I thought it was quite boring in comparison to Connery's Goldfinger which had memorable action and dialogue throughout. From Russia With Love has many dull stretches without any action, the dialogue was somewhat dull, and the villain barely memorable. Overall I rated this Bond a 7 and Goldfinger a 9.
shareThe worst of the Connery films. I'd watch Diamond Are Forever every time ahead of this one.
(Not counting NSNA mind you!)
It's got great atmosphere, and I like the slow burn thriller aspects. The whole train sequence is mesmerizing, Klebb is a formidable and scary villain, Romanova is a gorgeous Bond girl, and it kind of exemplifies the Cold War spy thriller, outdone only by stuff like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. It walks the tightrope between the crazy world of Bond with his gadgets and quips and the world of a more "serious" espionage movie. In my opinion, the Bond franchise has never found that balance more than here, which is why it's my top Bond film. Connery was the perfect blend of cultured intellectual and brutish thug. This film got the mix right.
The gypsy girl fight doesn't hurt, either...
I think its a blatant attempt at a Hitchcock movie, the problem is Hitchcock movies are so much better than FRWL. I think everything from the train ride onwards is great but that´s not enough to make it a great film.
shareI respectfully disagree. I do know what you mean - it's drawing on Hitchcock at points - but it's also just drawing on the source material and other spy fiction, because stretches of FRWL have that Cold War spy thriller vibe that I personally love. Combine that with the off-beat cool of James Bond and FRWL is its own beast. It might be aping Hitchcock with the attack from the sky, but 007 has his own vibe that brings a unique energy to this movie.
To each their own, of course, but I love this movie.
A couple of gripes. The gypsy camp scene just doesn´t fit with the tone of the film. The Bond theme is overused for Bond doing mundane things like arriving at the airport, inspecting his room for bugs. Tatiana saves Bond from being shot by Kleb then seconds later she is agonizing over whether to shoot Kleb or Bond. Maybe I am being too harsh on it, the 2nd half of the movie is definitely strong but i feel its because it draws its inspiration from Hitchcock. It almost feels like the first and 2nd half are two different movies.
shareThe gypsy camp is part of the Bond fun, for me. It's never 100% pure spy drama. That's why they have a periscope into the Russian embassy and a gypsy cat fight scene. But for me, I just embrace the "Bond" of it all and love it end to end. I'm not giving it an excuse... it's not that... but I do think that Bond is almost its own genre.
My understanding with Tatiana at the end is that she isn't agonizing over who to shoot, she's trying to get a clean shot. I think it's filmed in a way where maybe they want us to think she might be contemplating shooting Bond, but I think the character's intent is just that she's trying to aim. I could be wrong about that.
Yeah I have heard that point about Tatiana too but the way she´s waving the gun around back and forth doesn´t look like she´s trying to get a clean shot but deciding on who to shoot.
shareI think after digesting it a little more, I would have it as a top 3 Connery film despite some of its shortcomings. I definitely respect it much more than I used to.
shareNeat! For me, it's hard to imagine a better Bond film (although I certainly respect everybody's taste)
I like revisiting movies because it's fun seeing them differently at different points in life.
Yeah, tastes change. I used to have a low opinion of FRWL and Thunderball but they improved over time. On the other hand, I used to love Goldfinger, now I don´t care that much for it.
shareThe only Connery Bond I'm a bit "meh" over is Diamonds Are Forever. It's the low point for sure. The others all have some kind of appeal. Dr. No is rough around the edges, but it's got a great, slow burn for the first section - lots of espionage. FRWL - my love for this film is well-established at this point in the thread. Goldfinger is a bit overrated, but that's only because of how much hype it gets; it does cement the Bond formula with the gadget car and the megalomaniac villain and so forth. Thunderball kinda blends the Goldfinger superspy stuff with the pre-Goldfinger "regular" spy stuff. And while You Only Live Twice might have Sean Connery as a "Japanese man," it also has a volcano lair with ninjas, so... I still dig it.
shareDAF is my worst too. Goldfinger gets bogged down when Bond is taken prisoner. Thunderball is flawed but is such a beautifully shot film and Connery is at his absolute peak in it and it also has the best Bond girls. Dr No is decent for the first of the franchise and works as a detective story. YOLT is my favourite of the Connery films, because its a well-paced movie even though Connery looked a bit over it at that point.
shareI have the same thought with Goldfinger. One he's captured, Bond isn't terribly effective. He has moments, like breaking out and of course what he does with Pussy (I didn't even *intend* that double-oh-seven-entendre...), but for the most part he's just in jail while the bad guys do things.
YOLT is so much fun.
Maybe it's more of a thinking person's Bond movie?
shareToday, people want the non-stop Michael Bay stuff instead of a film that is actually about spies.
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