1. Die Another Day (2002)
The Man: Pierce Brosnan (again)
The Mission: Bond is imprisoned in North Korea for seemingly killing Zao, the son of a prominent general. After being released, and with his 00 status suspended (sound familiar?), he goes after the men who tortured and betrayed him, eventually falling foul of billionaire Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens).
The Problem: While the Bond series is hardly the paragon of cinematic craftsmanship, you would be hard pushed to find another film in the franchise as contemptibly lazy as this. This is not so much a film as a greatest hits compilation: the plot is lifted from Diamonds Are Forever, the introduction of Jinx is ripped off from Dr. No, Graves' skydiving entrance is equal parts Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me, and so on. There are any number of moments in Die Another Day to which the only sane response is to cringe whether it's the invisible Aston Martin, Bond surfing on the CGI wave, or Madonna's horrendous attempts at acting. But the film is altogether worse than the sums of its parts, having very little story punctuated by dull action scenes. In short, it is all the worst elements of the series taken to the extreme, and the worst possible case for why it should continue for another 40 years.
The Alternative: The World is Not Enough (1999). Despite Denise Richards' performance, it's not as bad as many people think. Have I missed out any of 007's worst moments? Drop me a comment below...