The James Bond franchise occupied a unique space when compared to other commercial blockbusters, as 007 himself is not a superhero. Bond may be gifted with extraordinary skills of espionage and networking, but he is ultimately a realistic hero who is capable of getting injured. As a result, the films in the Bond franchise tend to be a lot more violent than many of the other currently running film franchises that appeal to a wide audience.
Some films in the Bond franchise are more violent than others, as some have particularly satisfying deaths for their main villains. While none of the Bond films have yet crossed over into R-Rated territory, it is surprising to see what the series was able to get away with in its PG and PG-13 installments. Here are the ten most violent James Bond movies, ranked.
10 ‘No Time To Die’ (2021)
Directed by Cary Fukunaga
Image via MGM
No Time To Die served as the epic conclusion to Daniel Craig’s iteration of the Bond franchise, which was notably the darkest take on the character yet. Craig’s films ignored some of the more superficial elements that were established in earlier entries in the series in favor of featuring more realistic villains; the threat is certainly real in No Time To Die, as early on Bond’s longtime ally Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) is gunned down by enemy agents.
No Time To Die features an epic final battle that did something no other entry in the series had; it finally allowed Bond to die while he was saving his friends. While this merely marked the end of Craig’s run as the character, as he will certainly be recast for an upcoming continuation, it will be interesting to see how the series moves on from this climactic moment.
No Time to Die
Release Date September 29, 2021
Director Cary Fukunaga
Runtime 167
Tagline The mission that changes everything begins…
The World Is Not Enough may not always be ranked as one of the best Bond films, but it did provide a nice change of pace by putting Bond up against villains who actually provided an interesting threat. The ruthless Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) was a sadistic villain who was unafraid to ruthlessly dispatch with her opponents; the level of depravity that King goes to inspires Pierce Brosnan’s 007 to get far more hostile in his approach.
The World Is Not Enough is one of the rare films in the series where Bond point blank executes people, in what felt like a direct homage to the original source material from Ian Fleming. It’s perhaps because of how dark things got in The World Is Not Enough that the subsequent film, Die Another Day, opted to get far sillier and more comical in its approach.
The World is Not Enough
Release Date November 17, 1999
Director Michael Apted
Runtime 128
Writers Neal Purvis , Robert Wade , Bruce Feirstein , Ian Fleming
Tagline Danger Suspense Excitement There must be when he's around
Quantum of Solace was a direct continuation of its predecessor that saw Bond on a mission of revenge after his love Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is killed by agents of the criminal organization QUANTUM.This sort of direct sequel was a first for the franchise, as Bond is working on his own without the assistance of M (Judi Dench) and the other leaders of MI6.
Due to its rather brief running time and frequent gunplay, Quantum of Solace feels closer in tone to an old-fashioned exploitation revenge thriller than a traditional spy adventure. Although this may have invoked backlash from longtime supporters of the series, it did help steer this iteration of the franchise in a novel new direction. Craig has been praised for giving a performance that embodies what Fleming originally imagined for the character back in the 1950s.
Quantum of Solace
Release Date October 31, 2008
Director Marc Forster
Runtime 106
Writers Paul Haggis , Neal Purvis , Robert Wade
Studio Columbia Pictures, MGM
Tagline For love, for hate, for justice, for revenge.
The Living Daylights served as a “soft reboot” for the Bond franchise that took it in a darker direction, as the previous films Octopussy and A View To A Kill were so comical in their approach that they felt like they were satirizing the series. Roger Moore may have been great at showing a more comedic side of Bond, but Timothy Dalton gave a more brooding performance that reminded viewers that Bond was a spy with a license to kill.
The Living Daylights ditched some of the antiquated Cold War elements established in previous films in favor of putting Bond in a conflict against a group of international terrorists. The film was also notable in giving Bond less superficial gadgets to work with, leaving the door open for more gunplay and sequences of intense hand-to-hand combat with the ruthless villains.
Goldeneye had to prove that it was worthy of competing against other action movies of the 1990s like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Speed, and Martin Campbell certainly delivered with one of the most action-packed installments in the series to date. Since this version of Bond is sent into many active combat zones and faces off with various squads of villains, Goldeneye has a higher body count than any other entry in the series; in fact, Brosnan’s Bond has proven to be the most lethal version of the character.
