The Best Five Sean Connery Films

Connery played a wide range of roles during his career, from a medieval monk to a submarine commander in the present day. Here are some that showcase his versatility and his ability to make even little parts look epic.

With brilliant actors like Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery, the film is elevated beyond Michael Bay’s loud explosions and crazy storylines.

1. The Spy Who Loved Me 3

In this thrilling, action-packed thriller Sean Connery is a mercenary who takes on a dictator played by Ed Harris. The gomovies film is set in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on San Francisco and sees Connery trying to stop Harris with the help of a corrupt chemist and an impudent rogue.

While John Boorman’s head-scratching acid sci-fi might not be the best movie of Connery’s career (that honour would probably go to Deliverance), he still holds his own in this wacky adventure featuring a mute gunslinger who discovers a utopian society of telephathic immortals in Earth’s wastelands. This is another example of the actor proving he could do more than just play sexy James Bond. This movie also paved the way for the 007 franchise to thrive in future installments like From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and You Only Live Twice.

2. The Spy Who Loved Me 4

The movie has a lovely filmic look, and the transfer on this Blu-ray is quite excellent. Clarity is exponentially improved over previous standard definition releases, with fine detail visible in closeups of skin textures and clothing fabrics.

Director Lewis Gilbert plays to Roger Moore’s strengths as Bond, and his lighter approach suits the material well. The humor is more broad and less sardonic than in You Only Live Twice, but still serves to balance out all the action.

Despite some serious flaws in the story, like the lead villain’s stupid scheme and indestructible cartoon adversary Jaws, this is still a great spy thriller that’s worth watching. The action set pieces are fantastic, particularly the opening ski sequence, Bond driving off a pier into the sea in his Lotus Esprit, and the bows of the supertanker rising to swallow the submarine.

3. The Spy Who Loved Me 5

While we love a suave Bond, Sir Sean proved he was just as capable playing funny, dramatic or even villainous characters. In Gus Van Sant’s drama, he played an impudent chemist turned prison breaker with aspirations to become a writer.

The premise is pretty silly but everything about the movie — Oddjob’s deadly bowler hat, an Aston Martin you wouldn’t want to put in reverse and Gert Frobe’s gold-smothered victims — cohered in this Bond sequel. Connery navigated the madness with his smoldering panache.

Based on a Tom Clancy novel, the Cold War thriller was a blockbuster masterpiece. Connery is as imposing as ever as submarine captain Marko Ramius who suddenly plots a course for the United States. The slow-burn machismo he portrays is captivating.

4. The Spy Who Loved Me 6

The first of many Tom Clancy adaptations to grace the silver screen, The Spy Who Loved Me finds Connery in full command. As renegade Soviet sub commander Marko Ramius, the actor delivers the kind of stately performance that only someone with his status and reputation could manage.

He reunites with co-star Michael Caine for this rip-roaring boys’ adventure. John Huston’s rousing screen version of Rudyard Kipling’s story of two ex-soldiers who pitch themselves as muscle to an Eastern European ruler is a thrill from start to finish.

In one of his finest performances, Connery is masterful as the reluctant swashbuckler who returns to Sherwood Forest with old scores to settle. No actor was better at depicting slow-burn machismo gone too far.

5. The Spy Who Loved Me 7

As the tall, rugged, and smooth James Bond in six films, Sean Connery solidified his status as a stalwart leading man. But he also showed his range and talent in dramas, thrillers, and even comedy.

Sidney Lumet made many blockbusters, but he also gave Connery a number of edgy roles, including this crime drama. Connery is a force of nature as the hard-bitten shotgun cop who trains goody-two-shoes Eliot Ness in the ways of catching Prohibition-era gangsters. His wry delivery of David Mamet’s flinty pulp-poetry dialogue makes him an essential presence in this tense, realistic NYC story.