Favourite Bond films....

[Lord Garth]

My Top 3
Dr. No
GoldenEye
For Your Eyes Only

Runner-Ups
The World Is Not Enough
You Only Live Twice

Guilty Pleasures
Live and Let Die
A View to a Kill

I prefer Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan to the other three. Moreso Connery and Brosnan. For some reason I can't get into the grittier or more faithful Bonds.

 

[Warped9]

I prefer Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan to the other three. Moreso Connery and Brosnan. For some reason I can't get into the grittier or more faithful Bonds.

I recall my sister once saying Brosnan was the best Bond ever. I couldn't contain myself. I asked, "How many Bond films have you ever actually seen? Oh, yeah: One! What the hell do you know about it? You've never seen any of the other films and never read one of the books."

It's funny now, but boy did I catch her off guard.

 

[Lord Garth]

I know, I know...

It's so funny too because in everything else I've ever been into, that would not be the type of opinion I'd have. 95 times out of 100, I prefer the original, early source material the most.

 

[scotpens]

I always wanted to see a sequel to OHMSS where Lazenby's Bond went after Blofed for revenge, but we kind of got that sequel, albeit spiritually, with Quantum of Solace.

Ian Fleming actually wrote that sequel. It was You Only Live Twice -- the third novel in the “Blofeld Trilogy.” The film version of YOLT had almost nothing to do with the book.

 

[Orac Zen]

Okay, ratings (out of 10):

Dr. No - 7
From Russia With Love - 9
Goldfinger - 9
Thunderball - 7
You Only Live Twice - 6
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 9.5
Diamonds Are Forever - 6

I loathe all the Moore Bonds and loathe Moore as Bond. There are occasional watchable sequences (the pre-title sequence and the low-speed car chase with the 2CV in For Your Eyes Only) but I can't sit through any Moore-as-Bond outing. IMO Moonraker is not only the worst Bond movie, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen - period.

Never Say Never Again - 6.5
The Living Daylights - 8
Licence to Kill - 7
Goldeneye - 9
Tomorrow Never Dies - 8
The World is Not Enough - 7
Die Another Day - 7
Casino Royale - 7
Quantum of Solace - 6


As I mentioned earlier, Connery remains my favourite Bond, followed by Brosnan and Dalton. No complaints whatsoever about Lazenby. I wasn't as impressed by Craig as many others seemed to be, and my views on Moore...see above.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Its a shame Lazenby didn't do Diamonds. Would have been nice to see him go after Blofeld (even if it wasn't the same Blofeld ) As it is we had to wait for Rog to get revenge for Tracy!

It's interesting because I think the whole Bond/Vesper dynamic from Casino Royale is reminiscent of the whole Bond/Tracy dynamic in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I always wanted to see a sequel to OHMSS where Lazenby's Bond went after Blofed for revenge, but we kind of got that sequel, albeit spiritually, with Quantum of Solace. That may be part of the reason why I like it so much.

I totally agree. My wife only saw OHMSS after she'd seen CR and she thought it quite reminiscent of Craig's debut.

Craig is a much more capable actor than Lazenby of course and captures the emotion much better. Having said that, I like the scene in OHMSS where Bond is being pursued in the village and then bumps into Tracy. George ably conveys the requisite fear, then relief.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

There was a time about ten, fifteen years ago that I loved James Bond movies, but I have seriously outgrown them. My fave 'Bond' movie would be the Bourne Identity (loathed the sequels).

Of the Bond film proper, there are only two that I can choose to watch at anytime. Licence to Kill, closely followed by The Living Daylights. Dalton gave Bond a human face, an emotional vulnerability that was very appealing, but still had a hard, sinister edge that Lazenby lacked. Connery played him too much as an infallible bad ass, while Roger Moore's Bond swiftly degenerated into parody.

#1 Licence to Kill
#2 Living Daylights
#3 and only because I have to choose, Live and Let Die. It was the first Bond movie I ever saw, and I have a nostalgic fondness for it still. I also have a liking for The Man With The Golden Gun, and if these two Moore movies are on TV, I won't change the channel.

As for Connery Bonds, I can watch From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice with no reservations. For some reason I quite like Never Say Never Again, although I have never been able to justify that.

