Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘You Only Live Twice’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

In many ways Thunderball managed to serve as the setup film for many stories when it came to the James Bond franchise. After all, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. had suddenly become a terrifying threat and the only man it would seem that could ever stop them was 007 and we would see the two square off time and time again. But what I've always loved about the Bond films, is that it's clear behind the scenes, that Eon Productions always wondered how they could potentialy top each film.

That's important because for his next outing, Eon pulled out all of the stops. Yes, James Bond would save the world once again, but he would do it against only the craziest of odds, face off against his toughest foe and of course, blow a bunch of stuff up in the process and well, all those elements make You Only Live Twice a simply fantastic outing. 

When it comes to the odds being against James in this film, well I'm still amazed at how much the story stacks against him. Especially since S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is hot on his tail throughout the entire film and the fact that James essentially has to fake his own death in order to figure out what they up to, is a stroke of genius and a terrifying one at that. Because f he has to die in order to be free to finish the job, that speaks to S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s reach and their ruthlessness.

---

Speaking of that organization, this is the film where they are at their most absolute evil. Hunting James is the first part of that equation, and it is finished by the fact they push the world to the brink of World War III. It's about total and utter chaos for this band of baddies and this is the film where we at last put a face and a name to the leader of this group... Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Yes, this was the iconic moment when we finally met this madman, and he was absolutely spectacular to see on screen and I can think of no better man to play the part the first time out than the legendary Donald Pleasence. He was simply delightful in the role and it's a shame he didn't return to play the part more often, but others did him justice. 

But while the action, adventure and story are breathtaking, there is a bittersweet taste to this film since it harkens the beginning of the end of the Connery era. It's a well-known fact now, that at this point in time he had grown tired of the character and wanted to move on from it and knowing that now, well... this feels like part one of a two part send off and at least the first half of the goodbye goes off with a bang. As always Connery is phenomenal in the role, I would venture to say his badassery in this film is what cemented his status as one of the finest Bonds to ever grace the screen and it's a shame he didn't stick around for one more direct sequel before quitting.

In fact, looking back at it all now, this is truly one of the most iconic Bond films to ever be made. It gave us Blofeld, dressed in his simple gray suit, petting his fluffy white cat with those wild eyes and this is often one of the first films we think of when it comes to James Bond. Heck, the movie is so engrained in our minds that this is the film that helped bring to life Dr. Evil and many of his goofy plots and I guess if that's not a compliment to this film and how well it has withstood the test of time, I don't know what is. 

---