There are a lot of components to a good James Bond film. Naturally, the man himself is a huge part of the equation. But there also needs to be a compelling villain with an insane and elaborate master plan that usually involves some sort of death ray or earthquake machine. And, of course, there also needs to be gadgets as well as a female sidekick.
Then, there's the song. Almost every Bond movie has a signature piece of music that can be clearly identified with the film. Over the years, there have been some truly great songs, though they aren't always associated with the best Bond films. The opposite can also be true.
10 GREAT SONG, WEAK FILM: The Spy Who Loved Me Wasn't The Best Film Of Its Run
There's a strong argument to be made that the late Sir Roger Moore was the greatest James Bond of all time. That being said, 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me wasn't the best film of his run. It was weak, long, and formulaic, though Moore himself turned in a great performance.
Carly Simon performed the movie's song, "Nobody Does It Better." Written by the legendary Marvin Hamlisch, this song is truly amazing because it's an oddly light and breezy ballad that is also highly enjoyable to listen to on its own.
9 GREAT FILM, WEAK SONG: Thunderball's Song Felt Lazy
The late Sir Sean Connery popularized James Bond on movies screens and Thunderball was a big part of that. His fourth turn as the iconic spy came out in 1965 and featured an absolutely epic underwater battle scene.
Unfortunately, the song "Thunderball" sung by a legend of the music industry, Tom Jones, did not get the job done. The title of the film was shoehorned into the track in the most awkward way possible. Honestly, the whole thing was a little lazy.
8 GREAT SONG, WEAK FILM: Diamonds Are Forever Wasn't A Particularly Good Film
In 1971, Sean Connery returned to the role that made him famous one more time after skipping 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. He probably should have skipped Diamonds are Forever as it wasn't particularly good, either. But it has a great song.
This was Shirley Bassey's second outing singing the signature track for a Bond film, the first one being for the 1964 film Goldfinger. Her song for Diamonds are Forever is an earworm, to be sure, which is why Kanye West sampled it for his 2005 song, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone."
7 GREAT FILM, WEAK SONG: A View To A Kill's Song Did Not Age Well
Good or bad, Bond films are rarely boring. And A View to a Kill is anything but boring. It features Christoper Walken's odd and offbeat Max Zorin matching wits with Roger Moore's Bond. Grace Jones plays Zorin's muscle with Dolph Lundgren making his feature film debut in a brief, non-speaking role.
A solid film all around, dominant 1980's band Duran Duran provided the song to this 1985 film. But even at the time, the song didn't really hold up to Duran Duran's other hits. And it hasn't exactly aged well, either.
6 GREAT SONG, WEAK FILM: On Her Majesty's Secret Service's Song Is Hauntingly Beautiful
There is a lot of debate among Bond fans about 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. While there is a small group who love the movie, most seem to hate it. The movie does end with George Lazenby's one-time Bond crying over the body of his dead wife while the bad guy gets away.
That being said, it had a fantastic song, "We Have All the Time in the World." Performed by the iconic Louis Armstrong, this beautiful, haunting standard is simply far too good for this film. On the upside, it was yet another stellar song from Louis Armstrong.
5 GREAT FILM, WEAK SONG: The Man With The Golden Gun's Song Was Not Up To Par With The Film
When talking about Roger Moore's best Bond films, 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun deserves to be at the top of that list. Bond's cagey, tense battle with Fransisco Scaramanga was amazing. And bringing in iconic actor Christopher Lee as Scaramanga was an amazing decision.
The song for the film was decidedly less memorable. A pop singer with an incredible voice, Lulu's track for this movie was not up to par with the quality of the film. It's kind of messy and doesn't really fit the tone of the film at all.
4 GREAT SONG, WEAK FILM: You Only Live Twice's Song Was A Saving Grace For The Film
Sean Connery definitely made some good Bond films. 1967's You Only Live Twice was not one of them. The movie itself could have been okay but James Bond faking his own death and coming back a Japanese man was not a good look for the series, even in the 60s.
One of the few saving graces for this movie was Nancy Sinatra's performance of the signature song. Reputedly, producers originally considered Aretha Franklin but went with Sinatra, instead. It would go on to become one of her most recognizable songs.
3 GREAT FILM, WEAK SONG: Skyfall's Song Wasn't Adele's Best Work
This 2012 movie did something no other Bond film ever really had and dug deeper into the backstory of the man himself. In fact, Skyfall actually took him back to his family's home in an attempt to protect M from Raoul Silva.
Despite the fact that the song was performed by Adele, it wasn't as emotional a track as her fans had come to expect from her. It certainly wasn't her best work and didn't really fit the tone of the movie in the least.
2 GREAT SONG, WEAK FILM: Critics Weren't Fond Of For Your Eyes Only
After the science fiction escapades of Moonraker, James Bond and Roger Moore returned to Earth in 1981's For Your Eyes Only. Critics of the era weren't particularly fond of the film though opinions have become more positive as the years have gone by.
What was never confusing was the song for the film, which was performed by Sheena Easton. It's hard to deny how catchy a tune "For Your Eyes Only" was at the time it came out. Debbie Harry of Blondie was originally supposed to perform it. Her Bond song actually appears on Blondie's album, The Hunter.
1 GREAT FILM, WEAK SONG: Casino Royale's Song Didn't Fit The Theme
2006's Casino Royale was an important film for Bond overall. It was a reboot of the franchise, trying to modernize it and take in a direction that would lead it into the future. With Daniel Craig as James Bond, that goal was certainly achieved.
While the movie itself was outstanding, the late Chris Cornell's song wasn't. "You Know My Name" feels dated and didn't fit the theme of new beginnings for everyone's favorite superspy.