Bond at 50 - Ten Best Opening Scenes from James Bond Movies

The Jump - Goldeneye

1.  Goldeneye   The bungy leap off a towering Russian dam in nearly complete silence is simply breathtaking.  And the entire opening sequence is tense and action filled.  It sets up the entire story.  Every action movie should start this way.  (Click here for opening scene)

2.  Casino Royale  The reboot of the Bond series with Daniel Craig was set up with the dramatic backstory of the two kills that earned Bond his 00 license to kill.  It is powerful and quickly reveals the character of this new Bond.  Its a toss-up with Goldeneye for the best opening.  Note: the backstory of how Bond received his 00 is never addressed in any of the earlier Bond movies.  But the two kills are revealed in Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale. Though the versions in the book and the movie are different, they are similar in that one was a messy kill that bothered Bond whereas the second was a quick one-shot kill.  (Click here for opening scene).

The Chute - The Spy Who Loved Me

3. The Spy Who Loved Me.  Oh no. Bond just skied off a mountain.  He's falling.  He's . . . oh my.  (Click here for opening scene)

4.  Goldfinger  Any movie that starts with Bond swimming with a duck on his head, then unzipping his wet suit to reveal a white dinner jacket is going to be good. But you know its great when he kills off his would-be assassin by throwing an electric heater into a tub, then as walks away from a towel-draped beauty sprawled on the floor, he coolly remarks, "Shocking.  Simply shocking."  (Click here for opening scene)

5.  Die Another Day.  From surfing giant waves into North Korea, to the mission gone bad, this opening leaves Bond captured by the North Koreans to be tortured.  It is a powerful opening that leads into the them song.  Unfortunately, the back half of the movie failed to live up to the great opening setup.

The Blastoff - Thunderball (artists conception)

6.  Thunderball   Giving comfort to a widow kicks into high gear when Bond, knowing its a Spectre operative in drag, delivers a solid right to the "widow's" jaw. What follows is one of the best hand-to-hand fight scenes in any Bond film.  In concludes with Bond escaping in a jet pack, then using water canons on his Astin Martin DB5 that dissolve into the watery opening credits as Tom Jones delivers the powerful theme song. (Click here for opening scene)

7.  From Russia With Love   Bond is hunting a lethal killer in the dark of night. Then . . . oh no. The bad guy killed Bond!  But no so fast.  It's Spectre Island training with live targets.

The Other Guy - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

8.  On Her Majesty's Secret Service   George Lanzenby tries to save the damsel in distress, but the bad guys get away.  Lanzenby looks into the camera and delivers his best line:  "This never happened to the other fellow."  Cut to opening credits.

9.  License to Kill   Start by Bond, in a tux, jumping out of a helicopter and tying a cable around a single engine plane.  Then Bond and friend Felix Leiter parachute in their tuxes into Leiter's wedding party. It builds the relationship between Bond and Leiter, and explains his single-minded focus on revenge when Leiter is maimed and his new bride killed on their wedding night.

10.  Octopussy.  Maybe I'm just a sucker for little planes (loved Little Nelly in You Only Live Twice).  But when Bond lifts up the tail on his horse trailer and flies out  in a pint-sized jet to do battle with bad guys, it is a classic.  And its vintage Roger Moore when the scene concludes with him landing and driving into a gas station.  "Fill 'er up, please" leads into the opening credits.  (Click here for opening scene into opening credits and theme)