10 Most Action-Packed James Bond Movies, Ranked

The action genre as it exists today would not have developed without the James Bond franchise, which revolutionized the way audiences perceived genre cinema throughout the 20th century. While it was easy to classify any crowd pleasing films with a lot of action and mayhem as nothing more than “B-movies,” the Bond franchise brought out a class side to the genre. Although it’s a series that has evolved significantly since the release of Dr. No in 1962, the Bond saga continues to remain relevant because of its significant influence.

Even the worst Bond films tend to have great action, as the franchise can never be accused of lacking spectacle. One of the saga’s best qualities is that at the bare minimum, fans can expect a ton of memorable gadgets, one-liners, and set pieces. Here are the ten most action-packed James Bond movies, ranked.

10 ‘No Time To Die’ (2021)

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga

No Time To Die brought Daniel Craig’s era of the Bond franchise to an epic conclusion, as it tied together the story arc of five films to pay tribute to this specific iteration of the character. Although it’s the longest entry in the franchise thus far and was a complete mess behind-the-scenes,No Time To Die kicks off on an exciting car chase, and doesn’t give the audience any chance to breathe.

After proving his talents as a visual storyteller on the first season of True Detective, director Cary Fukuangua added some creative filmmaking techniques to No Time To Die that differentiate it from the other sequels. Although the decision to kill off 007 in the final moments certainly proved to be controversial among fans, it was a bold choice that set up an interesting direction for the series to go next.

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9 ‘The World Is Not Enough’ (1999)

Directed by Michael Apted

The World Is Not Enough has some of the most grandiose set pieces of the entire Bond franchise, even if it’s rarely ranked as one of the best films in the series. The World Is Not Enough was notable for featuring a more personal mission for Pierce Brosnan’s Bond, who has to protect his superior M (Judi Dench) from a mysterious figure from her past that seeks revenge. The exhilarating opening chase sequence in MI6 headquarters and final submarine battle with the evil oil syndicate easily rank among the strongest moments in Brosnan’s run as the character.

The World Is Not Enough is proof that having great action is not the only thing a Bond film needs, as strong writing, compelling performances, and a clever setup are also required to pay tribute to the work done by Ian Fleming’s series.

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8 ‘The Living Daylights’ (1987)

Directed by John Glen

The Living Daylights was a deliberate change of pace for the Bond franchise that attempted to move away from the over-the-top ridiculous nature of Octopussy and A View To A Kill, which had ended Roger Moore’s run as 007 on a sour note. Timothy Dalton portrayed a much darker hero who felt closer in line with the original source material; although he’s one of the most charismatic movie characters of all-time, it should never be forgotten that Bond is an assassin with a license to kill.

The Living Daylights notably featured more realistic villains, as it avoided the over-the-top SPECTRE agents hell-bent on taking over the world that would have felt irrelevant in the post-Cold War era. While the film underperformed in comparison to other entries in the series, it served as an effective launching point for Dalton, who is rarely given the credit he deserves for having such an insightful take on the character.

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7 ‘Licence to Kill’ (1989)

Directed by John Glen

Licence to Kill is easily the darkest film in the Bond franchise, as it was the first film where 007’s role in the MI6 organization is questioned, forcing him to strike out on his own. The gritty action thriller centers on Bond staking out on a mission of revenge after his friend Flex Leiter is attacked by terrorists at his wedding; it was a more serious approach to the genre that appealed to the boom in 1980s action cinema in the aftermath of Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.

Licence to Kill features graphic murder sequences and exhilarating chases, which make it feel closer in tone to a psychological thriller. There’s always been a youthful audience that seems to enjoy the Bond films for their action, but License to Kill is one Bond film that is definitely more geared towards adult audiences.

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6 ‘GoldenEye’ (1995)

Directed by Martin Campbell

GoldenEye revolutionized the Bond franchise by fitting within the standards of a 1990s action film and pushing the franchise’s scale and scope to the extreme. Between the vertigo-inducing scaling of a massive bridge to a brutal fight with the former MI6 agent Alec (Sean Bean), Brosnan’s version of Bond proved to be a worthy action hero who could appeal to fans of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Speed.

