5. From Russia With Love

Now the list gets REALLY hard, because it feels like most of these films could be interchangeable based on the mood you’re in. Regardless, From Russia With Love will currently hold down the five spot. Connery is out for his second run as Bond, and he really develops his craft with this one. Bond is pitted up against SPECTRE once more, and this time they use the promise of a decoding machine delivered by a Russian beauty to lead him into a trap.

Waiting at the other end of the trap is the psychotic killing machine and Russian agent, Donald “Red” Grant (Robert Shaw). This movie just had the feel of an espionage thriller from start to finish, with double agents everywhere and assassinations in dark alleys. To cap things off, the movie ends with an all-time great Bond fight scene, as he goes head-to-head against Grant on a train.

4. Skyfall

Daniel Craig makes his debut on the list in the four spot with Skyfall, which feels like an injustice because of how amazing this movie is. Here Bond goes up against a former operative, Silva (played masterfully by Javier Bardem), that is out for revenge against M (Judi Dench).

By this point you can tell how comfortable Craig is playing Bond, as he channels his inner Connery to add a certain swagger to his version of the character we hadn’t yet seen. However, as good as Craig is, Bardem manages to steal every scene, giving the most well-acted villain performance we’ve seen in the franchise. This was director Sam Mendes’ first Bond movie, and he did an incredible job paying homage to earlier films in the series.