Pierce Brosnan was the fifth actor to play the iconic British spy James Bond, starting his tenure on a high note with 1995’s GoldenEye and ending it seven years later on something of a fizzle with 2002’s Die Another Day. Brosnan was a terrific Bond, but his four-movie stint was decidedly more divisive, oscillating between a modern approach to action and a desire to embrace campy, larger-than-life sequences in line with ’90s sensibilities. The result is an uneven tetralogy that benefits from Brosnan’s suave performance and a spectacular ensemble of actors but suffers from confused writing and increasingly puzzling setpieces.
The same inconsistencies can be found in the themes for each of Brosnan’s movies. Music is among the most important elements in the Bond franchise, with icons like Paul McCartney and Shirley Bassey contributing to the legacy. As it turns out, Brosnan’s tenure as 007 produced one of the all-time best Bond themes and one of the absolute worst, with two others that settle near the top and the bottom of the pile, respectively. Overall, it’s a decent showing and as extremist as the movies themselves: the songs are either that good or that bad, with seemingly no middle ground. This list will rank every song for Pierce Brosnan’s four James Bond movies, factoring in the music, the lyrics, how they factor into the story, how well they have aged since their release, and their overall quality.
4 “Die Another Day” from ‘Die Another Day’ (2002)
Music & Lyrics by Madonna, Michel Colombier, and Mirwais Ahmadzar – Performed by Madonna
2002’s Die Another Day is widely considered among the worst Bond movies ever. Brosnan’s last outing as 007 sees him enduring a grueling sentence at a North Korean prison. After he’s finally released, Bond goes on a crusade against those who betrayed him, receiving help from the beautiful NSA agent Jynx (Halle Berry) and going against a billionaire and a highly destructive laser. Die Another Day is usually criticized for its over-the-top plot, silly narrative choices, and unintentionally campy tone, ending Brosnan’s four-movie Bond tenure on a rather disappointing note.
Unfortunately, its theme song shares many of these flaws. Performed by Madonna, who also co-wrote it, “Die Another Day” is the most unconventional song in the Bond catalog. Over-produced yet thematically simple, “Die Another Day” is an industrial pop tune that lacks any of the qualities that usually characterize the best Bond themes: it’s empty, repetitious, unmemorable, and painfully generic, standing out among the other Bond themes in the worst possible ways. The main issue here is that “Die Another Day” is simply not a Bond song; it’s a Madonna song and not a particularly good one. The tune came right before American Life, Madonna’s most audacious work, and it shares many of that album’s sensibilities. Sadly, American Life wasn’t particularly well regarded either.
Die Another Day
- Release Date
- November 22, 2002
- Director
- Lee Tamahori
- Runtime
- 133 minutes
- Writers
- Ian Fleming , Neal Purvis , Robert Wade
3 “Tomorrow Never Dies” from ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997)
Music & Lyrics by Sheryl Crow and Mitchell Froom – Performed by Sheryl Crow
Brosnan’s second outing as Bond sees him going against Sir Jonathan Pryce, aided by Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh. The plot centers on Bond’s efforts to stop megalomaniac media mogul Elliot Carver (Pryce) from starting World War III. Joined by Chinese secret agent Wai Lin (Yeoh), Bond goes undercover in China in a race against time. Solid but somewhat disappointing, Tomorrow Never Dies is never as great as it should be, considering the immense talent involved. That said, Pryce is at his scenery-chewing best, and Yeoh’s Wai Lin remains one of the all-time best Bond Girls.
Much like the film itself, Sheryl Crow ‘s “Tomorrow Never Dies” is underwhelming and fails to live up to its full potential. A rock ballad, Crow’s song fits the Bond franchise thematically and does a decent enough job of capturing the film’s main beats. However, the lyrics are as by-the-book as they come, with Crow seductively delivering lines like “martinis, girls, and guns, it’s murder on our love affair.” The song amounts to an uninspired addition to the Bond canon, lacking any real style or flair; in more ways than one, it’s the color-by-numbers version of a Bond theme. Still, Crow’s rendition is solid, and the orchestration is decidedly Bond. However, in hindsight, David Arnold‘s “Surrender,” performed by k.d. lang with titanous gusto, should’ve been Tomorrow Never Dies‘ official tune.
2 “GoldenEye” from ‘GoldenEye’ (1995)
Music & Lyrics by Bono and the Edge – Performed by Tina Turner
Martin Campbell‘s GoldenEye successfully reinvented the Bond franchise, preparing it for the 21st century with a stylish, back-to-basics story that made the story more personal for Bond. Brosnan makes his debut as 007, with the plot following his fight against a fallen MI6 agent, the ingenious Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean). from launching an attack on London to cause a financial meltdown. GoldenEye is Brosnan’s best Bond movie and one of the franchise’s best overall efforts, benefitting from a tight story, an incredible villain, and one of the saga’s most memorable henchwomen, Famke Jenssen‘s creatively named Xenia Onatopp.
GoldenEye‘s theme, written by rock royalty Bono and the Edge, is a homage to the classic days of Shirley Bassey with a bit of an edge — pun intended. Sung with sultry bravado by rock legend Tina Turner, “GoldenEye” is a pretty incredible Bond tune. It captures the movie’s themes without overdoing it — the song is not subtle about its references, but it doesn’t bat the listener over the head with them either, which is crucial to any good Bond theme. The ever-reliable Turner delivers a rendition full of sass and cool confidence, while the orchestration is both seductive and suitably larger-than-life, to the point where it borders on the musical version of a melodrama. What could be more fitting for a diva like Turner and a character like James Bond?
1 “The World Is Not Enough” from ‘The World Is Not Enough’ (1999)
Music by David Arnold, Lyrics by Don Black – Performed by Garbage
Brosnan’s third Bond outing, The World Is Not Enough, has a pretty dubious reputation, and for a good reason. The film sees Bond assigned to protect Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of a murdered oil tycoon, who is being pursued by the dangerous terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle). The World Is Not Enough is most famous for being the Bond movie to feature Denise Richards as nuclear physicist Christmas Jones and for featuring some of the stupidest quotes in the saga. However, this Bond movie is actually far better than one might remember, especially if looked at as a work of glorious camp.
However, the best part of this movie, aside from Marceau’s spectacular villainess, is the theme song. Composed by Arnold, written by Don Black, and performed by rock band Garbage, “The World Is Not Enough” is an alluring piece of symphonic rock that ranks among the all-time best Bond themes. Shirley Manson, one of the most underrated voices in rock, expertly delivers the biting lyrics, knocking lines like “there’s no point in living if you can’t feel alive” out of the park. Arnold’s boisterous, near-overwhelming orchestration is powerful, dramatic, graceful, and instantly unforgettable, perfectly complementing the wicked and acidic lyrics. It’s no surprise that this delicious tune is told from Elektra’s perspective: just like the character, “The World Is Not Enough” is unexpectedly clever, deceptively deep, and utterly unforgettable.
The World is Not Enough
- Release Date
- November 19, 1999
- Director
- Michael Apted
- Runtime
- 128 minutes
- Writers
- Neal Purvis , Robert Wade , Bruce Feirstein , Ian Fleming
