Bond Review.
Title: Sounds nicely mysterious and fits the context of the film.
Pre-Titles: A US spacecraft gets swallowed by a larger unidentified craft and we then cut to Bond in bed with a girl in Hong Kong as he is seemingly killed. This is a pretty causal opening, you'd think Bond's apparent death would be shocking but it isn't exciting or shot with any particular suspense. The space scenes haven't date well and there's also a lack of tension with them.
Theme Song: Nancy Sinatra does a good job with the title song, but once again it is John Barry's work that stands out. The string section adds elegance to the song and that main hook just gets stuck in your head making this a memorable theme.
Plot: After the US spacecraft is taken, the Americans blame the Soviets and a third World War becomes a possibility. It is believed that Japan is where the spacecraft came from and, after faking his death, Bond is sent there to find out who it was. This is a relatively simplistic plot in all honesty, but it works due to it being easy to follow and because it feels like there is a real global threat if Bond is unsuccessful. The problem is that the film slows down in a number of areas to the point where you almost lose interest in what is taking place.
James Bond: Sean Connery is on auto-pilot here and looks completely uninterested with the material he is given. He's visibility aged since Thunderball and had clearly got bored with the role. Bond looks exhausted throughout the film, doesn't deliver the lines with any real wit and takes an even more slapdash approach to his work than usual.
Bond Girls: Akiko Wakabayashi is decent enough as Aki. Though the character is underwritten, but she has chemistry with Connery and has a natural charm that makes her likable. Mie Hama is very dull as Kissy. She gets involved in the action, but has even less development, the relationship with Bond comes off as only being there for the ending and they don't even mention her name.
Villains: Donald Pleasence shows up as SPECTRE leader Blofeld and despite limited screen time he does a good job. His interpretation of Blofeld is of a sinister mastermind with a ruthless approach and a cold monotone voice to go with it. He isn't much of a physical match next to Bond and he might be a little too eccentric, but he certainly has a creepy quality to him and is memorable. Karin Dor is excellent as femme-fatale Helga Brandt, she is believable as someone who could seduce Bond and she has an attractive presence on screen.
Support: Tetsuro Tamba is good fun as Bond's Japanese associate Tanaka. He brings a lot of charm to the role and gets in the thick of the action, convincing as both a friend and a top-notch agent. Bernard Lee is as good as always, whilst Moneypenny and Q also get some decent scenes here and there.
Action: The action is decent but nothing truly special. We get some car chases, many fist fights and suitable bits of espionage which are all serviceable, yet none of them contain much excitement or are shot all that well. The scene with the Little Nelly aircraft is fun, but it has no sense of danger to it. The climax is enjoyable for the sheer amount of people involved and how overblown it is, but like Thunderball, it suffers from too much going on.
Score: John Barry is as good as ever when it comes to delivering a score filled that evokes exoticism and danger. Many tracks have an oriental sound to them which is perfect for the Japanese setting and creates a lot of atmosphere for certain scenes.
Production Values: Ken Adam deserves the applause for his superb set work here. Blofeld's volcano lair is an absolutely fantastic design and looks as grand as anything ever put in the series, perfect for such a big antagonist. The editing isn't great here and as said many parts of the film are really slow. There is a general lack of energy about the film, the excitement that the previous films managed to craft is clearly waning at this point. The whole section were Bond gets married and becomes 'Japanese', and it's as dumb as it sounds, is incredibly boring and adds nothing at all to the plot. Author Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay and despite a few good lines there a no bits of dialogue that stick with you. It's nice to see some Japanese culture, but not if it gets in the way of the story. With that said, setting it in Japan was a very good idea as it allows us to see Bond within yet another new environment.
Conclusion: You Only Live Twice is pretty much the ultimate just okay Bond film. There are a number of impressive moments, but there are a lot of very dull moments too. At this point the films were running out of steam and it frequently shows. As said Connery is completely uninterested here and most of the action is uninspired which harms the overall quality. For all the good aspects like the location, sets and Pleasence's sinister Blofeld we have bad aspects like the weak Bond girls and the tediously slow pace. It has its memorable moments, but it just isn't that enjoyable or engaging compared to what had come previously.
