From Russia With Love (1963) Review

After Dr. No’s huge success a second James Bond film was undoubtable and not a year after the first film’s debut, From Russia with Love was released, directed by the returning Terence Young and starting once again Sean Connery in the leading role of gentlemen spy, 007. It was given a slightly higher budget of $2 million and made even more than Dr. No earning an impressive $78.9 million box office gross.

From Russia with Love was a huge improvement over its bland predecessor with many fans of the franchise calling it the best, but in my opinion? I do agree it is one of the best, but THE best? No. Don’t get me wrong it is great but there are just so many better films in the series. So let’s look at the pros and cons of From Russia with Love

First of all pretty much every aspect from Dr. No is vastly improved, Sean Connery (as well as everyone else) performed significantly better than in the previous instalment, the characters were more likable and everyone had a little bit more depth, they felt important in some way and they were, unlike Dr. No where many character who were made to look important were unimportant and important characters didn’t really seem important at all. That being said there was a character or two in this film that was built up to be a major character then just disappeared. One randomly came back in the last 20 minutes of the film and got killed so that was even more of a spit in the face.

The annoying jump cuts from Dr. No were absent also save a few small appearances. On the note of visuals the camera work was much more impressive; a certain fight scene on the train looked fantastic. The settings felt a lot more Bond; something about the streets of Istanbul just feels more spy and espionage than Jamaica. In this you’re sucked into one of the most convincing cold war era spy worlds in cinema, not many films can draw you in and be as incredibly authentic as it was here.

Another thing that impressed me was the plot, Dr. No was very liner and simple “Hey 007 this guy got killed, find out who did it” but in From Russia with Love, since the book was so critically acclaimed (President at the time, John F. Kennedy listed it in his top 10 favourite books) the filmmakers didn’t want to change too much of the novel’s original story line. This resulted in a much more complex plot that you really need to pay attention to in order to understand (double agents galore!).

The score was much better as John Barry was given complete control making one of my favourite scores in the franchise; it’s got that Bond feel with brass instruments roaring with slick elegance that adds to the character and atmosphere, it builds suspense and amplifies the action. That being said the Bond theme is used at such inappropriate times and so often that it loses most of its effect.

So is it the best? Plot wise it has perhaps the strongest story but strongest plot doesn’t mean strongest film. It has great characters and fantastic villians but since the Bond series was still in its infancy the typical Bond formula isn’t here so you feel slightly underwhelmed by the end. Even so it’s probably in my top 10, even if it is slightly low in that list. I would recommend this to the Bond fan who has yet to see it but if you’re still a 007 newbie I suggest you start with something else.

7.5/10