Roger Mooretook on a tremendously difficult task when he stepped in to take the role ofJames Bond. Sean Connery’s performance was already beloved, and audiences were so distasteful when George Lazenby replaced him inOn Her Majesty’s Secret Servicethat Connery returned for 1971’sDiamonds Are Forever. However, Moore succeeded in showing a different side of Bond who was more comedic. Every generation has their own idea of what 007 should act like, and for young viewers in the 1970s and 1980s, Moore embodied everything that Ian Fleming’s iconic character could be.
Moore’s films as Bond were certainly campier, but they were aware of the corniness of the jokes and the implausibility of the stunts. The ridiculous nature of Moore’s films has had a massive effect on action cinema, as franchises likeAustin PowersandKingsmanhave paid tribute to them in various ways. Viewers who are used to the dark, brooding nature ofDaniel Craig’s Bond filmsmight be surprised by how radically different Moore’s films are, but the versatility within the 007 series is one of its greatest qualities. To skip the Moore era would cut out some of the best villains, musical numbers, and action sequences in the entire franchise. Here is every Roger Moore James Bond movie, ranked worst to best.
7For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Onlywas an attempt to slightly adjust the direction of the franchise afterMoonrakertook the series in a much more comedic direction. While Moore had done more serious work in his first three films as Bond,For Your Eyes Onlyproved to be a little too grim for him to handle. Part of Moore’s appeal was his sense of humor, and without it his performance just felt stale. Outside of a terrific ski chase, the film does very little to differentiate itself.
The story, which revolves around a covert missile command center, feels like a repetition of similar storylines inThunderballandYou Only Live Twice. It’s no wonder that the narrative is so thin, because the film takes its title from a Fleming short story of the same name, and not a full-length novel. Additionally, Bond’s relationship with the young figure skating prodigy Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson) felt slightly creepy due to the significant age gap between the two.
6The Man With The Golden Gun
The Man With The Golden Gunfeatures Christopher Lee as the ruthless hitman Francisco Scarmanaga, a trained killer who makes it his singular purpose to execute Bond. Lee is easily one of the best villains in the entire franchise, adding a level of menace that none of Moore’s other antagonists had. Unfortunately, he’s just about the only thing memorable inThe Man With The Golden Gun.
Scaramanga actually shares very few scenes with Moore, as he spends a majority of the film on his private island with his henchman Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize). Their oddly comedic interactions feel out-of-place in a film that is attempting to be grittier. The supporting characters are generally weak. Bond’s assistant Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland) adds some of the worst romantic scenes to the series, and the inclusion of Clifton James as the Louisiana Sheriff J.W. Pepper adds more comedic relief. On an aesthetic level,The Man With The Golden Gunis far less sophisticated than its predecessorLive and Let Die, as the depictions of Beirut and Bangkok feel like parodies.
Related:Christopher Lee’s Best Performances, Ranked
5Octopussy
After the somewhat more serious approach ofFor Your Eyes Only, the franchise went in an incredibly campy direction with 1983’sOctopussy. Outside of a propulsive opening scene where Bond flies within a tiny Bede-Acrostar plane to destroy a military hangar, there are few moments that have any suspense. However,Octopussydoes seem to embrace its campiness and balances its tone better than some of Moore’s other efforts.
Q (Desmond Llewelyn) gets to take part in the action for the first time when he aids Bond in India, and their chemistry adds some of the funniest one-liners of the series. Moore dresses up as a clown, wears a gorilla costume, and gets into fights on a circus train; these moments are actually pretty hilarious and acknowledge that the series wasn’t worried about being serious. However, there’s a limit to the film’s capacity for jokes, and at 131 minutes it’s one of the most overlong entries in the series.
4A View to a Kill
A View to a Killwas Moore’s last film as Bond, and it somehow managed to be even goofier thanOctopussy.The ridiculous story revolves around the insane industrialist Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), who plans to use his flying blimp to destroy Silicon Valley. Walken gives a performance that feels lifted out of aSaturday Night Livesketch, but he’s easily one of the most memorable villains in the saga.
LikeOctopussy, A View to a Killis far too long, and the California setting adds very little. While it’s mostly dull up until the climax, the battle outside the Golden Gate Bridge was a great way to close out Moore’s contributions to the series.
3Moonraker
Oddly enough, Fleming’s original novelMoonrakeris one of the best, most tightly crafted books in the series. However, science fiction films were incredibly popular in the wake ofStar Wars’ success, andMoonrakerwas transformed into the most overtly sci-fi installment in the Bond series.
Moonrakerwas criticized by many Bond fans for the shift in genres;Quentin Tarantino even rantedabout his hatred for it on his podcastThe Video Archives. However, the inclusion of theFor Your Eyes Onlyvillain Jaws (Richard Kiel) in a more sympathetic role added the perfect amount of heart and humor.
Related:The Best James Bond Movies, Ranked
2Live and Let Die
Moore’s first entry in the series wasLive and Let Die, a film that felt totally unique with its Louisiana setting and the incorporation of voodoo. Few Bond films have nailed their locations as well asLive and Let Die, and Paul McCartney’s iconic theme song is among the franchise’s best.
The Man With The Golden Gundrew heavy inspiration from blacksploitation films, and added the franchise’s first black villain with Yaphet Kotto as Mr. Big. However, modern review outlets such asThe Mary Suehave criticized it for the problematic characterization of people-of-color.
1The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Meis one of the few Bond films that works as a genuine romance. Bond teams up with the Russian secret agent XXX (Barbara Bach) in an adventure that forces both of them to question their decision to work as killers.
With its epic submarine finale,The Spy Who Love Meis never boring and often quite moving. Moore retains his sense-of-humor, but his frank discussions about the nature of his profession showed that he had a darker side as well.
