If you want a long movie of embarrassing Orientalism and exploitation, You Only Live Twice is the one for you. Two thing saves it from my pen of eternal disdain however and that is the space-aged gadgetry and the main villain. This comical caricature is the influence behind Dr. Claw of Inspector Gadget fame and Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. Sean Connery is not himself either as he seems to be along for the ride and never in character as 007. It is bad folks, everything that you can think of as Japanese is in this. James goes to watch a Sumo match, fights katana wielding bad guys and asks the women why they are so good at sex… Maybe I imagined that last one, I sure do hope so. Not to mention the Bond girls, all 100 of them (I’m exaggerating) have really short life spans. The main Bond girls in this one are Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) and Kissy (Mie Harna) both cuties in there own right and more active and useful than the former “Damsel in Distress” Bond girls.
If you aren’t a racial prude like myself and loved Connery in Goldfinger (which you should) then You Only Live Twice is an action-packed follow up to the lengthy Thunderball. Aside from everything I have mentioned wrong with the movie the most annoying is the plot. It had so many things going on I couldn’t put logic to it as I feigned to keep up. I got that a bunch of bad guys wanted to start a nuclear war between the major world powers but I didn’t understand the reasoning behind James being made to don a Japanese disguise, marry a Japanese woman, hang out at a Ninja camp and and wear tabis. This is such an absurd collage of stuff that I laughed for most of the movie and face palmed at the rest of it. All jokes aside, I do recognize that it is one of the movies to start the grand Bond sagas (in all their campy splendor) of Roger Moore’s run. A bit too long for me I must say but not without it’s special blend of cinematography and well orchestrated stunts.
James even drinks his Martini STIRRED in this one! Of all the… This is one that only hardcore Bond fans should apply.
Bond-o-meter Score (ranges from 1-10)
James Bond/Story (3): Story is all over the place and James doesn’t want to be there. Even Sean knew this was bullsh-t. It’s all over his face.
Bond Girls – Aki and Kissy (5): Not memorable at all.
Bond Toys (7): Transforming helicopter and kickass cars are the mainstays but they all kick ass.
The Villain (8): Dr. Evil has more charisma than this guy but he is the original
Spicy Rating (6): Its classic Bond but nothing stands out.
If you want a long movie of embarassing Orientalism and exploitation, You Only Live Twice is the one for you. Two thing saves it from my pen of eternal disdain however and that is the space-aged gadgetry and the main villain. This comical caricature is the influence for Dr. Claw of Inspector Gadget fame and Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. Sean Connery is not himself either as he seems to be along for the ride and never in character as 007. It is bad folks, everything that you can think of as Japanese is in this. James goes to watch a Sumo match, fights katana weilding bad guys and asks the women why they are so good at sex… Maybe I imagined that last one, I sure do hope so. Not to mention the Bond girls, all 100 of them (I’m exaggerating) have really short life spans. The main Bond girls are Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) and Kissy (Mie Harna) both cuties in there own right and more active than the former “Damsel in Distress” girls.
If you aren’t a racial prude like myself and loved Connery in Goldfinger (which you should) then You Only Live Twice is an action-packed follow up to the lengthy Moonraker. Aside from everything I have mentioned wrong with the movie the most annoying is the plot. It had so many things going on I couldn’t put logic to the plot. I got that a bunch of bad guys wanted to start a nuclear war between the major world powers. But I didn’t understand the reasoning behind James being made to don a Japanese disguise, marry a Japanese woman, hang out at a Ninja camp and and wear tabis. This is such an absurd collage of stuff that I laughed for most of the movie and face palmed at the rest of it. All jokes aside, I do recognize that this is one of the movies to begind the grand Bond sagas of Roger Moore’s run. A bit too long for me I must say but not without it’s special blend of nice cinematography and well orchestrated stunts.
Bond-o-meter Score (ranges from 1-10)
James Bond/Story (3): Story is all over the place and James doesn’t want to be there. Even Sean knew this was bullsh-t. It’s all over his face.
Bond Girls: Aki and Kissy (5): Not memorable at all.
Bond Toys (7): Transforming helicopter and kickass cars are the mainstays but they all kick ass.
The Villain (8): Dr. Evil has more charisma than this guy but he is the original$ Bonus (6): Its classic Bond but nothing stands out.
[Rating stars=“5”]
Written by Greg Dragon – who has written 365 reviews on Spicy Movie Dogs.
Cinephile and opinion writer, Greg Dragon has been a fan of movies since the 80's when Kung Fu theater was all the rage and Roger Moore was James Bond. As an opinion writer that has reviewed Box Office releases on a number of prominent websites, Greg is the founder and lead critic of Spicy Movie Dogs.
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