You Only Live Twice

007__#5__The attractive setting of exotic Japan and a beautiful central musical motif (“borrowed" by Robbie Williams in his successful hit “Millennium”), but the action sequences have already been somewhat dented by the ravages of time. Incorporating the element of ninjas that was so fashionable at the time (training in the Ninja Academy) doesn't really fit, especially since they don't show anything of their fighting skills in the decisive battle (just pew-pew from firearms). The main villain, the No.1 man of the Spectre organisation played by Donald Pleasence, who only appears in the last twenty minutes, is more of a caricature, and during the exaggerated final shootout with the storming of the command bridge, which seems to have fallen out of Bond's The Spy Who Loved Me, I realised how often James Bond films resemble each other. (10/01/2005)

What definitely needs to be appreciated are the scenes in space, which definitely do not look bad. On the other hand, Bond is moving into a completely different genre and one has more of a feeling that it was not an artistic intention, but purely commercial, to keep people entertained. "Thunderball" was already a bit of the same. The beginning can really excite you because Bond dies here, but then you find out why he lives twice. Then you just wait to finally see Blofeld's face. Donald Pleasence was a great choice. However, Bond as a Japanese is a bit too much. (03/03/2014)

All words are of little value - except Diamonds Are Forever all of Connery's Bond films are worth the full amount of stars. What does this one have in particular? You Only Live Twice has the best Bond song of the 22 films, and this film is a bit special in that it's set entirely in Japan. It has a delicious villain (Pleasance's Blofeld is simply Satan - his gradual reveal is legendary), beautiful girls (even if you don't like Asian girls) and sensational action scenes like a mini helicopter, a brawl with one or more Japanese, and a final huge fight inside an extinct volcano... and the "swallowing" of spaceships is also worth it. Among other things, I was pleased with the restored version of this film - the image, especially in the opening space shots, is literally breathtaking. I wish I could have seen this in the movie theater! (04/26/2010)

Here we go. Not even the Japanese could keep their women safe from this extremely invasive British agent and so it’s not rare in Japan to come across citizens speaking Japanese with a strong Scottish accent. The leap into the realm of sci-fi is more than obvious, and despite the plot being far-fetched beyond belief, the film does have a certain charm. (08/03/2016)

Too many technical gimmicks and various improvements at the expense of plot density and genuine entertainment. The action in Japan may have benefited Bond, it truly feels fresh and unconventional, but they are trying something technically that doesn't work too well. The mass scenes, the megalomaniacal action with rockets, among others, it all feels cluttered and, with a distance of years, even laughable, and no matter what, Bond should have a timeless impact. Not just as a persona, but also in terms of themes and visual aesthetics. That is not the case here, not even by accident. (12/30/2013)