From Russia with Love

Connery came, he acted, and he conquered as James Bond in this second installment of the James Bond film franchise. With some of the most realistic fight scenes for a '60s movie and terrific story by Fleming, this film has a recipe for a masterpiece.

As mentioned in my review of "Dr. No", his charm and intellectual wit is still there, and then in some scenes in a whole lot more better than before. How he tries to commence his mission, you just couldn't fall asleep. A-grade acting by Connery here.

Then-newcomer Daniela Branchi is good as Bond Girl Tatiana, who is the wrong girl at the right time. Desmond Llewelyn, in his debut as gadget man Q, shows us an impressive array of gadgets that Bond would later find quite useful. But it is Robert Shaw, who almost steals the show as the murderous, merciless, assassin Grant, who will stop at nothing to prevent Bond and Tatiana from commencing their mission.

Crew also return here. Producers Brocolli and Saltzman and director Young have returned, with double the budget and double the thrills in return. Also, the musical score by John Barry is memorable, it really sets the tone for a realistic spy adventure.

The story is not meant to be an action picture. It is more like the adventures of a spy, with the dangers of being a spy. In short, it is a complex spy thriller, made to suit the target audience which are spy fans and intelligent viewers. I do not understand how anyone could call such a film "boring." This truly is a pinnacle of the James Bond series, one which will remain for years to come.

9.34/10

Delton

A Bond film that stands out among all other films as well as the Bond films, From Russia With Love is filled with not only a heavy dose of nonstop action and adventure, but also an intelligent plot that commented heavily on the world state of affairs in 1963. Capitalist and Communists are set to work against each other by SPECTRE, an organization which does not give any special considerations to economic systems, but wishes to weaken the balance of world power and take control itself. The survival of the Bond films depended on their ability to change with the decades, and From Russia With Love is no exception. Great acting performances from not only Sean Connery, but Robert Shaw, Pedro Armendariz, and Lotte Lenya (the wife of Kurt Weill).

A chess genius by the name of "Kronsteen" (played by Vladek Sheybal) is also the #5 ranked member of the secret criminal organization known as SPECTRE. He has come up with a foolproof plan which includes: (1) stealing a top secret Russian decoding machine called a "Lektor". (2) Increasing tension between NATO and the Warsaw Pact to the point of a possible war and (3) Killing "James Bond" (Sean Connery) in retaliation for the death of one of their operatives named "Dr. No". Kronsteen convinces #1 ("Ernst Blofeld") of his plans and #3 "Rosa Klebb" (Lotte Lenya) is ordered to assist him. Thinking that Colonel Klebb is still a member of SMERSH (the Russian secret service), the beautiful Russian intelligence analyst "Tatiana Romanova" (Daniela Bianchi) is pressed into luring James Bond to Istanbul so that he can acquire the Lektor from the Russian consulate. Once this is accomplished a ruthless assassin named "Grant" (Robert Shaw) is ordered to take the Lektor on behalf of SPECTRE and kill both James Bond and Tatiana Romanova. Obviously, the plot is very intricate and there are twists and turns throughout the movie, but for the sake of brevity I thought it best to end here. Overall, this is a remarkable movie which has nice cinematography, splendid acting, well-written scripts and good direction (Terence Young). Sean Connery is once again excellent as Agent 007. Pedro Armendiaz, who plays "Kerim Bey" (the head of Turkish intelligence), also performs admirably as does Robert Shaw. Likewise, Daniela Bianchi (a former Miss Rome and 1960 Miss World runner up) is a ravishing addition to this film as well. In short, it has the scenery, talent, script and direction that you need to make a good film and it is used to the utmost. A good James Bond film.

After the success of Dr. No, the movie going public could not get enough of Sean Connery as James Bond. From Russia With Love was almost demanded to be made and it's proved to be one of the most durable of the Bond series in popularity.

That infamous third echelon SPECTRE is after a new Russian decoding machine that the West would certainly like to lay its mitts on as well. But SPECTRE has something additional in mind. Knowing that MI5 will send its best in 007 after the decoder, they have it in mind to kill James Bond. And the alluring bait will be Daniela Bianchi, their agent.

Of course as always no woman can resist the sex appeal of James Bond as packaged by Sean Connery. Personally I've always liked Roger Moore best in the part, I like Sean Connery as well, but more for his non-Bond roles. That I'm sure will be appreciated by Sean Connery should he ever get to read this review.

The cinematography in a story that takes place in Istanbul and along the Mediterranean Sea is gorgeous. Connery gets a really outstanding cast in support including Pedro Armendariz for whom this was a final performance as Bond ally Ali Kerim Bey.

Robert Shaw has a part of few words as the paid assassin SPECTRE has trained for the purpose of killing James Bond. Shaw is terrifying in his role and the fact he did it without much use of a voice that was one of the best in the English language, testifies to his ability as an actor. His confrontation with Connery on the Orient Express is one of the great fight scenes ever done on film.

However I have a warm spot in my heart for Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb, the Russian defector now working for SPECTRE, the woman with those killer orthopedic shoes. Kenneth Cole never designed better.

From Russia With Love has everything you want in a James Bond film, action, sex, and exotic locations. And Sean Connery, who could complain.

Sean Connery never failed to charm as James Bond.His charm,coupled with the terrific story line that you see here in from Russia With Love,makes this film second only to Goldfinger in terms of ranking all of Connery's efforts as 007.Nearly stealing the show is a fresh faced Robert Shaw as a trained assassin with his eyes zeroed in on the agent.Sadly,we also see the final performance of Pedro Armendariz,who committed suicide the year of the film's release upon learning he had terminal cancer.Even if you are not a Bond fan,this is a very well done good versus evil story that is carried out very well.If you are a Bond fan,you probably have all the films in your collection,whether they are good or bad,but if you are someone who only collects films you consider good,you'll want to consider this one.