From Russia with Love (1963) | One I Love

After the success of Dr. No, the James Bond franchise kicked it into high gear and started releasing films like clockwork for the rest of the decade. And wouldn't you know it, the very next one to come out would be one of my personal favorites. Many of the strengths of Dr. No would be further improved in From Russia with Love, along with a few improvements to the drawbacks. In addition, it would have an intriguing plot that involved a simple but memorable villain.

Not to spoil the countdown article at the end of this journey of reviewing the Bond films, but From Russia with Love is pretty high on the list. There are a few drawbacks, certainly, but I think this movie holds up exceptionally well. I almost wish that the rest of the franchise took more hints from this one instead of the goofier and less believable films that followed. Then again, those are also great for their own reasons...

Pros

Robert Shaw as the assassin, Grant, is a menacing presence
James Bond does most things right in this movie without seeming unreal; an intelligent spy without being so easily caught in a trap
Kerim Bey is a great side character with strong chemistry between him and Bond
Gadgets are realistic and practical
Plot of the secret organization pitting the nations against each other is a straightforward plot that makes sense
A few unconventional camera shots
Subplot around Bond-girl's motives and ambiguity
Exotic locales

Cons

Action sequences are still not that exciting or impressive
No memorable music
Sound and editing is not the best
Bond girl acting is not the best

Plot & Thoughts

From Russia with Love opens with a scene that would appear rather confusing to anyone seeing it for the first time. James Bond (Sean Connery) is navigating a hedge maze and sneaking around a mansion's grounds as a mysterious assassin stalks him. Much to the surprise of everyone, the assassin succeeds and we are to believe that James Bond is dead. That is until they pull off a mask—with a gross sound effect—to reveal that it was just some random guy and that the assassin, named Grant (Robert Shaw), was doing a practice mission. Too bad for the impostor, because it was all too real for him—even though that mask didn't look too good when it suddenly didn't look like Sean Connery.

In fact, it takes a while before the real James Bond becomes the star of the film because a fair amount of the opening scenes are setting up the evil plot. Normally, I would be against such blatant exposition of the plan right off the bat, but it works well for the purposes of the movie for a few reasons. The entire film is built around the idea of it all being an elaborate trap, which then adds tension to every scene.

The secret evil organization, S.P.E.C.T.R.E., which was merely mentioned in Dr. No, is now making the moves and pulling the strings. The plan, provided by a man who demonstrates his strategic prowess in his introductory scene where he wins a chess tournament, is to steal a Russian decoding device by using agents of both the UK and USSR. A young female USSR agent, Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) is recruited under the guise that her mission is to pretend to love James Bond and to defect to the UK with the decoder. She assumes this is to get information on the other side that she would then provide to her home country as a double agent. According to the chess-champion genius, the UK would assume it's a trap but still take it as a challenge and an opportunity to seize a genuine decoder. Thus, they set James Bond on the mission.

Once this plot is established, it becomes apparent that all of the predictions made by the villains are correct. M and Bond agree in the briefing section that it's likely a trap, but they can't pass on this opportunity. From there, Bond is off to Turkey to rendezvous with the "defecting" agent. This method of storytelling is not as conventional as the other films in which Bond has to investigate a mystery; the plot isn't fully revealed until the end of the movie.

As a viewer, it's like watching a fly slowly make its way into a spider's web, with the spider constantly herding it deeper into the center of the web before finally striking. Scene after scene, we are reminded that the villains' plans are in motion and going as predicted. This, and the fact that Grant is constantly appearing in the background of different scenes—acting as a guardian angel for Bond in a big shootout sequence, or as an agent of chaos by murdering secret agents to insight violence between countries in the streets of Istanbul—add to the tension of every scene. Bond and his friend, Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz) are no fools, as they're aware that something is up and possibly being done by someone other than their usual Russian foes, but remain in the dark until it is too late.

The espionage in From Russia with Love is top-notch, by both what Bond uses to his advantage and what Bond notices his enemies using. First and foremost, Bond is given his first set of gadgets by Q (Desmond Llewelyn), which happen to be the most realistic tools he'll get for decades to come: A briefcase with hidden currency, a built-in throwing knife, a hidden compartment with a foldable rifle, and a safety mechanism that pumps out gas if opened incorrectly by anyone who isn't aware of it.

When Bond arrives at the airport in Turkey, he greets his contact with a gesture and a set of words to indicate that they're both agents, which is a detail that is used again to great effect later in the film. When he arrives at his hotel, he quickly locates all the hidden cameras and microphones, well aware of the likelihood that he's being observed. His friend Kerim Bey is a man with connections and a history to the city, so he's aware of secret passages and uses these skills to his advantage. Even still, for all of the right decisions that Bond is making along the way, proving to be a skilled agent who can make few mistakes, Grant and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. seem to be a step ahead of him the whole way.

From Russia with Love does a great job of keeping you guessing what will come next and when S.P.E.C.T.R.E. will finally strike. And even though Tatiana appears to be infatuated with Bond, that is the whole point of her mission. So, you're never quite sure of her loyalties until the last scene of the movie. It's one of the most grounded films in the franchise and would make a compelling spy film, even if it weren't James Bond, simply because of how well all the pieces fit together and push the story along. It's not perfect, as the editing is a bit rough in spots, and Daniela Bianchi's acting is not the best. Not to mention, the action scenes themselves are still not very impressive when compared to later films. However, if you watch From Russia with Love as a spy thriller instead of an action film, it is still a compelling adventure.

I know the review is relatively short for a movie I enjoy so much, but I’d rather not go into specifics for those who haven’t seen it yet as I would want to spoil the experience. I’ll be more likely to spoil the movies that I don’t like or respect as much. I’ll have plenty to say about those entries, believe me.

TL;DR (Conclusion)

From Russia with Love continues to be one of my top 10 favorite James Bond films for plenty of reasons. The plot is relatively straightforward and easy to follow. The spy work is all convincing and fun. It's an engrossing film that highlights Bond’s abilities at his best without making him seem superhuman. It’s made even better by the important and ominous presence of Grant stalking him. If you could only see one Sean Connery Bond film, I'd recommend this one.

Hair of the Dog Bonus Drinking Game Rule

From Russia with Love has a very prominent and recurring feature: Grant (Robert Shaw). The blond assassin is lurking in the background and following Bond throughout the entire film, ensuring that everything goes according to plan. The filmmakers wanted to make sure you remembered this, so they made sure to establish that he's around a lot.