Merry Christmas, 007!

On Her Majesty's Secret Service to me ranks as one of the best Bond films ever made. Many people will agree with my position, and some will not. That's the nature of Bond films, which range from a multitude of online polls, fansites, and occasionally a column in magazines that are so absolutely horrid that only a intern or people who actually haven't watched every single one of the films could have listed.

It's occasionally forgotten as some sort of Black Sheep of the series, often derided because George Lazenby only did one Bond film or by people who think Die Another Day is some sort of "high art" and that Brosnan somehow got the shaft when he was rightly let go from the series.

The "theme" takes a turn that has only been used three times prior: no singing (only two times if you don't count "Three Bind Mice" from Dr. No).

The film follows the novel almost to the letter (the film actually starts a few chapters into the book, but from there on it's almost spot on word-for-word). The intricate plot gracefully winds itself together thanks to the crafting done by Ian Fleming himself. Bond is so despriate to find Blofeld, the leader of SPECTRE, he'll marry a mob boss' daughter. Thank goodness she's played by the gorgeous Diana Rigg. A lot of ski chases and gun battles later the film is full of unexpected moments.

How is this a Christmas film you might ask? You'll just have to watch.

As a Bond film:
**** out of *****