Review of You Only Live Twice (2007) by Filius S — 19 Jan 2016

After tangoing with SPECTRE for three of the previous films, You Only Live Twice finally unveils the mysterious Number 1 operative of the criminal organization: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Much like Thunderball's Number 2 operative, Blofeld is highly intelligent, and uses his cunning to repeatedly get the drop on Bond, but is even more successful in doing so, making this film have one of the more entertaining match-ups between Bond and the villain.

The film begins with a NASA space capsule being eaten out of orbit by a mystery spacecraft, prompting American intelligence to accuse the Ruskies of the hijacking. British intelligence makes the argument that the Russians aren't to blame, and suggests investigating Japan to discover the source of the craft. In order to do so, they fake James Bond's death, hold a burial at sea, allowing Bond to emerge from his watery grave without the watchful eye of SPECTRE following him. 007 then travels to Japan where the remainder of the film takes place, allowing him to investigate the suspicious Mr. Osato, marry a Japanese woman, witness Ninja training by Japanese intelligence officer Tiger Tanaka, and infiltrate a secret volcano base.

You Only Live Twice returns Bond to his characteristic original form as seen in Dr. No and From Russia with Love. The clothing is stunning, the cars are beautiful, and the locations are well designed. Pacing has once again reached its proper speed, keeping this film constantly moving without resorting to too much gimmicky nonsense. Putting Bond in Japan with the charming Tiger Tanaka also makes for a cool West meets East approach to intelligence, where cultures clash, but manage to work together to accomplish their mission. Sure, it's the only Bond film where they get a Scottish guy to impersonate a Japanese guy by wearing a rice hat, having a crappy haircut, and wearing a wig, but that ends up being funny and endearing rather than offensive and ridiculous.

There are a couple of elements that make You Only Live Twice shine compared to other 007 films. The first is the cinematography, which finally finds its footing and makes this Bond one of the most pleasant visually. The set design is made up of 60s Japanese modern and minimalist architecture and interiors, which is expertly highlighted by well composed frames that accentuate the flow of characters through them. The second is the action. Perhaps it's due to Japanese stunt crews, but whatever it is, this movie has the best action sequences out of the first ten Bond films. There's very little undercranking, with all of the fights, chases, and battles happening at their proper speed; all well choreographed, and creating action packed sequences that still maintain their realism and believability today. Third are the previously acknowledged characters, portrayed by terrific actors. Donald Pleascence is a fantastic Blofeld, and is written so that he always seems to have the upper hand in the film, just as the character should, while Tiger Tanaka is a stoic and charming Japanese equivalent to Bond who helps act as a guide to the Japanese way of life. That brings us to the final characteristic: the Music. Featuring some of the most memorable orchestrated songs in the franchise (short of the James Bond Theme), John Barry creates a soundscape that is sly, cool, mysterious, and bombastic, pulling off one of the best soundtracks in action cinema.

TL;DR - 8/10.

This is the Bond that everyone should think of when they think of 007. It's got the cool locations, intense action, secret volcano base, random traps and devious villains that the series is known for, and then amps all of that up by throwing in ninjas, a mini-copter, and one of the coolest Bond cars from the 60s. A great film for any fans of the Bond series, and a fantastic follow-up to Thunderball.