I'd give either On Her Majesty's Secret Service or From Russia With Love a shot, depending on which you think is more likely to hit the sweet spot. But I think Bond is its own genre and if you didn't grow up with it... It's difficult to say "oh yes, it's often appallingly racist and sexist, and very serious about completely ridiculous things, and goofily glib about serious things, and you just need to roll with that!"

I mean, it is an odd franchise.

Y'know, actually I might go with Matt's rec of Moonraker or (even better/worse) A View to a Kill. If this is someone who can appreciate a terrible movie, at least. I'm quite serious -- instead of "This is one if the good ones" you might be better off with "Everyone agrees, this is just crap. But it does follow the formula, so if you see it done terribly and giggle , you're entertained, and later you may enjoy it more when it's done well. I can at least guarantee you won't be bored!"

It's difficult to say "oh yes, it's often appallingly racist and sexist, and very serious about completely ridiculous things, and goofily glib about serious things, and you just need to roll with that!"

At heart, James Bond is the hero of a 14YO boy's fantasy world. More so in the Connery-Lazenby-Moore era, but still to some extent now.

very serious about completely ridiculous things, and goofily glib about serious things, and you just need to roll with that!"

I think this is the part that might get his goat. The man watches movies on TCM, so the racism and sexism can't always be deal breakers. Going the terrible movie route would be something I would go for (I saw "The Living Daylights" first run in a movie theater in college), but he actually might turn the tv off. He likes Cary Grant, he has liked the Bourne Identity trilogy, he likes superhero movies in general (though he is bitter about X-men 3) it doesn't seem to me to be a huge leap from those interests to Bond.

But maybe Beau exists in that sweet spot of carefully silo'd interests.

I'm always surprised that Bond is optional. I thought it was pretty much the only "normal" movie I watched without fail. Since I saw my first one in the theatres, I've seen them all in the theatres. I've never though :"oh, I'll wait until rental". I don't own many, but I can't surf past one, or even past a marathon.

James Bond is the man. Not a costumed superhero or an alien or anything--he's the regular hero that everybody cheers for.

This might be linked to living in the Commonwealth until my early 20s, and Jamaican and Britain specifically for much of that. Ain't nowhere Bondier than either of those places.

It's difficult to say "oh yes, it's often appallingly racist and sexist, and very serious about completely ridiculous things, and goofily glib about serious things, and you just need to roll with that!"

I grew up watching old school Bond and enjoying it. I haven't watched one in a while, so I don't know how I'd feel about them now... but current Bond is most definitely Not My Beautiful Cake.

I grew up primarily with the Moore Bonds, but I find him very smarmy now. But my favorite movies are the one in Louisiana with Jane Seymour and the one with Christopher Lee. The redneck sheriff is hysterical.

I grew up primarily with the Moore Bonds, but I find him very smarmy now.

I too grew up with Moore, but that gives me a certain fondness for him. I do like The Man with the Golden Gun (the Christopher Lee one) quite a bit. The Spy Who Loved Me and Live and Let Die are pretty good too.

However, I would put most of the Connery Bonds above them on any list. Thunderball would go on top, but only because the opening sequence (with the jet pack) takes place in my mother’s hometown, at the Château d’Anet, where my aunt’s future husband worked as a butler during the Occupation. You can actually see one of my cousins as a choirboy in the chapel with the coffin.

The count and countess must have needed money back then since the grounds were also used for one of the Pink Panther movies.

I haven't seen all of the post-Moore movies, but I've seen each Bond at least once. I really liked Skyfall and it has made me want to see all of them.

I think only three Bond movies filmed in Jamaica, and it's senseless to have nostalgic or patriotic feelings about a colonial expat who lived a holiday life of luxury there, but damn. It will take a lot to dissociate the two for me.

Bond has never done it for me - my spy tastes definitely run toward either brooding and thinky (Le Carre, book or movie) or brooding and violent (Bourne, movie only, and I will spork my own eyes out if I ever have to read another Bourne book). My favorite Bonds are thus (obviously) On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the Craig Casino Royale. All the others are alternately HULK SMASH or watch from the hall. I don't think I've ever actually seen a Roger Moore Bond film; his tenure coincided with my prime Mad Magazine readership years, so he's probably too tainted by endless rereads of all their most merciless parodies for me to ever give him an unbiased viewing.

He's okay...personally, either "Live or Let Die" or "For Your Eyes Only" are his best ones.