On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Movie Review
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a 1969 spy film which is the sixth in the James Bond series. It is one of the weaker entries, but still has its strengths.
Blofeld plans to sterilize the world’s food supply while Bond is up to stop him and he along the way falls in love with Contessa Teresa. The plot itself is the major weakness here is at it so utterly preposterous and always too silly to be enjoyed more. But it is also too complicated and I was never invested in it nor did I understand what was going on which is the usual pitfall of this whole franchise and one of the reasons why I am not a fan of it. It has its moments, but it is always too ridiculous and just uninteresting and at times quite frankly dull with slow pace.
Bond is an okay character here, but Teresa is better than him and she is one of the most likable Bond girls without a doubt. But Bond is weaker because this is not Bond. This is an entirely new character that loses all of its essence previously established and that was really troublesome for me. Also, whereas Diana Rigg is solid, George Lazenby is not and he gives such a mediocre and forgettable performance. The role was demanding and he failed to do anything good with it. And the whole character is too different and doesn’t respect the formula at all. I guess they were trying to mix things up, but despite some decent scenes with the ending being absolutely amazing and even emotional, they otherwise failed at this new Bond as he is never as fascinating or as well developed as he should have been.
The action sequences in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service are quite good and are one of the highlights as they are executed in a solid way and are entertaining. Also, the locations are great and it is great to watch those ski sequences and you get a great look at the Swiss Alps with very good cinematography and some great shots. The acting is also solid with the exception of Lazenby, but the pacing is bad as the movie is too slow at first and too action-oriented near the end. But I liked the finale and the ski scenes and those were my favorite sequences. I just wished that the characterization was better and that the plot was at least somewhat believable or engaging.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has good action sequences, some quite memorable scenes with a great finale and the scenery is great to look at, but the characters are weakly developed, George Lazenby’s performance is mediocre, this new Bond is a weird departure from the formula and the storyline is awfully silly and even preposterous.
My Rating – 3.5
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Interior & Exterior Stills from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
[wppa type=”slide” album=”61″ size=”1200″ align=”center”]Any comment[/wppa]
My love and my respect is not enough for Lazenby. Ο.Η.Μ.S.S. is not as ”Casino Royale”, where Bond is at the beginning and has no past. Lazenby looks more like a young bodyguard – or like Bond in the early years – and not with the agent 007 that the movie needed. The movie was a success. The success (the smallest in the history of the series) is due to the dynamics of the Bond films, in the particularity of the film, in the experience of the actors in the other roles, in director and the curiosity for the new Bond. Until now the producers did not provide the role of Bond in a model that is no actor and is totally inexperienced. The film was shot as in the book. Bond is an experienced man in the book and movie. Connery is Bond for the audience. So I ended in Stanley Baker ( 1928-1976 ). He looks like Connery and play like Bond ( see ”Ιnnocent Βystanders” 1972 and secondly ”Last Grenade” 1969 ) and he was one of the best actors in his time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8CT-4LvqHc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vstr-jhCjVY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn7ZNjpMwQU