Too many people give Roger Moore’s James Bond a bad rap. Following Sean Connery was never going to be easy. George Lazenby crumbled under the pressure when he made On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, leading to Connery reprising 007 for Diamonds Are Forever, and many assumed Moore wouldn’t be up to the task when he signed on to star in Live and Let Die. After all, he was already forty-five years old (he was three years older than Connery), and was best known to audiences for playing the very Bond-like Simon Templar — The Saint — on TV.
But, against all odds, and with a few hiccups here and there, his run as James Bond was wildly successful. When his own Bond movie, Octopussy, came out in the same year as Sean Connery’s rogue Never Say Never Again, it was Moore who won the battle of the Bonds at the box office. He actually became the actor to play 007 the most in the official series (he ties with Connery if you include Never Say Never Again). Roger Moore starred in seven official James Bond films between 1973 and 1985, so he deserves some respect. On a personal note, he’s my nostalgic favorite 007, even if, intellectually, I know he’s actually NOT the best (as reflected in my James Bond Actors Ranking). How do the individual films stack up against each other? Just like we did with Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan, we’re going to rank them from worst to best.
Roger Moore’s seven James Bond movies, ranked from worst to best:
- 7. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
- 6. Moonraker (1979)
- 5. Live and Let Die (1973)
- 4. A View to a Kill (1985)
- 3. Octopussy (1983)
- 2. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
- 1. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
In my opinion, even bad James Bond movies are pretty good, but 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun scrapes the bottom of the barrel. While it has good elements, with Christopher Lee unforgettable as the titular bad guy, Scaramanga (as well as Hervé Villechaize as his sidekick Nick Nack), Moore himself delivers his worst performance as 007, as the movie seemed to have been written for someone more macho. There are scenes where he roughs up Maud Adams’ Andrea Anders that might have worked for Connery, but seem mean-spirited for Moore (who complains about the scenes on the Blu-ray commentary). The movie also tries to be trendy by working in some kung fu, but Moore is hopeless in these kinds of sequences (hand-to-hand fighting was never his forte). It’s also flat-looking, with a bad theme song by Lulu, and an uncharacteristically flat score by John Barry. Everyone seems like they phoned this one in, and it underwhelmed at the box office, leading to a soft reboot with The Spy Who Loved Me.
Moonraker (1979)
This will be forever infamous as the movie where James Bond went to outer space. It was EON’s attempt to compete with Star Wars, with science fiction being a red-hot genre at the time, and to many it’s the single worst James Bond movie ever made. While there are a lot of bad elements, including a listless Bond girl played by Lois Chiles, and a sleepwalking villain played by Michael Lonsdale, there’s still a lot to like about it. For their time, the practical VFX were top-notch, and John Barry’s score is top-shelf. There’s also something delightful in how silly it is, with only Roger Moore capable of selling a movie that — at times — becomes a full-on spoof of itself. It also happens to feature one of the oddest cases of the Mandela effect in screen history, as all of us remember Jaws’ love interest, Dolly, having had braces, which have now somehow vanished. I actually saw a 35mm print of this a few years ago — and no braces. Some weird A Sound of Thunder-style time travel mishap must have happened in the timeline, because I’m telling you — as a kid, when I saw this — she had braces!
Live and Let Die (1973)
This one will be controversial, as many think it’s Moore’s best. To me, he was still very rusty in the part, as the script plays like it was written for Connery, with his Bond very much a He-Man-type figure who does some pretty retrograde stuff, like use a rigged tarot card deck to convince Jane Seymour’s Solitaire that fate wants him to deflower her. It also has the worst-ever villain death of all time, when Yaphet Kotto’s Kananga turns into a balloon. But, it also has an amazing motorboat chase, crazy stunt work, plus awesome music, with a funky seventies score by Beatles producer George Martin, who — of course — recruited Paul McCartney to perform one of the best-ever James Bond theme songs. For an added curio, check out Moore’s on-set diaries, which are surprisingly honest, with him revealing the racism the Black cast was met with in New Orleans, how he had to get into shape at forty-five to play the part, and his perspective on taking over for Sean Connery. I wish he had written one for every Bond movie he acted in.
A View to a Kill (1985)
A lot of Bond fans hate this movie, and I understand why. At fifty-seven, Moore looked too ancient to be playing James Bond. Nowadays, fifty-seven isn’t old at all for an action star (some of the biggest are in their sixties and seventies), but in 1985, it was long in the tooth, and Moore wasn’t exactly known for his devotion to physical fitness. The guy liked the good life, and he’s doubled in essentially all the action sequences. I don’t even think he throws his own punches in this one. He’s also hilariously lecherous-seeming around his younger co-stars, although Moore himself acknowledged this in his commentary track, and even still, he can’t help but come off as charming and good-natured. But, the action sequences, even if Moore is doubled, are well done, with John Barry contributing another amazing score, plus the Duran Duran theme song is one of my favourites. The supporting cast is really strong too, with Christopher Walken an awesome villain as Max Zorin, while Grace Jones is unforgettable as May Day.
Octopussy (1983)
This is another James Bond movie that a lot of fans don’t like. Truth be told, it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, but mostly due to nostalgia. As a child I watched it over and over, and it’s something of a comfort movie for me. I’m trying to be impartial with these lists, so I can’t put it as Moore’s best Bond, but I still think it’s a ton of fun. The things a lot of 007 fans hate about it I love, even when Bond dresses up as a clown (it makes sense in context). It’s James Bond meets Indiana Jones, as it came out in the wake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and adopts that movie’s high-adventure tone. It also has a slick bad guy with Louis Jourdan’s Kamal Khan, an amazing Bond girl in Maud Adams playing the titular character, and one of John Barry’s best scores. This guy was the real franchise MVP.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
When this was made in 1981, the producers made a valiant attempt to bring the character back to a more grounded type of hero thanks to fan backlash to Moonraker (even if it was a huge blockbuster). Moore, who was in his mid-fifties, fares well as a grittier, more human (and humane) Bond, with him actually avoiding the advances of a girl he finds too young (offering to buy her ice cream instead) and trying to keep the heroine, Melina (played by Carole Bouquet), from embarking on a path of vengeance, not wanting it to ruin her life. It also has terrific stunt work and excellent action, and a great theme song by Sheena Easton, who was so smoking hot that title designer Maurice Binder had her sing the theme song on-screen during the titles. The only downside — John Barry sat this one out, and the score by Bill Conti is schlocky. Conti doing Rocky is amazing, but the same kind of music for James Bond doesn’t really fit. The teaser, which has Bond dump the long-MIA Blofeld down a smokestack, is also pretty silly.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
After The Man with the Golden Gun, co-producer Harry Saltzman sold his share of EON to Albert R. (Cubby) Broccoli, and as such, the producer turned this into an all-or-nothing effort. For the first time, the screenplay was explicitly tailored to Moore’s strengths, with a lot more comedy and charm. It’s certainly heightened, with it being the Bond movie that introduced Richard Kiel’s Jaws, but it works, with 007 also given, for the first time, a very capable Bond girl as his co-star, Barbara Bach’s Anya, a Soviet secret agent. John Barry sat this one out, but Marvin Hamlisch delivered one of the better non-Barry scores, with his disco-flavoured “Bond ’77” theme memorable, while the theme song by Carly Simon is one of the best ever.
What do you think of these rankings? Let us know in the comments.
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