By You Only Live Twice, the James Bond series was running at full throttle. The budgets were climbing, the stakes were intergalactic, and Sean Connery was clearly thinking about the exit. This is the film where Bond becomes something closer to a superhero than a spy, battling volcano lairs and dodging spacecraft mid-abduction. It is wildly ambitious and occasionally absurd, but also sleek, visually impressive, and entertaining in a pulpy, Saturday-matinee kind of way.
This one lands at 3.5 out of 5. I liked it, and it definitely delivers on spectacle, but some of the choices—especially the yellowface disguise—are, to put it gently, a rough watch today. It’s big Bond, but not always good Bond.
Plot: Rockets, Ninjas, and Hollowed-Out Volcanoes
The film opens with a spacecraft being swallowed whole in orbit, triggering an international crisis. The Americans suspect the Soviets, the Soviets suspect the Americans, and MI6 suspects something fishier. Enter Bond, who is “killed” in the pre-title sequence so he can go undercover. He winds up in Japan, investigating the missing spacecraft, eventually uncovering that SPECTRE, and specifically Blofeld, is behind it all.
It’s bonkers. A spy thriller with space race paranoia, samurai swordplay, and ninja armies. The story careens from one set piece to the next like a hyperactive child in a toy store. But it’s fun, in a totally ungrounded, comic book kind of way.
Sean Connery: Starting to Check Out
Connery is still technically Bond, but you can see the fatigue creeping in. His performance has that same swagger, the same arched eyebrow and dry delivery, but something’s missing. He’s less engaged, less dangerous, more… tired. Can’t really blame him—the guy was being mobbed everywhere he went, and the franchise was beginning to feel like a machine.
Still, even a coasting Connery has screen presence. He knows how to sell a line and throw a punch, and his Bond still anchors the chaos around him, even if his heart isn’t fully in it.
Blofeld Revealed: Donald Pleasence and the Birth of a Trope
This is the film where we finally meet the face of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played by Donald Pleasence. He is pale, scarred, and soft-spoken, with a bald head and a cat glued to his lap. In other words, the Bond villain. The parody that would become Dr. Evil started right here.
He’s not in the film for very long, but his brief appearance leaves a mark. Pleasence plays him with icy calm, letting his presence do the talking. He’s not as physically threatening as Largo or Goldfinger, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s the mind behind the chaos.
Japan as a Backdrop: Gorgeous but Problematic
Visually, You Only Live Twice is stunning. The cinematography captures sweeping landscapes, bustling cities, serene countryside, and dramatic coastlines. The score, too, leans into the exotic, with sweeping strings and atmospheric flutes.
But the cultural treatment? Yikes. The idea of Bond going “undercover” as Japanese, complete with fake eyelids, dyed hair, and a disguise that wouldn’t fool a five-year-old, is cringeworthy at best and outright offensive at worst. The film’s take on Japanese culture is shallow, exoticized, and filtered through an extremely Western lens.
The ninja training sequences and traditional customs are played with surface-level respect, but it’s all just window dressing for a story that doesn’t really get the culture it’s showcasing.
Bond Girls: Disposable but Memorable
You Only Live Twice has a high turnover rate for Bond girls. First there’s Aki, who is competent, capable, and genuinely engaging… and then she’s killed off. Then comes Kissy Suzuki, who’s mostly there for the disguise subplot and the volcano infiltration. Neither gets a full arc, and the transitions feel abrupt.
It’s a shame, because Aki especially had real potential. She felt like an actual partner to Bond, not just a prop. But this era of Bond is all about moving fast, and women tend to get shuffled off the board when it’s time to reset.
The Finale: Peak Bond Absurdity
The climax inside the hollowed-out volcano base is pure Bond spectacle. Explosions, ninjas rappelling from the ceiling, guards flying through the air, and Bond dodging bullets while disarming a nuclear countdown. It is over-the-top, ridiculous, and absolutely entertaining.
Ken Adam’s set design is the real star here. That volcano base is legendary—so detailed and elaborate it feels like it could function in real life. It’s one of the franchise’s most impressive achievements and still holds up visually.
Final Verdict: Wild, Weird, and Watchable
You Only Live Twice is where Bond begins to drift into self-parody, but it does so with enough flair to keep you entertained. The film is bloated, the logic is loose, and the cultural insensitivity is hard to ignore. But it’s also packed with iconic visuals, a classic villain reveal, and enough spy-movie energy to keep you watching.
It’s not the best Bond, but it’s definitely one of the most Bond Bond films.