Dr. No (1962)-The one that started it all.  Little known Sean Connery makes a splash as British secret agent james Bond 007.  Bond investigates mysterious death of Jamaican-based agent.  Ursula Andress makes screen history as first Bond Girl.  Plot very dated, but that makes it more fun to watch.

From Russia with Love (1963)-One of the best.  Bond travels to Istanbul to secure a secret decoding device.  Realizing later that he was set up by criminal organization SPECTRE.  Robert Shaw is meanacing as nearly silent SPECTRE agent.  His fight with Bond in a train compartment is the highlight of the movie.

Goldfinger (1964)-By this, the third film, all the elements have fallen into place.  Gert Frobe as over-the-top villian Auric Goldfinger with over-the-top scheme.  Explode a nuclear device in Fort Knox to boost the value of his own holdings.  Honor Blackman as favorite Bond Girl, #!@? Galore.  A winner on every level.

Thunderball (1965)-SPECTRE blackmails the world with stolen missiles.  Bond travels to Bahamas to investigate.  Overlong plot and too many gadgets sends Bond way over the top.  A trend that hinders later films.

You Only Live Twice (1967)-SPECTRE chief Blofeld (seen for the first time) tries to start a war by stealing Russian and American spacecraft.  This leads Bond to Japan.   The volcano/missile base is spectacular, but the story takes a long time to get going.  Lack of a strong Bond Girl is glaring. Donald Pleasance is suitably creepy as Blofeld.  Sean Connery quit the role of James Bond after this one.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)-Newcomer George Lazenby takes over as secret agent James Bond.  In a film that's part love story, one wonders how a better actor could have handled the role.  This one takes a long time for the plot to get started.  Blofeld (Telly Savales) plans to release a lethal toxin onto the world's population.  Meanwhile, Bond meets his one true love Tracy di Vicenzo (played by Diana Rigg).

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)-Sean Connery is lured back to the role by a hefty paycheck.  This time the setting is Las Vegas.  Blofeld (now played by Charles Gray) is stealing priceless diamonds to build a super satallite.  Or something like that.  Plot takes backseat to watching our favorite agent make himself comfortable in Sin City.  Jill St. John plays the none-too-bright Tiffany Case.  Connery quit again (sort of) after this one.

Live and Let Die (1973)-Roger Moore steps in as James Bond.  He clearly lacks the presence of Connery.  Bond travels between New York, the American South and the Caribbean to investigate a drug ring.  Hardly the work of a British secret agent.  Too many wisecracks and glaring political incorrectness hamper this one.  The psychic Solitare is played by Jane Seymour, probably the most successful Bond actress ever.

 The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)-Christopher Lee plays high-priced assassin out to get Bond.  After that the plot is dumb and the Bond Girl Mary Goodnight (Britt Eckland) is dumber.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)-Moore's third Bond outing keeps everything balanced.  Karl Stromberg's plan to create an underwater society is over-the-top without being too outrageous.  Barbara Bach is just perfect as a Russian agent who must team up with 007.  Roger Moore has definately made James Bond his own.

Moonraker (1979)-BOND IN SPACE!!  Hugo Drax plans to create an outer space society.  Story rehashes at least three other Bond plots.  If only the jokes were as laughable as the special effects.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)-Finally, a serious Roger Moore film.  The death of a British agent leads Bond to investigate a missing decoder and a revenge plot.  Few gadgets and fewer jokes lend to one of the better Bond films.  This one seems like an actual movie.

Octopussy (1983)-Another plot to start World War III with a beautiful jewel thief caught in the middle.  Maud Adams as Octopussy seems to finally be a match for James Bond.  The plot is a little confusing and it seems to run too long, but still one of the better entries.

A View to a Kill (1985)-Roger Moore last Bond film.  Christopher Walken and Grace Jones are appropriately villianous.  But convuluted plot involving races horses and Silicon Valley make this one hard to watch.  Tanya Roberts plays another dumb Bond Girl (a blimp sneaks up on her!!).

The Living Daylights (1987)-Timothy Dalton debuts as James Bond.  He must travel the world to retrieve a valuable informant from Soviet hands.  Not as splashy as other Bond films, but that might be a good thing.  It does lack a really good bad guy.

Licence to Kill (1989)-Bond tracks down a South American drug dealer to revenge a friend's death.  This one appears to have been made on the cheap.  Maybe a little too "real world" for James Bond.  Second and last for Timothy Dalton.

GoldenEye (1995)-After six years, Bond returns.  This time played by Pierce Brosnan.  While tracking down a stolen Russian satallite, Bond discovers that an old friend is behind to scheme.  Strong story with plenty of action.  Sean Bean makes a good equal to our Bond.  Judi Dench is a welcome addition as Bond's boss, M.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)-Jonathan Price plays a ruthless media mogul out to start a war to boost his own ratings.  Michelle Yeoh is good as a Chinese agent who must work with Bond. Lots of action and the plot is pretty straight forward.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)-Bond enlists the help of nuclear scientist Christmas Jones (Denise Richards!?!) to track down missing plutonium.  Meanwhile M (Judi Dench) is kidnapped.  A ruthless terrorist and a beautiful heiress are also involved.  Once again a sensible story takes back seat to action sequences.

Die Another Day (2002)-Bond teams with American agent Jinx (Halle Berry) to track down a secret satallite at an ice hotel with an invisible car.  The outrageousness of this one led to....

Casino Royale (2006)-Daniel Craig takes over as a tough gritty Bond.  This film was designed to relaunch the franchise.  There are few gadgets and nothing seems over-done.  Judi Dench is the sole carryover as M.  Craig plays Bond as a tough guy just promoted to 00-status.  Eva Green arrives late as a cool treasury official.  The card-game in the middle of the film slows down a bit, but the seriousness is welcome after previous films.

The UnOfficial Bonds...

Casino Royale (1954)-An episode of the anthology deries "Climax", this is the first depiction of James Bond.  Barry Nelson plays him as an American (?) agent.  Peter Lorre is menacing as villian LeChiffe.

Casino Royale (1967)-Rival producers spoof Bond in this all-star mess.  David Niven and Peter Sellers are the good guys.  Orson Welles and Woody Allen are the bad guys.  Five directors worked on this one.  All are to blame.

Never Say Never Again (1983)- Sean Connery returns as rival producers remake "Thunderball".  Connery proves he's not to old as an action star.  Barbara Carrera is perfect as the vicious Fatima Blush.  A young Kim Basinger plays Bong Girl Domino.