Plot: James Bond (Sean Connery) squares off against the evil SPECTRE organization in a pulse-pounding race to seize the Soviet Lektor decoding machine. His mission thrusts him into a thrilling boat chase, a brutal helicopter attack and a deadly brawl aboard the Orient Express, proving once again that Agent 007 can't be stopped!
First appearances: Q, Ernst Blofeld
Other firsts: Dancing silhouetted women in title sequence, Promise that 'James Bond will return' in end credits
Gadget: Loaded briefcase fitted with knife, gun, and knockout gas
Girls Bond slept with: Sylvia Trench (the only Bond girl to make a return appearance), two gypsy girls (presumed), and Tatiana Romanova (multiple times)
Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Klebb's poison-tipped shoe
Personal review: In this second outing, things were beginning to look more and more like the Bond films we would come to expect and love. This one established certain things that would become staples of the franchise like Bond girls and the mysterious presence of SPECTRE. On the positive side, Kerim Bay is much better second banana than Quarrel was in Dr. No. And Tatiana (played by Daniela Bianchi) was just as hot as Ursula Andress was. I loved SPECTRE playing both the British and the Soviets off one another and they almost get away with it. In addition to the ambiguous introduction of Blofeld, this one has some decent villains with Grant and Klebb. The biggest complaint with the film is that it's awfully slow in the beginning. Bond doesn't actually get the Lektor until about halfway through the film. Then after nearly no action for the first 3/4ths of the movie, they cram way too many action sequences (train fight, helicopter attack, boat chase, duel with Klebb) in the last half hour. If they could have balanced things out better this would have been an excellent film. Instead, it's just another solid entry in the Bond franchise. 8/10
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