Bond - The Connery Years - From Russia With Love (1963)

Director: Terrence Young

Cast: Sean Connery, Pedro Armendariz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee

Country: United Kingdom

Rating: PG

Run Time: 115 min

After the breakout success of Dr. No, famed producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had another Bond adventure ready to go by the next year. From Russia With Love, the second Bond film, as well as the second to be directed by Terrence Young, is a noticeably more serious Bond devoid of the over the top tropes established in Dr. No and well known within the franchise. Whereas Dr. No established both the colorful and breezy tone of the series, From Russia With Love couples said breeziness along with a more brutal and gritty tone. In fact, From Russia With Love comes as a bit of a shock considering its lack of gadgets, singular villain, and the classic, "Bond, James Bond." 

While I am completely open to a stripped down and serious Bond picture made during the initial wave of breezy and colorful Bond outings, it pains me to express my opinion that From Russia With Love is a bit of a bore. This may come as a shock to some Bond heads, as From Russia With Love is highly regarded by many as one of the all time greats. Unfortunately, the first 40 minutes are nothing but torture. If I were to compare From Russia With Love's cinematic experience to a form of transportation, it would be that of a steam powered train, as it takes awhile for the thing to rev up its engine and chug along before it kicks into gear and gets moving full speed. Although the film does feature several inspiring elements, such as memorable villains, exciting set pieces, and a romantic dynamic between Bond and a Russian agent, the film's dreadfully dull first half drags it to the lower ends of the Bond spectrum, if only for a moment.

The trustee secret agent briefcase, complete with gold shillings.

SPECTRE, the evil organization, wishes to steal a Russian Lektor, a decoder device near and dear to the country that they will pay dearly for in order to get back. However, they also hope to enact vengeance on James Bond for murdering Dr. No, one of their prized agents. Therefore, the organization enlists a Russian agent, Tatiana Romanov (Daniela Bianchi), and tells her that she must trick and seduce Bond into stealing the device for them. Red Grant (Robert Shaw), SPECTRE's super assassin, will than swoop in, steal the device for himself, and than kill both Bond and Romanov, thereby eliminating all loose ends and enacting justice for Bond's previous meddling.

From Russia With Love operates nicely as a sequel because it forces its protagonist to deal with the consequences of his actions from the previous installment. In all honesty, SPECTRE somewhat deserves their revenge, as Dr. No's master plan was only to disrupt missile launches, not murder anyone (although, he did have Strangways killed and protected his island with armed guards). Anyways, Bond learns that he cannot simply have his cake and eat it too with this adventure, as his past comes back to bite him for the entirety of the film. 

The sequel also introduced a lynchpin in the James Bond iconography, the gadgets, and their respective Quartermaster, or Q for short. Q, portrayed by Desmond Llewelyn for the next 16 films, is a classic staple of the series in that he always appears to assign James Bond a new set of gadgets that will come in handy during his mission. Although every one of Bond's gadgets are particularly convenient, sometimes coming into play a mere hour later into the film, there is something slightly humorous about it all. It's a nice wink from the film to the audience, thereby allowing us to store the information about the gadgets in the back of our minds until they come into play later. It's a classic Bond tradition, and one that I adore.

Ali Kerim Bey, From Russia With Love's answer to Quarrel, the lovable sidekick.

Speaking of traditions, From Russia With Love gets us part way to establishing the Bond tradition of starting with a cold open, typically an action scene related or unrelated to the plot, and than following it up with a song related to the film. The beginning of From Russia With Love is truly a cold open, as we see Red Grant hunt down an impostor Bond and kill him in cold blood. The sequel also ends with a song instead of opening with one. In fact, the film doesn't even feature one utterance of, "Bond, James Bond." In a franchise well known for tradition, From Russia With Love is the odd one out, sandwiched in between Dr. No, the franchise establisher, and Goldfinger, the film that cemented Bond as a worldwide phenomenon. Let it be known for the record though that I do not hold any of this against the film's quality.

From Russia With Love's plot is fairly complicated, but only upon a first watch. A second viewing or some research after one's initial screening should help clear some of those plot details quite nicely. And while I already covered how much I adore the film's plot and how well it works for a sequel of this nature, From Russia With Love's downfall is its immensely slow opening act. Not only does James Bond not appear for 20 minutes, but the film doesn't get to any action or suspense (minus the cold open or bomb explosion at Karim's place) for a whopping 40 minutes until the film takes an odd detour into gypsy-ploitation. In fact, the entire detour into the gypsy village feels extremely unnecessary and adds to the film's plot in no way other than for Bond to help Karim take out an enemy of his.