I can't stand the Brosnan Bonds, although he had the potential to be the best of the lot. The films were stupid though. I saw all of them in the cinema for my sins, and the minute I saw him dive off a cliff on a motorbike, after a falling plane, defy the laws of gravity, catch it, climb in, get to the controls and fly away, I knew that the Brosnan movies would be even more full of unbelievable parodic bullshit than the later Moores were.

I haven't seen Quantum of Solace yet, but what I saw of Casino Royale was a movie that wanted to be the Bourne Identity. I didn't recognise any of Bond in it.

Disclaimer. I've never read any of the Bond books, started Moonraker when I was 9, disappointed at the lack of space shuttles, stopped reading after page 50.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Top 3:
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough

Honorable mentions:
Live & Let Die
Goldeneye
Tomorrow Never Dies
Casino Royale
the 1st half of Die Another Day

Blasphemy alert: I don't like the Sean Connery movies. I think he's a great Bond but the movies overall are all boring. I like bits of From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, & Diamonds Are Forever but that's it.

I just finally filled in the remaining gap in my viewing by seeing On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I don't much care for George Lazenby. He had never acted in anything before and it shows. Furthermore, he does nothing to make the role his own. He's just doing a bad Connery impression. I agree with those who think that this one would have been better with Connery in it. Even at his bored, paycheck-collecting worst, Connery still has an "I'm fucking James Bond" conviction that Lazenby lacks. On the plus side, Diana Rigg is pure class!

It's not until the Roger Moore films that I really started getting into the movies much. But still, his track record is pretty lousy.

Live & Let Die is great. I don't know why so many people slag off on it. It's got some great chase sequences. Jane Seymour is super sexy (and still is to this day!). Plus, it has Yaphet Kotto, who is one of my all-time favorite actors. Whether he's in this or Alien or Homicide: Life on the Street, he always blows everyone else on screen with him out of the water. He's hypnotic! (Trivia: Kotto was one of the runner-ups to play Captain Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation.)

The Man with the Golden Gun is crap. It's so boring! Not even Christopher Lee can save this one.

The Spy Who Loved Me is my favorite of the Moore films. It's got great pacing, an epic scope, and a great pre-credits sequence.

Moonraker isn't great but it's not the worst film in the series. I'd gladly take it over You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, License to Kill, or Quantum of Solace.

For some reason, I've never been able to get into For Your Eyes Only. I know it's one of the best regarded of Moore's era but it just doesn't work for me. Even the pre-credits sequence leaves me cold. I like someone else's suggestion that this one would have been better with Timothy Dalton.

Octopussy has some good moments but an awful lot of silly ones too. Between Roger Moore & Maud Adams, I feel like I'm watching As Time Goes By instead of a James Bond movie.

Christopher walken almost saves A View to a Kill. I also like Patrick MacNee & the Duran Duran theme song. However, the opening titles to go with that theme song are godawful. Moreover, Tanya Roberts is the worst Bond girl ever (and it takes a helluva lot to be worse than Denise Richards, Halle Berry, & Britt Ekland). And San Fancisco isn't a very exotic setting for a Bond movie, IMO.

The Living Daylights is probably my all-time favorite Bond picture. Everything works here, from the tone to Timothy Dalton's performance to Maryam d'Abo as the Bond girl to Joe Don Baker as the bad guy.

And then it all came crashing down in License to Kill. Whereas everything works in The Living Daylights, almost nothing works here. Not even my favorite Bond, Timothy Dalton, can salvage this.

Goldeneye is a great rejuvenation. Pierce Brosnan is a bit stiff and there's plotholes galore but the movie gets the tone right, particularly for the first post-Cold War Bond film. Sean Bean is a kickass bad guy. Alan Cumming is great fun. "Yes! I am invincible!" Famke Janssen is dangerously sexy. Not to mention the tank chase! This was the first Bond film I ever saw and it does a great job of setting the tone. It's not perfect but it does what Bond does best extremely well.

Tomorrow Never Dies isn't quite as strong as Goldeneye but it has a lot of things going for it. Jonathan Pryce & Michelle Yeoh are brilliant. Brosnan is a lot looser & more comfortable this time around. The scene with him driving the car by remote is Bond at his playful best.

