James Bond may be suave, handsome, and look incredible in any tux he puts on, but beneath that exterior lies a ruthless assassin. Over the course of the past 60 years, countless enemies have met their deaths at the hands of 007. Today, we're going to list some of the most cold-blooded kills James Bond has ever carried out.
8 Sandor - The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Main villain Karl Stromberg has ordered two of his henchmen to kill everyone who has ever come into contact with the submarine tracking system he used to hijack two nuclear submarines. One of those henchmen is the unforgettable, steel-toothed hulk known as Jaws. The other is the less memorable Sandor. Bond arrives in Cairo, looking for a man named Fekkesh. While there, he runs into Sandor. The two fight on a Cairo rooftop, with Sandor dangling precariously over it, holding on to Bond's tie for dear life. Bond repeatedly demands to know where Fekkesh is, to which Sandor replices with one word: "Pyramids." Bond then swats the hand holding his tie away and Sandor falls to his death. At least Bond had the decency to call him a "helpful chap."
7 Ed Killifer - License To Kill (1989)
Ed Killifer is a corrupt DEA Agent who says he won't fall for one of main villain Franz Sanchez's famous million dollar bribes. However, when Sanchez doubles the amount, Killifer is all in and helps Sanchez escape custody. Sanchez, true to his word, gives Killifer his money. Sanchez takes his revenge on longtime Bond ally, Felix Leiter, by having his men sexually assault and kill his new bride, and feeding Leiter to a shark at a marine research facility. Leiter loses his leg as a result. Bond swears revenge and tracks Killifer down to the same facility where Leiter lost his leg. After a short fight at the facility, Killifer ends up dangling over the same shark tank Leiter was dropped into. He tries to bargain with Bond, saying he'll split his money with him. Bond's reply? "You earned it. You keep it, old buddy." Bond tosses a suitcase of money at Killifer, who grabs the suitcase and falls into the shark tank, where the shark makes quick work of him. It's a brutal kill, but it's not even the most violent one in the whole movie. An impressive feat for possibly the most violent Bond film of them all.
6 Dryden - Casino Royale (2006)
Dryden is the MI6 section chief based in Prague. He's also selling secrets under the table, so M sends some up-and-coming agent named James Bond to deal with him. It takes two kills to obtain 00 status and at this point, Bond only has one kill to his name: Dryden's contact, who Bond kills in an absolutely vicious fight in a bathroom. Dryden is kill number two. However, he does not think that M believes he's up to no good, because she'd have sent a 00 if she did. As Dryden and Bond talk, Dryden realizes who Bond's first kill is. He tries to tell Bond that the second is easier, but Bond shoots him before he can finish the thought, calmly replying, "Yes, considerably." Cue one of the best opening titles in the history of the franchise.
5 Elektra King - The World Is Not Enough (1999)
As of 2022, Elektra King is the only female main villain in a James Bond movie. Bond has her cornered at the top of the Maiden's Tower in Istanbul, right in the middle of the water. Bond hands her a radio, telling Elektra at gunpoint to call off Renard, who has stolen a nuclear submarine and plans on destroying Turkey's most populous city so that Elektra can force the world to rely on her company's oil pipeline. Elektra, however, doesn't believe Bond will shoot her. After all, how can Bond kill a woman he's made love to? She tells our favorite superspy, "You wouldn't kill me. You'd miss me." She tells Renard to take off, prompting Bond to shoot her. She falls onto a bed, dead, with Bond giving a simple reply of "I never miss" before taking off to go stop Renard.
4 Emile Leopold Locque - For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Bond's killing of Belgian hitman Emile Leopold Locque is easily the coldest kill in all of Roger Moore's tenure as 007. Locque's trademark is leaving a dove pin on the bodies of victims. Bond recovers one such pin after Locque kills Bond ally, Luigi Ferrara. Locque meets his end in Albania, after Bond and Greek smuggler Milos Columbo raid a warehouse. Locque tries to flee in a car, but a few well-placed shots from Bond see the car perched on the side of a cliff, about to go over the edge and fall into the rocks and water below. Bond walks up to the car, states "You left this with Ferrara, I believe." Bond tosses the dove pin into the car and gives it a kick, sending it toppling to its demise.
3 Vargas - Thunderball (1965)
James Bond and main Bond Girl Domino sit on a beach in the Bahamas. Bond informs her that main villain Emilio Largo had her brother killed and has stolen two nuclear bombs. Bond asks if Domino will help him find the bombs, to which she agrees. However, the two are not alone. Domino notices Vargas, Largo's henchman, who does not drink, smoke, or make love to women, approaching them with a silenced pistol. Bond's response? He seems unfazed by it as he grabs a harpoon gun and shoots it, nailing the hapless henchman to a tree. Bond's post-kill one-liner? "I think he got the point."
2 Dr. Kaufman - Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Dr. Kaufman is a very sadistic German doctor who Bond meets in his hotel room in Hamburg after discovering ex-flame Paris Carver dead on the bed with a TV report from main villain Elliot Carver's news network saying she was found dead alongside an "unidentified man," intended to be 007. Kaufman has Bond at gunpoint, but luckily for Bond, a bunch of henchmen are trying to break into his car at that exact moment and want Kaufman to tell Bond how to safely unlock his car. Using a cell phone provided by Q, Bond quickly turns the tables on Kaufman, forcing him to his knees and aiming at gun at the doctor's head. Kaufman pleads for mercy, saying "I'm just a professional doing a job!" Bond's response is ice-cold and very simple: "Me too." One gunshot later, and Kaufman lies on the floor, dead.
1 Professor Dent - Dr. No
This one ranks in the top spot for the simple fact that at the time of his death, Dent was completely unarmed. Though perhaps he wouldn't have been if he hadn't emptied his gun's entire clip into a pile of pillows moments earlier. Bond, who had been waiting for him, captures the professor and interrogates him, but Dent grabs his gun and tries to fire, only to find the gun is out of ammo. Bond coldly replies "That's a Smith and Wesson. And you've had your six," before calmly shooting Dent dead. He shoots him one more time for good measure. It's as ice-cold as it can get, and this was from the first film in the franchise to boot.