The James Bond Collection, Volume 1

Seven films. Four Bonds. One set. This sprawling collection surveys over 30 years of James Bond skullduggery, from the cold war tensions of the 1960s to the international free-for-all of the present. Sean Connery remains the coolest of the Bonds, a ruthless agent with dry martini wit and a way with the women, and in Goldfinger his steely presence helped forge the Bond formula of tongue-in-cheek wit, wondrous secret agent toys created by Q, and megalomaniac supervillains bent on world destruction. Thunderball upped the Bond ante with the most ambitious adventure--and budget--to date. Roger Moore brought an altogether lighter tone to 007 with Live and Let Die, softening Connery's rough edges with a more romantic persona as the films became even more exotic. After a brief digression into outer space, For Your Eyes Only returned Bond to globetrotting high adventure and teamed him with his most endearing ally (Topol as a gregarious smuggler). Timothy Dalton made his second and final appearance as Bond in Licence to Kill, the toughest of the Bond films since Connery's early efforts. Though not a fan favorite, it's a sleek, solid adventure with an edge missing from the Moore pictures. Pierce Brosnan is the latest to take on 007's licence to kill, combining the best of Connery's cool and Moore's humor. GoldenEye is the best Bond film in years, a grand globetrotting adventure with lovely Bond girls and a tough new M (Judy Dench). Tomorrow Never Dies doesn't recapture that magic mix of action, gadgetry, and romance, but does feature the first Bond girl to match 007 blow for blow: Hong Kong action superstar Michelle Yeoh. Taken together, this set is a veritable cross-section of the many faces of James Bond. All that's missing is George Lazenby. Do I hear a nomination for set 2? --Sean Axmaker