9 Least Formulaic James Bond Movies

James Bond movies usually follow a familiar formula. Some 007 adventures, like Licence to Kill and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, are less episodic.

The films of the James Bond franchise tend to follow a familiar episodic formula. 007 is given his latest mission from MI6, he travels the globe in search of a diabolical megalomaniac, he meets a new romantic partner along the way, and the whole thing culminates in an action-packed showdown at the villain’s secret lair.

But not every Bond movie adheres rigidly to this formula. Over the years, Eon has tried out a few experimental approaches to that formula. In the Roger Moore era, the producers incorporated elements of such genres as blaxploitation, martial arts actioners, and even science fiction.

9 Moonraker (1979)

In response to the blockbuster success of Star Wars, Eon made a sci-fi Bond movie. Moonraker’s premise – Bond goes to space – was too far-fetched for some fans. Critics felt that sci-fi elements didn’t belong in a Bond film. The final battle is a laser shootout in space.

Whether sending Bond to space was a good idea or not, it certainly shook up the familiar formula. No previous Bond movie had sent 007 to space (and, perhaps wisely, no subsequent Bond movie has, either).

8 Spectre (2015)

Daniel Craig’s penultimate Bond film, Spectre, received even worse reviews than Quantum of Solace. After Skyfall marked a welcome return to the traditional goofy gadgets and episodic plotting, Spectre got hung up on Marvel-style worldbuilding.

Spectre still has a climactic showdown at the villain’s lair, but it eschews the usual formula in favor of pulling together disparate plot threads from Craig’s previous Bond movies as an unnecessarily serialized narrative.

7 The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Most of Pierce Brosnan’s Bond films were straightforward spy thrillers following the well-worn formula. GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Die Another Day all have a familiar narrative in which 007 takes down a megalomaniac. Brosnan’s third Bond movie, The World is Not Enough, is the non-formulaic outlier.

It’s a riff on The Bodyguard in which 007 is assigned to protect an oil heiress under threat from an infamous terrorist and ends up falling in love with her. The twist is that the heiress is working with the terrorist the whole time.

6 No Time To Die (2021)

For the most part, Craig’s bittersweet final Bond movie, No Time to Die, is a refreshing return to the familiar episodic structure after Spectre deviated into MCU-style universe expansion. Bond infiltrates the villain’s secret lair in the action-packed finale, but No Time to Die made a few revolutions to the formula.

The cold open acts as a mini-sequel to the previous movie. Bond has a daughter, the “Bond girls” are badass fellow spies and not one-dimensional love interests, and 007 dies at the end.

5 The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

The saving grace of The Man with the Golden Gun, one of Roger Moore’s silliest Bond films, is Christopher Lee’s mesmerizing turn as Francisco Scaramanga, the notorious titular killer out for 007’s blood. The Man with the Golden Gun is a Bondian martial arts movie, inspired by the wave of 1970s kung fu movies brought on by Bruce Lee’s instant classics.

The villain isn’t a megalomaniac bent on world domination; he’s a fellow assassin targeting Bond personally. Scaramanga doesn’t want to start World War III; he’s motivated purely by the bragging rights of being the best killer in the world.

4 Licence To Kill (1989)

In most Bond movies, 007 works on a case for MI6. But in Licence to Kill, the stakes are personal. Timothy Dalton’s dark, brooding Bond abandons his official MI6 investigation in order to pursue a vendetta against the drug lord who maimed Felix Leiter and murdered his bride.

Unlike most Bond films, Licence to Kill is a straightforward revenge thriller. Thanks to its uncharacteristically gruesome violence, it’s the only Bond film to receive a 15 rating from the BBFC.

3 Casino Royale (2006)

Craig’s first Bond film, Casino Royale – arguably still his finest outing in the role – is the quintessential gritty reboot. Like Batman Begins, it mostly lacks its franchise’s signature escapism.

Casino Royale is a real espionage story, grounded in reality, and the movie takes a break from the spy antics when 007 quits MI6 duty to spend more time with the latest love of his life, Vesper Lynd.

2 Live And Let Die (1973)

Roger Moore’s first Bond movie, Live and Let Die, established the Moore-era trend of following contemporary genre trends. With its Harlem drug lord villain and storylines set in New Orleans and New York City, Live and Let Die draws heavily from the then-popular blaxploitation genre.

Live and Let Die ends with a standard showdown at the villain’s hideout, but the villain is killed in a truly unique way: he gets shot with a gas pellet and inflates like a balloon.

1 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

George Lazenby’s one and only Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is often praised as the best-crafted entry in the franchise from a cinematic perspective, with crisp cinematography and a beautiful musical score.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is more of a love story than a spy thriller. There’s plenty of globetrotting action, but the movie ends with 007’s wedding (and a subsequent tragedy).

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