Bond on Bond: Five best 007 movies

SINCE first hitting our screens way back in 1962 with Dr No, James Bond has become one of the biggest names in world cinema.

The man with a “licence to kill” has entertained generations of movie buffs and if you ask people who their favourite 007 is, most will be able to give you an answer.

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But what about the best Bond films? There have been no shortage of memorable ones down the years, including From Russia With Love and The Man With The Golden Gun, to name just two.

However, it’s fair to say there have been a few turkeys along the way, too. Die Another Day was a particular low point, and the less said about Quantum of Solace the better.

Here, though, are my top five Bond flicks.

GOLDFINGER (1964)

To be considered a truly great Bond film you need a great villain and in Auric Goldfinger, along with his hat-throwing henchman Oddjob, we have a baddie who pushes our man to his limits.

This is the film that gave us the brilliant Pussy Galore and where Bond introduced the world to his Aston Martin DB5. It also has one of the best lines of any Bond film ever: “You expect me to talk?” ... “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.”

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)

This was Roger Moore’s first outing as 007, offering a more debonair take on Ian Fleming’s super spy than his predecessor Sean Connery.

Live and Let Die is what Bond is all about - fast cars, exotic locations, beautiful women and sinister baddies. It also has one of the best Bond songs of all time. What’s not to like?

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)

This is another Bond film with a memorable tune, Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better. Here we are introduced to every dentist’s worst nightmare, the giant henchman Jaws.

Yes, the film hams it up at times, much to the chagrin of Bond purists, but it does so with a knowing swagger. Plus, it has one of the best, and most outrageous, opening sequences of any Bond film.

CASINO ROYALE (2006)

After the execrable Die Another Day, the Bond franchise was in dire need of a reboot and cometh the hour, cometh the man. Step forward Daniel Craig. Combining the menace of Sean Connery with the effortless cool of Steve McQueen, Craig takes Bond back to his cruel, ruthless best. This is 007 for the 21st Century.

SKYFALL (2012)

This film cleverly plays on the relationship between Judi Dench’s M and 007. It also weaves together an intriguing backstory for Bond as the plot hurries towards its finale and in Javier Bardem we have an actor who was born to play a Bond villain, which he does here with great aplomb.