This was the fifth in the Bond series, released in 1967. Producer Albert `Cubby' Broccoli had quite a challenge on his hands outdoing the runaway success of `Thunderball'. He undertook to surpass it by increasing the budget, trying more elaborate gadgets and stunts (an ultralight heavily armed one man helicopter being chased by 4 other helicopters), gargantuan sets (a launch pad inside a volcano) and exotic locations (Japan). At almost $10 million (that's about $50 million in today's dollars), this was one of the highest budgeted films at that time. The launch pad set alone cost over $1 million to build. Despite great box office results, ($110 Million worldwide in 1967 dollars) it fell short of Cubby's ambitions to exceed `Thunderball' financially ($140 Million worldwide) and it proved to be lackluster among the early Bond films.
Although having established himself as a pop icon in his 007 roles, Sean Connery was tired of being James Bond. Before the release of this film, he announced his intention to retire from the role. His lack of enthusiasm was evident throughout the film and his onscreen demeanor lacked verve. He didn't even show much interest in the love scenes, looking more bored than passionate. The critics declared that this would be the end of his career and the end of James Bond films, probably the worst twin predictions in the history of film. As it turns out, Connery returned to the role twice more in 1971 (Diamonds Are Forever) and 1983 (Never Say Never Again).
I have a great deal of respect for Sean Connery, indeed he is one of my favorite actors. His Bond films set a standard that was never equaled by any of the actors that followed. However, his performance in this film displayed so much ennui that it bordered on unprofessional.
This film had all the elements necessary to make it one of the better Bond films. It finally gave a face to Blofeld, and though the choice of Donald Pleasence was roundly criticized, I liked him in the role. The story was intriguing. Astronauts and their spacecraft were being abducted by a rogue predator ship that was gobbling them up whole. Bond was dispatched to find out who was behind the plot. The screenplay written by Roald Dahl was full of clever double entendres like Aki's (Akiko Wakabayashi) great line just as Bond swept her into his arms, `I think I will enjoy very much serving under you.' It had majestic locations and great photography. However, the elements didn't gel, mostly because of Connery's Bond fatigue.
Overall, this was a good Bond film, although it could have been much better but for Connery's malaise. Still, the story was stronger than contemporary Bond films, which have resorted to nonstop action and visual effects with flimsy scripts. I rated it a 7/10. If you want to see Connery at his best, see `Goldfinger' or `From Russia With Love'.
