Following the previous On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the Bond series was in a state of flux, having lost both it's key star, and it's new successor. George Lazenby famously turned his back on the Bond franchise, looking at the brave new counter culture films like Easy Rider as the way forward, and Bond as a rapidly moulding relic of the 60s. We know now that Bond has continued to pack out cinemas on each release, but following Lazenby's departure, the question was a troubled 'what now?'.
Bond traditionalists are still crying out 'bring back Connery!'. And for DAF, they did. Connery was tempted back with a record-breaking 1.25 million, which he did donate in full to the Scottish International Education Trust, but this is rather the only positive that can be said about this involvement here. Connery was tired with the Bond franchise, and it's clear from his performance that he did not have his heart in the film, and gives a rather cynical performance. He had also visibly aged and put on weight. Ironically, he looked far fresher in his return in Never Say Never Again some 12 years later.
Just like the decade itself, DAF is much more violent than it's predecessors, with some pretty grisly deaths (immolation, drowning, and a scorpion dropped down the back of the neck), however, the brutal fight in the elevator with Peter Franks is superbly choreographed, and in an era where Bond appeared to stroll through his fights with ease, this scene showed Bond meeting a true equal, fighting with a real sense of grit and intensity not seen elsewhere.
One of the real weak points of DAF are the locations. Whilst other films in the series were set in places that the audience dreamed of going to (or sometimes didn't dare to go to), 1970s Las Vegas looks naff and lacks any kind of glitz, giving the film rather a cheap wood-panelled 'made for TV' veneer.
However, what I really found unforgivable about DAF was it's continuity following OHMSS, something that has given some Bond fans cause to rather consider DAF to be a sequel to You Only Live Twice, and OHMSS to follow on from DAF. Following the murder of his wife, Theresa, on his wedding night, Bond should be explosive with anguish and rage. Although the opening scene shows Bond roughing up a few suspects, he seems to regard Blofeld, now a camp caricature better suited to a 1970s sitcom, little more than an old rogue, seemingly no more angry with him for murdering his wife, than he would be for keying his car. This was such an opportunity missed, and leaves me wondering how it would have been if Lazenby stayed and DAF intentionally scripted as a direct follow- up.
DAF for me is the 'interim Bond, lost between the optimistic pop- Bond of the 60s, and the escapist romps of the later 70s. Fortunately the follow up, Live And Let Die, tapped into a new fun, playful Bond, and gave the franchise a lifeline, one that was later cemented with The Spy Who Loved Me. Connery on the other hand was finally allowed to act his age, and followed up DAF with 1973's The Offence, in my opinion the most intense and outstanding performance of his career.
Bond traditionalists are still crying out 'bring back Connery!'. And for DAF, they did. Connery was tempted back with a record-breaking 1.25 million, which he did donate in full to the Scottish International Education Trust, but this is rather the only positive that can be said about this involvement here. Connery was tired with the Bond franchise, and it's clear from his performance that he did not have his heart in the film, and gives a rather cynical performance. He had also visibly aged and put on weight. Ironically, he looked far fresher in his return in Never Say Never Again some 12 years later.
Just like the decade itself, DAF is much more violent than it's predecessors, with some pretty grisly deaths (immolation, drowning, and a scorpion dropped down the back of the neck), however, the brutal fight in the elevator with Peter Franks is superbly choreographed, and in an era where Bond appeared to stroll through his fights with ease, this scene showed Bond meeting a true equal, fighting with a real sense of grit and intensity not seen elsewhere.
One of the real weak points of DAF are the locations. Whilst other films in the series were set in places that the audience dreamed of going to (or sometimes didn't dare to go to), 1970s Las Vegas looks naff and lacks any kind of glitz, giving the film rather a cheap wood-panelled 'made for TV' veneer.
However, what I really found unforgivable about DAF was it's continuity following OHMSS, something that has given some Bond fans cause to rather consider DAF to be a sequel to You Only Live Twice, and OHMSS to follow on from DAF. Following the murder of his wife, Theresa, on his wedding night, Bond should be explosive with anguish and rage. Although the opening scene shows Bond roughing up a few suspects, he seems to regard Blofeld, now a camp caricature better suited to a 1970s sitcom, little more than an old rogue, seemingly no more angry with him for murdering his wife, than he would be for keying his car. This was such an opportunity missed, and leaves me wondering how it would have been if Lazenby stayed and DAF intentionally scripted as a direct follow- up.
DAF for me is the 'interim Bond, lost between the optimistic pop- Bond of the 60s, and the escapist romps of the later 70s. Fortunately the follow up, Live And Let Die, tapped into a new fun, playful Bond, and gave the franchise a lifeline, one that was later cemented with The Spy Who Loved Me. Connery on the other hand was finally allowed to act his age, and followed up DAF with 1973's The Offence, in my opinion the most intense and outstanding performance of his career.