Why the hate toward Lazenby? Just because he did one film, doesn't mean he should get the shaft.
It's not because he only did one. It's because he's bland. He doesn't have the charisma or danger that a good Bond should have. I'm reluctant to say that he's a poor man's Sean Connery, because Bond goes in such a different direction in
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - but that's due to the story, not Lazenby's portrayal. Lazenby's is the only post-Connery Bond to try to do almost an impression or recreation of Connery's, and it's not satisfying. It doesn't help that the movie has so many nods and references to previous ones that are clearly there to reassure audiences that this is the same person who fought Dr. No and Goldfinger and bedded Honey Rider and ***** Galore; those references are fun, but they exemplify what the movie's doing overall, trying to replace Connery rather than take the character in a different direction. Lazenby's not bad, actually - I watched
OHMSS earlier tonight, and he was better than I remembered - but he's not particularly good either. He's at his best in his scenes with Diana Rigg, but she still outdoes him.
Watching
OHMSS again, I really tried to love it. I want to be one of those people who see it as the unusual masterpiece, the red-headed stepchild that's actually a gem. But I just can't. There are many great things about it - Diana Rigg's performance, this "cultured thug looking for his respect" take on Blofeld as played by Telly Savalas, John Barry's brilliant score, the boldness of changing the tone and sticking so closely to the Fleming novel, particularly in retaining the ending - but there are also stretches of it that really drag, the action scenes are fine but didn't engage me (in a couple of cases, because they were cut to pieces), and, again, Lazenby's not a strong lead.
OHMSS remains on the higher end of the "good, not great" Bonds for me.
One that has gone up in my estimation is
You Only Live Twice. I remembered that one as an enjoyable but middling adventure - sure, it had ninjas and the unveiling of Blofeld and the volcano hideout, but it also had boring Bond girls, slow patches, and a Connery who'd checked out. Well, the Bond girls are fairly boring, Connery
was visibly becoming tired of being Bond and the burdens and pressures that came with it, but it moves better than I remembered, and I had more fun with all around this time than I expected. And I'd rather have the worn-out Connery of
YOLT than Roger Moore in any of his films. He's not as good as in
Goldfinger or
Thunderball, but he's good.
