Tuesday Top 10 - 007

This week, in honor of Bond's 50th (yes, that's 50th) Anniversary of coming to the big screen, I'm going to list my Top 10 favorite Bond films. Note that Daniel Craig isn't anywhere near this list. And, yes, these are in order:

The one that started it all. Bond was introduced to the world here and Sean Connery IS Bond. You can argue all you want about the others, but no one else comes close in my book. He just exudes a confidence and swagger you just don't see with most of the others. In this one most of the Bond staples (and later cliches) begin and every time I see it I geek out.

My favorite Roger Moore Bond film is also his first. It isn't quite as campy as his other outings. Sure, it has its moments, but overall this is a really edgy and different Bond than we had seen before. It introduced Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (Jane Seymore) to the world as more than just to sell baby food (look it up). This is also one of, if not the best, Bond theme of all time.

How do you follow up a runaway hit like "Dr. No"? By killing the main character in the opening scene! You've heard of the carpet matching the drapes? Well Bond says "As long as the collar matches the cuffs..." LOL. Here's where "Inspector Gadget" gets many of it's tropes (the baddie with the cat, SPECTRE). A really FUN Bond movie.

Pierce Brosnan becomes Connery's heir apparent in this one. Brosnan's were a little hit and miss, but all the targets were hit with this one. Combine it with the game that my college friends and I basically wasted all our Freshman and Sophomore year playing and you've got a winner, winner, chicken dinner! With all the over-the-top camp of Moore and the too hard-edged outings (for most) of Dalton, this one struck the balance just right.

Goldfinger is probably the most glorified of Bond films because of many factors. Not least of which, is that it's a really well made movie. Here we're introduced to Pussy Galore (pretty racy for the '60s), Oddjob, and the third most famous line in Bond history "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" behind "Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred". And no, the woman didn't die from the paint.

This one is as campy as I get. And it says a lot that much of "Goldmember" is actually taken from the concepts of this movie. It's still really good and again, very different from the ones before it. Honestly, each movie was different with Connery, but once we moved on to Moore, they started to get a little formulaic from time to time.

Another really good Brosnan one, Christmas Jones not withstanding. LOL. It opens with my second favorite Bond theme done by Garbage and it never really lets up. It has good action, twists and turns, and the best baddie since Blofeld (in my humble opinion). It also showed how even the greatest spy could get the wool pulled over his eyes.

I love the tagline on the right. Hehehe. This one's on here for one thing alone. The introduction of "Q". That is all.

Dalton got a really bad wrap for his depiction of Bond. What pisses me off is that he was doing the same thing Craig has tried to do: not be so witty and lighthearted. This was a darker, grittier Bond that came during a time of excess and people wanting fluff. After Moore's last couple of outings, I think the Broccolis wanted a kind of palette cleanser. And they got it. Maybe I have a soft spot for this one because it is the first one I remember watching in the theater, but I think it is a really underrated film in the franchise. The nail in Dalton's coffin, however, came with "License To Kill" which was like watching an episode of "Miami Vice". SMH.

Widely considered the best Moore Bond film. I'm hesitant to say that because it still rings a little campy in comparison to "Live and Let Die". A really good outing though.