Sigh, everyone has an opinion of which Bond movie is ‘unlike the others’ and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and License to Kill are the top two that come to mind apparently. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is one that is said to divert from the normal Bond story in that he actually ends up leaving the service at one point after getting married, and the movie apparently shows Bond’s softer side, which a lot of people have an issue with since Bond is supposed to be a hardened agent. It doesn’t occur to some folks that he might actually be able to act human every now and then, but fans differ in their opinions so often that trying to say who’s right and who’s wrong on this count would be impossible since the idea is that everyone is allowed to like what they want and have an opinion about it. License to Kill was just hard-hitting and gritty as some people would say, as the violence became much more realistic and didn’t pull the punches by being implied at all times. The truth is that Bond movies are pretty violent anyway, but it’s true that a lot of the violence is what a person could call ‘civilized’ in that the area that someone dies in doesn’t normally resemble a slaughterhouse by the time the fight is over.
To be fair and hopefully honest, Bond movies have followed a certain pattern throughout the years and have only truly deviated a couple of times since the famed agent has been more or less the same type of character in all but a couple of movies. Even thinking that Bond would be able to settle down, and I mean EVER, is kind of funny since the number of enemies the agent managed to acquire due to his duty was great enough that there’s no telling what they might do if he ever did retire, as the rumor has been circulating for a while that a new Bond might be incoming. But to be fair, why not retire Bond altogether in one way or another? The idea of continuing the Bond name is a bit ridiculous since the designation isn’t bound to switch hands, hopefully, while the name shouldn’t either. Isn’t it about time that a new agent should be making their way up through the ranks? Perhaps someone that can match or surpass Bond? After all, the technology, the fighting styles, and the expected level of action are passing even Daniel Craig by at this point, and he’s been ready to leave for a while.
As far as one James Bond movie being unlike the others, it would have to be the movie in which he was ready to give up his life as a spy, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Seriously, if people are going to split hairs and say that other movies don’t give the typical Bond feel in them then this argument could go on and on for a while. But any time that the main character is ready to give up what helps make them famous and lead a quiet, married life, then it’s fair to say that the movie is far unlike the others when that same person is typically devoted to their job and is a womanizer that doesn’t have a lot of qualms about sleeping around. It might have been the right woman and the right situation when George Lazenby took the helm for a bit but seeing Bond get married and leave the service was far unlike anything that the agent had done at that point. In a big way, this movie was almost signaling that Bond was over, done with, kaput. But of course, that wasn’t the case, was it? Bond is both a frustrating and tragic figure in the fact that he’s been a major pain in the backside that has been destined to be happy with his work but never fully pleased in his personal life since getting involved with anyone for a long period of time could cause problems for him, for them, and it could shorten their relationship by a very big margin since his enemies don’t tend to play nice, or fair when it comes to who they target and why. After all, if you’re going after a super spy that looks at danger and laughs, then the only way to really hurt them is to find their sensitive spots and attack those that reside at said locations. It’s a pretty cowardly way to attack someone, but when you’re a villain it’s pretty much anything goes unless the character has some innate code that doesn’t allow for this.
When it comes down to it though, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is that one movie because if Bond had actually stayed married and retired the future of the franchise would have been quite different.
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