Not stirred: This lineup at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Berlin presents all the actors who've played James Bond in the legendary Eon Productions movies. From left: Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan.
Britta Pedersen/Picture Alliance via Getty ImagesThe James Bond movie franchise is a juggernaut, with 26 films to date (24 canonical, plus two rogues). It's featured six different actors in the lead role. Soon there'll be another movie to add to the super-spy series: No Time to Die, likely the final one to star Daniel Craig, making his fifth appearance as agent 007. Along the way, the franchise has delivered both gems and clunkers.
It looked for a while like we might see No Time to Die in November, but once again it's been delayed by the coronavirus. Just as October was getting underway, the movie's studio and producers announced that the new date for the film to hit theaters is April 2, 2021.
At least we've had the occasional trailer and Billie Eilish video. While you're waiting, you can also satisfy your Bond cravings by revisiting the older movies. If you're not sure where to start, check out our recommendations and full rundown on big-screen Bond.
You can also take a run through this ranking of James Bond movies, from worst to best. It's not arbitrary or one person's whim -- it's based on an aggregate of movie reviews as compiled by Metacritic. (Disclosure: Metacritic and CNET have the same parent company, ViacomCBS.)
Here's one zinger from the legendary Pauline Kael writing in The New Yorker about an '80s vintage entry: "The James Bond series has had its bummers, but nothing before in the class of this one."
And praise from Variety for one of the top five films: The star "excellently puts over a cool, fearless, on-the-ball, fictional Secret Service guy."
The list accounts for every theatrical release, so not just the two dozen from Eon Productions starting back in 1962 with Sean Connery in Dr. No, but also two noncanonical entries -- the 1967 version of Casino Royale, a trippy turn with multiple actors playing Bond (David Niven chief among them), and 1983's Never Say Never Again, with Connery in his second comeback.
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Don't go looking for the 1954 version of Casino Royale, though. That was a true outlier -- a 50-minute TV playhouse production that introduced Ian Fleming's hero to the world as "Jimmy" Bond, an American secret agent. You can find that on YouTube, if you're curious.
Otherwise, we've got the whole litany of actors who've played Bond in the official franchise -- besides Connery and Craig, that's George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
So go ahead, check out our ranking. If you're new to Bond, it'll give you an idea where you might want to start your viewing. If you're an old hand who's got strong feelings, let us know here how you rate the Bonds.
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