The James Bond franchise has always known how to start a movie with a bang. The pre-title sequences, those adrenaline-pumping mini-movies that kick off each installment, evolved significantly from the Sean Connery era through the Roger Moore years and into the 1980s. Each film tried to top the last with bigger stunts, more exotic locations, and a perfect blend of action and humor.
The 1980s were a transformative decade for 007. It saw the end of Roger Moore's long run with three films and the beginning of Timothy Dalton's more grounded, intense portrayal in two movies. All five official Bond films of the decade were directed by John Glen, giving them a consistent visual style and a knack for memorable openings. Here, we rank every pre-title sequence from the Bond movies of the 1980s, excluding the unofficial Never Say Never Again.
5. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
This opening pays tribute to On Her Majesty's Secret Service as Bond visits his late wife Tracy's grave. A helicopter arrives to pick him up, but it's being controlled remotely by a disabled Blofeld, complete with his white cat wearing a diamond necklace. Bond climbs out of the helicopter, takes control, and drops Blofeld down an exhaust shaft. It's a fast, fun scene with great action and dark humor, though it has no connection to the main plot about recovering a lost targeting device.
4. A View to a Kill (1985)
Roger Moore's final Bond film opens with a ski chase in Russia. Bond retrieves a microchip from a dead spy, then escapes on skis, a snowmobile, and finally a makeshift snowboard made from the snowmobile's skid. The scene is pure 1980s excess, complete with The Beach Boys' California Girls playing ironically. It sets up the plot about microchip technology that leads Bond to Silicon Valley.
3. The Living Daylights (1987)
Timothy Dalton's debut as 007 begins with a training mission at the Rock of Gibraltar. When agents start dying, Bond springs into action. The sequence features a jump scare from Gibraltar's famous monkeys, a fight on a burning truck full of explosives, and a last-second parachute escape. Bond lands on a yacht with a beautiful woman, steals her massive 80s mobile phone, and introduces himself as the new James Bond.
2. Licence to Kill (1989)
Dalton's second and final Bond film opens with Bond and Felix Leiter heading to Leiter's wedding in Key West. They get word that drug lord Sanchez is nearby and capture him in a thrilling sequence involving a helicopter, a plane, and a cable that brings the plane down. Bond and Leiter parachute to the wedding just in time. It's a perfect blend of action, humor, and a great stunt, establishing Sanchez as a truly evil villain.
1. Octopussy (1983)
The best pre-title sequence of the 1980s belongs to Octopussy. Bond infiltrates a Latin American military base disguised as a colonel, plants a bomb, and escapes in a tiny jet that takes off from a fake horse trailer. A heat-seeking missile chases him through a hangar, causing a massive explosion. Bond then lands on a road, folds up the plane's wings, and pulls up to a gas station, asking, "Fill 'er up." It's outrageous, thrilling, and perfectly captures the spirit of the franchise.
These five sequences showcase the evolution of Bond in the 1980s, from Moore's playful charm to Dalton's gritty intensity. Each one is a mini-masterpiece of action and style, setting the stage for the adventures to come.
