You Only Live Twice is the fifth in the series produced by Eon Productions, starring Sean Connery It is the first out of three Bond films to be directed by Lewis Gilbert.
In this installment,
American NASA spacecraft Jupiter 16 is hijacked from orbit by an unidentified spaceship . To investigate, Bond is sent to Tokyo, after faking his own death in Hong Kong
While attending a sumo tournament, Bond is approached by female Japanese secret service agent Aki, who takes him to meet local MI6 operative Dikko Henderson, who claims to have critical evidence about the spacecraft, but a hitman kills Henderson. Bond kills the assailant, taking his clothing as a disguise, and is driven in the getaway car to Osato Chemicals. Once there, Bond breaks into the office safe of the company’s president, Mr. Osato. After obtaining secret documents, Bond falls through a trap door leading to the office of the head of the Japanese secret service, Tiger Tanaka. The documents include a photograph of the cargo ship Ning-Po.
Bond returns to Osato Chemicals and briefly meets with Osato, who orders his secretary, Helga Brandt, to kill Bond; both are SPECTRE agents. Bond and Aki drive to Kobe, where the Ning-Po is docked. Bond is captured and awakens in Brandt’s cabin on the Ning-Po. Brandt interrogates Bond, before seducing him.
Bond discovers where the Ning-Po was unloaded He flies over the area , near a volcano, in an armed gyroplane, is attacked by and destroys 4 helocopters. A Soviet spacecraft is captured in orbit by another unidentified craft, heightening tensions with the United States. The mysterious spaceship lands in a base hidden inside the volcano, operated by Ernst Stavro Blofeld of SPECTRE, who has been hired by a great power to start a Soviet-American war.
In Kyoto, Bond dons a Japanese disguise, which will include a staged marriage to a Japanese operative. Sean Connery. As an Asian. It’s “John Wayne as Genghis Khan” type bad. Aki is killed when she is poisoned in her sleep by a SPECTRE agent targeting Bond, who is asleep next to her.
Bond is introduced to Tanaka’s student, Kissy Suzuki, who will take over the role of his wife. Acting on a lead, the pair reconnoitre a cave which leads to the volcano with the secret rocket base. Bond locates and frees the captured American and Soviet astronauts and, with their help, steals a space suit to infiltrate the SPECTRE spacecraft, “Bird One”. However, Blofeld spots Bond, who is detained and taken into the control room, where he meets Blofeld.
Bond distracts Blofeld and lets in the Tanaka’s ninjas. Bond fights his way back to the control room, kills Blofeld’s bodyguard Hans, and activates Bird One’s self-destruct. Blofeld activates the base’s self-destruct system and escapes. Bond, Kissy, Tanaka, and the surviving ninjas leave before the eruption destroys the base, and are picked up by the Japanese Maritime Forces and the British Secret.
OK, on to the ratings;
Bond; 78 out of 100 Not his best work as Bond, and, the Japanese makeup??? Nope.
Villain; 88 out of 100. Donald Pleasance isn’t given much to work with here, but he’s Donald Pleasance, one of the best creepy character guys to ever do it.
Bond Girls; 83 out of 100, Mie Hama’s Kissy Suzuki, Akiko Wakabayashi as Aki, Karin Dor as Helga Brandt, SPECTRE assassin ? All of them are attractive , but there’s no real spark.
Bond Theme; 26 out of 75. The song, and Nancy Sinatra’s performance, is, frankly, boring and unmemorable. Cold, I know. But there it is.
Henchman- 10 out of 50. I’m going to credit Karin Dor’s Helga Brandt , but really there isn’t a bonafide henchman. I’m trying to be kind here…
M, Q, Moneypenny & misc; 15 out of 25. The Lois, Desmond and Bernard trio are always worth a few extra points, but that’s about it for this movie.
Total; 300
Scoreboard;
- Diamonds are Forever- 428
- Goldfinger- 419
- The Spy Who Loved Me.- 410
- Goldeneye- 407
- Spectre-397
- Live and Let Die- 396
- Thunderball- 393
- Skyfall- 383
- Casino Royale / Die Another Day / Skyfall- 382
- For Your Eyes Only- 380
- Tomorrow Never Dies- 377
- From Russia with Love
- The World is not Enough- 367
- A View to a Kill- 359
- Never Say Never Again- 356
- No Time to Die- 355
- Dr. No- 346
- The Man with the Golden Gun. 331
- License to Kill- 321
- Moonraker- 315
- You Only Live Twice- 300
- Octopussy- 255
- The Living Daylights- 228
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service- 201
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