***I always thought “Dr. No” was the best of the movies. It was also closest to the book. There hasn’t been a good one since “Thunderball”, at least to me.***
I have a preference for FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.
It appears a lot of people agree with you.
All of the first movies went fairly much by the book. After “Thunderball” they began to just use the title and nothing much else from the original story.
For instance, I think “The Spy Who Loved Me” had absolutely nothing to do with the book.