Estamos ante la que es, posiblemente, la mejor película de la primera tanda de la saga de James Bond, la protagonizada por Sean Connery, en esta ocasión encargado de investigar la desaparición de varios satélites, americanos y rusos, que estan dando lugar a que las rencillas entre ambos países hayan llegado a un punto culmen y se hable de guerra. Nuestro agente secreto favorito tendrá que viajar a Japón, donde hay indicios de que pueden ser los responsables de lo que está ocurriendo. Como de costumbre, tenemos una película llena de acción, gadgets (menos que en otras, pero el minihelicóptero es tremendo), tortas, intriga, y un nivel de machismo nunca visto hasta ahora, y es que en esta secuela de la saga se han superado, madre mía xDDD Además, por fin podemos ponerle cara al ¨número 1¨ de Spectra, y no es otro que el mismísimo Donald Pleasence haciendo un papelón. Un entretenidísimo film de 007 donde las cosas van a mucho más que en la anteriores, muy muy disfrutable.

Another one that just didn’t quite do it for me. I do like that they have started to go deeper into the idea of evil villains, that was one of the main good points of this movie, but it does feel like the franchise had lost the little spark it had at the start, and has major squeal syndrome.

As the James Bond franchise flourishes, there is a certain tendency to label each successive film with a vaguely reductive signifier (e.g., “the one with the invisible car”). Following this trend, You Only Live Twice can be summed up thusly: “James Bond goes to Japan.” There is a bit more to it than that, of course, but no other film in the canon is as inextricably linked to its central location as this one. Maybe it’s my love of kung fu films (and technology and gadgets), but this film makes Japan look awesome! Helped with the gorgeous themes by John Barry, we are invited as an audience to view (and experience from Bond’s point of view) an entirely different culture… And then there’s Sean Connery at the centre of it all, who has finally reached the point of exhaustion with the role that turned him into a megastar… Having been fed up with the producers and the harassing public (His irritation does occasionally peek through onscreen), Connery would go on to call it quits after this film, leaving the future of James Bond in possible jeopardy! Without further ado, let’s take a look back at the film that broke the man himself… As much as I love this film, I cannot bring myself to defend Bond’s infamous Asian makeover! Made up with shoddy eye makeup and a bad wig, Bond’s disguise as a Japanese fisherman does not take up as much runtime as I remembered, but it is still an egregious point. While certainly a product of its time, it still stands out as possibly the FIRST “truly bad” moment in the Bond franchise! We also get our first proper reveal of the previously unseen Big Bad of the series… “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ernst Stavro Blofeld”, played here by Donald Pleasence. Bald, sporting a grotesque facial scar, and repeatedly stroking a white Persian cat, this iteration of Blofeld is arguably the best, but also the creepiest of the bunch! Overall, while far from perfect, the film stands as a series crowning achievement of spectacle, soaring Bond to literal new heights and proving that sometimes bigger is better! It’s a shame that Connery made the decision to bow out after this one, but we’ll come to find that his decision will be relatively short-lived…

Bond’s latest Mission takes him far East to the Land of the rising Sun, Japan and this time he must uncover the culprit behind the abduction of two Space Crafts. Failure is not an option because the tensions amongst the Americans and Soviets are high and any misstep could lead to an all-out War between the two superpowers. The film has a very interesting plot which drew me in from the get go and the high stakes were set up well in advance which created a sense of urgency enough to keep me engaged. Watching Connery become a Japanese Ninja was something I didn’t expect to see, EVER; and while it was hilarious to watch, it did take away from the seriousness of the film. It was nice to see the Japanese culture being showcased in the film, albeit the execution could have been better. Overall it was another great entry to the franchise with a solid track, ingenious spy gadgets and funny campy humour, however, my one big critique is that the much-awaited reveal of the malevolent Blofeld wasn’t nearly as impactful as it should’ve been rather I found him to be quite underwhelming as opposed to the Fear-inducing maniacal puppet master I had imagined him to be.

7.3/10 I feel like I’m just repeating myself at this point. Good score, Sean Connery is a great Bond, good action sequences, new locales, etc. Don’t get me wrong, You Only Live Twice is a good film, I’m just getting sort of tired of the formula. The only thing I really found bad about this one was the whole ninja training bit. It just came off as dumb, and it didn’t end up being used anyway. At least this one threw me for a loop by revealing the head of Spectre. That was a cool moment. I didn’t think they would do it right then and there. You Only Live Twice has been the worst so far, but it’s still not a bad film. This puts me one fifth of the way through the James Bond series.