Which James Bond movie is best? The definitive 007 film ranking – from awful to awesome

An invisible Aston Martin, a tsunami-surfing Pierce Brosnan and an excruciating Madonna theme song: this was Bond at his blundering worst. Released to coincide with the spy's 40th anniversary, it turned out to be less of a celebration and more like watching your uncle trying to dance at a wedding.

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George Lazenby's abrupt departure as 007 prompted producers to back a truck full of money into Sean Connery's driveway. He repaid them by packing on the pounds and delivering the most comatose performance of his entire career. Elsewhere, the worst of Ian Fleming's homophobia filters through into the portrayal of henchmen Mr Wint and Mr Kidd.

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When Roger Moore found out he was not only older than his Bond Girl co-star Tanya Roberts but older than her mother too, he knew it was time to hang up the safari suit. Moore, then aged 57, and Patrick Macnee, then aged 63, were tasked with saving the world from Christopher Walken and Grace Jones in an era when Schwarzenegger and Stallone were tearing up the action genre.

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Roger Moore always brought a lighter touch to 007, but in his penultimate outing he tipped over into self-parody, yelling like Tarzan as he swung from a vine and saving the day while dressed as a circus clown. His submarine-disguised-as-a-crocodile also has to go down as one of the most baffling Q branch gadgets.

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Traditionally the third Bond movie is when an actor really comes into their own – see Connery/Goldfinger, Moore/Spy Who Loved Me, Craig/Skyfall. Pierce Brosnan had no such luck as he completed a 007 hat trick with the tepid The World Is Not Enough, which boasted a pre-credits sequence that went on forever and the most unlikely nuclear scientist of all time in Denise Richards's Christmas Jones.

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Casino Royale kicked off Daniel Craig's Bond tenure in some style, but all that good work swiftly unravelled in follow-up Quantum of Solace. Marc Forster's rapid-cut action made this seem more like a Bourne knock-off than Bond – still, worth it for that dazzling opera sequence and Gemma Arterton's oily Goldfinger tribute.

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Christopher Lee's triple-nippled baddie Scaramanga is a highlight, but the shameless cribbing from kung fu and Carry On movies is disappointing – especially since the Bond franchise began life setting trends instead of chasing them. A finale showdown between Bond and 3ft 10in Hervé Villechaize's Nick Nack leaves a sour taste, too.

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The Bond series can be many things, but whip-smart media satire apparently isn't one of them. Still, they gave it a good go in Tomorrow Never Dies, casting Jonathan Pryce as a broadcasting mogul hellbent on starting World War III... because it would boost his TV ratings. Yes, really. If this film is proof of anything, it's that Pierce Brosnan was a good 007 stranded in mediocre movies and more Bond Girls need to be like Michelle Yeoh.

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James Bond... in space! The box office success of Star Wars led to this sci-fi tinged 007 outing, which got mauled by critics for its bonkers plot. Viewed from a distance it's actually not as bad as you remember, gifting classic Bond moments like the "attempting re-entry" gag and 007 in free-fall without a parachute.

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The Bond series tilted over into excess with its fourth outing: more girls! More gadgets! More action! Unfortunately, the whole thing drags at a hefty 130 minutes, and its underwater sequences – at the time revolutionary – are a complete snoozefest. Sean Connery's toupee? Highly distracting.

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After the outer-space madness of Moonraker, Bond came back down to Earth (literally) for follow-up For Your Eyes Only. This was a no-frills spy thriller in the mould of From Russia with Love, dispatching Bond to retrieve a valuable communications device from a sunken British ship. Moore retains all his sparkling charm, but lowers his trademark eyebrow to deliver the best "acting" turn of his 007 tenure.

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Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig embraced the tried-and-tested 007 formula for Skyfall follow-up Spectre, and though the movie delivered big on stunts and action it's somewhat lacking in emotional punch. The film's bid to tie together all Craig's previous Bond movies by way of an elaborate family backstory falls flat. And that Blofeld foster brother reveal? Pure Austin Powers.

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The first Bond movie to cement the tried-and-tested formula, You Only Live Twice checked off "megalomaniac villain with a facial deformity", "hollowed-out underground lair" and "plot to kick-start World War III". The script (by Roald Dahl, no less) is playful and fun, although Sean Connery's "Japanese" makeover needed a rethink.

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Timothy Dalton's final Bond movie was a blood-soaked revenge story that saw 007 hunt down the drug lord who fed his CIA pal Felix Leiter to sharks. The only Bond to be handed a 15 certificate, this was desperately trying to keep up with the edgier action flicks of the '80s. Stripped of the usual tropes, it's a violently enjoyable 007 detour.

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Roger Moore's 12-year run as Bond delivered massive box-office returns, meaning finding a replacement was always going to be difficult. Step forward Shakespearean actor (and Flash Gordon star) Timothy Dalton, whose grit and ultra-serious approach was a world away from Moore. Daylights is a tightly-coiled spy thriller that took the series back to basics. Daniel Craig before Daniel Craig.

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Roger Moore's Bond debut Live and Let Die is relentlessly entertaining, has a great Bond Girl (Jane Seymour), big set pieces across land, sea and air, and a cracking theme song from Paul McCartney. It's also Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes's favourite Bond movie – and who's going to argue with them?

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We had to wait a long time for Daniel Craig's James Bond swansong, but No Time to Die was worth the wait. After the disappointment of Spectre, the final Craig outing was surprising in a way that few Bond movies are (and not just in that ending), while also delivering the spectacle of a classic 007 movie.

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The very first Bond film, Dr No wowed audiences in the early '60s thanks to Sean Connery's leading-man charisma and exotic locations served up between fast-paced action. Ursula Andress emerging from the sea is still one of the defining moments of the series.

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What a way to celebrate Bond's 50th anniversary. Skyfall respectfully tipped its hat to the past (Aston Martin ejector seats!), while simultaneously driving Daniel Craig's Bond into brave new territory. Tense encounters with Javier Bardem's touchy-feely villain Silva, a journey into Bond's ancestry and the death of Judi Dench's M made this an exciting and emotional series high.

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Kicking off with Roger Moore skiing off the edge of a cliff before opening a Union Jack parachute at the last moment, The Spy Who Loved Me grips right from the start. This had all the Bond staples in place – big stunts, quips, megalomaniacal world-ending plot, a terrifying henchman in Jaws – making it the best Bond movie of the '70s.

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