Top 5 (in no particular order)
*Casino Royale - Quite possibly the best Bond film. I definitely prefer the harder, grittier take on Bond to the campiness of the Moore films and the later Connery films. Had great action, settings, and even the minor characters were memorable.
*The Living Daylights - A great and underrated film. This was a huge improvement over the campy Moore films, and it managed to be a serious film while maintaining just the right amount of humor and gadget-oriented scenes from the earlier films. Plus it has one of the best and most underrated henchmen (Necros) in the series, and an interesting and underrated villain (Brad Whitaker - rogue American arms dealer with a "general" complex).
*Skyfall - Another likely candidate for the best Bond film, has easily one of the best villains, and manages to take Bond back to its routes (by reintroducing Q and Moneypenny, and the tricked-out Aston Martin) but without becoming a huge gadget fest, and still mantaining the harder and gritter mood of the other Craig films.
*GoldenEye - Definitely the best Brosnan film - has a great villain, possibly the best opening theme song, and plenty of great action. What's not to like?
*The Spy Who Loved Me - The best Moore film - even though I'm not big on the campy style of most of the Moore films, this film kept the cheesiness to a reasonable level, enough for you to still take the interesting plot and villain seriously.
Bottom 5 (in no particular order)
*Octopussy - Has Bond swinging from vines while yelling like Tarzan, dawning a Gorilla suit, and ending up in a clown costume. Enough said.
*The Man with The Golden Gun - Christopher Lee played a great villain, but that's all this film had going for it. Most of the film didn't even focus on "The Man with the Golden Gun himself", but on hokey martial arts scenes, an annoying comic relief character (Sherrif Pepper). and a midget sidekick who ends up locked in a suitcase at the end. No thanks. Not to mention the final duel between Bond and Scaramanga was very anticlimactic.
*Tomorrow Never Dies - The plot and setting is just too outlandish to take seriously. Apparently a world-famous media mogul is able to house a personal army of machine-gun wielding thugs in major office buildings (not some remote secret base under the ocean). Not to mention in the action scenes, Carver's men engage in large-scale firefights in the streets in major cities like London and Hong Kong in pursuit of Bond - and not a single person ever takes notice (in the age of the internet no less, where anyone with a cell phone can upload stuff to the net) - not to mention he apparently has dozens of reporters and senior officials in his company in on his conspiracy without anyone blowing the whistle. To me the plot of Moonraker was less outlandish than this.
*Live and Let Die - A mediocre cheesy film (I'm shocked that Moore managed to remain for 6 more films after this travesty). This film's most notable moments are the introduction of the annoying Sherrif Pepper, the first supernatural Bond henchman (who is pointlessly resurrected with Voodoo in the ending scene), and ends with the stupidest death scene in any Bond film (the villain swallowing a gas capsule, inflating like a balloon and exploding - is this James Bond or Austin Powers?)
*Diamonds are Forever - Features Ernst Blofield in drag, Bond's girl hiding a cassette in her bikini bottom, a pair of gay assassins/lovers, and some truly awful special effects at the climax of the plot, sorry I'm out.
Most underrated films
*Licence to Kill - Has plenty of great action, along with a memorable and diabolical villain and henchman. Not to mention it attempts to show a more personal side of Bond, which is a nice touch. I will admit though that it's definitely the least "Bond-like" of the film series, and feels more like a typical 80s action film. (Nevertheless the concept of Bond going rogue and seeking revenge for a murdered friend is actually based on one Ian Fleming's Bond stories if I'm not mistaken).
*The World is not Enough - The majority of flak I see directed at this film is over Denise Richards' role as the Bond girl - and that's it. I'll admit she was a terrible actress (but still not as bad as the Bond girl from A View to A Kill) and not at all believable as a "Nuclear Scientist" (the Moneypenny character in this film would've been more believable in that role). But aside from that single nitpick this film is definitely passable - it has good action scenes, a badass villain, and some creative plot twists (such as M's abduction, and Bond's former romantic interest in the villain's sidekick).
*A View to a Kill - This is another film where I hear most of the gripe fixated on a few small nitpicks, most of which is based off of Roger Moore looking too old for the role. Personally this doesn't bother me (the guy ages well, much better than Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for sure) - and he was only 2 years older than he was in the previous film anyway. On the whole this film was a huge improvement over the campier Moore films, since it actually tried to be halfway serious. Not to mention it featured Christopher Walken as one of the best Bond villains in the series. The only other gripes about the film worth mentioning are the Bond Girl (the worst and ditziest in the series - her screaming during the action scenes is infamously annoying, and she sounds like she's stoned for most of the film), and the choice of "California Girls" by the Beach Boys as a theme song in an opening chase scene. Regardless this film makes Octopussy and the Man with the Golden Gun look like Citizen Kane.
Most overrated films
*Dr. No - This film just has a very low-budget feel to it - sure it was the first film in the series (and the creators obviously didn't predict it would become a multi-billion dollar franchise), but overall this film just felt drab to me, and the plot was too unambitious for a Bond film (so the villain wants to disrupt a lame rocket test flight - wup de doo). I sometimes see this film picked as the best in the series (though this usually goes to Goldfinger or From Russia with Love) and I definitely disagree, and think this is coming from bias simply because of the fact that this film was "the original". (The same goes with the Bond girl Honey Ryder, I often see her selected as the best Bond girl - but to me she's rather forgettable).
