From Russia, With Love - classic movie review
From Russia, With Love
Plot: James Bond willingly falls into an assassination ploy involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by SPECTRE.
Cast: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya
Director: Terence Young
Rating: PG (moderate violence, mild sex references)
Runtime: 1hr 55 mins
Release Date: Friday 11th October 1963
DING DING DING! Round 2! Next up on the James Bond rundown is From Russia, With Love. Set in the midst of the Cold War, Bond is thrust into an operation that, if the slightest mistake is made, could start a war between America and Russia. I remember seeing bits and pieces of this film in the past but never have I watched it start to finish so I was pretty excited to see what some consider one of the best Bond films ever. So, I can categorically say that From Russia, With Love is NOT the best Bond film. In fact, it's pretty bloody dull.
For his second outing, Connery tones down the campiness that was running amuck during Dr. No. The fact that he made the character more grounded and stuck in reality could have been a positive as long as there was still an element of fun and excitement. Daniel Craig might be the grittiest Bond but at least there was loads of action in his films. With Connery now playing serious Bond, much of the film becomes uneventful because you're waiting for a quippy one-liner that rarely ever comes. He still handles himself very well during the action scenes and certainly continues to be very much a fantastic James Bond, but due to watching this series in succession, the presentation of Bond seems like such a beta switch from how he behaved in Dr. No. Maybe it was because the stakes were a little more realistic or the filmmakers were trying to find which style of Bond worked best, but it was quite a clash of ideas. That being said, Bond's strange approach to women hasn't really changed. He isn't ever misogynistic or sexist but it's fairly alarming to see him slap a woman around the face for only a minor squabble and also make love to a woman after ten seconds of meeting her when she had just broken into his room. To quote the guys over at Epic Rap Battles Of History "Dr. No mean NO baby". As for the villain this time round, well, there isn't really just one. If anything, the antagonist for this film is just the organisation of SPECTRE. There is a small hint at Blofeld, who is only shown famously stroking his cat, but that's it from him. He's even credited as being played by ?.
Another villain is Kronsteen who, from what I recall, does absolutely nothing. He puts a few plans in motion but I honestly can't remember what he did that was even remotely threatening, and I watched this film a day before writing this. How do we even know he's a villain? He plays chess. Menacingly. As for someone who might pose a threat, we also have Lotte Lenya, a Russian official who has now sided with SPECTRE to turn Russia and America against each other. This has the potential to be a great mental match for Bond who can strategize rather than fight. It was all going so well until her final scene. In a moment of crisis, it's James Bond vs An Elderly Lady with a chair. It just doesn't work at all. Watching her fight is like watching your nan get drunk at Christmas. The only actor that completely sold me on being a compelling villain in this movie was Robert Shaw as Grant. He's introduced as the muscle for SPECTRE and then just disappears for most of the film until he makes a triumphant return to save the movie from terminal boredom. He poses as an agent for Bond to trust and when they meet on the train, I could understand why people thought it was such a good Bond film. It doesn't redeem the rest of it, but it definitely was the highlight. Shaw is stoic throughout and in some ways, steals the film from Connery. In actual fact, Grant is quite an underrated villain because he has both brains and brawn. And of course, the Bond girl. Daniela Bianchi plays Tatiana and what else is there to say really. Her character is fairly interesting as she's working under Lotte Lenya's character but under the impression she's helping Mother Russia. However, Bianchi may have the beauty of a supermodel but she has the acting talent of a spanner.
FACT: Of all of the Bond films he starred in, this is Sean Connery's personal favourite.
Mixed acting aside, From Russia, With Love on paper, should have been a highly tense, intriguing and exciting Bond film. Unfortunately, because of an incredibly slow first and second act, this simply doesn't feel like a Bond film. It does however, have the feel of a spy film especially set to the backdrop of the Cold War but whilst watching this, I had to keep reminding myself this was Bond rather than slower more thought-out spy films like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Bridge Of Spies. The film lasts just under two hours and whilst it doesn't feel longer thanks to a brilliant conclusion, the first hour and a half is painstakingly uneventful and kind of boring. The dialogue isn't at the level to be highly intriguing or gripping so with elongated scenes of people in rooms discussing espionage, it can drag when the on-screen action isn't interesting. It may be a globe trotting adventure but sitting in a room talking about plans and plotting to turn nations against each other is the same whatever country you're in. For this large portion of the film, it never seems to go anywhere. Things are happening but I never saw any progression. That all then leads to the train sequence. The story behind it is that Bond and his gal have finally found the encryption device they're looking for so they board a train to return it to a safe place. Little do they know that Grant has followed them as well. I love it when films build suspense because when done well, it can potentially leave you on the edge of your seat. That started to happen as soon as we see Grant get on the train because we know that after a long wait, it's all going to come to a head. Be that as it may, there's building suspense and then there's taking the freaking piss. Sadly, From Russia, With Love falls into the latter category. From the moment when Bond steps onto the train to the first punch thrown by Grant, we are watching Bond and Tatiana sit on a train for twenty unbearably long minutes. Talk about trimming it down. In all fairness, when Bond and Grant do get into fisticuffs, it's a thankful jolt of energy but it was nowhere near worth the wait. On the other hand, From Russia, With Love does have some impressive elements that just about save it from becoming an mediocre movie to a fine film. Though they may be few and far between, when the action scenes happen, they are quite impressive especially considering that it was made over fifty years ago. The shootout in the gypsy camp, the car/helicopter chase and the fist fight between Bond and Grant all look like they could have been shot yesterday as long as the grainy camera quality was improved. Also, whilst it wasn't executed in the way I hoped, the ambition of including the Cold War to drive the antagonist's motives made for a cool premise.
Even though it concludes in an impressive manner and only just redeems itself in the finale, From Russia, With Love is mostly uneventful. Connery makes Bond too serious and loses the fun and to truly enjoy the first hour and a half, bring a pillow, blanket and alarm clock to wake you up for the conclusion. Not the finest hour for Bond.
My Verdict: 6/10
If you like what you've seen here don't forget to share this post, comment below and check out my other reviews. Thanks for reading!
Comments
Post a Comment