Movie Review # 356: 007: From Russia With Love (1963)

Friends, tonight, we continue with the 007 James Bond franchise, as we review the second installment in this film series. Without further ado, let’s travel with the famous fictional character, James Bond, in the one and only From Russia With Love.

Plot: After some agents from SPECTRE decide to seek revenge after the death of their leader Dr. No, some assassins are assigned to kill him. James Bond (Sean Connery) is contacted by them, under the guise of them asking him to just get a special device for them, making Bond unaware of their true intentions. With the help of his new partner Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), can Bond find out the truth, and take down the assassins who want to kill him, including an assassin named Donald Red Grant (Robert Shaw)?

Now, as I’m sure you all may recall, I watched Dr. No, and reviewed that film just a few days ago. Of course it was a good film, but there were aspects about it that could have been better, such as some better pacing, and some better character development, and some other things like that. With all of that said, did From Russia With Love improve in some areas from the first installment? Well, yes, but not by much. From Russia With Love did excel somewhat in fleshing out not only Bond himself, but characters such as Tatiana Romanova, Donald Grant, Rosa Klebb, and some of the other characters as well. As for the pacing, the movie seemed to do a much better job of showing that the people at the MGM studio were making sure that they made the story better paced than the previous film. Sure, once again, the story might have gone a little fast at times. Nevertheless, more often than not, the story seemed to know when to make things speed quickly, and when to go more slowly. As for the relationships, while some of them might be a little confusing at times, those were much better developed this time around. I mean it’s almost like you seem to sense a greater amount of chemistry in some of them that seemed to more lacking in the previous movie. As for the main villain, Donald Grant, oh ho ho, this guy is definitely not one that you want to mess with. Of course the same can likely be said about his cronies, but more so Grant himself. Oh yes, he was in the shadows to a degree, but not as much as say Dr. No himself seemed to be. Because of this, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people were to consider him one of the greatest antagonists in 007 movie history, if not one of the greatest in movie history period. Maybe that’s going a little too far, but it’s probably not that far from true.

Like I said, however, there are some aspects that could have made this movie better. First off, as I mentioned before, the way that some of the relationships are handled can be a little strange at times. It’s hard to explain, but just see the movie if you haven’t, and you’ll hopefully know what I mean. Also, there seemed to be some character arcs that may have been a little rushed, and that possibly could have been written up a little better as a result. Finally, there were some scenes that could’ve been expanded upon. I’m not sure if they are in future installments. However, if they aren’t, then that’s too bad. It doesn’t make the film bad or anything. Far from that. It’s just that this movie could have been a little better if those particular scenes had stretched out and given their respective dues a little more than they had been in the end.

And that, my friends, is my review for 007: From Russia With Love. Even if the movie was not a whole lot better than the previous installment, there is still more to recommend than there was with Dr. No. The movie has a more likable villain, better care with it’s characters overall, and a story that helps draw the audience in more than 007: Dr. No appeared to do so. In all honesty, if you want one of those more rare good sequels that improves upon it’s predecessor, definitely make a point to see this film. It’s guaranteed that you’ll be in more for a surprise than with Dr. No.

Final Grade: B+