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Recently, I watched From Russia with Love for the first time. I have seen several of the James Bond movies, but mostly of the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig variety. This time around, though I was going with old-school Sean Connery. What really stuck out with me is that From Russia with Love is largely devoid of incident by modern standards.
Now, From Russia with Love is considered one of the best Bond movies, and it’s the second of the Bond movies. I thought it was good. However, when it ended I also thought, “Wait, that was it?” That’s a bit the pacing, but also that I was expecting a big conclusion. The final fight in the film is James Bond holding a middle-aged Russian woman to the wall with a chair while the Bond Girl shoots her. That’s it.
This movie made me realize just how much action films have ramped things up over the ensuing decades. Also, the need for everything to be an action movie if it isn’t a serious drama. From Russia with Love was probably thought of as a spy film with some action in it back in the 1960s. Nowadays, though, spies mean action and explosions and gunfights. The issue is probably that for me Bond started with Goldeneye. In that movie, one dude gets frozen to death and the other has an entire satellite fall on him. There’s a tank chase scene! It’s bombastic. Even the downshift of Casino Royale has more action and a bigger denouement than From Russia with Love.
Again, this is a good movie. It also does not feel in any way, shape, or form like a modern spy movie or action film. Everything has to be over the top and intense these days. Back then, a couple of boats on fire was all you needed.
