I've watched From Russia with Love... I take it it's not too early to start talking about it?
The last time I did a Bondathon, this come top of my rankings, so it'll be interesting to see if it differs this time around. This is a big step up from Dr. No, and is an enthralling watch. Right from that first scene (and what an incredible scene that is), you just know it's going to be something special. Unsure whether to score this as a 9 or a 10. In the Bond canon, it's probably a 10, whereas in the context of all films it's a 9... what say you @Veknoid_Outcast? Some other thoughts:
- Some nice scenery and location shots - the interiors for the chess and the mosque scene in particular.
- There's some real cloak and dagger stuff going on here, which I really like in Bond films.
- I made note of the fact that the actual James Bond doesn't appear until about 17 minutes in, which I thought was interesting.
- Robert Shaw is brilliant as Grant - very physically imposing. The way he's a lingering threat, constantly shadowing Bond, one step ahead is wonderfully done - there's this simmering tension in not knowing when he'll strike. The train scenes really invoke a sense of claustrophobia and ramp that tension up further.
- Connery is well in the groove now. There's a bit more humour and one liners in the script, but it's never over done.
- If I had to nitpick, I feel that there's a bit too much crammed into the final few scenes. After having the threat of Grant build and build, there's then about three additional SPECTRE attacks in a short space of time. I suppose it shows how resourceful they are, but it just seemed a little much for me.