GoldenEye is responsible for turning the Bond franchise into an “epic blockbuster,” as it featured a far more complex storyline revolving around the acquisition of a powerful weapon that could disrupt the global infrastructure and send the world spiraling into chaos. It is also responsible for birthing the career of Martin Campbell, the talented filmmaker behind such films as The Mask of Zorro, Vertical Limit, The Protégé, The Foreigner, and Criminal Law.

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5 ‘Goldfinger’ (1964)

Directed by Guy Hamilton

Goldfinger set the standard for what a Bond film could look and feel like, as many of the cool gadgets, sneaky one-liners, and elaborate musical numbers that the franchise would become known for had their origins in the 1964 classic. Goldfinger may be one of the older entries in the series, but it has not aged poorly in the slightest; one of the film’s most shocking death sequences initiated a conspiracy that the actress Shirely Eaton had actually died on set.

Goldfinger is responsible for introducing the Aston Martin, Bond’s signature car of choice that would appear in several other entries in the saga. The film’s exhilarating final action sequence, which features Bond trying to stop SPECTRE agents from attacking the United States Gold Depository, is the type of completely ridiculous moment that every 007 fan dreams about seeing on screen.

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4 ‘Casino Royale’ (2006)

Directed by Martin Campbell

Casino Royale was the first Bond film that explored the character’s origins, as it was based on the first novel in Fleming’s series that showed why 007 became such a cynical, womanizing character. Casino Royale hit the ground running with a parkour action scene that silenced any doubts that Craig wouldn’t be a good Bond; the thrilling final battle after the tragic death of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) marked one of the most emotional moments in the series.

Casino Royale took a grittier approach to the franchise that felt closer in tone to Batman Begins and The Bourne Identity than the over-the-top silliness of Die Another Day, which essentially treated the character as a joke. The film is so packed with brutal moments (including a particularly nasty torture scene) that is is actually pretty surprising that Casino Royale was able to walk away with a PG-13 rating.

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3 ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977)

Directed by Lewis Gilbert

The Spy Who Loved Me was the most action-packed Bond film that Roger Moore ever starred in, as he was generally known for being one of the more comedic actors to take on the role. The Spy Who Loved Me opted to tell a more serious story about Bond’s alliance with the Soviet Union spy XXX (Barbara Bach), as the two rival organizations are reluctantly forced to join forces in order to stop a supervillain from unleashing an underwater weapon.

The epic final battle on the submarine was one of the largest action scenes in the Bond franchise at that point, and even received some surprising help from the legendary Stanley Kubrick. The film also introduced one of the franchise’s most ruthless antagonists with Richard Kiel’s Jaws, a character who grew so popular that he was brought back as a hero in Moonraker.

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2 ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969)

Directed by Peter R. Hunt

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the deepest film in the Bond franchise, as it opted to explore a more sensitive side of 007 who was capable of failing. The Christmas-themed adventure followed George Lazenby’s Bond and his love interest Tracy (Diana Rigg) as they venture into the Swiss Alps to stop a SPECTRE conspiracy from using brainwashed assassins.

The Spy Who Loved Me uses its winter aesthetics to its advantage, as the signature chase scene down the side of the mountain is easily one of the most thrilling moments in the series. Some of the earlier installments in the series starring Sean Connery have action scenes that haven’t necessarily aged well, but On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is just as thrilling today as it was when it was first released in 1969. Unsurprisingly, the film’s action has been a major inspiration for directors like Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh.

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1 ‘Skyfall’ (2012)

Directed by Sam Mendes

Skyfall is one of the best action movies of the 21st century and easily one of the most relentless films in the series. Although Bond is briefly taken out of commission in the film’s opening sequence when he is accidentally gunned down by Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), he is brought back to prominence when M assigns him to track down the rouge cybercriminal Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem).

Between a frantic chase through the streets of London, a brutal hand-to-hand brawl with Silva’s goons, and an elaborate set piece at a dinner party, Skyfall felt like an extended tribute to the highlights of the Bond franchise. It also proved to be one of the most popular and acclaimed, as Skyfall became the first film in the franchise that grossed over $1 billion at the global box office and won two Academy Awards.

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