Most Promising Opening Sequence

Die Another Day, 2002 — From the menacing midnight surf off a Normandy-esque North Korean beach to Bond's discotheque torture at the hands of electrified hottie silhouettes, this 20th double-O mission—Pierce Brosnan's last—attempts to infuse the series with some much needed gravitas. Sadly, even this pressure wasn't enough to (ahem) pierce Brosnan's shield of chronic cockiness, so he had to go in favor of the more haunted looking Daniel Craig.

Least Promising Opening Sequence

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969 — Sure, it introduced one of the most notable and best of the Bond girls in Contessa "Tracy" Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), who would go on to join James in short-lived wedded bliss, but it also featured one of the clumsiest hand-offs in the series' history. After saving Rigg from an apparent suicide attempt and engaging in an uber-random tussle with two baddies on a beach, one-off Bondster George Lazenby — who had the unenviable task of replacing Sean Connery — picks up Di Vicenzo's shoes and remarks, "This never happened to the other fellow." Lazenby then proceeds to chase Rigg into the sunset, silver slippers flapping at his side.

Best Bond Girl

Daniela Bianchi, a.k.a. Tatiana Romanova, From Russia With Love, 1963 — Picking the penultimate Bond girl is inherently sticky business, so I'm going to have to go with my gut and nominate Bianchi. Sexy, smart, dangerous and sporting a killer accent, she could double-cross me any day of the week.

Worst Bond Girl

Tanya Roberts aka Stacey Sutton, A View To A Kill, 1985 — A lot of people like to dis Denise Richards, who failed to successfully pass herself off as nuclear physicist "Dr." Christmas Jones in 1999's The World Is Not Enough. But at least she was fun, and — as her recent laptop-tossing incident shows — dangerous, too. Tanya Roberts, on the other hand, portrayed a slightly less vapid geologist who was far too bland for Bond. Infamous for spouting "Oh, James!" ad nauseam, Roberts should go down — as the worst Bond girl in history, that is.

Best Brawl

Gypsy Catfight, From Russia With Love — What can I say? I'm a sucker for Eastern-European women.

Tastiest Opening Credits

From Russia With Love, 1963 — With more flesh than you can shake a stick at, this low-lit bellydancer's hips could stir even the stiffest of double-O agents.

Trivia

After making On His Majesty's Secret Service, George Lazenby was offered a deal for seven more Bond films, but turned it down. Producer Albert R. Broccoli thought Lazenby had the potential to be the best Bond.

Maud Adams appeared in three Bond films: As Scaramanga's lover Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), as the titular Octopussy (1983) and as an extra in A View to a Kill (1985).

The screenplay for You Only Live Twice was written by Roald Dahl, author of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Sean Connery actually had three stints as James Bond. His initial run, from 1962-67, was followed by two individual films, 1971's Diamonds Are Forever, and 1983's "unofficial" Never Say Never Again.

Memorable Lines

"Flattery will get you nowhere. But don't stop trying." — Miss Moneypenny to Bond, Dr. No, 1962

"I am now aiming precisely at your groin. So speak, or forever hold your piece." — Bond, The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974

"My God! What's Bond doing?" — M

"I think he's attempting re-entry, sir." — Q, Moonraker, 1979

"I thought Christmas only comes once a year."—Bond, The World Is Not Enough, 1999

"You like a close shave, don't you?" — Pussy Galore, Goldfinger, 1964

Best Overall Movie

From Russia With Love, 1963 - This second Bond movie fulfilled the potential that Dr. No mostly hinted at. More epic in scope without being over the top, it features Bond's first great action sequence, a brawl on the Orient Express, tighter plotting, faster pacing and better acting. Oh, and did I mention the women? From Russia with Love is also the Bond installment that Sean Connery himself considers the best.

Worst Overall Movie

A View to A Kill, 1985 - Sure, it's got Christopher Walken and a kick-ass Duran Duran title song going for ti. Even so, A View To A Kill is dead on arrival, beginning with the skiing equivalent of synchronized swimming - a neat and tidy mountainside slalom, set to 'California Girls.' The entire movie is chockful of cheesy special effects (Bond's car cut in half? Don't be ree-dee-culous!) and banal plot points. Whether or not you like Roger Moore's tongue- in-cheek take on Bond, there's no denying he went out on a sour note.

Best Bond. James Bond.

Sean Connery — Although Pierce Brosnan is a close second in my book, his incarnation was always a little too ... smirky for my blood. Connery has it all: confidence, humanity, sex appeal and wit, all perfectly shaken (not stirred) together.

Worst Bond. James Bond.

Roger Moore — There are plenty of Bond parodies out there. This faux-playboy wannabe would've been great in one of those.

Best Villain

Tie: Octopussy (Maud Adams) and Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) — Props must be given to Christopher Walken, playing billionaire industrialist Max Zorin, for making A View To A Kill barely watchable. Of course, there's also Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's long-running arch nemesis, but I was never a huge fan of this particular Austin em-Powering evil genius. (And ever since Mike Meyers' spy got shagged, Blofeld's pussy-petting has become just a little too unintentionally funny.) Which leads me to my top villains, Octopussy and Scaramanga (aka The Man with the Golden Gun), both of whom are interesting, mysterious and on many levels more than a match for Bond. Of course, nominating Octopussy does beg the question: Where does a Bond villain end and a Bond girl begin? Why, in bed, naturally.

Worst Villain

Dr. No — He has a secret lair. He talks very precisely. And he's probably boring you to death at this very moment.

The Best Worst Villain

Jaws — Cheesy as hell, yes. But memorable.