On Her Majesty's Secret Service has the worst opening scene and introduction credits of all the Bond films so far. The film opens up with Bond running to the beach to save a girl from drowning herself, at least that's what we are supposed to believe. He's then attacked by a couple of guys and begins a horrible hand to hand combat sequence. The opening credits hardly stay true to the past Bond films, as images of past films are projected throughout the credits. For a film that's trying to be "different" this doesn't help it stand on it's own as the writers seem bent on continuing to bring up past films which Sean Connery was in. To me it's a warning sign when the film is starting by referring to the "better days" of the franchise.
Again not sticking with the traditional vocal theme song, but going back to basics when Dr. No started out with only orchestra music. There's nothing wrong with that, Dr. No's theme song is the classic Bond song which never grows old. Title theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service is performed by The John Barry Orchestra, it's not bad but some vocals would have been nice. I also got the feeling this was an attempt at replacing the classic Bond theme, as it was this new song that was played throughout the film when the normal Bond theme was usually played.
It's no surprise that Sean Connery's replacement is no match for the real thing, he isn't even close, but he isn't horrible. Sure if I had to rate the Bonds, Lazenby would more than likely be at the bottom but that doesn't mean he wasn't good. As I stated in my main review Lazenby does a good job on the accent, the mannerisms and the look, but ultimately he's shafted by the story which is almost a Bizarro version of Bond, therefore people tend to blame Lazenby for a rather, excuse the pun, "lazy" performance. So this Australian used car salesman, turned model, turned Bond does a descent job but really isn't given much of a fighting chance being stuck in a shoddy story with too big of shoes to fill.
Main Bond Girls:
Played by Diana Rigg, known for her role at the time in The Avengers television series, she is the main Bond girl and Bond's first and only wife. Teresa was a confusing character for me to grasp because I could never tell if she was good or evil as she appeared to be walking a gray line between the two, such as in the opening scene when she was supposedly "committing suicide" by drowning herself, but actually leading Bond an ambush, then later she appears to be on his side. Overall, she did a descent job but I did find her character to be a little bland.
The Villains:
The only aspect of You Only Live Twice that I praised was the villain, Blofeld. Well he's back and with a much larger role, but this time played by Telly Savalas who uses plastic surgery as a way of explaining his new face. Without Donald Pleasance in the role, and the large scar on Blofeld's face, the character isn't nearly as menacing anymore, but Savalas still manages to portray Blofeld as a worthy adversary for Bond. It's also one of the few instances in a Bond film where the main villain actually takes Bond on in a fight, where in the past films it's usually the lesser villains. This is also the final time in the franchise Blofeld is portrayed as a serious villain, the upcoming appearances he becomes quite lame.
Blofeld's second in command, she doesn't have a lot to do in the film other than being a pretty scary looking woman with a thick German accent. She's the one who ultimately kills Teresa at the end of the film, whether she was trying to hit her or Bond is up to you to decide.
Total Rating : 5.7/10
Overall (Including Film Rating) : 5.4/10
5/10
5/10
These are always fun to read *makes mental note to steal this idea at a later point, and claim it as my own*
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