The James Bond film catalog is great – 25 films in the official 007 cannon, plus two others. Six different actors played the cinematographic secret agent in six decades, from Dr. No to 2021, no time to die. If all this is new to you, it may seem a little intimidating.
Daniel Craig’s 007 is the most recent and is distinguished by many – in particular more recent Bond Observers – like the face of the secret agent. He played in five films, against seven for Sean Connery (the original James Bond), seven for Roger Moore, five for Pierce Brosnan, two for Timothy Dalton and one for George Lazenby.
So there is a lot to explore beyond the Craig era. The question is, where to start? And where are you going from there? Of course, you can look at them chronologically by theatrical release date from 1962, but a notable characteristic of the Bond franchise – unlike the MCU – is that for the most part, there is very little continuity or narrative arc. There is also, we must warn you, real clunkers mixed with jewels.
This guide obtains the shaken treatment, not stirred, bouncing from the era to the era and the actor to the actor to guide you through the most essential liaison films to start and give you advice where to go from there. We are both looking at Bond films for decades, in almost the whole era as they occurred, so we have strong reflections on what worked well and what failed. Let’s go.