Title: Sounds nicely mysterious and fits the context of the film.
Pre-Titles: A US spacecraft gets swallowed by a larger unidentified craft and we then cut to Bond in bed with a girl in Hong Kong as he is seemingly killed. This is a pretty causal opening, you'd think Bond's apparent death would be shocking but it isn't exciting or shot with any particular suspense. The space scenes haven't date well and there's also a lack of tension with them.
Theme Song: Nancy Sinatra does a good job with the title song, but once again it is John Barry's work that stands out. The string section adds elegance to the song and that main hook just gets stuck in your head making this a memorable theme.
Plot: After the US spacecraft is taken, the Americans blame the Soviets and a third World War becomes a possibility. It is believed that Japan is where the spacecraft came from and, after faking his death, Bond is sent there to find out who it was. This is a relatively simplistic plot in all honesty, but it works due to it being easy to follow and because it feels like there is a real global threat if Bond is unsuccessful. The problem is that the film slows down in a number of areas to the point where you almost lose interest in what is taking place.
James Bond: Sean Connery is on auto-pilot here and looks completely uninterested with the material he is given. He's visibility aged since Thunderball and had clearly got bored with the role. Bond looks exhausted throughout the film, doesn't deliver the lines with any real wit and takes an even more slapdash approach to his work than usual.
Bond Girls: Akiko Wakabayashi is decent enough as Aki. Though the character is underwritten, but she has chemistry with Connery and has a natural charm that makes her likable. Mie Hama is very dull as Kissy. She gets involved in the action, but has even less development, the relationship with Bond comes off as only being there for the ending and they don't even mention her name.
Villains: Donald Pleasence shows up as SPECTRE leader Blofeld and despite limited screen time he does a good job. His interpretation of Blofeld is of a sinister mastermind with a ruthless approach and a cold monotone voice to go with it. He isn't much of a physical match next to Bond and he might be a little too eccentric, but he certainly has a creepy quality to him and is memorable. Karin Dor is excellent as femme-fatale Helga Brandt, she is believable as someone who could seduce Bond and she has an attractive presence on screen.
Support: Tetsuro Tamba is good fun as Bond's Japanese associate Tanaka. He brings a lot of charm to the role and gets in the thick of the action, convincing as both a friend and a top-notch agent. Bernard Lee is as good as always, whilst Moneypenny and Q also get some decent scenes here and there.
Action: The action is decent but nothing truly special. We get some car chases, many fist fights and suitable bits of espionage which are all serviceable, yet none of them contain much excitement or are shot all that well. The scene with the Little Nelly aircraft is fun, but it has no sense of danger to it. The climax is enjoyable for the sheer amount of people involved and how overblown it is, but like Thunderball, it suffers from too much going on.
Score: John Barry is as good as ever when it comes to delivering a score filled that evokes exoticism and danger. Many tracks have an oriental sound to them which is perfect for the Japanese setting and creates a lot of atmosphere for certain scenes.
Production Values: Ken Adam deserves the applause for his superb set work here. Blofeld's volcano lair is an absolutely fantastic design and looks as grand as anything ever put in the series, perfect for such a big antagonist. The editing isn't great here and as said many parts of the film are really slow. There is a general lack of energy about the film, the excitement that the previous films managed to craft is clearly waning at this point. The whole section were Bond gets married and becomes 'Japanese', and it's as dumb as it sounds, is incredibly boring and adds nothing at all to the plot. Author Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay and despite a few good lines there a no bits of dialogue that stick with you. It's nice to see some Japanese culture, but not if it gets in the way of the story. With that said, setting it in Japan was a very good idea as it allows us to see Bond within yet another new environment.
Conclusion: You Only Live Twice is pretty much the ultimate just okay Bond film. There are a number of impressive moments, but there are a lot of very dull moments too. At this point the films were running out of steam and it frequently shows. As said Connery is completely uninterested here and most of the action is uninspired which harms the overall quality. For all the good aspects like the location, sets and Pleasence's sinister Blofeld we have bad aspects like the weak Bond girls and the tediously slow pace. It has its memorable moments, but it just isn't that enjoyable or engaging compared to what had come previously.