When I was around 11 or 12 years old, my dad and I watched all the James Bond movies that were released then (which was up until "License to Kill") in a period of just a couple of days. Although I liked almost every single one of them, the one and only that instantly became my favorite one in the series! I mean, what wasn't to be loved about this awesome movie?!? The utterly cool sequences of space capsules being swallowed – literally – by bigger and monstrous rockets, the fantastic villainous headquarters hidden inside an inactive volcano, the exciting scenes at the ninja training camp, the cool aerial battle between 007 in his silly little yellow toy-airplane versus various heavily armed black helicopters, the pet piranhas, and – most of all – the portrayal of the ultimate evil mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld by the inimitable Donald Pleasance. Now, 25 years and yet another 8 new Bond installments later, I can still shamelessly admit that "You Only Live Twice" still stands as my personal favorite Bond movie and – even though Sir Sean Connery will probably disagree with me – it's undeniably the most entertaining one of the entire series. Through the eyes and ears of an adult viewer I can add more good reasons to love this movie, actually, like for example it features on of the top three greatest theme songs (courtesy of Nancy Sinatra) and an action-packed screenplay penned down by another one of my childhood heroes, namely Roald Dahl. The plot of "You Only Live Twice" is easily summarized
Criminal organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E, led by the scar-faced and cat-loving psychopath Blofeld, is well on track to evoke a third World War by alternately abducting a US and then a Soviet space capsule from within a secret base camp on a Japanese volcanic island, and then counting on the fact that these two stubborn world powers will blame each other. Luckily the intelligent British government suspects there's more going on, and so they send their best agent to the Far East. In order to fulfill his delicate mission, 007 first has to fake his own death and then literally must become a Japanese warrior. "You only live Twice" is another fast- paced and spectacular Bond-adventure with beautiful exotic filming locations, lots of pleasant hi-tech gadgetry (cigarette gunfire, anyone?) and plenty of action. The Bond girls in this one are all Oriental, evidently, so whether Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama rank amongst the most beautiful 007 bed partners or not entirely depends on your own personal taste. My major complaint now is that I remember Pleasance's role in the film to be bigger
When I was 12- years-old Donald Pleasance must have made such an everlasting impression on me that he forever remains the embodiment of James Bond villains
Review of You Only Live Twice
