From Russia With Love

Release Date: October 10, 1963

Rated PG for violence and sexual innuendo

Directed by: Terence Young

Starring: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell

Plot:
Secret agent James Bond battles the all-enveloping tentacles of an international crime syndicate called SPECTRE. The organization's mad plan for world supremacy unfolds with the icy efficiency of a chessmaster's complex strategy, and if they succeed, the antagonism of the cold war will be pushed from deep-freeze to the supernova of atomic oblivion. But our man Bond dispatches sultry spies, madmen, and double agents with the same coolness he displays while downing martinis and making love to beautiful blondes. In this, the second of the series, Bond travels to Turkey to meet a mysterious Russian woman who claims to have fallen in love with his photograph. She offers him a secret translating device if he will join her, although he does not know that she has been put up to the task by Rosa Klebb, formerly of the KGB, who has gone to work for SPECTRE. It's Bond's assignment to get the girl and the machine back to England--and to do it, of course, in style.

Review:
When the end credits rolled from Dr. No it didn't say James Bond will be back, but of course everyone knew he would. James Bond returns with another film and it is beyond what any sequel would call for. From Russia With Love is a strong formulated Bond introducing yet more characters, gadgets and of course an entirely new mission. Not to mention Q Branch is introduced as well, clearly making the film very memorable.

Well, Connery is back in his second bond film and has proved himself again as the dominate choice for James Bond. That's two straight successes for him and he doesn't seem to wind down whatsoever. He delivers more amusing dialogue than that of Dr. No and takes complete control of his role. Its interesting as well how you need to watch Dr. No in order to understand some parts of From Russia With Love because there is somewhat of a connection between the two.

Connery aside, Actress Ursula Andress who played Honey Ryder doesn't appear in From Russia With Love, but Eunice Gayson who played Sylvia Trench in Dr. No does in fact have a small part in From Russia With Love. They kept her character up to the beginning of the film, but then of course Bond had to run off and that's the last time we will probably ever see her.

No worries though because there is another new and fresh bond girl in the film. She is actress Daniela Bianchi who plays Tatiana Romanova and its hard to say if shes more beautiful than Ursula Andress, but in my view I do think so. Not only does Romanova get more screentime as a bond girl, but she also was on the mission for the Lektor against Bond.

Tatiana was ordered by actress Lotte Lonya who plays Rosa Klebb and is clearly the main villain. Just like Dr. No worked for Spectre, Klebb is no different and works for Spectre as well. Klebb assigns Tatiana to get the job done of having Bond get the lektor and setting him up to get killed. So, indeed the fact is that Tatiana is a better and an even more attractive bond girl than Honey Ryder.

Besides villain Rosa Klebb, the film has one of the most memorable henchman who is named Donald 'Red' Grant and he is played by actor Robert Shaw. The man is extremely fit and recruited by the organization Spectre. He disguises himself as an agent on the mission with James Bond. Of course, Bond is no fool and is always thinking something isn't right and it isn't.

To add to that, for those who have seen From Russia With Love know that the fight between Red Grant and Bond inside the train is easily one of the best fights in the entire series. Its gripping, intense and even features some tense moments as Bond is receiving quite a beating. The out come for the fight is for one to witness, because it indeed is quite brutal.

Whats great about the film is that a good amount of it is held in a train as Bond and Tanya are headed back to London. The beautiful centerpiece that makes all of this occur without ever becoming dull is the filmmakers and the powerful script. There is plenty of different situations that happen frequently while in the train that it keeps you on the edge so to speak.

Part of what makes From Russia With Love such a real and engaging Bond film is the fact that Bond isn't in complete control. While he is dominant throughout the film, there are plenty of scenes where you feel that his life is in danger. Believe it or not this enhances the viewers experience because if Bond were to never get hurt then it would be completely unrealistic and predictable for that matter.

There are scenes in From Russia With love that yell out classic. There is a very big battle scene immediately after the gypsy girls finish fighting. That particular scene is an all out gun battle and it is extremely well choreographed and filmed for that matter. It keeps the suspense running with a great score to enhance the viewing experience and never fails with different deaths as the process continues.

From Russia With Love is clearly one of the most simple, but yet entirely complex in focusing itself as a spy thriller and not an action film that it is clearly one of the best from all the bond films. The filmmakers manage to exceed what anyone ever thought a sequel to the great Dr. No would end up like. With this film they certainly proved the public wrong and gave James Bond the right to continue on. And just like the end credits of From Russia With Love said "James Bond will be back in Goldfinger".

From Russia With Love is superior to Dr. No. It contained exactly what made Dr. No so great, but yet it was even better. Everything in the film is top notch and the film itself is very entertaining. Once again, the exciting story, the beautiful sets and the clever dialogue make this a superb bond film. Long live From Russia With Love and long live James Bond.