GoldenEye

Probably the most underrated film of the series, with Brosnan inheriting the infamous code number 007 from Dalton. This installment certainly returned with a bang—rightfully so—after a five-and-a-half year hiatus from 1989's LICENSE TO KILL. Bond is assigned by M (Judi Dench) to prevent an arms syndicate from using a satellite weapon (the GoldenEye; titled as an homage to series creator Ian Fleming's Jamaican estate) to cause worldwide financial destruction. Despite not focusing too long on development, the cast does an excellent job bringing to life extremely interesting characters—which is quite a feat for an episodic spy film—such as: Brosnan, Bean, a sadistic Janssen, Dench, John, an underused Coltrane, Llewelyn (of course), and especially Cumming… even Billy J. Mitchell's death-face is classic. Éric Serra's score is untouchable (save the ridiculous car-racing scene immediately following the amazing opening sequence). The plot is a little too complex for its own good… but why pry when there is never a dull moment? Spawned one of the greatest video games of all-time, bearing the same name and released two years later on the Nintendo 64 console.