PLOT (or lack thereof): When SPECTER gets up to some naughty space shenanigans it's up to good old James Bond to thwart them - and to do it he has to make a stop in Japan, be put through some "Yellow Face", etc.
Painfully weak, underwhelming and overlong entry in the James Bond series was the next to last hurrah for series starting lead Sean Connery, who had grown tired of the role and franchise by this point, and his unpleasant clash with the Japanese press didn't help his mood either. While his performance is not outright terrible - it's one of the few things that makes the film mildly bearable - you can tell in some scenes that he obviously doesn't want to be there, and with a plot this ridiculous who could blame him? I'm not sure which is more absurd - the NASA shenanigans or trying to pass off a 6-foot-2, 200 plus lbs Scotsman as a Japanese fisherman.
Besides Connery, the only other things in the film's entry are some passable action scenes, Karin Dor, the first German Bond girl (sadly underused), some lovely Japanese scenery and the late Donald Pleasance as the first on screen incarnation of Blofeld (and the basis for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films), imbuing the series early signature villain with a silky, soft spoken slithery quality that gives you the feeling that he is an intellectual, if not physical, match for the hulking yet light-footed Connery. Sadly, not even the combined awesomeness of Sean Connery and Donald Pleasance can make this worth repeat viewings.
When all was said and done Connery made his first go at leaving the series, which sadly meant he missed out on the superior entry "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with the controversial one time Bond George Lazenby. When Lazenby failed to follow up Connery was lured back for one last official entry, 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever", which somehow managed to be even worse than "You Only Live Twice", for no better reason than they offered him a ton of money (some of which he donated to a Scottish charity), and then he made one final go with the unofficial "Thunderball" remake "Never Say Never Again". It's really a shame that Connery never had a proper send off as Bond, but alas, those are the breaks.
The title theme is okay but nowhere near the iconic class of the Goldfinger, Thunderball or even the Moonraker theme.
Painfully weak, underwhelming and overlong entry in the James Bond series was the next to last hurrah for series starting lead Sean Connery, who had grown tired of the role and franchise by this point, and his unpleasant clash with the Japanese press didn't help his mood either. While his performance is not outright terrible - it's one of the few things that makes the film mildly bearable - you can tell in some scenes that he obviously doesn't want to be there, and with a plot this ridiculous who could blame him? I'm not sure which is more absurd - the NASA shenanigans or trying to pass off a 6-foot-2, 200 plus lbs Scotsman as a Japanese fisherman.
Besides Connery, the only other things in the film's entry are some passable action scenes, Karin Dor, the first German Bond girl (sadly underused), some lovely Japanese scenery and the late Donald Pleasance as the first on screen incarnation of Blofeld (and the basis for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films), imbuing the series early signature villain with a silky, soft spoken slithery quality that gives you the feeling that he is an intellectual, if not physical, match for the hulking yet light-footed Connery. Sadly, not even the combined awesomeness of Sean Connery and Donald Pleasance can make this worth repeat viewings.
When all was said and done Connery made his first go at leaving the series, which sadly meant he missed out on the superior entry "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with the controversial one time Bond George Lazenby. When Lazenby failed to follow up Connery was lured back for one last official entry, 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever", which somehow managed to be even worse than "You Only Live Twice", for no better reason than they offered him a ton of money (some of which he donated to a Scottish charity), and then he made one final go with the unofficial "Thunderball" remake "Never Say Never Again". It's really a shame that Connery never had a proper send off as Bond, but alas, those are the breaks.
The title theme is okay but nowhere near the iconic class of the Goldfinger, Thunderball or even the Moonraker theme.