The sequel doesn't make up for its dull opening until Tatiana Romanov arrives a half hour after her initial appearance. Once she and Bond team up to steal the Russian Lektor, the film becomes immensely satisfying to watch, as well as far more interesting. The tricky relationship between Romanov, a Russian agent forced by SPECTRE to deceive Bond, and Bond, a British agent who knows he is being played one way or another, supplies the film's meatiest substance. In fact, once the two get aboard a train on its way to the United Kingdom, From Russia With Love enters grade-A bad ass territory thanks to a welcome selection of fantastic action set pieces and an increased presence of Red Grant, one of the series' most memorable baddies. The tension that precedes Grant's fight with Bond, along with the brutal fight itself, makes for one of the series' greatest selections of suspense and entertainment.

The ensuing helicopter and boat chase are also great set pieces, with the helicopter sequence offering up an action scene that seems modeled after the iconic helicopter sequence from Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, released a mere three years before From Russia With Love. While we're on the topic of Hitchcock, one could even state that North by Northwest, a suspense thriller with a comedic edge, foretold the modern action genre before even cinematic Bond came along. And while Ian Fleming's Bond novels were written before Hitchcock's film, the precedence of North by Northwest must have slightly influenced even Dr. No in its handling of action, espionage, comedic relief, and violence on the big screen. I bet even Hitchock's early espionage films from the 30s such as The Man Who Knew Too Much and The 39 Steps had some influence on Fleming's spy novels, thereby making it all one repeating circle of influence and inspiration.

"Have you ever looked in an agent's eyes, Bond? They're kind of like dog's eyes."

From Russia With Love is unique in that it plays to audience's expectations about the Bond franchise a mere film later while also denying the tropes established in the initial film. For example, the sequel nearly duplicates the sequence from Dr. No in which Bond arrives at the airport, takes a taxi, notices that he is being followed, goes to his hotel room, and inspects it for wires and bugs all while set to the Bond theme. This duplicated sequence allows viewers the chance to get familiar with the tropes of a series, even a mere film later. However, From Russia With Love is anything but a copy of Dr. No, as it features no singular villain, no evil lair, and little to no campy elements. Instead, the sequel features an overarching villain comprised of many sub-villains and feels more like a modern and realistic spy thriller with its brutal fights and grounded action.

Bond's second adventure also further proves how essential the supporting cast is to the series' success. From Russia With Love features two excellent henchmen(women) in the form of Red Grant, a deceptive and skilled assassin, and Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), an exceptionally terrifying SPECTRE colonel who many fans will recognize from being heavily parodied in the Austin Powers series. Shaw, most well known for his performance in Jaws, is especially fantastic as Grant, a real shapeshifter of a character. Lenya is also terrifying as Klebb and conveys a somewhat sexual domineering attitude during all of her scenes.

The other excellent supporting player is Ali Kerim Bey, Bond's lovable and kind sidekick who steps in for Quarrell from Dr. No this go around. Pedro Armendariz conveys immense charm and kindness through his actions and personality, thereby making him an immediately likable character from his first scene. While I felt bummed by Quarrell's death in Dr. No, I gravely mourned Kerim's passing here, as the guy was nothing but lovable. Rest in peace to Bond's ever lovable side kicks. I also recommend that no one ever become Bond's sidekick, because they tend to die.

As fitting a title card as they come.

Upon a first watch, From Russia With Love may prove to be a bit of a snoozer or exceptionally slow. Upon reflection, it definitely is slow, but it's still solid Bond entertainment and one of the best installments once you reach the half way point. Terrence Young pulled off the rare feat of crafting a sequel that loosely pulled elements from its predecessor while also fighting against the Bond formula that had just previously been established. The film, much like Taken 2, also forces its protagonist to deal with the consequences of his murderous actions from the previous film, a plot device that I always adore. From Russia With Love can also be credited with partially introducing the concept of the set piece, lengthy and memorable sequences of a film filled with action and suspense. While it is definitely slower than Dr. No, From Russia With Love is a rare and mature sequel that seems like it will give more back to me and viewers upon repeat viewings and years of dwelling.

Rating: 6/10 - Although slow to the start, From Russia With Love enters masterful Bond territory in its suspense-filled second half.