On Her Majesty's Secret Service

It has been a while since I've watched this one, but it still lands as one of the best Bond films in the franchise. I love that it goes back to realism. No more hallowed out volcanoes (not that I can't enjoy that as well). George Lazenby is totally looked over by a lot of people. Honestly it is his fault for quitting, but still I think he does a pretty great Bond. Especially the final scene of the movie. Also, the Bond girl in this one is Diana Rigg, and she is fantastic. Now she's a lot older but still awesome in Game of Thrones. Check it out if you've never seen it, cause they don't play it on TV very often.

This movie is an improvement over the previous two Sean Connery outings in Thunderball and You Only Live Twice, as it was quite evident that Connery was tired of the role. Lazenby does provide a breath of fresh air as you can almost see a twinkle in Bond's eyes that hasn't been seen since Goldfinger.

OHMSS is the least "Bond" of all the Bond movies, but still manages to be more faithful to the source material than most, if not all, of the other entries into the series. This makes it a rare entry into a universe that is filled with rather a lot of "silliness" at times. Being the only appearance of George Lazenby as Bond also contributes to it being rather unusual. Lazenby did a good job as Bond, and it makes you wonder where the franchise would have gone if he had a few more appearances as our favorite secret agent.

OHMSS is a good movie but ends up being a bit odd to me. Not just because of the lack of the quintessential Bond-ness, but also because it's severely toned down from Sean Connery's Bond movies. Diana Rigg also plays an unusual Bond "girl", in the fact that she is more a sparring partner and a love interest than just a woman to conquer. In short...they made James Bond much more human, and I'm not sure if that is what people wanted out of the series at that time...or now for that matter.

Don't get me wrong though. I didn't like OHMSS when I was a kid, but over the years it has grown on me, and now it's actually one of the standouts in a series that rarely disappoints me.

Losing Connery and the movie takes a much-needed positive change of pace. This is up there as my favorite Bond to date. It is what I *imagine* old school Bond to be. This is one worth recommending!

Rating: 3.5/5 - 80% - Would Recommend

This was a great surprise, in top 3 bond movies, only if you watched all

For one of the older James Bond movies, this was actually quite enjoyable. Granted (as is the case with all older movies) some of it was quite outdated and parts of the film were laughingly far-fetched but all in all, this was probably my favorite of the Bond movies since _Dr. No_ in 1962. I found it (again, this is by today's standards and I'm an old-fashioned guy anyway) a bit reprehensible that Bond professed to truly "love" Tracy (played by a very cute - and the most attractive Bond flame thus far! - Diana Rigg) yet he had no problem throwing himself around like a cheap gigolo when he was surrounded by other women with his "true love" nowhere around. (Hint, Tracy: There are better catches out there. Move on…) Not sure why this was the only James Bond film ever portrayed by actor George Lazenby, as I found him a refreshing change from Sean Connery's character (and I'm a fan of Sean Connery, by the way). Lazenby seemed to have a smoother, less offensive way with the ladies…charming them without forcing himself on them. Additionally, his entire character just seemed much more relaxed as Bond; maybe it was just this particular story but he was definitely a great James Bond and I would love to have seen him play the Bond character in more films. Apart from that, this was another typical James Bond story, albeit a bit muddled (for me, anyway) at the first as I wasn't sure what the story was about. You get some lines from Bond's overseer "M" and a bit of dialogue between the two of them at the beginning of the movie, but not much was said that clarified what the entire story was about. In that regard, it was difficult to follow the story until well into it and even then it wasn't the easiest to follow. LOTS of stunts in this one (and yes, the speed-framing was hilariously evident but still fun) that made it even more appealing for an older film and the ending - even though you knew it was coming - was still very touching. I would give this one high marks just for George Lazenby's portrayal but overall the movie is definitely worth watching. Keep in mind, it's still a very dated film but I definitely found it a great movie.

The James Bond Films
1 Eon films
1.1 Dr. No (1962) https://trakt.tv/movies/dr-no-1962
1.2 From Russia with Love (1963) https://trakt.tv/movies/from-russia-with-love-1963
1.3 Goldfinger (1964) https://trakt.tv/movies/goldfinger-1964
1.4 Thunderball (1965) https://trakt.tv/movies/thunderball-1965
1.5 You Only Live Twice (1967) https://trakt.tv/movies/you-only-live-twice-1967
1.6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) https://trakt.tv/movies/on-her-majesty-s-secret-service-1969
1.7 Diamonds Are Forever (1971) https://trakt.tv/movies/diamonds-are-forever-1971
1.8 Live and Let Die (1973) https://trakt.tv/movies/live-and-let-die-1973
1.9 The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-man-with-the-golden-gun-1974
1.10 The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-spy-who-loved-me-1977
1.11 Moonraker (1979) https://trakt.tv/movies/moonraker-1979
1.12 For Your Eyes Only (1981) https://trakt.tv/movies/for-your-eyes-only-1981
1.13 Octopussy (1983) https://trakt.tv/movies/octopussy-1983
1.14 A View to a Kill (1985) https://trakt.tv/movies/a-view-to-a-kill-1985
1.15 The Living Daylights (1987) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-living-daylights-1987
1.16 Licence to Kill (1989) https://trakt.tv/movies/licence-to-kill-1989
1.17 GoldenEye (1995) https://trakt.tv/movies/goldeneye-1995
1.18 Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) https://trakt.tv/movies/tomorrow-never-dies-1997
1.19 The World Is Not Enough (1999) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-world-is-not-enough-1999
1.20 Die Another Day (2002) https://trakt.tv/movies/die-another-day-2002
1.21 Casino Royale (2006) https://trakt.tv/movies/casino-royale-2006
1.22 Quantum of Solace (2008) https://trakt.tv/movies/quantum-of-solace-2008
1.23 Skyfall (2012) https://trakt.tv/movies/skyfall-2012
1.24 Spectre (2015) https://trakt.tv/movies/spectre-2015
1.25 No Time to Die (2021) https://trakt.tv/movies/no-time-to-die-2021

2 Non-Eon films
2.1 Casino Royale (1967) https://trakt.tv/movies/casino-royale-1967
2.2 Never Say Never Again (1983) https://trakt.tv/movies/never-say-never-again-1983

Funny and with some nice ideas. The very good "Bond Girl" outweighs that Sean Connery is missing.

The one bond movie with a very different Bond actor. I like the movie just because it is a bit out of line with the franchise up to then while still being a solid Bond movie. The charming Diana Rigg does also help to make the movie memorable.