On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Runtime: 140 minutes

Directed by: Peter Hunt (please, don't giggle)

Starring: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Gabriele Ferzetti

From: UA

Oh boy, here’s a movie I was actually hesitant to revisit, thus why I haven’t reviewed a Bond movie in order in so damn long. I didn’t really care for it the first time around, as I thought Lazenby was a terrible Bond and some parts of the story were blah to me. I still feel the same about the latter, but watching it again made me realize that George wasn’t as bad as I first thought, although still the worst Bond there’s been.

Of course, I decided to watch this last night after hearing the announcement of the new Bond movie, coming out a year from now. It’ll be known as Skyfall, and the cast is rather nice, and it’s got to be better than Quantum of Solace. Once I eventually get to that one… I doubt I’ll have too many nice things to say about it. I haven’t seen it in three years now, but I’m still sure I’ll strongly dislike it. Oh, what a massive disappointment that was.

But onto this one… we all know the story now about how Lazenby was chosen for this huge role and he was a dumbass so he only did this one movie as he thought much more of his talents than everyone else did (although there were apparently other reasons why he only was Bond once). He wasn’t as bad as I first thought, but he’s no Moore or Dalton, let alone Connery. Maybe I’m being harsh as this was his first acting role, period. Still…

The story revolves around Blofeld (Savalas) once again, this time threatening germ warfare… not for cash, though, but for more practical reasons. That’s really all you need to know, aside from the fact that while you see some action in Portugal (including a bullfight, but it’s really tame compared to how bloody those things end up) much of it is set in Switzerland, which provides some great scenery. Oh, and Bond ends up falling in love with a young woman named Tracy, who he ends up marrying. As this was the only movie she appeared in… well, need I say more about her fate? It did lead to a memorable finale.

Me, viewing it again I say that despite a choppy and oddly edited at times first hour and some odd moments in the story (you can tell there were production problems) the movie still is rather entertaining despite its faults. The scenery is great, the score is memorable, there are some sweet action scenes, and the fighting stuff is filmed in a way that really is ahead of its time. You know, quick cutting and all that. It almost becomes something that I would dislike but it ends up being fine. It’s no Michael Bay or Paul Greengrass; the camera never shakes as if the operator is experiencing a seizure. It’s just quick cut, that’s all. It’s also definitely not like how incomprehensible much of the action in Quantum of Solace turns out. Really, I hope Skyfall doesn’t end up quite as serious as the first two Craig Bond flicks have been and there’s at least a little more humor added. You know, Q and Moneypenny and the goofy charm that you expect from most 007 motion pictures.

What was I saying… oh yeah, the movie was better on second viewing. I can’t really compare it to the other movies in the series as I prefer to rate things by the actor who plays the role. It’s just easier to do it that way, I say. There’s definitely other movies in the entire franchise I prefer to this, I’ll put it that way; it’s not at the bottom of the giant list either. It does depend on what you think of Lazenby. If you don’t dislike him, then you’ll be able to enjoy a fine story which is mostly grounded in realism and isn’t quite so fantastical.

I’ll be back Tuesday night, and I’ll be reviewing another 007 movie I’m not quite looking forward to revisiting, Diamonds are Forever.