*Casino Royale - Quite possibly the best Bond film. I definitely prefer the harder, grittier take on Bond to the campiness of the Moore films and the later Connery films. Had great action, settings, and even the minor characters were memorable.
*The Living Daylights - A great and underrated film. This was a huge improvement over the campy Moore films, and it managed to be a serious film while maintaining just the right amount of humor and gadget-oriented scenes from the earlier films. Plus it has one of the best and most underrated henchmen (Necros) in the series, and an interesting and underrated villain (Brad Whitaker - rogue American arms dealer with a "general" complex).
*Skyfall - Another likely candidate for the best Bond film, has easily one of the best villains, and manages to take Bond back to its routes (by reintroducing Q and Moneypenny, and the tricked-out Aston Martin) but without becoming a huge gadget fest, and still mantaining the harder and gritter mood of the other Craig films.
*GoldenEye - Definitely the best Brosnan film - has a great villain, possibly the best opening theme song, and plenty of great action. What's not to like?
*The Spy Who Loved Me - The best Moore film - even though I'm not big on the campy style of most of the Moore films, this film kept the cheesiness to a reasonable level, enough for you to still take the interesting plot and villain seriously.
Bottom 5 (in no particular order)
*Octopussy - Has Bond swinging from vines while yelling like Tarzan, dawning a Gorilla suit, and ending up in a clown costume. Enough said.
*The Man with The Golden Gun - Christopher Lee played a great villain, but that's all this film had going for it. Most of the film didn't even focus on "The Man with the Golden Gun himself", but on hokey martial arts scenes, an annoying comic relief character (Sherrif Pepper). and a midget sidekick who ends up locked in a suitcase at the end. No thanks. Not to mention the final duel between Bond and Scaramanga was very anticlimactic.
*Tomorrow Never Dies - The plot and setting is just too outlandish to take seriously. Apparently a world-famous media mogul is able to house a personal army of machine-gun wielding thugs in major office buildings (not some remote secret base under the ocean). Not to mention in the action scenes, Carver's men engage in large-scale firefights in the streets in major cities like London and Hong Kong in pursuit of Bond - and not a single person ever takes notice (in the age of the internet no less, where anyone with a cell phone can upload stuff to the net) - not to mention he apparently has dozens of reporters and senior officials in his company in on his conspiracy without anyone blowing the whistle. To me the plot of Moonraker was less outlandish than this.
*Live and Let Die - A mediocre cheesy film (I'm shocked that Moore managed to remain for 6 more films after this travesty). This film's most notable moments are the introduction of the annoying Sherrif Pepper, the first supernatural Bond henchman (who is pointlessly resurrected with Voodoo in the ending scene), and ends with the stupidest death scene in any Bond film (the villain swallowing a gas capsule, inflating like a balloon and exploding - is this James Bond or Austin Powers?)
*Diamonds are Forever - Features Ernst Blofield in drag, Bond's girl hiding a cassette in her bikini bottom, a pair of gay assassins/lovers, and some truly awful special effects at the climax of the plot, sorry I'm out.
Most underrated films
*Licence to Kill - Has plenty of great action, along with a memorable and diabolical villain and henchman. Not to mention it attempts to show a more personal side of Bond, which is a nice touch. I will admit though that it's definitely the least "Bond-like" of the film series, and feels more like a typical 80s action film. (Nevertheless the concept of Bond going rogue and seeking revenge for a murdered friend is actually based on one Ian Fleming's Bond stories if I'm not mistaken).
*The World is not Enough - The majority of flak I see directed at this film is over Denise Richards' role as the Bond girl - and that's it. I'll admit she was a terrible actress (but still not as bad as the Bond girl from A View to A Kill) and not at all believable as a "Nuclear Scientist" (the Moneypenny character in this film would've been more believable in that role). But aside from that single nitpick this film is definitely passable - it has good action scenes, a badass villain, and some creative plot twists (such as M's abduction, and Bond's former romantic interest in the villain's sidekick).
*A View to a Kill - This is another film where I hear most of the gripe fixated on a few small nitpicks, most of which is based off of Roger Moore looking too old for the role. Personally this doesn't bother me (the guy ages well, much better than Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for sure) - and he was only 2 years older than he was in the previous film anyway. On the whole this film was a huge improvement over the campier Moore films, since it actually tried to be halfway serious. Not to mention it featured Christopher Walken as one of the best Bond villains in the series. The only other gripes about the film worth mentioning are the Bond Girl (the worst and ditziest in the series - her screaming during the action scenes is infamously annoying, and she sounds like she's stoned for most of the film), and the choice of "California Girls" by the Beach Boys as a theme song in an opening chase scene. Regardless this film makes Octopussy and the Man with the Golden Gun look like Citizen Kane.
Most overrated films
*Dr. No - This film just has a very low-budget feel to it - sure it was the first film in the series (and the creators obviously didn't predict it would become a multi-billion dollar franchise), but overall this film just felt drab to me, and the plot was too unambitious for a Bond film (so the villain wants to disrupt a lame rocket test flight - wup de doo). I sometimes see this film picked as the best in the series (though this usually goes to Goldfinger or From Russia with Love) and I definitely disagree, and think this is coming from bias simply because of the fact that this film was "the original". (The same goes with the Bond girl Honey Ryder, I often see her selected as the best Bond girl - but to me she's rather forgettable).