10 Times James Bond Movie Franchise Went Too Far

9. Bond Goes Japanese - You Only Live Twice

Bond Spectre
MGM

You Only Live Twice was a big deal upon its release since it finally revealed James Bond's most iconic villain, SPECTRE's Supreme Commander, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Sadly, You Only Live Twice is mainly remembered for how offensive it is to the Asian community. While infiltrating an island off the coast of Japan, Bond disguises himself by tinting his skin and adjusting his eyes so he resembles a Japanese man. Not only is this look unconvincing, it's racially insensitive to Japanese culture and ruins an otherwise solid entry in the Bond series.

Some loyal fans defend this decision, stating that Bond did the same thing in the novel. However, the movie adaptations have so little in common with the source material, it makes you wonder why the screenwriters thought this plot point was necessary to keep in.

The only redeemable thing about this whole situation is that Sean Connery doesn't attempt a Japanese accent. However, this causes a plothole . If he speaks in his Scottish dialect, nobody is going to believe he's Japanese, making this entire operation pointless, as well as disrespectful.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows