Review of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) by Mark C — 08 Jan 2009

If Connery would have done On Her Majesty's Secret Service, this may have been the number one Bond film of all time. And although Lazenby is certainly not the ideal Bond, he does the job well enough to let the audience focus on everything else that is great about the film.

Diana Rigg who plays Bond's love interest, Tracy, although not the most beautiful Bond girl, was certainly one of the most talented. So far in the series, her performance is only rivaled by Honor Blackman's portrayal of Pussy Galore. Rigg's performance almost completely made up for Lazenby's novice related mediocrity.

Also excellent was Telly Savalas as Blofeld, whose cunning malevolence rivals Gert Frobe's as Goldfinger. Despite Lazenby's awkward screen presence, the overall acting caliber in the film is among the best in the entire Bond series.

The love story between Bond and Tracy works surprisingly well even though it is far too rushed. The culminating scene at the end is a testament to how attached the audience gets to Tracy. Yes, Bond gets married, but the film still maintains the signature Bond feel. We're not a watching a love story with Carey Grant, and director Peter Hunt knows that, which is why he kept the love story to a bare minimum.

The film is also the first time Bond goes skiing, and it's certainly obvious why he went skiing again in so many of his later films: This is where Bond's action scenes started to have an epic quality about them. Avalanches, and stunts galore, the film shouldn't even disappoint viewers who were brought up on Brosnan's minute by minute death defying action.

The ending is where the film deviates the most from the standard Bond picture. It is one of really only two films where the audience isn't satisfied at the end. Instead, we're taken aback, but for the first time in the entire series, emotionally moved. Such a feeling doesn't occur again until after almost thirty years, when Casino Royale is released. Granted, some Bond fans don't want to feel moved, and I can respect that. But the critic in me can't help cherishing the feeling.

I obviously come down on the side of "loved the film", which is where half the critics stand. On the other "hated it" side, along with most of the American public, there are those critics who see the picture as an abomination.

So evaluate yourself before you watch the film. If a genuine love story in a Bond flick scares you, and how Bond looks, walks, and talks means a whole lot to you, I'd avoid the picture. But if you're in the mood for something a little different with a little more depth than the typical Bond picture, and can put up with a mediocre Bond, then don't let this installment in the series pass you by.