I’m definitely undereducated when it comes to James Bond. I know the character and have seen a few recent movie installments, but everything before Pierce Brosnan was unknown to me when I sat down to watch this 62-year-old (OMG!) classic. Accordingly, I had pretty much no expectations—although ChatGPT highlighted the train fight as a great moment in the franchise when I asked for a no-spoiler teaser.
Short summary? A constant supply of old-school machismo stereotypes for two hours. Bedding the ladies for sport, getting into trouble, then fighting your way out—not a hint of fear. The story works, the pacing is tight, and it’s both entertaining and captivating from start to finish. I’m quite into older movies, and I can hardly think of another from this era that holds up this well. I mean, films made before 1980 are often a bit of a grind to watch—editing wasn’t as aggressive, scenes were much more static due to the technology of the time, and overall, movies often feel slower than normal. This is definitely not one of those, and I can hardly imagine what it was like to experience this on the big screen back then.
That said, there’s not much to remember here. It probably has to do with how many movies have built on the same formula since, but honestly, I watched this two weeks ago and could hardly recite the story with high accuracy. As I said, you enjoy the ride, but many aspects feel formulaic in retrospect—bad guys behind bad guys, allies sacrificed, magic escape of the protagonist, you name it.
Is it worth watching? Absolutely. Solid 7/10.