"The World Is Not Enough."
"Foolish sentiment."
"Family motto."
This is one of my all-time favorites and probably the most underrated of all the films. On an action/plot level, I'd put it about on par with Tomorrow Never Dies. What puts this one over the top for me is Sophe Marceau, the sexiest Bond girl ever! Not even Denise Richards non-acting can ruin this one.

Die Another Day starts out great, with Bond getting captured by the North Koreans, tortured to Madonna music, released to a suspicious MI-6, escaping to a bugged Chinese hotel, and having a kickass swordfight. But once it gets to the ice palace, it gets too silly & too overloaded with preposterous (even for a Bond film) gadgets. Shame.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

As for the Daniel Craig films:

I like Casino Royale but I think it's way overrated. It's excellent whenever it's doing its own thing but grinds to a halt every time it goes back to the poker table. Still, every director in the business needs to watch the opening chase sequence to see how to do a chase sequence that's exciting AND completely comprehensible. (I'm looking at YOU, Paul Greengrass & Peter Berg!)

But I hate Quantum of Solace. To me, Daniel Craig isn't James Bond. He's a dour, joyless thug and I have no desire to watch him. I'm sure it's not his fault. I think he's being intentionally directed that way. Still... ugh! Plus, Quantum is filled with all of these contemporary references to the shitty current world situation. It can't go more than 5 minutes without reminding us that we're running out of oil or that our governments are in league with unsavory dictators or that global warming will destroy everything! I prefer my Bond movies, even at their grittiest, to be escapism, not An Inconvenient Truth.

 

[scotpens]

The Man with the Golden Gun is crap. It's so boring! Not even Christopher Lee can save this one.

Hell, not even Britt Ekland running around in a bikini for half the picture could save that one.

. . . Tanya Roberts is the worst Bond girl ever (and it takes a helluva lot to be worse than Denise Richards, Halle Berry, & Britt Ekland).

No, the worst Bond girl ever was former model Lois Chiles as “Holly Goodhead” in Moonraker. She was pretty the way a department-store mannequin is pretty. She had the personality of Velveeta and delivered her lines like she was recording instructions for an automated answering system.

 

[Greg Cox]

The Man with the Golden Gun is crap. It's so boring! Not even Christopher Lee can save this one.

Hell, not even Britt Ekland running around in a bikini for half the picture could save that one.

. . . Tanya Roberts is the worst Bond girl ever (and it takes a helluva lot to be worse than Denise Richards, Halle Berry, & Britt Ekland).

No, the worst Bond girl ever was former model Lois Chiles as “Holly Goodhead” in Moonraker. She was pretty the way a department-store mannequin is pretty. She had the personality of Velveeta and delivered her lines like she was recording instructions for an automated answering system.

You make a good case, but I have to go with Roberts, too. Chiles was just wooden. Tanya Roberts was actively annoying . . . not unlike Kate Capshaw in TEMPLE OF DOOM.

Denise Richards is so absurdly miscast as a brilliant scientist that it's actually kind of entertaining if you just regard it as a brilliant joke. It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

 

[RandyS]

Top 3:
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough

The Man with the Golden Gun is crap. It's so boring! Not even Christopher Lee can save this one.

Moonraker isn't great but it's not the worst film in the series. I'd gladly take it over You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, License to Kill, or Quantum of Solace.

The Living Daylights is probably my all-time favorite Bond picture. Everything works here, from the tone to Timothy Dalton's performance to Maryam d'Abo as the Bond girl to Joe Don Baker as the bad guy.

"The World Is Not Enough."
"Foolish sentiment."
"Family motto."
This is one of my all-time favorites and probably the most underrated of all the films. On an action/plot level, I'd put it about on par with Tomorrow Never Dies. What puts this one over the top for me is Sophe Marceau, the sexiest Bond girl ever! Not even Denise Richards non-acting can ruin this one.

It's nice to see another Bond fan almost agree with me. The Living Daylights is my most favorite Bond movie too and The World is Not Enough is the best of the Brosnan films. And while I love The Spy Who Loved Me, My personal favorite of the Roger Moore films is Moonraker. But, how can you NOT like The Man With the Golden Gun? Okay, it's hardly a classic, but it was an enjoyable movie, and it successfully washed away the bad taste that Live and Let Die left in my mouth. That's what I liked about the Roger Moore movies, He got the utter crap out of the way first, then, made five excellent movies, then his last, which was merely good.

