James Bond Movie Review - You Only Live Twice (1967)

[Dave Gray]

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Premise: As cold war tensions rise with both the US and Soviet Union blaming each other for missing spaceships, Bond travels to Japan to find the real culprit.

One of the things that makes Bond films special is that they can exist in a variety of eras and tones and styles.  They can be gritty and real, cheeky and fun and self-aware, 80s action flicks, or here -- the 60s pulp adventure.  You Only Live Twice is that knob cranked to 11.  So much of what we think of when it comes to Bond comes from this film and after seeing Austin Powers lampoon it, it's hard to see it the same way.  But these things are iconic for a reason.

The opening sequence is wonderful.  The space stuff is delightfully weird and feels very much of the time.  It's exactly the hyper-real geopolitical spy problem that Bond came to be known for, but with the perfect 60s cold-war setting, amid the space race.  The part that cuts to Bond getting offed at the beginning of the film works as a stand-alone idea, but it seems like they just wanted to use the title.  The death and resurrection are cool concepts, but they don't really seem relevant to the plot and I can't really make sense of why it's important - James Bond seems to be out and living his life -- not exactly in hiding.  The song is a banger and uses some Asian influences that tie to the setting itself.  I don't love that the pre-title sequence is in Hong Kong only to move the main plot into Japan.  It feels a little too samesy -- not that those cultures are the same, but the movie isn't interested in distinguishing them.  He could just as easily been in Norway or Dubai or Haiti and given very different feels.  It actually mixed me up with the actresses as well as there are three similarly framed women at different parts of the movie that are operating in love interest roles.

Once Bond arrives in Toyko, the film does a good job of establishing the setting, with some familiar stereotypes -- the neon streets of Japan's cities, the little tea-house with paper walls, sake ceremonies, etc.  I also think that many interesting characters are introduced including an ex-pat, and a boss and henchwoman where you're not certain of their allegiances.  All good stuff -- and the car, though it lacks a spectacular driving sequence by Bond is still a good fit -- a Toyota convertible that gets them out of a few jams.

This movie was made in the 60s though.  I don't know how much to forgive, but the action feels sluggish and lazy when it comes to fighting and intensity.  The hand to hand combat is a lot of grabbing someones arm to flip them and it knocks them out and karate chops to the back.  It's the kind of "Kirk Fu" you saw in the original Star Trek.  Also, when Bond chases people down, everyone looks like they're stage fighting - running with a jog that isn't convincing.  It's of the era, yes, but it's not good.  And it's throughout.

I find the characters interesting, but the relationships unconvincing -- everything is underwritten.  Bond reacts to seeing people he seemingly just met with great reverence and he equally discards them without seeming to care.  It caused me to actually be confused about who people were because Bond would act with a closeness and familiarity, making me think that we had previously known them.  Other times, characters are killed and Bond doesn't even seem to give a crap.  It's not intentional, I don't think -- they're not making him cold for any reason -- I think they just want to move the story along and don't want to put the emotional work in to earning the relationships.

The rogues gallery is a standout.  This is about Spectre, so you have the definitive and best depiction of Blofeld, plus a few different henchmen and bosses.  All 5-stars.  Iconic and like it came right out of Austin Powers.

The turn into the 2nd act, this film is terrible.  Bond becomes Japanese.  It's awful.  It's poorly done, it doesn't make sense in the plot, it's cringe, and it's a wasted opportunity.  The idea of Bond working with and aside ninjas is cool -- but having him pretend to live as a Japanese man and to take a wife (for some reason) -- it's all of the worst tendencies of this era, paired with not being very good at what it's trying to accomplish.

I thought the movie had lost me, but the finale is so spectacular in its scope that it won me back.  The set design and construction of the volcano lair is one of the best things in Bond history.  It's massive, well-realized, iconic, and the best amount of sci-fi silliness to match the tone of the movie it's in.  Once you set foot into the volcano, you are in an otherworldly atmosphere reminiscent of Tommorwland at Disney World.  The movie gets some points for having Bond do some ninja-skill stuff that he learned to gain access.  And then the finale is explosions and badly choreographed fights, but I think it ends on a high note.

I'm left with a struggle on how to place it.  This type of Bond isn't my favorite, but for what it's going for, it's the "most" of its kind, which I respect.  If you want to familiarize yourself with Bond's fingerprint on the greater pop-culture landscape, it's a must see.  It has incredible highs and some of the lowest lows.  It's not even my favorite of the Connery films and I'd likely place it in the middle of his offerings and probably near the middle overall.