Considering all the advances that have been made in stunt coordination and filmmaking technology over the years, there aren’t a lot of action movies from more than half a century ago that still hold up today. But there are, of course, exceptions to this rule, like Sean Connery’s initial run of James Bond movies.
From the brutal Orient Express fight in From Russia with Love to the awesome gadget-laden Aston Martin chase in Goldfinger, the Connery-starring Bond films have some thrilling action set-pieces that have stood the test of time.
Fighting A Bad Guy Disguised As His Own Widow In Thunderball
On the whole, Thunderball is one of the most polarizing entries in the Connery era of the Bond franchise. But it has an unforgettable (and wildly unpredictable) opening scene. The movie begins with Bond attending the funeral of an enemy spy, lamenting the fact that he didn’t get to deliver the final death blow.
When he visits the widow’s house to pay his respects, Bond notices that something is off about the black-clad mourner. It turns out to be the enemy spy himself, disguised as his own grieving wife (complete with stockings and high heels).
Nearly Getting Cremated In Diamonds Are Forever
In Connery’s final Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever, 007 travels all over the United States. When he gets to a funeral home in Las Vegas, Blofeld’s henchmen Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are cremating a man named Franks, whose identity was assumed by Bond.
Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd shove Bond himself into a cremation oven and start the process to burn him alive. 007 would’ve met a grim fate in this sequence if the henchmen didn’t notice that the diamonds planted on Franks’ body were fakes.
Crawling Through The Vents In Dr. No
The first Bond movie, Dr. No, established many of the now-familiar hallmarks of the series. The movie culminates in a big showdown at the villain’s secret lair, where he’s killed by the grandiosity of his own diabolical scheme.
At the midpoint of the movie, Bond and his love interest Honey Ryder are imprisoned at Dr. No’s facility. In one of the film’s most thrilling sequences, Bond escapes from his cell through an elaborate network of air vents.
The Final Battle At Blofeld’s Volcanic Lair In You Only Live Twice
Decades before the Marvel Cinematic Universe used a handful of mysterious subplots to build up to Thanos’ appearance, the first run of Bond movies did the same with 007’s megalomaniacal arch-nemesis, Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE.
In Connery’s fifth movie, You Only Live Twice, Bond finally confronts Blofeld at his secret lair. Blofeld’s hideout, burrowed into a volcano, has become the defining image of diabolical evil.
The Car Chase In Goldfinger
There have been plenty of memorable car chases in the Bond franchise, from Pierce Brosnan remotely controlling a BMW from the backseat in Tomorrow Never Dies to Daniel Craig outrunning a band of SPECTRE assassins in No Time to Die.
But Goldfinger’s car chase sequence is still arguably the best that the franchise has to offer. It features 007’s most iconic automobile, the Aston Martin DB5, and a bunch of exciting gadget-based trickery.
Rosa Klebb’s Revenge In From Russia With Love
When Bond and his love interest Tatiana Romanova seem to be out of the woods in From Russia with Love, there’s still one loose end to tie up. The villainous Rosa Klebb has been sent to assassinate Bond in retaliation for the death of Dr. No, and she tracks him down to a Venice hotel room.
Klebb disguises herself as a hotel maid before infiltrating Bond’s room and fighting him. Just as Klebb is about to get the upper hand in the fight, Romanova picks up a pistol and shoots her dead.
The Flamethrowing Tank In Dr. No
Bond starts off his investigation alone in Dr. No, but he picks up a couple of allies along the way (which would become a recurring tradition in his future adventures). He teams up with a local named Quarrel and falls for a shell diver named Honey Ryder.
In the dead of night, Bond, Ryder, and Quarrel are all attacked by a flamethrowing tank disguised as a dragon, which Dr. No uses to terrify the locals. Bond and Ryder manage to avoid its wrath, but Quarrel is burned alive.
The Underwater Final Battle In Thunderball
By the time Connery starred in his fourth Bond movie, Thunderball, the formula was starting to become familiar. In every movie, 007 takes a mission to track down a diabolical megalomaniac, travels the world in search of them, and infiltrates their secret lair to bring them down in the finale.
With most of its action set underwater, Thunderball managed to shake up this formula. The movie’s thrilling undersea final battle was meticulously staged by the stunt team.
The Fort Knox Finale In Goldfinger
The finale of Goldfinger sees Bond taking on the titular baddie at Fort Knox, where he plans to destroy all the gold so he can increase the value of his own. Considering production designer Ken Adam couldn’t visit the real Fort Knox for reference, he did a great job of recreating its vault for the movie.
From Bond’s brutal fight with Oddjob to Goldfinger’s goons’ shootout with the U.S. military, the climactic set-piece in Goldfinger manages to top all the action that came before it.
The Orient Express Fight In From Russia With Love
There have been over 20 Bond movies and there’s at least one fight scene in every single one of them, but the Orient Express fight from the second movie – From Russia with Love – is arguably still the greatest fight scene in the whole franchise.
Aboard the train, Bond is confronted by Red Grant, a Soviet assassin hired to kill him, played by Robert Shaw. The audience always knows that Bond is protected by plot armor, but that feeling of safety is offset by Grant’s shocking brutality.
