Long live Lazenby This is the Bond film that stands apart from the rest of the series, and fans either love it or hate it. The reason it stands out, of course, is the casting of George Lazenby, a model who had never done any acting. He is perhaps a bit too young, but he fits the "look" of Bond perfectly. He can also hold his own against the other four Bonds in the fight scenes. Ironically, it is Lazenby, along with Timothy Dalton, who most closely resembles the James Bond in Ian Fleming's books. It's interesting that they're the ones who were mostly rejected by Bond fans, making only three films between the two of them. It's a shame, because Lazenby is pretty good here, and it's safe to say that he would've grown into the role if he went on to make more Bond films. This is the first film in which Bond is not a larger than life hero. He doesn't have any gadgets to help him out of a jam and must use his fists to take care of bad guys (see the impressive hotel room fight). James Bond is much more vulnerable, and Lazenby's lack of acting experience and occasional discomfort actually work to the film's advantage. If you look carefully during the scene at the carnival where he's being chased on foot, he's actually scared! This is also the only Bond movie where Bond falls in love and is willing to give up his career to get married. He even tries to resign near the beginning of the film, something he wouldn't do again until LICENCE TO KILL twenty years later. (These two films have much more in common than you might think). The film is the longest one to date, at two hours and twenty minutes, and surprisingly, there's not a whole lot of action until the last forty minutes or so. The movie really takes its time during its midsection when Bond is undercover at the Swiss allergy clinic as Sir Hilary Bray, a heraldry specialist. The plot has Bond tracking down Blofeld and trying to stop him before he brainwashes ten women from around the world to contaminate crops and livestock. Bond enlists the help of an organized crime boss, who is the father of Tracy, the woman he falls in love with. The action scenes are among the best in the entire series, especially the stock car race and the fight on the bobsled run. Peter Hunt, who edited the previous films, proves himself a solid director. The supporting cast of Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, and Gabriele Ferzetti comes off very nicely, balancing Lazenby's inexperience. The music and cinematography are top-notch. The ending is all the more poignant because this was Lazenby's last scene as James Bond; it would've been nice if he got to seek revenge in the next film.