The James Bond film where the Austin Powers franchise derives most of it's material from. Contains some of the franchises most electrifying action sequences and special effects work (the gadgets in this film are simply awesome). Arguably the true star of this movie are the fantastic set designs by Ken Adam, the unsung hero of the early JB films. Every single set in this movie, especially the awe-inspiringly massive SPECTRE volcano base, is breath-taking in it's creativity and imagination. I also love the great on-location shots in Japan and John Barry's score is one of his best. So with all these elements, what prevents this movie from being a great JB entry? Two things... 1) The plot is very convoluted, messy, and not even remotely plausible. The initial set-up of James Bond faking his death becomes pretty meaningless after the first 20 minutes and the sequence in which James Bond LITERALLY turns Japanese feels like complete time-killer. 2) Around this time, Sean Connery was starting to lose his enthusiasm for the role that made him into a superstar and it shows in his substandard performance. He is far from bad, but the dashing playboy-esque charm of his previous performances feels sadly absent from the proceedings. Regardless of these flaws, this is an extremely fun movie and great for fans of over-the-top James Bond.

You Only Live Twice (1967) Plot In A Paragraph: James Bond (Connery) is dispatched to Japan after American and Soviet manned spacecraft disappear mysteriously in orbit.It's a bit of a bore for me this one I'm afraid!! The best things about this movie is Nancy Sinatra's title track and the set designs including the huge hollowed out volcano. Even Donald Pleasence appearing as Blofeld isn't enough to bring this movie above average. Sean Connery is James Bond screamed the poster, but in could have read James Bond is Sean Connery, as it would appear that is all audiences wanted from him. With the exception of Marnie (which was considered at flop at the time) which no doubt was helped by a Hitchcock movie, none of his work outside of Bond made a dent at the Box Office. During the filming in Japan, it was announced that Connery would retire from the role of Bond after this movie.You Only Live Twice stopped the run of the latest Bond movie grossing more than the last. It still did very, very well ending 1967 as the 7th highest grossing movie of they year with a $43 million dollar haul from a $10 million budget.

Typical but effective Bond adventure, this time set in Japan to distinguish it from all the others. The movie benefits from the bizarre imagination of Roald Dahl (!) who was commissioned to write the script and who injects some of his own wit, style, and an ounce of darkness into the story. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with a fun helicopter battle, some tense outer-space action (spoilt by some very cheesy model effects - the special effects in the Bond series don't seem to have progressed at all since DR. NO, except by becoming a little tighter) and a good finale, in which Bond infiltrates the enemy base (inside a volcano) and comes face-to-face with his arch enemy Blofeld for the first time.At this point the series was less occupied with screen realism than with out-and-out in-your-face bravado and scenes bordering on the incredible - take that whole "volcano base" thing. Other highlights include Bond narrowly escaping from a plane taking a dive and the elaborate ploy at the beginning of the film to convince the world of his death. Would he really go to all that trouble? This is a fast-paced movie with lots of action and near-death scrapes for Bond - love that scene where he is nearly killed by a hidden assassin pouring poison down a thread to his mouth.Sean Connery returns as Bond and is looking a little older this time - although nowhere near as aged as he appeared in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and then NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. The Japanese supporting cast is very good, especially the two love interests and Tetsuro Tamba as the secret agent "Tiger" Tanaka. Donald Pleasence appears briefly but memorably as the hideously scarred Blofeld, a role which was to be played by lots of people over the years. Series regulars Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewellyn also put in welcome appearances, along with Charles Gray as an ally. Gray returned as Blofeld in the next Connery Bond! Euro-starlet Karin Dor turns up briefly as a femme fatale. THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU fans may note cast members Tsai Chin and Burt Kwouk as minor villains - I guess they had the advantage of being in Britain when this film was made and so were cast easily.Strangely enough my favourite scene in this movie is one of the least spectacular - namely, the dockyard scene where Connery and his girlfriend are stalked by a gang of thugs. There's a fantastic aerial shot of the bad guys closing in on Connery which I really liked, and the choreography is really good here. The one-liners are cheesier than ever, and among the many (unintentionally) funny scenes is one where Connery has to go "Japanese" in order to disguise his true identity - a less Japanese-looking person I can't imagine! In all, good clean fun and a solid addition to the series, unique in setting if nothing else.

The last Connery Bond of the sixties must be one of the most gloriously rich and entertaining films of the decade. So be warned if your're looking for reality or substance, this is high calibre cinematic escapism only! With You Only Live Twice the film makers provide an adventure that outdoes all past Bond movies in terms of scale. While Roald Dahl's script follows the Bond template with great locations, characters and gadgets to enjoy, the concept of an arch villain in a hollowed out volcano trying to create World War 3 is the tour de force here. Bond has to find the hide out and stop the plan, and enlists the Japanese secret service for help along the way. The work of three Oscar winners is standout: Freddie Young's cinematography creates the requisite Bond atmosphere; Ken Adam's production design is nothing like anyone had seen at the time and composer John Barry's score is literally music to the ears. Enjoy Sean Connery in fine form as Bond. Strictly to be appreciated in widescreen only and via the biggest screen you can get your eyes on.