James Bond Stage 2: From Russia with Love

From Russia With Love continues Sean Connery’s fame as arguably the best James Bond of the series. It is also one of Connery’s favorite bond films, one which introduces secret agent gadgets with Desmond Llewelyn as the “Q” we all know and love. We also see the well known numbering system of villains, a bald villain with a cat, and a bond girl with a non-sexual name. Make no mistake, these things make for an excellent bond movie.

Kronsteen, a chess grandmaster, and SPECTRE’s expert planner, has devised a plot to steal a LEKTOR coding device from the Russians and sell it back to them, and also punish MI6(the British Secret Service) for killing their agent Dr. No. Rosa Klebb, a Russian double-agent for SPECTRE and probably lesbian, is put in charge of the mission by the megalomaniac Blofeld. She has already chosen a female pawn: Tatiana Romanova, a cypher clerk at the Soviet consulate in Istanbul. Klebb departs to SPECTRE Island, the organization’s secret training base, and approves Red Grant as an assassin.

In London, Bond has bedded down, for the second movie, Sylvia Trench, until he is called away on agent business. M tells Bond that Romanova has contacted their operatives in Turkey, offering to defect with a LEKTOR, which MI6 and the CIA have been after for years. She has said that she will only defect to Bond. bond is suited up with a briefcase, containing hidden ammunition, throwing knives, a sniper rife with infra-red scope, fifty gold sovereigns, and tear gas to booby trap the suitcase. This would begin the gadgetry that becomes a staple for 007 movies.

What follows is the seductive secret agent tale of Britain and Russia, enemies and lovers at the same time, sometimes in Istanbul, sometimes with a gypsy camp, and sometimes on trains, boats, and beds.

Master Evil Plan:

Steal cryptographic device from the Russians in order to sell it back to them, and kill Bond while they’re at it. Not exactly world domination material, but no movie is perfect.

Randomly Awesome 007 Moments:

1) Bond flips hat onto hat-rack at HQ. Sure, it’s simple, but I like recurring themes.

2) Moneypenny flirtations. They always comes up with great lines that I’d like to use on women myself.

3) Bond watches a good old-fashioned cat-fight at the gypsy camp, and must choose which woman is worthy of marriage to the chief’s son.

4) Ass smacks. Always good for a secret agent to show his stuff.

5) Bond blows up a helicopter!

Randomly Horrible 007 Moments:

1) None. Really, I found nothing to complain about. Except maybe that Romanova doesn’t have a sex name. I’m not saying it’s not a sexy name. It just has no obvious joke.

Randomly Awesome Quotes:

1) Tatiana: “The mechanism is… Oh James, James… Will you make love to me all the time in England?”

James Bond: “Day and night. Go on about the mechanism.”

Stats:

-Women James Bond sleeps with: only 2 (Sylvia Trench, Tatiana Romanova, multiple times)

-Bond Kills: only 3 definite (although he probably killed a bundle at the gypsy camp, and an unknown bunch in the boats)

-Bond friends killed: 2, Kermin Bey, Agent Nash

-Bond assassination attempts:

1 on the Orient Express

Grade:

I give this film 3.5 out of 5 Sean Connerys. Tons of action, decent storyline, gadgetry, and Tatiana was pretty damn hot.