Every James Bond Villain Ranked Worst To Best

6. Francisco Scaramanga - The Man With The Golden Gun

Renard James Bond
MGM/UA

Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) is a villain so good he pretty much saved his entire film. The Man with the Golden Gun is a mediocre Bond flick, but it is still watchable and it's largely thanks to Scaramanga.

A cruel yet charismatic assassin played to absolute perfection by the late, great Sir Christopher Lee, Scaramanga is a completely mesmerising villain. A fiercely intelligent and skilled killer, Scaramanga represents a seemingly undefeatable threat to Bond and when Bond finally kills him you may well breathe a sigh of relief.

Speaking of which, he and Bond have some interesting conversations throughout the film and they often feel like two sides of the same coin, which gives them a very compelling on-screen relationship.

His big scheme, which is to sell a solar energy device to the highest bidder, is underwhelming but other than that, the man with the golden gun is one of the best James Bond villains of all time, as well as the finest lead antagonist of the Roger Moore era, and he deserved a better movie.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.