With four successful pictures already behind it, the 007 franchise was beginning to branch out in new, surprising directions by the time this one landed. As a sort of middle ground between the action-suspense romanticism of Goldfinger and the cheesy, over-the-top camp of the Roger Moore era, You Only Live Twice often seems conflicted and goofy, uncertain of its own identity like an adolescent whose voice is changing.
Sean Connery remains convincing as the suave ladies' man with a cool head under pressure, but it's hard not to snicker a little when he climbs aboard a tiny yellow toy helicopter and mows down a fleet of full-sized enemy choppers with ease. Our hero is also beginning to show his advanced age during the infrequent fight scenes around the middle of the picture, with nameless henchmen constantly going out of their way to stand in the way of his slow, looping haymakers.
Bearing an armload of blush-inducing racial stereotypes, a cast so one-dimensional it might envy the depth offered by a sheet of plywood and an endgame that would rival any Saturday morning cartoon, it should come as no surprise that this episode provides more fuel for the Austin Powers parodies than any of its brothers. That doesn't mean it's a dull ride, but while this is hardly the character's darkest hour it's also a far cry from his finest.
Review by benoliver999BlockedParentSpoilers2015-05-17T16:15:42Z
James Bond number 5! No one can stop us now!
An American space shuttle gets swallowed by a mysterious other space thing. Tensions rise between the US and the USSR. Bond is sent to Japan to follow a lead and investigate further.
Oddly enough I reviewed this just over a year ago. It’s worth a read since I will be trying not to repeat myself here.
This was supposed to be Connery’s last film as Bond. He was allegedly tiring of the role and it shows. Not a surprise that he didn’t return for the next film.
In fact, everything about You Only Live Twice indicates that the franchise is beginning to show signs of fatigue. Yes, it’s a ‘bigger’ film but it pushes the boundaries of plausibility too far. There are so many gadgets and crazy things happening. It feels stupid rather than cool or entertaining.
Roald Dahl penned the script and was unable to base it on the book, because the book doesn’t actually contain much material! Instead, panicking about what to do, he wrote what can only be described as a Dr. No remake. The problem is, Dr. No wasn’t that long ago.
Ironically enough the film starts with MI6 faking Bond’s death so that he can fool SPECTRE, yet this doesn’t affect the plot at all. The worst we get is mild surprise from SPECTRE; hardly enough to warrant naming the whole thing You Only Live Twice.
There are a few memorable elements to the film though, notably the appearance of ‘Little Nellie’, Bond’s tiny gyrocopter he uses to recon the volcano. It’s also the first time we see SPECTRE-chief Blofeld, but this is a bit of a wasted opportunity as it turns out to be an anti-climax. I’m not sure it was a good idea ever showing his face.
The set design, although again reminiscent of Dr. No, is big and brash. Apparently the hollowed out volcano set at Pinewood could be seen for miles around. It’s also a little flimsy and lacking in depth. Looks great from afar, but when we get closer things are wobbly and bit rough around the edges. Some of the vehicles are clearly just painted tractors.
You Only Live Twice shows us that Bond films require a surprising amount of talent and care to do well. It tries to fly on a big budget and lots of explosions, yet ultimately fails to make an impact.
From my site http://benoliver999.com/film/2015/05/16/youonlylivetwice.html