Review of You Only Live Twice (2007) by Ian W — 03 Mar 2009

A truly bizarre Bond film. You Only Live Twice is somewhat of an ungainly mess that represents the film franchise at its most campy and overwrought. Where else would you see space vehicles being kidnapped by phallic-shaped rockets, Sean Connery wearing makeup to look Japanese, or an army of ninjas and bikini-clad Japanese spies infiltrating a enemy stronghold? In hindsight, Roald Dahl (yes, Roald Dahl) probably wasn't the best choice for screenwriter duties after all.

Highlights include Sean Connery (natually), a spectacular rooftop chase (covered in one long shot), wonderful photography by the legendary Freddie Young (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago), a lush eastern-themed score by John Barry, and - most of all - Blofeld's incredible volcano layer, which remains one of the greatest works of production design ever constructed for a feature film.