And I also agree that Quantum of Solace was garbage. I haven't really warmed up to Daniel Craig, even though I did like Casino Royale. I hope that if they start up the series again, they recast Bond.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The Man with the Golden Gun is crap. It's so boring! Not even Christopher Lee can save this one.

Hell, not even Britt Ekland running around in a bikini for half the picture could save that one.

. . . Tanya Roberts is the worst Bond girl ever (and it takes a helluva lot to be worse than Denise Richards, Halle Berry, & Britt Ekland).

No, the worst Bond girl ever was former model Lois Chiles as “Holly Goodhead” in Moonraker. She was pretty the way a department-store mannequin is pretty. She had the personality of Velveeta and delivered her lines like she was recording instructions for an automated answering system.

You make a good case, but I have to go with Roberts, too. Chiles was just wooden. Tanya Roberts was actively annoying . . . not unlike Kate Capshaw in TEMPLE OF DOOM.

That's exactly what I was getting at. In many ways, I was thinking of Kate Capshaw when I was writing my review of Tanya Roberts. The difference is that Capshaw kinda grows on me. At least she's supposed to be intentionally annoying in a comic sense. The James Bond movies just don't have room for that kind of comic relief, and I don't really get the sense that any of the annoying bits of Roberts' character were intentional.

Although, I also have to admit that I don't remember Moonraker very well.

Denise Richards is so absurdly miscast as a brilliant scientist that it's actually kind of entertaining if you just regard it as a brilliant joke. It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

It's not that she was miscast. It's that she displays absolutely zero personality or any kind of acting ability. Which is strange, because she's usually pretty good. Maybe she's trying too hard not to be sexy?

Top 3:
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough

The Man with the Golden Gun is crap. It's so boring! Not even Christopher Lee can save this one.

Moonraker isn't great but it's not the worst film in the series. I'd gladly take it over You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, License to Kill, or Quantum of Solace.

The Living Daylights is probably my all-time favorite Bond picture. Everything works here, from the tone to Timothy Dalton's performance to Maryam d'Abo as the Bond girl to Joe Don Baker as the bad guy.

"The World Is Not Enough."
"Foolish sentiment."
"Family motto."
This is one of my all-time favorites and probably the most underrated of all the films. On an action/plot level, I'd put it about on par with Tomorrow Never Dies. What puts this one over the top for me is Sophe Marceau, the sexiest Bond girl ever! Not even Denise Richards non-acting can ruin this one.

It's nice to see another Bond fan almost agree with me. The Living Daylights is my most favorite Bond movie too and The World is Not Enough is the best of the Brosnan films. And while I love The Spy Who Loved Me, My personal favorite of the Roger Moore films is Moonraker. But, how can you NOT like The Man With the Golden Gun? Okay, it's hardly a classic, but it was an enjoyable movie, and it successfully washed away the bad taste that Live and Let Die left in my mouth. That's what I liked about the Roger Moore movies, He got the utter crap out of the way first, then, made five excellent movies, then his last, which was merely good.

I don't find anything enjoyable about The Man with the Golden Gun. Its pacing is on par with the most sleep-inducing Connery outings, like Thunderball.

And like I said before, I don't know why everyone else has such bad feelings towards Live & Let Die. Maybe it's because I don't really view it as a blaxploitation movie. There's nothing particularly un-Bond-y about it. It's just a James Bond movie where most of the villains happen to be black, and played by exceptional black actors at that.

I also agree that Quantum of Solace was garbage. I haven't really warmed up to Daniel Craig, even though I did like Casino Royale. I hope that if they start up the series again, they recast Bond.

I don't think recasting would necessarily be required. I think Craig could continue well enough so long as they were able to lighten the tone of the rest of the movie. (I'm crossing my fingers for Christopher Eccleston as Q!)

 

[RandyS]

Hell, not even Britt Ekland running around in a bikini for half the picture could save that one. No, the worst Bond girl ever was former model Lois Chiles as “Holly Goodhead” in Moonraker. She was pretty the way a department-store mannequin is pretty. She had the personality of Velveeta and delivered her lines like she was recording instructions for an automated answering system.

