Top 10 James Bond Escapes

How is 007 going to get out of this one? Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 best escapes performed by James Bond in the film series.

For this list, we’re looking at the close calls and narrow misses that the British Secret Service Agent always seems to find his way out of. Warning: SPOILER ALERT.

James Bond usually counts on the inventions of Q to keep him safe in the field, but in this scene from “A View to a Kill,” the agent has to improvise his own creation to escape from an avalanche of baddies. The snowmobile he was riding gets shot up and explodes, leaving him to think on his feet; and the result sees him turning a ski from the sled into a snowboard. Bond effortlessly carves through the mountain – thanks in part to snowboard inventor Tom Sims acting as stunt double – and helped boost mainstream awareness in the extreme sport in the process.

There was no clear escape for 007 when he found himself trapped on an island in the middle of a lake filled with equal parts water and crocodiles in the 8th eight film of the Bond series. Left to die by Mr. Big’s villainous henchman Tee Hee, our beloved agent appears to be a goner. But the world’s greatest secret agent turns lemons into lemonade, or in this case, crocodiles into a bridge, and finds his way to safety to everyone’s relief.

It’s in a spy’s best interest not to make waves, but there are no rules against riding them. After being betrayed by Miranda Frost, Pierce Brosnan-as-the-MI6-agent has to break out of British billionaire Gustav Graves’ ice palace while evading the Icarus satellite, which sends out a controlled blast of solar energy that cuts through a glacier and causes a tsunami. It’s a matter of minor inconvenience for our “Die Another Day” hero though, who makes his epic escape with an improvised surfboard and parachute.

James Bond just cannot enjoy any down time. While floating down the canals of Venice in “Moonraker,” the agent is ambushed by Hugo Drax’s armed henchmen in a speedboat. 007’s gondola has a couple of improvements over the standard issue model thanks to upgrades from Q, so Bond flips a switch to reveal an inboard motor that helps him speed away. To complete the escape, Bond activates the hovercraft skirt and glides through St. Mark’s Square.

Bond cars are always worth fawning over, even when they’re not actually a car. After saving Amasova and infiltrating Karl Stromberg’s base in Sardinia, 007 and his companion find themselves being pursued by a flock of armed enforcers and a helicopter. James drives his Lotus Esprit off a pier, only to have the wheel wells seal and fins shoot out. The vehicle in “The Spy Who Loved Me” now belongs to Elon Musk, who will probably figure out a way to mass produce it.

The BMW 750iL is equipped with everything a spy could need to make an escape – even if he isn’t behind the wheel. In “Tomorrow Never Dies,” while a parking lot full of bad guys investigate the vehicle, Bond takes control remotely with his cell phone, jumps in through the rear window, then proceeds to drive it out of harm’s way without ever getting into the driver’s seat. Now that’s some solid backseat driving.

A lot of the gear Bond works with requires precision. As for the eject button on the Tiger helicopter? Not so much. Upon awaking tied up in the cockpit of the stolen aircraft, 007 has to think quickly to save himself and the stranded Natalya Simonova in “GoldenEye.” His hands bound and with no gadgets around, James uses his head – literally. After banging his forehead against the control panel to hit the eject button, he launches him and Natalya to safety and out of harm’s way.

It’s not uncommon to see James Bond with a woman at his side, but in “Tomorrow Never Dies,” this is a slightly different scenario. 007 and Chinese Security Force operative Wai Lin find themselves handcuffed together and are forced to share a motorcycle as they attempt to escape through the streets and rooftops of Saigon. Bonus points to Bond for learning to share, and for performing an impressive jump over the top of a helicopter.

After offing SPECTRE’s Jacques Bouvar, Bond needs to make a quick exit before being chased by bodyguards. 007 turns to the rocket belt, a low-powered means of propulsion that helped the agent jump from the roof of a château to his Aston Martin, conveniently parked in the distance. And, even while in a hurry to make his escape, Bond makes sure to wear his helmet. So what’s the lesson learned from “Thunderball?” Safety first, kids.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few escapes that just escaped inclusion on this list.

House Explosion
“Skyfall” (2012)

Ice Chase
“The Living Daylights” (1987)

Remote Helicopter
“For Your Eyes Only” (1981)

Train Escape
“Golden Eye” (1995)

Motorcycle Ski Chase
“For Your Eyes Only” (1981)

The pre-credit scene of “Octopussy” begins with an undercover, but captured Bond freeing himself from his captors. This leads to him to make use of the airplane provided by Q and hidden behind the backside of a fake horse, which is a strong start. But it only gets better from there, as Bond skims over the heads of his pursuers, outmaneuvers a heat-seeking missile, directs it into a hangar full of bad guys, and successfully rolls up to a gas pump to refill his tank. Of course, 007 can still play it cool and deliver a one-liner to the gas station attendant.

Do you agree with our list? What predicament do you want to see Bond wiggle his way out of? For more entertaining Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.