= 3 stars

Starring Sean Connery, Mie Hama, Tetsuro Tamba
Directed by Lewis Gilbert

Amazon link

Sean Connery (James Bond)

Mie Hama (Kissy Suzuki)

Akiko Wakabayashi (Aki)

Karin Dor (Helga Brandt)

You Only Live Twice, a 1967 James Bond (Sean Connery) movie, although an action-packed entry into the Bond franchise, at times crosses over into the realm of cinematic cheese. It’s mostly about excitement, as if the makers worry people may be tiring of the 007 formula. Therefore, everything zips along and as a result, certain scenes feel tragically rushed.

The first whiff of a spicier formula is the film’s exotic location, Japan. Starting in Hong Kong, James Bond is murdered as a cover for a secret mission. There is funeral at sea, after which Bond’s not-dead corpse is recovered. Bond is dispatched to Tokyo, his mission to locate a captured American space capsule.

Bond is not alone; he teams up with Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba), a Japanese agent with a ninja squad at his disposal. Bond is equipped with yet another cool gadget, a personal helicopter loaded with rockets, aerial mines, and heat seeking missiles - basically enough explosives to create an over-the-top action sequence. Too bad he looks like a complete dork flying the thing.

We eventually realize the space hijacking was masterminded by SPECTRE and its cat-fondling leader, Blofeld. There is a sinister reference to 100 million dollars in gold bullion, and a cruel dumping of a chanteuse into a piranha tank (yes, Bond slept with her). The expected finale involves Bond, a girl in a bikini, ninjas, a volcano, gunfire… you get the idea.

The plot is almost besides the point. We know Bond will always be attacked, and he will always escape. He will eventually uncover the nefarious plot and reasons, and outsmart the evil masterminds. The fun of a Bond film is in how he escapes, what exotic sights he sees, and who he bangs (kills / sleeps with) along the way.

The film loses a few points for an unfortunate, politically incorrect sequence where Bond is disguised as a Japanese citizen with eye makeup and tan skin coloring. I guess around the year of this film’s creation, Mickey Rooney did far worse in Breakfast at Tiffany’s; so I’ll chalk it up to a sign of the times. But overall, there is a general respect for the foreign culture, which is an unusual thing for an action movie.

IMDB: You Only Live Twice
Wikipedia: You Only Live Twice
Rotten Tomatoes: You Only Live Twice 77%

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Categories: 3 Star Movies, General, James Bond, Movies :: Tags: 3 stars, Lewis Gilbert, Mie Hama, Sean Connery, Tetsuro Tamba :: Trackback URL
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