Given the one-dimensional nature of the average “Bond girl” archetype, the romantic subplots tend to rank among the weaker, more forgettable aspects of James Bond movies. Audiences generally go to see Bond films to enjoy the globetrotting spy action. The romances tend to just add a splash of gravy to each movie without taking the spotlight away from the explosive, gun-toting set-pieces.
But in a handful of Bond adventures, from Casino Royale to The Spy Who Loved Me to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the love stories are genuinely captivating.
The Living Daylights (1987)
Timothy Dalton’s first of two Bond movies, The Living Daylights, paired him up with cellist Kara Milovy. Initially, she’s the villainous General Koskov’s girlfriend, but she later becomes Bond’s love interest. The movie has a lot of fun with her cello-playing career. At one point, Bond and his latest girlfriend ride her cello case down the side of a mountain to escape from some nefarious baddies.
The two get a heartwarming reunion in the final scene when Bond sneaks into a Vienna concert hall to see Kara perform as a solo cellist, then surprises her in her dressing room.
Spectre (2015)
Sam Mendes’ second Bond film, Spectre, was nowhere near as critically acclaimed as his first. But one of the movie’s few highlights, along with Dave Bautista’s sinister turn as henchman Mr. Hinx, is the stellar romantic chemistry shared by Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux.
Seydoux plays Dr. Madeleine Swann, Mr. White’s daughter who grew up to be a psychiatrist. After everything that happened between him and Mr. White, Bond feels guilty and therefore feels responsible for protecting Madeleine.
GoldenEye (1995)
There’s a proper love interest in GoldenEye, but she’s overshadowed by Alec Trevelyan’s top henchwoman, Xenia Onatopp. Onatopp is a literal femme fatale who crushes men to death with her thighs during sex.
On top of the character being entirely unique and hilariously pulpy, Onatopp’s role in GoldenEye is significantly boosted by the searing on-screen chemistry between Pierce Brosnan and Famke Janssen.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
After Moonraker was criticized for taking 007 to space, the producers returned to the franchise’s grounded roots with a classic revenge story. In For Your Eyes Only, Bond teams up with Melina Havelock, who’s on a narrow-minded quest for vengeance against the hitman who offed her parents in front of her on the family yacht.
Even Bond is disturbed by Havelock’s vengeful rage. This movie – particularly in its romantic arc – explores the concept of revenge in more depth than Bond movies usually bother to. 007 insists that vengeance is fleeting and eye-for-an-eye punishment won’t provide any real closure.
No Time To Die (2021)
Although it’s a rarity for the Bond franchise, the most recent entry – No Time to Die, the bittersweet finale of the Craig era – follows on from Spectre as 007’s romance with Dr. Madeleine Swann is stronger than ever. They take a romantic trip to Italy and seemingly have a great time there, until Bond is led to believe that Madeleine betrayed him to Blofeld. After that, he outruns SPECTRE assassins and abandons her on a train.
In heartbreaking fashion, Bond realizes five years later that, not only is Madeleine innocent; he fathered a daughter, Mathilde, right before he left her. This isn’t just a romantic love story; it’s also a father-daughter love story.
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
In Pierce Brosnan’s third Bond film, The World is Not Enough, 007 is tasked with protecting oil heiress Elektra King when she’s threatened by Renard, the world’s most wanted terrorist.
This movie is set up as a riff on The Bodyguard: half romantic drama, half action thriller. The plot delivers a gut-punch twist as Bond is shocked to learn that King was in cahoots with Renard all along and never really cared about him.
Dr. No (1962)
The very first Bond movie, Dr. No, still holds up as one of the series’ best entries. It introduced the “Bond girl” trope with one of the most famous examples: Honey Ryder, a shell diver that Bond meets during a mission in Jamaica.
For most of the movie, Bond and Ryder are both in the same boat: they investigate Dr. No together, get captured by his goons together, and find themselves imprisoned at Dr. No’s secret lair together. The two team up in the finale, which established one of the best parts of the “Bond girl” archetype: the love interest gets in on the action.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Of course The Spy Who Loved Me sheds a spotlight on Bond’s love life – the clue is in the title. The movie deviates wildly from the plot of the novel, but retains its focus on romance. In the film, Roger Moore’s Bond teams up with a Soviet spy with a common goal: Anya Amasova, better known as Agent XXX.
Amasova is paired up with Bond when both the British and Russian governments are attacked by the same enemy. As it turns out, Bond assassinated the love of her life on a previous mission, which presents a huge emotional hurdle to get over.
Casino Royale (2006)
In many ways, Daniel Craig’s first Bond movie, Casino Royale, acts as an origin story for the character. The movie shows how he earned his 00 status and his license to kill, not to mention his recklessness, his ice-cool attitude, and his grace under fire. The tragic romance with Vesper Lynd explains how 007 ended up becoming such a cold-hearted lover.
Bond falls so madly in love with Vesper that he quits MI6 duty just to spend more time hanging out with her. He’s heartbroken to find out she betrayed him, but later learns that she only betrayed him to save his life.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
The banter between Bond and his love interests usually evokes the screwball comedies of Howard Hawks, but George Lazenby’s one and only Bond film – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – is the furthest thing possible from a screwball comedy. It’s a romantic tragedy that sets up a perfect couple for a happy life together, then tears them apart with a blood-drenched disaster.
In Lazenby’s one-and-done Bond outing, not only does 007 fall in love; he gets married. Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo becomes Tracy Bond – but, tragically, only briefly. Most Bond movies end with a sex scene and a crude double entendre, but this one ends with a heartbroken 007 cradling his dying wife after a drive-by shooting.