Don't tend to rate the more recent efforts very highly - they just don't feel authentic Bond to me.
Not a fan of Craig's Bond although his first film did make a good impression at the time. But I prefer the Bonds from shall we say the more (Moore?)classic eras - it's kind of similar to my taste in
Who I suppose, although I will concede that some Bonds (Dalton for instance) seem to have been rather underrated in retrospect.
Anyway, these are me current faves...
1 On Her Majesty's Secret Service - still too underrated in my view, Lazenby's much better than his reputation suggests, this is distinguished by an unusually dark climax as Bond's wife - and famed former
Avengers girl - meets a sad end
2 Goldfinger - unforgettably exciting,
the best ever theme song, Honor Blackman adds another welcome dash of
Avengers style
3 From Russia With Love - rarely for a Bond movie, this actually feels like a proper
spy story, Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya make for really superb villains
4 Thunderball - I know not everybody likes all that underwater stuff and it's certainly not perfect but this one is still unmistakably authentic Fleming with classic Connery moments
5 Dr No - it's the first if not the best, and there's still plenty here to make it magnificent
6 Live and Let Die - Moore's first and I'd say his best with the voodoo elements lending it a fantastic atmosphere
7 The Spy Who Loved Me - all time classic opening plus the great Caroline Munro making a memorable impression in my view
8 The Man with the Golden Gun - not the best Bond film by any means but Christopher Lee's Scaramanga might just be the best Bond film villain
9 Moonraker - perhaps something of a guilty pleasure, it's surely the real climax of the distinctively outrageous Moore era, going just about as far in a certain direction as it was possible to go, with the unfortunate result of making everything that followed seem an anticlimax
10 Casino Royale - great cast and iconic moments with memorable Bacharach music, it's only slightly better than the later remake with Daniel Craig
edit: honorable mention as I should have included
Diamonds are Forever somewhere up there as it's the first Bond film I ever saw and still one of the most enjoyable - great music and style plus the lovely Jill St John as a diamond smuggler and then there's those two very lethal, and very gay, henchmen, Mr Wint and Mr Kidd, who steal the entire movie!
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