The007franchise made by Eon Films has been going on since 1962, so it’s kind of expected that the main actors are going to have to change up a bit due to how demanding the role is and due to the natural human process of aging or wanting to move on to other projects. It’s happened six times so far–an actor is selected to play the role, they do their part for a certain period of time, then they decide that they’ve had enough and leave the role behind, passing the torch to someone else.
As such,there are several films in the series that mark the final appearances of their respective stars, some of which are good, and some of which are downright pitiful. These are the best final films in the007series, marked by how well they give a send-off to their main actors, how well they handle the story or characters, and how satisfying they are to fans.
6’Die Another Day' (2002)
Starring Pierce Brosnan
Die Another Daymessed up in pretty much every aspect that it possibly could have. The plotline is ridiculous, the side characters are annoying, the villain isn’t memorable and makes no sense, the action is way too over-the-top, and the CGI is laughably bad. Sure,Pierce Brosnan’s Bond hassurvived some pretty unbelievable situationsbefore, but that scene of him windsurfing down a poorly-animated melting glacier made even the most die-hard fans of the franchise roll their eyes.
To make matters worse,Die Another Day’s villain initially starts as a North Korean military official played byWill Yun Lee, but the filmmakers inexplicably decided to have the villain get plastic surgery for some reason and change his face, meaning he is played byToby Stephensfor the majority of the film. This plotline is completely unnecessary and totally wasteful of Will Yun Lee’s talents, who could have made an exceptional villain in the movie if he was given a proper chance. All in all,Die Another Dayis a huge wet fart of a movie that is often regarded asone of the worst in the series, and rightfully so. It’s no shocker that Brosnan decided to step aside following this disaster.
Die Another Day
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5’A View to a Kill' (1985)
Starring Sir Roger Moore
The seven James Bond movies starringSir Roger Mooreare kind of all over the place when it comes to quality. There are some that are truly amazing, and some that are pretty terrible. Unfortunately,A View to a Killfalls into the “terrible” category. In fact, it’s undoubtedly the worst of the Roger Moore era because it’s just so bloody boring.
Sir Moore assumed the role in the early 70s, and this movie, despite coming out 12 years later, still feels like it’s stuck in that era, making it feel outdated, tired, and uneventful. The action is kind of weak, Sir Moore looks and sounds bored of the role (which is fitting, because he never had to do it again following this movie), andthere’s very little that stands out about it. It’s not bad in every single regard, but it’s still pretty bad.
A View to a Kill
4’Diamonds Are Forever' (1971)
Starring Sir Sean Connery
Diamonds Are Forevermarks the return ofSir Sean Conneryto the role of James Bond following his absence for one film, but it also marks his final appearance in the role. To put it simply, this movie is just very “meh.” It’s not awful, but it’s a far cry from being good. It suffered in itsinclusion of Tiffany Case(Jill St. John), who was a rather intelligent character in the original novel, but in the film has been totally massacred, dumbed down to an incompetent gold-digger.
The action is fine, but a lot of the dialogue is super corny, cornier than one would expect for a Bond film. It’s not that this film did everything bad, but it did enough things wrong that certainly sets it back in regards to some of the others films. There is no question thatit is easily the worst film to star Sir Connery, which is probably why it prompted his swift exit from the Eon franchise–this time, for good.He appeared in the non-EonNever Say Never Againover a decade later, but that doesn’t really count.
Diamonds Are Forever
3’On Her Majesty’s Secret Service' (1969)
Starring George Lazenby
On Her Majesty’s Secret Serviceis both the first and the last film to starGeorge Lazenbyin the role of the British superspy. Many fans consider Lazenby to be the worst James Bond on account of his short time in the series, but that doesn’t mean the film he appears in is bad. In fact, it’s a highly underrated gem in the007franchise, marking a brilliant one-off that puts Bond through trials that audiences had yet to see.
In this spy adventure set in the picturesque Swiss Alps, fans get to witness Bond fall in love for real and experience more human emotions than he previously had up to that point, which really helps this entry stand out amongst the others. Sandwiched between two films starring Sir Sean Connery,On Her Majesty’s Secret Serviceis captivating and well-deserving of a second chance.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2’No Time to Die' (2021)
Starring Daniel Craig
No Time to Diewas generally liked by critics and viewers, but was pretty divisive in the007fanbase, as it made a pretty gutsy move towards the end that left the fate of the franchise uncertain, though it was pretty clear what it meant forDaniel Craig’s James Bond. There are a few major flaws in this movie, namely thatRami Malek’s role as the villain is bland and uninspired, wasting what could have been a great role knowing how good of an actor Malek actually is.
Aside from this, though,No Time to Dieis definitely non-traditional when it comes to James Bond movies, but that’s kind of a good thing, because it’s definitely one of the more memorable ones. Even if it did leave the franchise at a crossroads and spark many online debates about the direction the film had taken, it’s asolid movie that was easy to enjoy for its high-stakes action and emotional factor.
No Time to Die
1’Licence to Kill' (1989)
Starring Timothy Dalton
Timothy Daltononly appeared in two James Bond movies, but he was nothing if not consistent in the role. Both movies are pretty much the same in terms of quality, and are generally very enjoyable and fun, as Bond movies should be. The final film in the Dalton era,Licence to Kill, didn’t really bring anything new to the table, but that’s okay because it didn’t need to.Licence to Killproved that sometimes, sticking to the status quo can work in the movie’s benefit.
Licence to Killis a good, old-fashioned007flick that doesn’t raise a lot of problems and didn’t spark too many heated discussions amongst fans. The general consensus across the board is that it is a very good movie that speaks for itself, and doesn’t need to try anything new to be memorable.It represents the classic era of films perfectly, it’s simple, but it’s effective, and that’s what makes it the best final film in the series.
