The arguable nadir of the Bond series, Tomorrow Never Dies finds a weary Brosnan battling, ahem, a Rupert Murdoch-like media mogul who uses mercenaries to start wars just so he can write about them in his newspapers first. Oh, the humanity. While there's a glimmer of sincerity in Tomorrow's notion of current events as media spectacle, the movie gets just about everything dead wrong, from its bad guy (Jonathan Pryce, who I love, is possible the worst villain ever) to its Bond girl (Michelle Yeoh). Even the evil henchman is badly picked: Ricky Jay is a lovable magician, not a hard-nosed killer. Need I mention director Roger Spottiswoode previously helmed Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! Maybe Bond could have taken her out too.

Bond #18.