starring Sean Connery
In a nutshell: Still has rough edges, but good
Well, it took me a full week, but I finally finished from Russia With Love. It is definitely better than Dr. No, but it's still a bit sloppy. Although, considering it was made in 1963, perhaps its rough edges should be overlooked.
Connery has a bit more character to him than he did in Dr. No, but it's still very hard to call Bond complex. In Dr. No, all too often he looks so unnatural standing around in a scene. There is less of that here.
I especially liked the supporting cast in From Russia With Love. Romanova is a trademark Bond girl through and through but I can't call her a cliche simply because she was the starting point and the later cliches were based partially on her. I would not have recognized Robert Shaw if I hadn't been alerted to his presence in advance. His big showdown with Bond was worth the long buildup. Blofeld makes his first partial appearance, and Rosa Klebb is an strange villain because she never seems terribly fearsome.
I know that it gets worse in later movies, but we see the first example of a villain "monologuing", i.e. spilling his entire plan to bond before killing him, giving Bond time to escape. I can let it slide because Shaw is supposed to be a derranged homicidal maniac, not exactly someone with a distinct evil plot other than to kill people.
Bond gadgets start turning up, although there is just a simple briefcase with a few secrets. It is still cool to see Q demonstrate one of his creations for the first time though.
Interestingly, Bond is clearly fallible in From Russia With Love, a trait that I believe will fade in later movies. He doesn't notice Shaw following him around for most of the movie.
I know that it gets worse in later movies, but we see the first example of a villain "monologuing", i.e. spilling his entire plan to bond before killing him, giving Bond time to escape. I can let it slide because Shaw is supposed to be a derranged homicidal maniac, not exactly someone with a distinct evil plot other than to kill people.
Bond gadgets start turning up, although there is just a simple briefcase with a few secrets. It is still cool to see Q demonstrate one of his creations for the first time though.
Interestingly, Bond is clearly fallible in From Russia With Love, a trait that I believe will fade in later movies. He doesn't notice Shaw following him around for most of the movie.
The biggest problem I have with Connery through the first two movies is his tendency to look so awkward in action scenes. For example, the fight at the gypsy camp looked pretty ridiculous. There is chaos happening all around him while he kind of wanders around shooting. I don't have much else from the time period to compare it to so maybe that's just the way it was in the early 60's. But at least the fight on the train was very good compared to everything else i have seen thus far.
It's nice that the plans of SPECTRE are still reasonable. They just want to steal a decoding machine, not blow up the moon or anything like that. I expect the plans to grow more and more ridiculous as the series progresses.
One of the best things about the movie was actually the opening credits, which were phenomenal.
Overall, it's still a fun Bond movie despite its flaws. You can't go into this film expecting a well made film with artistic merit (you have to wait for Casino Royale for that). As long as you know this going in, I see no reason for this film to disappoint.
It's nice that the plans of SPECTRE are still reasonable. They just want to steal a decoding machine, not blow up the moon or anything like that. I expect the plans to grow more and more ridiculous as the series progresses.
One of the best things about the movie was actually the opening credits, which were phenomenal.
Overall, it's still a fun Bond movie despite its flaws. You can't go into this film expecting a well made film with artistic merit (you have to wait for Casino Royale for that). As long as you know this going in, I see no reason for this film to disappoint.
Rolling Rankings:
1. Pulp Fiction (#8)
1. Pulp Fiction (#8)
2. LA Confidential (#14)
3. A Prairie Home Companion (#11)
4. Raising Arizona (#13)
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#16)
6. The Last Kiss (#15)
7. The Illusionist (#9)
8. From Russia With Love (#7)
9. Little Children (#12) 
10. Fahrenheit 9/11 (#10)
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