I love Bond and I do take Bond far more seriously than it deserves. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the genre being spoofed- if it is done well. The original Casino Royale (Niven, Sellers, Allen, Welles, Belmondo et al) was a huge disappointment given the talent involved, but this- from the year before- is far more impressive.
Following 1965's Thunderball, this clever spoof doesn't stretch the joke too far. Super-suave spy Derek Flint (James Coburn) is assigned the task of stopping a shadowy group who are holding the world to ransom from their secret hideaway inside a volcano- by the way, the inside of the volcano may as well have been the inside of a shed in comparison to Ken Adam's Thunderball set. There is none of the clumsiness of Austin Powers or the Get Smart series, Flint is an extension of the Bond persona and his sole gadget- a lighter with 82 functions (83 if you include lighting a cigar)- is far less outlandish than the Bond gadgets that were to follow.
This is fun and disposable- Lee J. Cobb was wheeled in front of the camera and given lines to yell as a senior US Official and Devon Miles from Knight Rider appears as a nutty villain. It's well worth enjoying and better than all but a couple of Roger Moore's Bond films 6/10.
