“Chasing girls will be the end of you, Bond-san. I have told you before.”
A spaceship captures another spaceship and James Bond is assassinated in the first five minutes of the film.
Well, it’s called You Only Live Twice and hardly anyone would believe that Sean Connery as James Bond is going to bite the dust before the opening credits, so hang on.
Nancy Sinatra sings the title song. It’s slow. Entirely different pace and tone from Goldfinger and Thunderball. The previous title songs filled the audience with tension. This one leaves you melancholy, but it works. The images of Japan, volcanos, and that weird Bond style credit scene complement the soothing tone of the song. Nancy Sinatra almost sings you to sleep before the excitement continues.
Bond is a commander in the British Navy. He is given a naval funeral and buried at sea. C’mon. The film’s title gives away that Bond’s death is a ruse. The star is alive. Two divers pick up our hero and bring him aboard a submarine. Moneypenny and M are on the sub and set up in their usual office design, which is a great twist that keeps this scene fresh and new. Bond and Moneypenny are wonderful together and this is one of their best scenes. From M, we learn the elaborate fake death of Bond was to give him “more elbow room.” And you thought your job asked too much of you.
The spaceship that stole another spaceship could jeopardize world war between the US and the Soviets. Bond needs to find the ship and the culprits. Japan is the most likely spot where the ship landed, so Bond is off to Tokyo. First stop, a sumo wrestling match, where else? Nothing beats American sports, but sumo looks interesting.
Tanaka is Bond’s point man in Japan. He has his own subway train, a mansion, and a fancy bath set-up. Tanaka is a good character and great ally to Bond. This is the only time we see Tanaka in the Bond franchise. I’d like to see Tanaka return in a future film.
This film moves fast. Not even halfway through and there have been two big fight scenes and Bond has added three new notches to his belt. Impressive.
Before Elon Musk, SPECTRE could land rockets standing up. They could also steal other spaceships. It turns out that SPECTRE is behind the whole thing. Their scheme now has the US and Soviets on the brink of nuclear war. Both nuclear powers are innocent here. SPECTRE is operating behind the scenes.
Number 1 in SPECTRE is Ernst Blofeld. Audiences have yet to see his face. We’ve been teased a little along the way. This is the fourth film with SPECTRE as the villains, and so the time has finally come to see Blofeld. The opening credits show the name Donald Pleasance. He’s a big name and the film is almost over, so Pleasance must be the villain. He is and he plays it kind of weird. Blofeld is creepy like Dr. No and not at all charismatic like Goldfinger. Even Largo is more human than weirdo Blofeld. I’d rather see a handsome, suave villain, someone you almost want to root for. Pleasance as Blofeld isn’t the right fit.
The ending action scene is a small war. The number of henchmen in colorful uniforms is fantastic. Those workers double as soldiers when shit hits the fan. Tanaka promised a large squad of armed ninjas on his side and he certainly delivered. Good action.
The title of the film is a break from the previous films. This is the fifth film in the Bond franchise. The first four titles were all about Bond’s enemies; Dr. No and Goldfinger are the title villains in those films, From Russia with Love alludes to deception used by the bad guys, and Thunderball is the British name for the operation to thwart the villainous plot. You Only Live Twice is a title finally dedicated to film’s hero. Bond’s phony death is the title, but not the subject. His secret life as a secret agent has a new start, or at least, a pause. Thankfully, the film makers didn’t bore us with some background bull about how pretending to be dead could complicate living situations. One or two of the Daniel Craig films made mistakes going down such a path, but not here. This one is all about the case and the action.
This film marks the end of the golden era of Bond films. Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice are three of the best films of the franchise, and they came out in a row over three consecutive years. What an incredible run. The next film sets the franchise back a bit. But there’s plenty more Bond after that one, so the damage is hardly impactful. Another actor steps into the role of the world’s most lethal secret agent in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.