On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
With Sean Connery retiring from the role after You Only Live Twice it is easy to get nervous regarding someone new taking over the role of Bond considering the only time previous to this we got a new Bond it was in Casino Royale especially when combined with Peter R. Hunt making his franchise directorial debut. On the path of Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas), James Bond (George Lazenby) heads to the Mountains posing as someone from the London College of Arms who is supposed to meet with Blofeld to confirm him as Count Balthazar de Bleuchamp. Bond meets with Blofeld at his research center where he is trying to cure the allergies of 12 women.
Starting out with what I was most nervous about, thank god we can say that George Lazenby is good as James Bond. Where he isn't quite as charismatic as Sean Connery he still carries enough of a presence to him to work in this more over the top and fun role even if his outfits are not quite on the same level of fun. Telly Savalas also continues to be an absolutely iconic villain, where sadly up to this point his character hasn't quite had the monologues or dialogue to be god tier he carries such a unique and threating presence to him. Every time he is on screen (even if it's just his body), he steals everyone's thunder and really makes his impact felt. The plot itself is also fun and easy enough to follow. Where it definitely is not as interesting or engaging as Goldfinger or even You Only Live Twice for example. It is also far from being overly messy like some other outings in this franchise so far.
With that said though the actual formula this film takes started to get a bit dull for me. For the previous few movies (minus Casino Royale for obvious reasons) it seems like there has been a clear formula these films have taken and it is starting to feel more and more like they are simply going through the motions. You know how Bond's interactions with each woman, agent, or villain are going to go and it does take quite a bit of the interest out of the viewing experience. This is especially true when you look at the length these movies are taking, there is no reason this movie needs to be nearly 2 and a half hours yet it is. It is getting to a point that these films are starting to drag so badly, at the root they could easily accomplish their stories in an hour and a half but instead choose to inflate the runtime so much.
With that said though the actual formula this film takes started to get a bit dull for me. For the previous few movies (minus Casino Royale for obvious reasons) it seems like there has been a clear formula these films have taken and it is starting to feel more and more like they are simply going through the motions. You know how Bond's interactions with each woman, agent, or villain are going to go and it does take quite a bit of the interest out of the viewing experience. This is especially true when you look at the length these movies are taking, there is no reason this movie needs to be nearly 2 and a half hours yet it is. It is getting to a point that these films are starting to drag so badly, at the root they could easily accomplish their stories in an hour and a half but instead choose to inflate the runtime so much.
The filmmaking especially in this film also really didn't work. Where in the past there has been rough visual effects this is one that had very sloppy editing and cinematography. With no new gimmick like the underwater filming from Thunderball or the volcano lair from You Only Live Twice, it feels as if the people behind the camera felt pressured to make the hand to hand combat feel more dynamic using quick cuts and zooms that really feel disorienting and unneeded. Like the runtime, this is simply the film trying to be something that it's not and feeling like they need to push the story and action harder than they actually need to.
Still though On Her Majesty's Secret Service remains a fine bond film. Where the story is not super engaging and the film overall does feel long, George Lazenby is fun enough as James Bond and the story is just clean enough to where you can get a bit invested in it. With that said though there are also just so many other Bond films from this early point in the franchise that are so much better that I also couldn't really recommend you go out of your way to check this one out. If you were going through each of the Bond films this would be far from a painful time but it also isn't rewarding to the point where it comes even close to being must-watch.
Still though On Her Majesty's Secret Service remains a fine bond film. Where the story is not super engaging and the film overall does feel long, George Lazenby is fun enough as James Bond and the story is just clean enough to where you can get a bit invested in it. With that said though there are also just so many other Bond films from this early point in the franchise that are so much better that I also couldn't really recommend you go out of your way to check this one out. If you were going through each of the Bond films this would be far from a painful time but it also isn't rewarding to the point where it comes even close to being must-watch.