Review of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) by Derick K — 23 Mar 2013

Going into On Her Majesty's Secret Service, I expected kind of a terrible movie. I was lead to believe that by just about anything I'd read online or by people that had seen it. The truth is that it's an enjoyable Bond movie but still riding the line around mediocre.

I actually had some difficulty deciding on a proper rating for it. There's a lot about it to dislike. First of all, George Lazenby is a bit of a flatline in the title role. Second, the plot isn't all that satisfactory.

Third, the score is humdrum. Now with all of that dislike, what's there to like? Well, it does play with the conventions a bit story-wise. For instance, the ending is a downer, and completely out of character for a James Bond film, which I thought was refreshing.

The action is silly but it's actually done pretty well. Diana Riff is also very good in her role, and how you can you hate Telly Savalas? Overall, I'd say the film is an acquired taste. It's not great, not bad, but somewhere in the middle of the pack.