From Russia with Love (1964)

Very well executed

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

FROM Russia WITH LOVE is an action thriller, which is a good combination between a fictional thriller and the Cold War fantasy. It is based on Ian Fleming's similarly-named 1957 novel.Seeking to exact revenge on James Bond for killing its agent Dr. No and destroying the organization's assets in the Caribbean, SPECTRE begins training agents to kill Bond. Their hope is a former prisoner, who is a born killer. Meanwhile, the organization's Chief Planner, a Czech chess grandmaster, devises a plan to play British and Soviet intelligence against each other to procure a Lektor cryptographic device from the Soviets. SPECTRE's Chief Executive, a former Colonel of SMERSH, gets the task to carry out their plan into action. She recruits the beautiful Tatiana Romanova, a cipher clerk at the Soviet consulate in Istanbul, as part of the plan. Tatiana has to lure into the trap the British secret agent 007...This story is very funny, even a pseudo-realistic tone does not make a lot of damage. A crazy adventure of a secret agent, full of sinister characters, passionate plots and political illogicality is pretty amazing. In contrast to the first film (Dr. No), the enemy is precisely defined, while the main cause of danger is a secret mechanism. That magic, created by Istanbul (the city on two continents), Orient Express, secret services, an evening with gypsies, a romance between the West and the East and the constant danger is an excellent bait for the audience.Sean Connery as James Bond is a rough gentleman and irresistible lover. His character has not undergone any major change in comparison to the first film.His support is Daniela Bianchi (Tatiana Romanova) as beautiful and curious young woman. She affects the change in the Bond character in some scenes. However, I think, that her character is a bit neglected. Lotte Lenya (Rosa Klebb) has offered a solid performance as a double agent. Pedro Armendáriz (Ali Kerim Bey) has brought a large dose of humor and tradition in this film. Robert Shaw (Donald "Red" Grant) is quite convincing as a ruthless killer.This story is not intriguing. This is perhaps the biggest flaw of this film. The Russians know how to love. Definitely.

From Russia with Love has to be the best made James Bond film and adaptation in my humble opinion. Not only does it have the classic elements of a good bond film (bond girl, good gadgets, great fight scene) it works together very well. The sum and whole film is indeed better than its individual parts or elements. The same cannot be said for other bond films. The story is something the viewer can logically follow and understand and it gradually builds up to some iconic scenes. We see an evil organization play both sides of the cold war against each other in an ingenious plot to collect something valuable. The enjoyable film leads into some memorable scenes where the great 007 beats the odds. The film as a whole connected magically and was reinforced by great acting, a beautiful bond girl, great storytelling and iconic scenes such as the fight in the train between Bond and Nash. This film cemented 007 as a successful film franchise with an iconic spy film and capitalized on the success it gained in Dr No. Sean Connery will go down as the best James Bond and this can be arguably regarded as the best James Bond film made to date.

From Russia With Love (1963)Plot In A Paragraph: Crime cartel SPECTRE seeks revenge for the death of its operative Dr No and sets a trap to lure British agent James Bond (Connery) to his death. From Russia with Love, is a classier and more expensive movie than Dr. No, and it's all up there on the screen, planes are blown out of the sky, boat chases end in flames, suitcases explode on trains and Bond was chased by helicopter (a straight rip off of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest but hey it's fun.)Whilst the script is surprisingly short on wit, it's a very tight and taunt affair, and it's not hard to see why this more grounded in reality Bond, is Connery's personal favourite. It's also very risqué with its nudity (the gorgeous Tatiana Romanova is seen getting into bed completely naked) and voyeurisam (is that how you spell it??) we have lesbians with flick knives in their shoes, Robert Shaw with a blonde crew cut, a tank of battling fish and out introduction to Q (the delightful Desmond Llewelyn) who would become a fan favourite. On a $2 million budget, From Russia With Love grossed $24 million at the domestic box office, to end 1964 as the 5th highest grossing movie of the year.

The second adventure of James Bond and also its' best in the whole series!Terence Young returns to direct the sequel of Dr. No, with the soundtrack of John Barry. Without any mistake, it's the best James Bond movie ever made.SPECTRE vows for a revenge after James Bond (Sean Connery) killed their agent Dr. No. Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) will convince a young woman Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) to deliver the machine Lektor to Bond, leading her into believing Klebb is working for SMERSH. With their plan to deliver machine, SPECTRE will arrange an assassin Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw) to assassinate Bond.With doubling up a budget to 2 million dollars, James Bond goes to Istanbul, Orient Express all the way to Venice throughout the dangers that await him. From Russia With Love feels like a penultimate spy thriller. James Bond knows that SPECTRE is chasing him down and that no matter whom he beats, they just won't leave him alone.This movie also features the first pre-title sequence. Who'd imagine that James gets killed by Red Grant in it... or is it? FRWL is also the movie that actually had risen Sean Connery into a movie star! It was FRWL! We get to see the old cast as M and Moneypenny, but then we're introduced to Major Boothroyd or Q, played by Desmond Llewelyn, who'd go to appear in every James Bond movie (with the exception of Live and Let Die) till The World Is Not Enough. What was supposed to be a replacement for Peter Burton, it became a role that defined Llewelyn's career. Of other cast I'm about to mention...Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova is in my opinion an overlooked James Bond girl. She's in the game of a cat and mouse, unsure what to do with a strict orders, but I just love her! Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb is such a menacing villain that you cannot expect what was she going to do next. Robert Shaw nailed the role as the SPECTRE assassin Red Grant. He's the first of many memorable henchmen to appear in the series and a first anti-Bond in the series. We're introduced to the leader of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but his face remains unseen, just to keep things even more mysterious. He was portrayed by Anthony Dawson, who portrayed Professor Dent in Dr. No. To make his voice more menacing, Blofeld's dubbed by Eric Pohlmann, a German actor. Pedro Armendáriz makes a great work as Kerim Bey, James Bond's ally in Istanbul who helps him on his mission. For the end, we have Walter Gotell, who portrays Morzeny and works on SPECTRE island. Gotell would be recast 14 years later in The Spy Who Loved Me as General Gogol all the way until The Living Daylights.This movie is the best James Bond movie. Sean Connery is here at his best, which proves the scene when he becomes emotionally broken upon seeing dead Kerim Bey. Sean Connery also admitted it was his favorite James Bond film. The future actors such as Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig listed this movie as their favorite.5 out of 5 stars!