You make a good case, but I have to go with Roberts, too. Chiles was just wooden. Tanya Roberts was actively annoying . . . not unlike Kate Capshaw in TEMPLE OF DOOM.

That's exactly what I was getting at. In many ways, I was thinking of Kate Capshaw when I was writing my review of Tanya Roberts. The difference is that Capshaw kinda grows on me. At least she's supposed to be intentionally annoying in a comic sense. The James Bond movies just don't have room for that kind of comic relief, and I don't really get the sense that any of the annoying bits of Roberts' character were intentional.

Although, I also have to admit that I don't remember Moonraker very well.



It's not that she was miscast. It's that she displays absolutely zero personality or any kind of acting ability. Which is strange, because she's usually pretty good. Maybe she's trying too hard not to be sexy?

It's nice to see another Bond fan almost agree with me. The Living Daylights is my most favorite Bond movie too and The World is Not Enough is the best of the Brosnan films. And while I love The Spy Who Loved Me, My personal favorite of the Roger Moore films is Moonraker. But, how can you NOT like The Man With the Golden Gun? Okay, it's hardly a classic, but it was an enjoyable movie, and it successfully washed away the bad taste that Live and Let Die left in my mouth. That's what I liked about the Roger Moore movies, He got the utter crap out of the way first, then, made five excellent movies, then his last, which was merely good.

I don't find anything enjoyable about The Man with the Golden Gun. Its pacing is on par with the most sleep-inducing Connery outings, like Thunderball.

And like I said before, I don't know why everyone else has such bad feelings towards Live & Let Die. Maybe it's because I don't really view it as a blaxploitation movie. There's nothing particularly un-Bond-y about it. It's just a James Bond movie where most of the villains happen to be black, and played by exceptional black actors at that.

I also agree that Quantum of Solace was garbage. I haven't really warmed up to Daniel Craig, even though I did like Casino Royale. I hope that if they start up the series again, they recast Bond.

I don't think recasting would necessarily be required. I think Craig could continue well enough so long as they were able to lighten the tone of the rest of the movie. (I'm crossing my fingers for Christopher Eccleston as Q!)

Hmm. Well, Maybe Craig does have one more in him. Like I said, I haven't really warmed to him, but that could just be that I didn't like Solace.

You don't like Thunderball either huh? Too bad. That's my personal favorite of the ones Connery did. Yeah, I know, Goldfinger is the more popular film, and justifiably so, since it was great. I just liked Thunderball better.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

In the cases of Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, & The Man with the Golden Gun, I just spent most of the film thinking, "I don't care. I don't care. I don't care." None of them engaged me very well.

And then The Man with the Golden Gun had to spoil things further but dubbing a comedic slide-whistle over its signature car stunt!

 

[Starkers]

As for the Daniel Craig films:

I like Casino Royale but I think it's way overrated. It's excellent whenever it's doing its own thing but grinds to a halt every time it goes back to the poker table. Still, every director in the business needs to watch the opening chase sequence to see how to do a chase sequence that's exciting AND completely comprehensible. (I'm looking at YOU, Paul Greengrass & Peter Berg!)

But I hate Quantum of Solace. To me, Daniel Craig isn't James Bond. He's a dour, joyless thug and I have no desire to watch him. I'm sure it's not his fault. I think he's being intentionally directed that way. Still... ugh! Plus, Quantum is filled with all of these contemporary references to the shitty current world situation. It can't go more than 5 minutes without reminding us that we're running out of oil or that our governments are in league with unsavory dictators or that global warming will destroy everything! I prefer my Bond movies, even at their grittiest, to be escapism, not An Inconvenient Truth.

Yes but it isn't like Bond hasn't reflected the world situation at the time, just off the top of my head:

the man with the golden gun talks a lot about the energy crisis, relating to the OPEC stuff going on at the time.

A View to a Kill with the whole silicon chip nonsense!

The Living Daylights featuring the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan/the opium trade.

I am pretty much the only person in the world who likes QoS though

By the way I agree about Connery, blasphamy it may be but in many respects he's my least favourite Bond, and his films just aren't as fun to rewatch as Moore's. Just a pacing issue between the two decades, though having said that I'm not fond of Diamonds with is Connery in a proto Moore film.