Goldeneye featured moments of torture and depravity that many other Bond films shied away from. It also served as yet another example of a film in which Sean Bean was cast to play a memorable character who is met with a particularly brutal fate by the time that the story wraps up.
Live and Let Die served as a great new take on the Bond franchise after the disappointment of Diamonds Are Foreverthat completely changed the influences of the series. Rather than trying to imitate what Sean Connery had already done to perfection in From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, Live and Let Die served as a throwback to classic blaxploitation films like Shaft and Dolemite .
Voodoo magic, death by crocodiles, and seedy ally shootouts are all present in Live and Let Die, which avoided the international locations of the previous films in favor of telling a more grounded story set in the criminal underworld of Louisiana. It’s actually rather surprising that Moore’s iteration of the character grew sillier with each subsequent installment, as Live and Let Die is certainly one of the more disturbing and graphic entries in the franchise.
Live and Let Die
Release Date July 5, 1973
Director Guy Hamilton
Cast Roger Moore , Yaphet Kotto , Jane Seymour , Clifton James , Julius Harris , Geoffrey Holder
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the most unique entry in the Bond franchise, as it was the only film to star George Lazenby as 007. Lazenby depicted Bond as a realistic character capable of being put in great danger, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service certainly didn’t give him time to breath; between an exciting chase down the side of the Swiss Alps and a brawl with the minions of SPECTRE, Bond is put in several situations where he is forced to use violence to defend himself.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service features the single most shocking moment of violence within the entire 007 franchise when Bond’s new bride Tracy (Diana Rigg) is murdered shortly after their wedding. It’s a haunting moment that’s made all the more shocking and heartbreaking because of the great performances by Rigg and Lazenby.
Skyfall was the film in which Bond was forced to contend with his past, as a near-death experience in the opening sequence forces him to question whether his loyalties to MI6 and Great Britain were ever justified. Sam Mendes clearly wanted to make a Bond film that addressed modern fears about terrorism, as Skyfall features many disturbing moments of cyberattacks, bombings, and public shootings.
Skyfall is particularly violent because of its main villain, as Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is a particularly sadistic character who tortures Bond. The final battle with Silva in Bond’s childhood home is one of the most thrilling moments in the entire series, and the death of M was certainly one of the most emotional. Although Skyfall contains many clever references to the franchise’s past, it certainly paved the way towards its future with some truly off-putting moments of violence.
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.
Release Date October 25, 2012
Director Sam Mendes
Runtime 143
Writers Neal Purvis , Robert Wade , John Logan , Ian Fleming
Casino Royalewas a grounded, gritty reboot of the series that explored Bond’s origin story, which had previously only been told in an unofficial parody film starring David Niven and Woody Allen. The new version of Casino Royale faced Bond against a criminal banker (Mads Mikkelsen) who is responsible for arming the world’s terrorist organizations; a moment featuring Bond being tortured is easily one of the most violent scenes in any PG-13 film. Simiarly, an opening parkour action scene contained much of the brutal hand-to-hand combat scenes that Bond films typically had shied away from.
Casino Royale makes Bond a vulnerable character again, as he sustains serious injuries as he tries to infiltrate a high stakes poker game. The shocking death of Vesper isn’t just a disturbing moment of violence, but one of the saddest scenes in the entire Bond franchise.
Licence to Kill is less of a Bond film and more of a straight up revenge thriller, as the story saw 007 having his license to kill revoked after a friend is attacked at his wedding. It was the first instance in the series where Bond wasn’t working in league with MI6, and aimed to take a more realistic look at espionage through the incorporation of modern terrorism and conspiracy theories.
Licence to Kill was one of the rare films in the series to question whether Bond himself was a hero, as Dalton’s version of the character commits some fairly disturbing acts of savagery. It’s perhaps unsurprising that longtime fans of the franchise were turned off by the violent new direction of Licence to Kill, resulting in a six-year hiatus before Brosnan was cast in the role moving forward in Goldeneye.
James Bond goes rogue to seek revenge against drug lord Franz Sanchez after his friend Felix Leiter is brutally attacked and left for dead. Stripped of his license to kill, Bond infiltrates Sanchez’s organization, navigating a dangerous world of deception and betrayal. As he gains Sanchez’s trust, Bond meticulously dismantles the drug empire from within.
Image by Federico Napoli
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