Typical but effective Bond adventure, this time set in Japan to distinguish it from all the others. The movie benefits from the bizarre imagination of Roald Dahl (!) who was commissioned to write the script and who injects some of his own wit, style, and an ounce of darkness into the story. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with a fun helicopter battle, some tense outer-space action (spoilt by some very cheesy model effects - the special effects in the Bond series don't seem to have progressed at all since DR. NO, except by becoming a little tighter) and a good finale, in which Bond infiltrates the enemy base (inside a volcano) and comes face-to-face with his arch enemy Blofeld for the first time.
At this point the series was less occupied with screen realism than with out-and-out in-your-face bravado and scenes bordering on the incredible - take that whole "volcano base" thing. Other highlights include Bond narrowly escaping from a plane taking a dive and the elaborate ploy at the beginning of the film to convince the world of his death. Would he really go to all that trouble? This is a fast-paced movie with lots of action and near-death scrapes for Bond - love that scene where he is nearly killed by a hidden assassin pouring poison down a thread to his mouth.
Sean Connery returns as Bond and is looking a little older this time - although nowhere near as aged as he appeared in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and then NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. The Japanese supporting cast is very good, especially the two love interests and Tetsuro Tamba as the secret agent "Tiger" Tanaka. Donald Pleasence appears briefly but memorably as the hideously scarred Blofeld, a role which was to be played by lots of people over the years. Series regulars Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewellyn also put in welcome appearances, along with Charles Gray as an ally. Gray returned as Blofeld in the next Connery Bond! Euro-starlet Karin Dor turns up briefly as a femme fatale. THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU fans may note cast members Tsai Chin and Burt Kwouk as minor villains - I guess they had the advantage of being in Britain when this film was made and so were cast easily.
Strangely enough my favourite scene in this movie is one of the least spectacular - namely, the dockyard scene where Connery and his girlfriend are stalked by a gang of thugs. There's a fantastic aerial shot of the bad guys closing in on Connery which I really liked, and the choreography is really good here. The one-liners are cheesier than ever, and among the many (unintentionally) funny scenes is one where Connery has to go "Japanese" in order to disguise his true identity - a less Japanese-looking person I can't imagine! In all, good clean fun and a solid addition to the series, unique in setting if nothing else.
At this point the series was less occupied with screen realism than with out-and-out in-your-face bravado and scenes bordering on the incredible - take that whole "volcano base" thing. Other highlights include Bond narrowly escaping from a plane taking a dive and the elaborate ploy at the beginning of the film to convince the world of his death. Would he really go to all that trouble? This is a fast-paced movie with lots of action and near-death scrapes for Bond - love that scene where he is nearly killed by a hidden assassin pouring poison down a thread to his mouth.
Sean Connery returns as Bond and is looking a little older this time - although nowhere near as aged as he appeared in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and then NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. The Japanese supporting cast is very good, especially the two love interests and Tetsuro Tamba as the secret agent "Tiger" Tanaka. Donald Pleasence appears briefly but memorably as the hideously scarred Blofeld, a role which was to be played by lots of people over the years. Series regulars Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewellyn also put in welcome appearances, along with Charles Gray as an ally. Gray returned as Blofeld in the next Connery Bond! Euro-starlet Karin Dor turns up briefly as a femme fatale. THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU fans may note cast members Tsai Chin and Burt Kwouk as minor villains - I guess they had the advantage of being in Britain when this film was made and so were cast easily.
Strangely enough my favourite scene in this movie is one of the least spectacular - namely, the dockyard scene where Connery and his girlfriend are stalked by a gang of thugs. There's a fantastic aerial shot of the bad guys closing in on Connery which I really liked, and the choreography is really good here. The one-liners are cheesier than ever, and among the many (unintentionally) funny scenes is one where Connery has to go "Japanese" in order to disguise his true identity - a less Japanese-looking person I can't imagine! In all, good clean fun and a solid addition to the series, unique in setting if nothing else.