This movie is a little incoherent and odd in the beginning, but kind of comes together about halfway through and becomes a decent Bond movie. Decent but not great. George Lazerby is good enough as Bond, so I don't blame him, it just has some flaws in the writing, I think. For those keeping track, 007 has sex with 3 different women in this movie, bringing his total for the first 6 James Bond movies to 21 different women. Does it count towards his total if a different guy is playing Bond? I think so. 21 it is.

After Sean Connery had enough of the Bond schedule and refused to return the hunt went out for a new James Bond and they settled on an Australian model (George Lazenby) with almost no acting experience and promoted long time Bond editor to his debut in the directors chair. Unlike the other bond films this one follows the book much closer, sometimes this is good and sometimes it is a detriment. The film starts with a pre-credit action scene that retains the hard edge of the previous Bond films and eventually reveals the face of the new Bond followed by a tongue in cheek line "this never happened to the other guy", as the girl (Diana Rigg) gets away. The film is immaculately shot with the collaboration of the director and cinematographer making perhaps the best looking Bond film yet but the first half of the film is quite slow and lacks adventure. Even so it attempts to show Bond in a slightly different light with more emotional depth and a seriousness not seen before which would be great if half way through the tone changes to almost a parody of Austin Powers proportions with Bond in the mountains surrounded by a bevy of babes. The third act of the film is the best portion with a better balance of a serious but more emotional Bond combined with great action set pieces all shot beautifully.As for Lazenby, he did the best he could but he is not a good actor.. passable at best but his shortcomings were all too apparent in the emotional climax of the film. He also had a hard time hiding his Australian accent which really did not suit the character. Telly Savlaas (Kojak) plays Blofeld in this film and is so different from any incarnation before that despite him putting in a good performance it doesn't really work in terms of the series. I think it would have been better to just have him as a different villain altogether in this patchy over-long Bond 'adventure'. This film was oft considered the red headed stepchild of the franchise and was not replayed on television over the years in the way the other Bond films were. In more recent years it has been re-evaluated by some, I fear possibly out of the very fact that it had become a more obscure Bond film. While there is plenty to admire here, the parts that do not work are so glaringly bad that it undoes a lot of the great work done on the film.

Contains more Controversy and Division among James Bond Fans than any other in the Series.To fill Sean Connery's Role, the Producers chose an Australian with No Acting Experience. A Part-Time Model named George Lazenby. He was given the Thankless Task of making the Transition Seamless in a Movie Franchise Second to None.Up to this point, Connery did Five Films, all being Well Received, except one, actually He did Return for one more (about as disappointing as this one), "You Only Live Twice" (1967) which was Below Average, a Disappointment, with Silly Stuff Galore.Lazenby does a Good Job, considering and was asked to Return after this, but Refused the Long Term Contract offered. The Movie, believe it or not, has some Die Hard James Bond Fans saying it's the Best Ever. It was, without doubt, the closest Rendition on Film of the Ian Fleming Novels.On its Own, the Film has more "Heart" than the Previous Pictures, with Bond Falling in Love, and almost No Gadgets. The Action Sequences are Top-Notch and Edge of Your Seat, and there are Plenty to Please Fans.Telly Savalas as Blofeld and Diana Rigg as the most Personally Resonant Bond Girl to Date and Fights along side the Secret Agent with Grace and Aptitude. Rigg adds a Great Deal to the Films Appeal among Bond Fans that consider this a Winner. Now a Cult Film, because it is Divisive and Different.A Fine Film outside the Controversies, and is Entertaining, Exciting, and Emotional.Underrated.

In my opinion this is the best Bond movie that has been made. It doesn't star Sean Connery but I think this is a good thing since George Lazenby made his Bond look more human, as opposed to cool on the outside and cool on the inside Bond of Sir Connery. Sean Connery is a brilliant actor and he brought merit to the character of Bond, but I often feel his Bond was a little bit one-sided. With Lazenby's Bond, we explored a different Bond, a man with vulnerabilities. He was of course still a cold bastard with charm and ruthless drive for success, as shown when Bond slapped Tracy. I've read the first four novels of Ian Fleming's 007, so I am familiar with the character of Bond as he was intended as opposed to what we see on the big screen today. James Bond is first of all a politically incorrect character: he is a womanizer, he smokes a lot, he drinks a lot of alcohol and he appears to have some sort of hatred towards women. But at the same time he is a human being, a tortured character hiding behind the facade of being a ruthless assassin. In my opinion George Lazenby caught that essence pretty well. He even had the skills to be Bond: He was a martial artist, race car driver, skier and an athlete.The story and plot of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' intrigues me, it was a departure from what we usually get in a 007 movie. It starts kind of slow (but with an impressive fight scene with Lazenby) but as the characters are explored and the plot progresses it gets better and better. The relationship between Bond and Tracy gets romantic and tender and James Bond falls in love. Marc-Ange Draco was also an interesting character, a crime lord whose daughter needs a man to dominate her. I never tire of seeing Lazenby and Gabriele Ferzetti having scenes together, I also like the scenes with Lazenby and Diana Rigg. Because I feel we were exploring Bond as opposed to just watching him chasing women and kill bad guys. So I like the character and plot driven story, in my opinion that is how a spy movie should be. Like how Ian Fleming created James Bond and the universe in it. But the movie has impressive and realistic fight scenes as well as gun fights. Not as elegant as other 007 movies but still good. By the way, Telly Savalas was quite good as Blofeld, his Blofeld felt human yet distant and cold. Reminiscent of Haghi from 'Spione' but without the edge. By the way, 'Spione' has possibly influenced Ian Fleming and how he created 007.Anyway, a great Bond movie with a shocking ending. Actually my favorite Bond movie. 9/10