dispatches Bond to halt Renard and support King’s daughter.

Eon/MGM studios

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Die Another Day (2002)

Starring: Pierce Brosnan

Bond’s ngo is to analyse a North Korean wide progressive successful trading African struggle diamonds, but 007 is captured and subjected to torture for 14 months earlier helium is released. He is suspended upon his return, but continues connected his mission, and uncovers a crippled to usage a reflector outer that harnesses star vigor to chopped done the militarized borderline betwixt North and South Korea, allowing the North Koreans to invade.

Eon/MGM studios

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Casino Royale (2006)

Starring: Daniel Craig

Casino Royale is technically a remake of an unofficial Bond film, and it reboots the full franchise, with British histrion Daniel Craig. It shows him earning his 00 presumption by disrupting violent wealth manager Le Chiffre. After Bond foils his program to stroke up a plane, Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes poker game, with the hopes of recouping his mislaid money. Bond is sent to decision Le Chiffre and bankrupt immoderate enactment who trusted him.

Eon/MGM studios

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Quantum of Solace (2008)

Starring: Daniel Craig

Bond learns exiled Bolivian General Medrano is moving with Dominic Greene, who's portion of an enactment known arsenic Quantum, truthful that helium tin beryllium installed arsenic president of the state - each successful speech for a tiny spot of desert. What seems similar a large woody for Medrano turns south, arsenic it’s revealed Quantum volition power the full h2o proviso of Bolivia. But Bond does each helium tin to halt him.

Eon/MGM studios

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Skyfall (2012)

Starring: Daniel Craig

After a botched mission, Bond is presumed dead, and M is enactment nether reappraisal amid questions astir her enactment of MI6. When the quality agency’s office successful London are attacked, Bond comes retired of hiding to uncover the radical down the attack, which leads him to Raoul Silva, a erstwhile MI6 agent, who was captured and brutally tortured by the Chinese government. Silva blames M and is trying to termination her and her reputation.

Eon/MGM studios

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Spectre (2015)

Starring: Daniel Craig

Bond receives a connection from M, the caput of MI6, pursuing her death, which leads to him stopping a violent attack. For taking portion successful an unauthorized mission, Bond is suspended by the caller M. He continues on, of course, and ends up uncovering the evil enactment known arsenic Spectre arsenic good arsenic its person Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is present played by German-Austrian histrion Christoph Waltz.

Eon/MGM Studios

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No Time to Die (2021)

Starring: Daniel Craig

The latest Bond introduction volition spot a retired 007 forced backmost into enactment - to halt a crippled from a villain, known arsenic Satin, who is threatening millions of lives. Bond is again played by Daniel Craig, but helium volition person assistance this clip from a woman, named Nomi, arsenic good arsenic his aged friends Miss Moneypenny, Q, and M. Trailers for the movie besides tease the instrumentality of Christoph Waltz's Blofeld. Its existent merchandise day is 30 September 2021 successful the UK and 8 October successful the US.

Bonus: 'Unofficial' James Bond movies

Famous Artists/Columbia

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Casino Royale (non canon-1967)

Starring: David Nivens

This is simply a alleged "unofficial" Bond film, due to the fact that it wasn't produced by Eon and distributed by MGM, but alternatively Famous Artists and Columbia. It stars British histrion David Nivens coming retired of status to woody with the evil enactment SMIRSH. It besides has Orson Welles arsenic the main antagonist, Le Chiffre. While inactive being a spy film, it’s acold much of a satirical comedy, which makes it somewhat antithetic from the authoritative Bond films.

Taliafilm/Warner Bros.

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Never Say Never Again (non canon-1983)

Starring: Sean Connery

Sean Connery returns arsenic James Bond - 12 years aft helium past played the role. Again, this isn't an authoritative Eon/MGM film. Instead, it was made by Taliafilm and distributed by Warner Bros. The film’s rubric is simply a notation to Connery, who erstwhile said helium would ne'er play James Bond again. And it's really a remake of Thunderball. (One of Ian Flemings’ penning partners won the movie rights to the novel, truthful that's wherever this mentation comes from.)


Spoiler-free version: James Bond movie bid astatine a glance

This is the aforesaid database arsenic above, lone spoiler-free and overmuch quicker to read:

  • Dr. No (1962)
  • From Russia with Love (1963)
  • Goldfinger (1964)
  • Thunderball (1965)
  • You Only Live Twice (1967)
  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • Live and Let Die (1973)
  • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
  • Moonraker (1979)
  • For Your Eyes Only (1981)
  • Octopussy (1983)
  • A View to A Kill (1985)
  • The Living Daylights (1987)
  • License to Kill (1989)
  • GoldenEye (1995)
  • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
  • The World Is Not Enough (1999)
  • Die Another Day (2002)
  • Casino Royale (2006)
  • Quantum of Solace (2008)
  • Skyfall (2012)
  • Spectre (2015)
  • No Time to Die (2021)

Unofficial Bond films:

  • Casino Royale (1967)
  • Never Say Never Again (1983)

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The caller order

James Bond, the character, was created by writer Ian Fleming. The full Jame Bond franchise is based connected his 14 novels, though the movies were made successful a antithetic order. If you'd similar to ticker the films straight inspired by the novels, successful the bid that Fleming wrote them, present ya go:

  • Casino Royale (2006)
  • Live and Let Die (1973)
  • Moonraker (1979)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • From Russia With Love (1963)
  • Dr. No (1962)
  • Goldfinger (1964)
  • Thunderball (1965)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
  • You Only Live Twice (1967)
  • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Spectre storyline order

Six of the archetypal Bond films diagnostic 007 squaring disconnected against foes from the evil enactment Spectre, and they each physique toward the large uncover that Blofeld is its leader. So, present is an bid that follows the aboriginal days of Spectre:

  • Dr.No (1962)
  • From Russia With Love (1963)
  • Thunderball (1965)
  • You Only Live Twice (1967)
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Optional: Add Spectre (2015) to this order. You could besides travel the Spectre storyline database with the reboot order, which has galore Spectre ties.

Cold War and Post-Cold War epoch order

Beginning with The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond is forced to play a cardinal origin successful diffusing confrontations passim the Cold War and during the autumn of the Soviet Union. While these films aren’t arsenic neat of a storyline arsenic the Spectre bid oregon the reboot series, it does person overarching themes and introduces immoderate recurring characters. Here's an bid featuring Cold War-era storylines:

  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
  • Moonraker (1979)
  • For Your Eyes Only (1981)
  • Octopussy (1983)
  • A View To A Kill (1985)
  • The Living Daylights (1987)
  • GoldenEye (1995)
  • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The reboot order

In 2006, the quality of James Bond was rebooted, with Daniel Craig’s debut arsenic 007. The 4 films (soon to beryllium five) that prima Craig are each portion of an interconnected communicative that becomes wide arsenic the films determination forward. They besides service arsenic an root communicative for Spectre. Here's the reboot order:

  • Casino Royale (2006)
  • Quantum of Solace (2008)
  • Skyfall (2012)
  • Spectre (2015)
  • No Time to Die (2021)

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Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Chris Hall. Originally published connected 17 May 2019.

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