mark.waltz
If not as colorful or as fantastically campy and over the top as its predecessor, "Dr. No", this still manages to provide plenty of thrills. Sean Connery is just as dry, this time dealing with a secret organization that provides itself on what we now know as fake news or alternative facts to throw the secret agents of the world off so they stay one step ahead on their nefarious plots. It's the first sighting of the unseen "Number One", the faceless man in wheelchair who strokes a white cat as he proclaims his sinister plans. But he underestimates the power of the British secret service, explained to Bond with gusto from Bernard Lee's M and observed by the witty Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell), still amused by Bond's womanizing. It's the rather brief presence of the legendary Austrian Singer/actress Lotte Lenya who provides the most sinister moments, presumed to be a sadistic lesbian as she gives the orders and makes a play for pretty Daniela Bianchi. Lenya makes much out of her small part, and as a result, is often referred to as one of the very best Bond villains. The story isn't as strong or detailed as others in the series, but there's plenty to keep your mind on the film. Scenes in Venice, Istanbul and a sequence on the Orient Express are filled with terrific fights, interesting tools of defense and even hundreds of rats running through shallow catacombs. The series had already gotten off to a great start, and the first follow-up is a ton of fun.
slightlymad22
From Russia With Love (1963)Plot In A Paragraph: Crime cartel SPECTRE seeks revenge for the death of its operative Dr No and sets a trap to lure British agent James Bond (Connery) to his death. From Russia with Love, is a classier and more expensive movie than Dr. No, and it's all up there on the screen, planes are blown out of the sky, boat chases end in flames, suitcases explode on trains and Bond was chased by helicopter (a straight rip off of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest but hey it's fun.)Whilst the script is surprisingly short on wit, it's a very tight and taunt affair, and it's not hard to see why this more grounded in reality Bond, is Connery's personal favourite. It's also very risqué with its nudity (the gorgeous Tatiana Romanova is seen getting into bed completely naked) and voyeurisam (is that how you spell it??) we have lesbians with flick knives in their shoes, Robert Shaw with a blonde crew cut, a tank of battling fish and out introduction to Q (the delightful Desmond Llewelyn) who would become a fan favourite. On a $2 million budget, From Russia With Love grossed $24 million at the domestic box office, to end 1964 as the 5th highest grossing movie of the year.
ElMaruecan82
My first memories of the James Bond movies go back to the age of twelve, which means more than two decades ago. I had seen all the early 'Connery' but one: "From Russia With Love" and ever since this period, the film remained a big mystery. I didn't know what to expect from it, but this lack of expectations was integral to the enjoyment. And it was indeed, quite a discovery and one hell of a spy thriller, James Bond or no James Bond. Indeed, the paradox of Terence Young's second work is that its un-Bond like quality makes it one of the best."Dr. No" started them all, it needed to hook the audience to so many levels of entertainment it could ensure immediate follow-ups: it was an espionage movie, a thriller, an adventure and action picture, a sexy film by the era's standards and more than that, it relied on the manly screen-charisma of Sean Connery, tough, rough, but also charming and witty when required. And two years later, the audience had the consummate James Bond film with all the archetypes settled: the Aston Martin, the grand-scale egomaniac mastermind, the chases and the girls. Every single scene was a classic, and one can almost say if you saw "Goldfinger" you've seen them all, except for "From Russia With Love".Given my personal reception of "Dr. No" and "Goldfinger", I didn't know exactly what the in-betweener would offer in order to enjoy it and appreciate it with the same passion, and that's exactly what I got, something unexpected. The film is a gritty, low-key, and such a realistic (by Bond's standards) thriller, that it could have been a non-James Bond film and still be enjoyable. Even the plot is intelligent and intricate without being too contrived, and it can be foreshadowed by two key scenes: a chess game and a fight between two fishes, weakening one another while the one that doesn't fight will stay the strongest. This is the plot in a nutshell, pushing Bond to make some predictable moves and then get rid of him once he retrieves a Soviet encryption device. The SPECTRE organization pulls the strings.The piece of the chess game is a Russian beauty named Tatiana, played by Daniela Bianchi, and the "third fish" is an agent named Red Grant. And once Bond gets in the game, it's a real cat-and-mouse thriller that surprises through its restrained tone and confined settings. There are a few boat and helicopter chases but they're so late in the film they were probably not meant to be the highlights. This is a film where the interactions actually count more than the action, and therefore create a necessity, which is to make the characters realistic even within that complicated plot. And on that level, if "From Russia With Love" isn't the best James Bond, which is debatable, it is the best acted. And it starts with Sir Sean Connery.I was really impressed by the intensity of the situations and the performance of Connery that conveyed the most pain of his job, more than the exhilaration, for once. Maybe it is easy to play such a cool and charismatic hero, but here, Connery deserves a solid mention, because when you look at some scenes, you don't really envy him, which means a lot, speaking about Bond. He even manages to find an expression in the opening scene, that looks so un-Bond like, he looks scared, but not Bond scared, cowardly scared, and there was a 'reason' for that. But the real Bond is a charming and sociable man who even grows a friendship with a Turkish host played by Pedro Armendariz, an actor I had just discovered and whom I was sad to learn his passing early after the film.I was terribly saddened by his character's death as well, but it was the trigger to Grant's entrance in the the arena and it was meant to make his conflict with Bond, more personal, Bond can't escape the train literally, and the mano-a-mano confrontation with Grant was the film's most intense moment. No music, no effects, just the real struggle of a man trying to battle a stronger opponent. And the second fight with the other villain, played by Lotte Lenya wasn't less fascinating. It says a lot when the villains are not just disposable henchmen and when you almost feel sorry for them when they die. Lenya was perfect but so was, the blonde and handsome Robert Shaw as a guy who means business, who is competent and valuable and not just a grotesque, ugly villain, a realistic counterpart to a realistic Bond. In fact, he was so great I wish he could be a recurring villain. There was no archetype in this 'Bond', he stayed with the same girl throughout the film and Tatiana was more than the sexy foil, she's played as a fully developed person with a real sensitivity. We know she has nothing against Bond but she had no choice from the start. There's a real relationship going between these two as "From Russia With Love" is about three-dimensional characters, and they count more than the plot, there's no much escapism but that helps to emphasize the entrapment everyone's caught in. And if it doesn't have that fun and sparkle of the usual James Bond movies, it still manages to be an outstanding achievement, being 'that' James Bond film that doesn't feel like the others. It has its over-the-top creative moments such as a man ambushed from the mouth of wall-size Anita Ekberg and a Gypsy cat-fight but it's in the tension and the quiet moments that the film gets interesting. My only complaint is the loud use of the James Bond's theme during that scene where Bond inspects his hotel room, , it was useless and distracting. Apart from that moment, I enjoyed every minute of the film, sometimes, every second.
