Binge-watching Bond part 5: 'You Only Live Twice'

You Only Live Twice is an interesting, often overlooked film in the Bond canon. It is probably the most forgotten film of Sean Connery's tenure as 007, and I'm not exactly sure why.

Clearly he was burnt out on the role at the time. He infamously was cantankerous during the production and quit playing Bond after this turn.

He would return four years later for Diamonds Are Forever, but more about that one later. This film has a terrific opening -- a genuinely eerie scene in outer space followed by what appears to be the assassination of Bond after a typical detour with a beautiful woman.

There is an Asian flavor to this film that sets it apart from the prior adventures. The film largely takes place in Japan which was uncommon for any non-Japanese film at the time. It's a cool time capsule of the country at this particular period and time -- 1967 -- and it has really terrific action set pieces in it. Thunderball dragged at times, this film moves at a better, faster pace.

This is also the film where we finally get to see Blofeld up close, the sinister mastermind behind Spectre who has been pulling the strings behind Bond's enemies since the very first film. Is his appearance a letdown? A little. Donald Pleasance is a great actor, but not by any means an intimidating one. In fact his best roles have all been as a slightly scared person -- I'm thinking Halloween, Cul-de-sac and The Great Escape. I think Telly Savalas was a far better Blofeld in the following film -- but I digress.

This film was something of a letdown at the box office after Thunderball, but I think it's probably a superior movie. I really liked it as a kid -- although I can not remember especially why. The theme song is haunting, Connery is totally in his element and the setting feels fresh and original compared to the Bond films that proceeded it.

Connery and Pleasance in You Only Live Twice

Sure, the subplot where Bond must "become Japanese" to evade the bad guys is laughable to say the least, but, for me, this ranks a cut above Thunderball but still below the perfection of Connery's first three outings as Bond. If nothing else than for Blofeld's tricked out volcano lair, which may be one of the most impressive pieces of set design ever.

Liz's take:  There's a lot of elements I liked. I'm a space nut so I appreciated the fact that space was prominently featured in the plot and I liked that it felt exotic but in a really authentic way, in terms of how it portrayed Japanese culture (setting aside Bond's absurd "makeover"). I did feel like it took a while to get to the meat of the plot but when Blofeld was finally unveiled I did scream because he's terrifying looking. He's such a great villain because you're always left asking more questions about him. For instance, how did he get that giant scar?

I kind of felt bad for the Bond girls in this movie because they were often killed very unceremoniously and quickly replaced. But I also appreciated the stunts, the helicopter fights and the car being lifted by the magnet - all these years later they were still very impressive.

I liked this better than Thunderball and From Russia With Love, but it still falls after Goldfinger and Dr. No. It's middle of the pack for me.