Another vote here for Tanya Roberts as the worst Bond girl ever. Denise Richards is horrible casting from a time when the producers obviously felt the franchise needed a name American actress (Hatcher, Richards, Berry). That said I often think she's better than she has any right to be as Christmas Jones.

I think Live and Let Die is one of those films that's been reappraised over the years, for a time the blackploitation elements did disturb me a bit, but by all accounts Kotto raves about being in it, and I think it marked something of a watershed, with a black actor playing the big boss villain, not just the comedy henchman.

 

[Lonemagpie]

To me, Daniel Craig isn't James Bond. He's a dour, joyless thug

You haven't read the books, then....

Anyhow, he's not joyless in CR, and there's story reasons why he's dour and joyless in QoS!

I know he'd been saying after QoS that the next one would be a little lighter, more of a balanced Bond movie, and I hope that MGM's woes won't fuck that up.

 

[Starkers]

To me, Daniel Craig isn't James Bond. He's a dour, joyless thug

You haven't read the books, then....

Anyhow, he's not joyless in CR, and there's story reasons why he's dour and joyless in QoS!

I know he'd been saying after QoS that the next one would be a little lighter, more of a balanced Bond movie, and I hope that MGM's woes won't fuck that up.

I hope so too. Having said that I'm not sure how joyous he was in CR. There were all the trappings of Bond, but he seemed to find them pretty hollow. As Vesper says, a nice suit but you wear it with such disdain. You could argue that, until the love scenes with Vesper he gets most pleasure from the bomber blowing himself up on the runway (love the smile Craig has then)

There's on little nuance of Craig's Bond that I love, it's how disposable everything is. He just has this way of throwing things aside once they've served their purpose. Car keys. mobile phones, guns...you could even add in the blase way he dumps the unconcious Camile on a busboy, which is a very funny scene, and even the way he dumps Mathis' body. Hell at the end he just lets Vesper's necklace fall to the floor. Eventually he dumps everyone and everything.

Except M obviously.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm sure no-one will agree with me, but "Goldeneye", "World Is Not Enough", and "Die Another Day". Great expansive big budget action movies.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

As for the Daniel Craig films:

I like Casino Royale but I think it's way overrated. It's excellent whenever it's doing its own thing but grinds to a halt every time it goes back to the poker table. Still, every director in the business needs to watch the opening chase sequence to see how to do a chase sequence that's exciting AND completely comprehensible. (I'm looking at YOU, Paul Greengrass & Peter Berg!)

But I hate Quantum of Solace. To me, Daniel Craig isn't James Bond. He's a dour, joyless thug and I have no desire to watch him. I'm sure it's not his fault. I think he's being intentionally directed that way. Still... ugh! Plus, Quantum is filled with all of these contemporary references to the shitty current world situation. It can't go more than 5 minutes without reminding us that we're running out of oil or that our governments are in league with unsavory dictators or that global warming will destroy everything! I prefer my Bond movies, even at their grittiest, to be escapism, not An Inconvenient Truth.

Yes but it isn't like Bond hasn't reflected the world situation at the time, just off the top of my head:

the man with the golden gun talks a lot about the energy crisis, relating to the OPEC stuff going on at the time.

A View to a Kill with the whole silicon chip nonsense!

The Living Daylights featuring the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan/the opium trade.

I am pretty much the only person in the world who likes QoS though

By the way I agree about Connery, blasphamy it may be but in many respects he's my least favourite Bond, and his films just aren't as fun to rewatch as Moore's. Just a pacing issue between the two decades, though having said that I'm not fond of Diamonds with is Connery in a proto Moore film.

Another vote here for Tanya Roberts as the worst Bond girl ever. Denise Richards is horrible casting from a time when the producers obviously felt the franchise needed a name American actress (Hatcher, Richards, Berry). That said I often think she's better than she has any right to be as Christmas Jones.

I think Live and Let Die is one of those films that's been reappraised over the years, for a time the blackploitation elements did disturb me a bit, but by all accounts Kotto raves about being in it, and I think it marked something of a watershed, with a black actor playing the big boss villain, not just the comedy henchman.

Also the fact that while Mr Big had the blaxploitation lingo down, Kananga was erudite, soft-spoken, well-educated and charismatic. That was even more rare than a black actor playing the big boss villain.