Summary: A masterpiece of absolute surrealism. The sustained force of imagination governs the film,
which begins with a sacrifice play (giving subtitles to "The United Nations, New York City"), gets into
gear pretty rapidly, and then takes off into absolute surrealism probably derived from the serials.
There is a persistent reference to North By Northwest (enlarged upon here in the finale) and To Have
And Have Not, but a new structural basis is laid with the Scarface theme (one of its earliest derivations
is alluded to---King Kong). The main pursuit is, most astonishingly, the model for Hal Needham's
Smokey And The Bandit.

Hamilton's re-composition includes a finale that manages to resume the whole series quite rapidly. It
must be pointed out that in one of the earliest films Bond is made to say that The Beatles must be
listened to with earmuffs on, and this film opens with Britain's UN Ambassador "getting killed through
the ears," even before Paul McCartney sings.

The action sequences are handled in a way that turns out to be almost oneiric, at a precise point
between precision and ellipsis, showing why stunts are called gags, and finding a new language along
the lines of what is laughingly called slapstick.

This is where Hamilton comes into his own, after two rigrous explorations of the script, or where he
allows himself to, or is obliged to, as Terence Young's equal at spycraft.