Every Pierce Brosnan James Bond movie hit differently with audiences, with the actor appearing in some of the best and worst entries in the franchise. Brosnan was originally cast in The Living Daylights as a replacement for Roger Moore; however, his contract for the TV series Remington Steele forced Brosnan to drop out, with Timothy Dalton replacing him. Thankfully, the role came back around to him in 1994, which led him on a four film run. In many ways, the Brosnan era of the series is key, because if his first outing had bombed, the Bond franchise itself may have ended.
Instead, his charm and wit helped revitalize the property, proving Bond could survive past the end of the Cold War. Brosnan was set to return for a fifth Bond adventure, but after producers struggled to chart a new path, he was dropped in favor of rebooting the series with Casino Royale. His successor Daniel Craig was instrumental in reinventing the spy once again, leaving Brosnan with a complex legacy. He's considered a great James Bond actor who rarely got the material he deserved, with Brosnan himself feeling he was trapped between the Connery and Moore eras. Nevertheless, he elevated even the weakest outings, making the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies vary in quality.
4. Die Another Day (2002)
- Available to rent on Apple TV
There might be debate about which is the best Bond movie, but Die Another Day - Brosnan's final outing with the character - often ranks as the worst 007 movie. The film was produced in time for the saga's 40th anniversary and is thus loaded with Easter eggs and nods. It also starts well, with an exciting chase scene that ends with Bond being captured by North Korean forces and spending a year being tortured. This promising opening is soon undone by the rest of Die Another Day which has garish humor, a disappointing story and subpar CGI effects; the invisible car doesn't help either.
Despite being the highest-grossing (via Box Office Mojo) of the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies, Die Another Day received some of the worst reviews of the franchise. The most unfortunate thing about the film is that it was Brosnan's last time playing Bond on the big screen, and he deserved much better. In a sense, Die Another Day is one of the saga's most crucial outings. The backlash to the film and the sense the series was growing stale and obsolete pushed producers to totally reinvent it with Casino Royale. History has shown this was a wise choice because Bond likely wouldn't have survived a second outing like this.
3. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Available on Paramount+
Neither the best nor the worst, The World Is Not Enough is merely the most average of the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies. It has solid elements, including the most captivating romance of the Brosnan era involving Sophie Marceau's Elektra, a touching final Bond scene for Desmond Llewelyn's Q, and one of the best pre-credit sequences of the franchise. Alas, there's not much fresh here as the film plays like a reheated variation on Brosnan's first two 007 efforts. The story didn't fully work and many think Denise Richards was miscast as Dr. Christmas Jones. If nothing else, it gave Brosnan's Bond some of his juiciest dramatic scenes.
Bond's aforementioned romance with Marceau's villain is the most compelling story in The World Is Not Enough and speaks to Brosnan's frustrations with his run. He wanted to dig deeper into the character, but the rigid adherence to formula left him stuck between past iterations of the role. Brosnan - who ranks high on Tarantino's Bond list - looks far more engaged with the Elektra storyline, and the scene where he's forced to kill her is arguably his best as 007. Yet this work is often overpowered by sillier moments like Bond adopting a wobbly Russian accent to infiltrate a missile base.
2. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- Available on HBO Max
At the time of its release, Tomorrow Never Dies was mocked for its "silly" plot involving a powerful media magnate spreading disinformation. Over 25 years on, it feels all too timely. Tomorrow Never Dies is in most underrated of the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies. In Michelle Yeoh's Chinese agent Wai Lin, the franchise introduced one of the spy's best love interests. While hardly threatening, Jonathan Pryce's is terrific fun as antagonist Elliot Carver, and it features some of the best action scenes of the Brosnan Bond films. This includes a bike chase through Saigon and the finale on Carver's stealth boat.
Tomorrow Never Dies has aged well, but it cemented a formula for this era that negatively affected Pierce's final two films. There are hints of a darker adventure that it never commits to either and had Craig's 007 tackled a similar premise, it would have more fully fleshed out its themes of misinformation and the role of media in shaping the modern world. The blockbuster demands of the series mean Tomorrow Never Dies avoids taking too many risks, but a little more grit may have pushed it over the edge into being Brosnan's best outing; as it stands, its solid Friday night entertainment.
1. GoldenEye (1995)
- Available on HBO Max
One of the movies to save the 007 franchise, GoldenEye is the first Pierce Brosnan James Bond movie and marked the character's return after a six-year absence. The underperformance of License To Kill and a legal battle kept 007 off screens, the series felt outdated. GoldenEye thus had much riding on it and was given a relatively modest budget in case it didn't perform. Though it is the lowest-grossing of the Brosnan Bond movies, the box-office of over $350 million (via Box Office Mojo) was a franchise best at the time. It helps that Brosnan owned the role right from his first scene, bringing a true suaveness to 007.
GoldenEye wisely brings the end of the Cold War into the story and the question of Bond's place in this new world. The film benefits from iconic scenes like the opening dam jump and the tank chase, in addition to the genius notion to cast Judi Dench as the new M. Sean Bean provides a dark mirror to 007 as the villain, giving the spy one of his personal conflicts in the saga. Not everything works in Brosnan's debut; Éric Serra's score often jars with the film and it's about 20 minutes too long. That aside, GoldenEye is easily Brosnan's crowning James Bond adventure.