I was going to try and put together my personal list of the best Bond movies but that's been done to death and really, every Bond fan has different opinions on this question. Instead, I thought I'd float a couple of what I consider to be the overlooked gems of the franchise.
Most Overlooked: I consider this to be a tie between The Living Daylights and Octopussy. The Living Daylights is taut, tight, topical and for the late 80s, timely- especially when they venture to Afghanistan at the end of the movie. Not many people I know loved Timothy Dalton as Bond but between the overwrought, 'we'd really like to be Miami Vice not at all a revenge pic since Felix lives' License To Kill and this one, I take The Living Daylights all the way. (Bonus: one of the best theme songs of the Bond franchise, courtesy of A-ha.)
Octopussy I think gets overlooked a lot because the name is utterly ridiculous but between the humor and wit and occasional schlock of a lot of the Roger Moore era, Octopussy delivers a pulse-pounding, race to prevent doomsday thriller- complete with faberge eggs, trips to India and an island full of Amazonian warrior women. (Plus a random cameo by Indian tennis star Vijay Amritraj.)
Almost A Disaster: For Your Eyes Only from my high school days, I remember carefully watching the aquatically themed opening credits trying to glimpse the purported female nipple hidden therein. Though the teenage figure skater trying to seduce Bond is annoying as shit and nearly derails the whole damn thing. Some people aren't fans of the Thatcher scene at the end but I thought it was hilarious. And the scene where Bond tells General Gogol: 'That's detente, comrade. You don't have it, I don't have it.' Really sums up the movie nicely.
Most Disappointing Movie: Would have to be The World Is Not Enough. Pierce Brosnan's third outing as James Bond had a lot going for it in my book- including the nicely psychological twist of having a female villain (played with panache by Sophie Morceau) mess with Bond's head. But gross miscasting of Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist and her name (Christmas Jones) being designed to set up a lame punchline you knew, you KNEW was coming at some point in the movie killed it for me.
The World Is Not Enough hovers on the edge of true greatness balanced between the slightly ridiculous plot of a modern day William Randolph Hurst of Tomorrow Never Dies and the overwrought CGI filled saga of Die Another Day. But Denise Richards ruins it all.
Best Villain: Jaws
Well, duh.
Best Bond Girl: Colonel Lin, Tomorrow Never Dies
This was kind of a tough call. Though Miranda Frost wins on sheer captivating beauty, I like Bond Girls that can go toe to toe with 007 and give him a run for his money. Michelle Yeoh's portrayal of Colonel Lin gave 007 an equal in a way that viewers didn't see until Eva Green's luminous portrayal of Vesper Lynn in Casino Royale. I still think it would have been perfect if she wouldn't have given into his charms at the end of Tomorrow Never Dies but all in all, this is the most capable, ass-kicking, girl power Bond Girl out there.
Best Bond: Bond purists are going to hate me for this, but I've got to go with Roger Moore.
All glory to Sean Connery and even Pierce Brosnan but before I saw Goldeneye, the first Bond movie I ever owned was Live and Let Die. Moore had the debonair charm, wit and bad-assery needed for the role and although he might have overstayed his welcome a bit- he looked a bit old by the time we got to A View To A Kill, the longest serving Bond for me, made the role his. Roger Moore's the man.
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