9 Movie Franchises That Trade Quality For Enjoyment

6. James Bond

MGMBest film: Goldfinger / Skyfall Most entertaining: Casino Royale / Skyfall Selecting the best Bond film is an impossible task. 52 years and 23 official films later, everyone has their favourite. So inevitably this selection will annoy some people. That€™s why I€™ve cheated and chosen Skyfall in both categories. In many people's eyes the best Bond film is Goldfinger. It is the most iconic of Connery€™s outings. The car. The laser beam. The killer who paints his victims in gold. These moments aren€™t just significant in Bond history, they are part of movie history. Yet, as with other€™s in this list, later series entries are more enjoyable. Casino Royale is a blockbuster. It€™s a good film, but more importantly, great entertainment. Feeling more Bourne than Bond, Casino Royale reboots Bond for the 21st century giving him a grit that we haven€™t seen before. The results are hugely entertaining action sequences (the first scene particular is a standout) which come at the expense of some of Bond€™s intelligence. It seems like Bond now punches his way out of problems, rather than use the wit we see in Goldfinger€™s classic €˜Do you expect me to talk?€™ scene. While the punching may be more fun, it ignores a significant part of Bond€™s character. 2012€™s Skyfall goes a long way to show us a more balanced Bond and is a better film than Casino Royale but it is also just as entertaining. The great pace of the film and really entertaining set pieces is balanced with great character moments, beautiful cinematography and a great script. In Skyfall Sam Mendes could have found the perfect balance between entertainment and high quality cinema.