TheJames Bondfilms are known for many things: exotic locales, beautiful women, awesome gadgets, and memorable villains. For a long time, if you wanted a peak spectacle, you went to a James Bond movie. From car chases, ski chases, boat chases, or any kind of chase, the films have provided ample amounts of jaw-dropping action scenes. But which action scenes from the franchise are the best? Which ones have either the best fighting choreography or are shot so wonderfully that we’ll never forget them? Well, here are some of the best ones.
6Bond vs Patrice - Skyfall (2012)
This one makes the list solely forRoger Deakins' mindblowingly fantastic cinematography.Seriously, how the hell did he lose the Oscar for this? The sequence is set in Shanghai, where Bond has tracked the assassin Patrice. After seeing him assassinate a man viewing a painting from a building away, Bond’s cover is blown when Patrice spots his reflection in glass and the fight is on. There’s a few quick cuts, but most of the fight is one continuous shot, with both fighters appearing completely in black, almost impossible to tell who is who. Add some bright blue lights in the background, and you get a fight scene where every frame is a painting. The fight itself isn’t too long, but who cares when it looks this incredible?
Related:Here Are the Best Films From Cinematographer Roger Deakins, Ranked
5Bond and Paloma Team Up - No Time To Die (2021)
No Time To Diehas some very big problems, but luckily,its action sequences aren’t one of them. The pre-credits sequence with the Aston Martin is great, and the fight in the Norway forest is wonderfully tense, but there’s a very good reason the one scene in the movie everyone can agree is amazing is Bond and Paloma teaming up to kick some butt in Santiago, Cuba. Bond is trying to capture a scientist named Valdo Obruchev at a Spectre party. However, chaos breaks out, and the nanobots released in the party kill all of Spectre instead of 007. Bond gets a few bad guys here and there, but all the best moments go to Paloma. Whether she’s wielding pistols, machine guns, or kicking people, she looks incredible doing it, and not just because she’s in one of the most beautiful gowns any Bond girl has ever worn. The cherry on top is Bond and Paloma making drinks in the middle of the fight, then going right back to the action. Can’t get more Bond-like than that.
4Midair Fight - Moonraker (1979)
It took eighty-eight jumps and almost five weeks to film this sequence. The result? One of the best action scenes in the franchise. This fight happens in the pre-credits, with Bond flying back to England when both pilot and stewardess jump out of the plane, leaving Bond without a parachute. Bond jumps out, catches up with the pilot, steals his parachute, but who comes parachuting after him? Why, Jaws, of course! Bond bests the hulking henchman, who crash lands on top of a circus tent. Admittedly, the ending is a little goofy with Jaws flapping his arms, but everything else about the sequence is phenomenal. It still holds up to this day, too. It truly is one of the most impressive midair fights ever filmed.
3Kobe Docks Chase - You Only Live Twice (1967)
Sean Connery’s fifth film takes place entirely in Japan. He and his ally, Aki, travel to Kobe to shadow a tanker named the Ning-Po, which has somehow dropped off cargo between Japan and China despite never docking anywhere along the way. Scores of henchman discover our heroes and the chase is on. There is so much coming together so wonderfully in this sequence, especially John Barry’s score, which times perfectly with gunfire or Bond evading a bad guy. The highlight of the sequence is without a doubt Bond running on the rooftop of a building as henchmen pop out every door trying to chase him down. The camera panning back to show just how big the roof is and how many baddies Bond’s up against, all punctuated by the music ofNancy Sinatra’s wonderful title song,really helps elevate the whole chase. Admittedly, it ends with a henchman knocking Bond out from behind, but that’s really par for the course for him, if we’re being completely honest.
2Train Fight - From Russia With Love (1963)
Live and Let Die,The Spy Who Loved Me,Octopussy,Goldeneye,Skyfall,Spectre. What do they all have in common? They all had fights on a train. However, not one of those train fights can outdo the very first time Bond duked it out with someone on a train inFrom Russia With Love. In this case, Bond’s opponent isRed Grant, one of the best henchmen the franchise has ever seen. The train in question is the Orient Express, which as any Agatha Christie fan can tell you, has seen some murder in its day. The fight begins when Grant tries to open Bond’s briefcase, unaware that it releases tear gas when opened like a normal one. That gives Bond the opening he needs to get Grant’s gun away from him. What follows is a very up-close, in-your-face fight. Having it set in a train compartment really limits the space to move around, allowing for a very vicious duel that ends with Bond stabbing Grant in the arm and strangling him with his own garrotte watch. Brutal? Yes. One of the best fight scenes in the franchise? Also yes.
Related:The Best James Bond Movies, Ranked
1Parkour Chase - Casino Royale (2006)
How do you make a parkour chase look good? Well… it helps when the guy being chased is played by Sebastien Foucan,one of the founding fathers of parkour.The sequence is set in Madagascar, with Bond pursuing a bomb maker through a constriction site, then an embassy. Every second of this chase scene is incredible and honestly, it’s one of the best action scenes ever filmed. Not only that, but we get some character development for Bond in it, too. Our bomb maker moves with the grace of a ballerina as he dodges everything to escape from Bond. Bond literally punches through drywall to get to him, heavily emphasizing the “Bond is blunt instrument” theme the movie is going for. It’s a flawless sequence andtruly the best action scenein the entire franchise.
