Running for 25 films and counting (though currently in something of a reported stalemate, production-wise),Eon’s James Bond seriesis cinema’s greatest and most historic franchise. It should therefore be no real surprise that the gold standard of film franchises has stacked considerable gold hardware over six decades and counting. With the first wins coming fromSean Connery’s enormously popular era, and the most recent including a string of prizesfor theDaniel Craigoutings, the spy action thrillers based onIan Fleming’s British agent 007 have won a total of six Academy Awards.The following intends to rank the awarded films from worst to best,along with context of Bond’s long-running relationship with Hollywood’s biggest night.
5’Spectre' (2015)
Oscar Win: Best Original Song
Placing dead last on this list is a movie that should rank near the bottom of any Bond ranking. A misuse of the goodwill generated from the imperfect but largely spectacularSkyfall, Daniel Craig’s penultimate Bond film starts with a spectacular if chilly pre-credits sequence in Mexico, then gives way to a bloated and convoluted thriller that attempts to do too much and achieves very little. There’s an unconvincing romance with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), and much worse, a new villain (two-time Oscar winnerChristoph Waltzgives an actively bad performance).
Spectrereceived mixed reviews, and strong box office that was nevertheless far removed from the $1 billion and change haul ofSkyfall.It’s nobody’s favorite Bond.It did receive one Oscar nomination and one win, forSam Smith’s song “Writing’s on the Wall.” The ballad sounds a fair amount like Winnie-the-Pooh, but it’s not as bad as some fans might suggest. It certainly sounds Bondian, with lush brassy stylings and bombast. Many fans have compared it unfavorably toRadiohead’s “Spectre,” which was also in the running to play during the film’s opening titles.
4’No Time to Die' (2021)
Spectre’s successor is all at onceone of the most transporting Bond films, and one of the most endlessly frustrating.Reportedly the most expensive Bond picture ever made, and racking up a near-three-hour runtime that perhaps no entry could ever fully justify,No Time to Diepits Bond against bioterrorist Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek, cast freshly off an Oscar win) while plumping up the love story with Swann.
No Time to Diehas a ripper of a pre-title sequence, myriad exciting set pieces and some strong acting. It’s often soapy and unappealingly downbeat too, and the contrived ending just feels like some kind of punishment.Then there’sBillie Eilish’s title track, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. It’s a beautiful, rather delicate song that’s as on-brand for Eilish as it is for Bond. The Grammy-winning Angeleno was 17 at the time of recording; she sings with a maturity and wisdom beyond her years that evokesJudy Garland.
No Time to Die
3’Thunderball' (1965)
Oscar Win: Best Visual Effects
Thunderballis an uneven and flawed Bond film that’s nevertheless an absolute essential. Based on a story that would be the source of litigation for decades,Connery’s fourth outingsees the superspy on location in the Bahamas, where SPECTRE operative Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) is plotting an extortion scheme with two nuclear warheads as leverage.
No doubt benefiting from the pop-culture mania of its predecessor,Goldfinger,Thunderballwas a leviathan at the box-office, the third-highest-grossing film of 1965 behind onlyThe Sound of MusicandDoctor Zhivago(it was the highest-grossing film in the series untilSkyfallwhen adjusting for inflation).Thunderballwas a formidable technical accomplishment—producersCubby BroccoliandHarry Saltzmannever really skimped on the production values, ever—and the thriller ultimately netted an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The underwater scenes inThunderballwere cutting-edge for the time, though viewing the film today they undeniably hamper the film’s pace.
Thunderball
James Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.
2’Skyfall' (2012)
Oscar Wins: Best Original Song, Best Sound Editing
The only James Bond movie to win multiple Academy Awards,Skyfallis also the highest-grossing film in the series (even after adjusting for inflation), one of 007’s greatest and most transcendent pop-culture moments.The centerpiece of Craig’s tenureembraces the Bond formula in many ways, and defies it in others. This is a visually spectacular marriage of blockbuster and arthouse film, a revenge thriller where we really get into Bond’s psyche.
Skyfallwon two honors at the 85th Academy Awards in February 2013. First, in a rare tie,Skyfallwon for Best Sound Editing alongsideZero Dark Thirty. Then there’sAdele’s title song, a moody and precise home-run that charted globally before winningthe franchise’s first Oscar for Best Original Song.The English singer-songwriter also performed the track with an orchestra and choir in one of the night’s biggest moments.
James Bond’s loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
1’Goldfinger' (1964)
Oscar Win: Best Sound Effects
Goldfingeris the first James Bond movie to win an Oscar, the best James Bond movie to win an Oscar, and, for many, the absolute zenith of cinema’s greatest franchise. The third Eon picture sees Bond facing off against a villain (Gert Fröbe) who’s an intellectual threat, his henchman who poses a physical threat, and an attractive pilot (Honor Blackman) who’s perhaps more complex than she seems.This is one of scarce few movies in history where virtually every moment is iconic, and deservedly so. It’s glossy, morbid, and often the suspense is nearly unbearable.
In a year whenMy Fair Ladydominated the Academy Awards,Goldfingerreceived one Oscar nod and one win, for Best Sound Effects. It’s a well deserved achievement for a film that was state-of-the-art in all technical aspects and has aged like a classic in every sense of the word. It’s pure escapism, but it holds up asone of the greatest films of the 1960s.
