Don't forget the "Star Wars Bond", Moonraker. They even threw in a CE3K touchpad chime!

yes of course. The series has always acknowledged "popular trends". I'm talking about the people who think CASINO ROYALE is this benchmark classic of modern action filmmaking and don't acknowledge the heavy BOURNE IDENTITY influence the movie has.

Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn's highly readable and fun KISS KISS BANG BANG Bond guide mixes concise histories on each series entry (up until 2003) with some entertaining critical breakdowns, rating each, say, villain, Bond girl, location, gadgets, dialogue, etc. and the overall film.

Like all of us they have their own opinions which I thought would be interesting to throw out there since we had a good time going off on the subject.

They rated all the films from 1 to 5, and their reasoning in the book is well thought out, even if you disagree:

5 stars
Goldfinger
OHMSS
You Only Live Twice
Goldeneye

4 stars
From Russia With Love
The Spy Who Loved Me
Never Say Never Again
The Living Daylights
The World is Not Enough

3 stars
Live and Let Die
Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only
Tomorrow Never Dies

2 stars
Dr. No
Thunderball
Casino Royale (1967)
Diamonds Are Forever
Man With the Golden Gun
Octopussy
Licence to Kill

1 star
A View to a Kill

Though it hasn't been updated since the Brosnan era, the book is still a breezy read and worthwhile BTW:

I would rate Thunderball higher on my listings but for the distasteful Molly Peters seduction sequence. That is the one time IMO where Bond's machismo crosses the line into outright forcing himself on a woman.