Out of the six actors who have played James Bond on the big screen (in an official capacity for Eon, that is), two of them are no longer with us: Sean Connery, the first actor to take on the role, and Roger Moore, who took over following George Lazenby’s surprisingly memorable one-movie stint in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
They were the two Bond actors with the longest tenures in the role — Connery with six movies under his belt and Moore with seven — and both hold a special place in the hearts of fans. In both Connery’s movies and Moore’s movies, there are plenty of well-staged, high-octane action sequences that still rank among the best.
Connery: The Orient Express Fight In From Russia With Love
SPECTRE agent Red Grant, played by Jaws’ Robert Shaw, is one of the toughest henchmen that Bond has ever faced. This is best exemplified when he fights Bond on the Orient Express. After tear gas from Bond’s briefcase puts Grant in a daze, Bond has a chance to escape.
But his troubles are only just started, because Grant isn’t going down without a fight — a hard-hitting three-minute fight at that — and he fights dirty, with lots of kicking and gouging and choking. The brutality of this scene is shocking even today.
Moore: Hanging From A Plane In Octopussy
While the baffling plot and cringe-worthy humor — not to mention Maud Adams’ polarizing performance in the title role — have led to Octopussy being labeled as one of the worst Bond movies.
But one aspect of the movie that’s always been praised is its action. In the movie’s finale, Khan and Gobinda escape in their plane with Octopussy as a hostage while Bond desperately clings to the fuselage in mid-air.
Connery: Blowing Up A Drug Lab In Goldfinger
While director Terence Young defined the Bond character with his first two movies, Guy Hamilton really set the template with Goldfinger. This included opening with a pre-credits action scene unrelated to the rest of the plot that reintroduces 007 to audiences.
In the opening scene of Goldfinger, Bond emerges from the ocean with a fake seagull strapped to his head, blows up a drug laboratory, takes off his wetsuit to reveal a pristine white tuxedo underneath, and casually goes about his day.
Moore: The Supertanker Finale In The Spy Who Loved Me
Without a doubt, Moore’s best Bond movie was The Spy Who Loved Me. It’s also a strong contender for the greatest Bond movie of all time, because it embodies everything that makes the franchise great.
It culminates in a suitably large-scale finale on the Liparus supertanker. Production designer Ken Adam spent $2 million on the supertanker set and it ended up being the biggest soundstage in Europe.
Connery: The Underwater Battle In Thunderball
Due to the complications involved with filming underwater — especially in 1965 — most action movies tend to avoid spending too much time beneath the surface.
But in Thunderball, the entire final battle takes place underwater. Filmed at Clifton Pier and choreographed by Ricou Browning, it was a great way to shake up a formula that was becoming stale, and has plenty of exhilarating moments.
Moore: The Gondola Chase In Moonraker
After the success of Star Wars, the 007 producers decided to send James Bond to space in Moonraker. This is when the Moore era devolved into pure cartoonish anarchy, leaning into the ridiculousness instead of trying to ground it.
In one particularly ludicrous sequence, Bond drives a gondola up onto the road for a car chase. There’s even a manipulated shot of a bird doing a double take.
Connery: Infiltrating The Volcano Base In You Only Live Twice
In the final act of You Only Live Twice, Bond finds out that SPECTRE’s base is hidden inside a volcano. This has become one of the most iconic villain hideouts in Bond history and in order to break in, 007 has to contend a monorail system, legions of uniformed henchmen, a piranha tank, and a self-destruct button.
Since this extended sequence, it’s been a given that 007 infiltrates the villain’s hideout in the third act of all his movies, but You Only Live Twice set the standard.
Moore: Running Across The Backs Of Alligators In Live And Let Die
One of Roger Moore’s most iconic moments as Bond sees him running across the backs of a bunch of alligators, narrowly avoiding their razor-sharp jaws as they snap at him.
It’s completely absurd, but in the way that Moore’s Bond was at his best. There’s palpable tension in the very real threat of the alligators, but Moore plays the scene with a dry wit.
Connery: The Fort Knox Showdown In Goldfinger
The big finale in Goldfinger has everything one could hope for in the culmination of the movie — there’s even a ticking timebomb. Oddjob makes easy work of bond while the titular megalomaniac’s henchmen face off against authorities in a shootout.
Considering he couldn’t actually go in the vault at the real Fort Knox for reference, Ken Adam’s set design was praised as spot-on by the Army installation’s staff.
Moore: The Union Jack Parachute Jump In The Spy Who Loved Me
The parachute jump that opens The Spy Who Loved Me might be the greatest moment in Bond’s entire on-screen history. He’s being chased through the snow by gun-toting bad guys and rides his skis right off the edge of a cliff.
He freefalls for a little, with nothing but dead silence on the soundtrack, before deploying a parachute bearing the Union Jack. Then, the opening bars of Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” begin to play.