Because Bond is too big for one actor!
But before we dig too deep into that, let's talk about the movie itself. This time we see Bond make a deal with Drace about Draco's daughter Tracy, before the plot is whisked away to Switzerland! Just like the last one felt like an ad for Japanese tourism, this one has a fair about of "Come to the Alps" vibe to it. Though, I suppose if you're going to have an enemy base on the top of such beautiful mountains, you might as well take a shoot a ton of footage while you're there.
Once you're done absorbing all the wonderful nature, you can take in some of the best action sequences in a Bond film yet! It's clear that they just getting better and better. The fist fights are punchier, the chase sequences are well done and feel quite tense (including one with bobsleds!) and we had less blue/green screening inside the vehicles! When this movie ramps up, it's a sight to see, and a lot of the action holds up fairly well, despite its age.
Of course, that isn't to say that this movie is perfect by any means. If it has one major problem, it's too long. I get that because Lazenby ended up only doing this one, so the director and producers felt the need to make the most out of what footage they had (especially with the sudden sequel hook and all!), but there are some times where the movie slows way down. While I generally don't mind these scenes, I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed them getting cut down a bit, especially the long-winded geneology sections!
The plot itself feels very stereotypical Bond as well. Tangential business finds Bond getting embroiled in a villains over-complicated plot to hold the world ransom, so Bond has to sneak in as someone else, only to get discovered eventually and bantered at, getting thrown in some kind of prison before breaking out to tell his superiors what's really going on (or getting someone else to do it for him), which leads to a big climatic showdown. I really get the impression that they were trying to play it safe with the new Bond (and sticking rather close to the book, apparently!).
Which is probably why we're dealing with Blofeld again. Still, having a new actor for him really made him like a different villain. While the last film's actor had a more iconic appearance (while this one is just "generic evil bald dude"), I think I like this Blofeld better. He has better presence, and his voice is great villain stuff. It's a bit of a shame that we don't get that much from him, at least in terms of acting or bantering. Most of the time he's on screen, he's skiing and saying very little. I haven't checked yet, but I really hope they use him again for next film.
And then there's the new Bond. Lazenby is definitly playing the character distinctly different, and a lot of one's opinion of this movie depends heavily on one's opinion of Lazenby's performance. Personally, I think he's great, partially because it's different, so it's fresh, but also because I feel like Bond is more human in Lazenby. Connery's Bond is nearly superhuman in his ability to fight, charm, stealth, etc., making it a bit harder to relate to him (and probably why I couldn't take the love story in From Russia with Love seriously!). While Lazenby's Bond has these qualities as well, but in moments when Connery's Bond would excel, Lazenby's struggles, with each fight won or girl wooed feeling like an actual accomplishment rather than a natural consequence. Connery's Bond stands straighter and is classier all around, where as Lazenby's slouches, shows fear and worry, and often tries to make the best of a bad situation. Connery's punch is very straight-forward, almost perfunctory, but Lazenby's is scrappier and more visceral. And I think in the end, despite only having been in one film, I think I like Lazenby better than Connery. Yeah, I know that's practically sacrilege, and I do recongize that Connery's work is iconic and powerful, but Lazenby's human Bond appeals more, as he fights for what he believes in, rather than Connery's almost over-professional approach to the character.
Ranking this film is a bit of a challenge. Goldfinger is a great film, with many things that would make Bond such an enduring franchise, but I think I like this one just a little bit more, mostly because Connery's Bond isn't as important to Goldfinger's enjoyment as Lazenby's is to On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Well, on to the next film. We get Connery for one last show. We'll see what kind of finish he gives for this one, as he puts this Spectre to bed (until this November!).
Bond films by rank:
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Goldfinger
- You Only Live Twice
- Dr. No
- Thunderball
- From Russia With Love
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