25/24. Casino Royale (1967)/Never Say Never Again (1983)
I felt it necessary to include these unofficial spin-offs for completists sakes. The reason they score so low is because, frankly, theyre crap films. Everyone seems to love how cheeky and typically 60s and madcap Casino Royale is, but as a kid I found it a boring, unenjoyable and incomprehensible mess, and I still do today. I mean, where do I begin? Apart from the troubles on productions and the amoutnof directors it went through, its an embarrassment I dont look back on with any fondness at all. Maybe that makes me miserable, but keep in mind that even the lower entries of the official EON films are miles better than either of the unofficial efforts. Never Say Never Again is better by the tiniest margin known to man, but its just Connery on autopilot, as he was in his final two EON entries. The villains are crap the substitutes for M, Q and Moneypenny are dull as dishwater Theres nothing worth revisiting. Both of these are hardly worth mentioning, and critically it proves the people behind them cant make good films, let alone good bond films in any mould. Moving on