OK, someone who is a bond nut do me a favor here.
I've only really seen the Brosnan/Craig era movies. I know I don't want to buy every film but what are the "Must Haves" that have held up well that I should get?
Because I'm a rather sad individual, I bought all of the Bond blu-rays with the epic undertaking of reviewing every single one of them this summer. I've already written out a rough draft introductory blurb for each one, here's my opinions of the entire Bond saga:
1962 - Dr. No. Sean Connery NAILED Bond from the word go, still one of the most memorable movies
1963 - From Russia With Love. Nearly perfect, my pick for second best Bond movie
1964 - Goldfinger. Also virtually perfect, Sean Connery could do no wrong whatsoever at this point
1965 - Thunderball. Pure awesome! It's mind boggling they made so many great films on a yearly basis
1967 - You Only Live Twice. One of the rare Connery ones you can skip, he was tuning out at this point
1967 - Casino Royale. Not a real Bond movie, just a ridiculously bad parody that I refuse to watch again
1969 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The only George Lazenby Bond, this makes a strong case for the best written Bond until Craig stepped into the role
1971 - Diamonds Are Forever. Yeah... Connery never should have come back. You can't go home again
1973 - Live And Let Die. The first and only good Roger Moore movie, he quickly turned the franchise into goofy nonsense
1974 - The Man With The Golden Gun. Another lame Moore one, however Christopher Lee is EPICLY awesome here
1977 - The Spy Who Loved Me. This is actually a pretty decent one, especially for a Moore movie
1979 - Moonraker. OMG I hate Roger Moore. This one is too stupid for words as we get Bond in outer space
1981 - For Your Eyes Only. The series tries to get serious again but Moore can't pull it off. KILLER ending sequence though
1983 - Octopussy. Yep, this is the one where Moore dresses like a CLOWN and pisses on Bond's legacy forever. Also notable for being the most boring Bond movie ever made.
1983 - Never Say Never Again. Not a real Bond movie, this is just embarrassing for everyone involved
1985 - A View To A Kill. Horribly lame even for a Moore movie, not even Christopher Walken could have saved this one
1987 - The Living Daylights. The first Timothy Dalton Bond! It's pretty good, but the next one totally overshadows it
1989 - Licence To Kill. Dalton's Bond gets no love. This is a FANTASTICALLY dark take on the franchise, and totally paved the way for Daniel Craig
1995 - GoldenEye. BOOM! One of the best Bond movies of all time
1997 - Tomorrow Never Dies. It's all downhill for Bronson after Goldeneye, this is just the beginning
1999 - The World Is Not Enough. Denise Richards is a nuclear physicst. That sums up this movie perfectly
2002 - Die Another Day. The worst Bond film of all time, but it gets so bad it becomes hilarious to watch
2006 - Casino Royale. My pick for the greatest Bond movie of all time, even if the ending drags on way too long
2008 - Quantum Of Solace. It has a horrible script but everything else is pretty solid here. Fascinating film to watch
2012 - Skyfall. I think I'm the only person in the world that didn't like this one as much as everyone else seemed to
TLDR, Must buys:
Dr. No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
Licence To Kill
Medium buys:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Live And Let Die
The Living Daylights
Low buys:
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Man With The Golden Gun