Timothy Dalton’s second and final film was decades ahead of its time. It’s a brutal, bloody revenge story that paved the way for the darker Daniel Craig era. 13. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Daniel Craig's debut not only revitalized the series but is widely regarded as the single best James Bond film ever made. On IMDb, the film holds a standout 8.0 rating, placing it above all other 007 adventures. It discards the gadget-laden camp of the previous films for a raw, gritty origin story. We see Bond earn his license to kill and learn to become the cold, hardened operative we know. The chemistry between Craig and Eva Green's Vesper Lynd is electric, and the high-stakes poker game provides a brilliant, character-driven centerpiece. As one review of the time described it, the film was praised for its "intensity and emotional weight," marking a dramatic shift for the franchise.
For six decades, the world’s most famous spy has defined the action genre. With 25 official Eon Productions films (plus a few outliers), the James Bond franchise is a cinematic colossus. But with so many shaken martinis, Aston Martins, and arch-villains, where do you start?
For completionists, there are two movies that fall outside of the official Eon Productions canon:
There is a pivotal scene in this film where Bond dresses up as a clown to diffuse a nuclear bomb. He also swings through the jungle while doing a Tarzan yell. If that sounds like a ridiculous mess, you have the right impression.
The 90s Comeback.
