The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
Posted by nedev18 on March 20, 2008
Released (US): December 20, 1974
Genre: Action/Adventure
Length: 125 Min.
Director: Guy Hamilton
Writer:Richard Maibaum & Tom Mankiewicz
Major Cast Members:
Roger Moore – James Bond
Christopher Lee – Francisco Scaramanga
Britt Ekland – Mary Goodnight
Hervé Villechaize – Nick Nack
Richard Loo – Hai Fat
Awards:
Golden Screen Award (Germany)
Budget: $7,000,000
Box Office: $97,600,000
Plot Overview:After a golden bullet is sent to M with ‘007′ etched into it, Bond is pulled off his current case until the matter can be resolved. Naturally, James Bond wants to find the culprit himself, and departs to try and solve the mystery himself. With the ‘help’ of Mary Goodnight, Bond comes into contact with the worlds’ most expensive assassin, Francisco Scaramanga, a man who carries a golden gun that uses the same golden bullets. Bond is lured onto Scaramanga’s secret island, and must fight to save his life, and Mrs. Goodnight’s.
Did you know?:Christopher Lee, who plays Scaramanga in the film, is the cousin of the author Ian Flemming, the man who penned the James Bond novels. Lee was also originally going to get the role as Dr. No in the first Bond movie.
Review:Back for seconds, Roger Moore improved as James Bond 007 in comparison to his debut in Live and Let Die. Still, The Man With the Golden Gun is sub-par when compared with the 007 entries Goldfinger, Thunderball, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
As stated before, Roger Moore improved in his second stint as James Bond. Still, Moore does not have the same charisma and charm that Sean Connery possessed. Instead, Moore offers a more lighthearted Bond that doesn’t seem quite as serious. Unfortunately, this is not always good when an actor is playing the role of 007. While Connery does certainly have his lighter moments and zippy one liners, Moore can’t seem to turn that mode off. When he is face to face with the villain, it still seems like he is talking with Moneypenny or Q back in England.
The rest of the cast is solid, but not spectacular. Mary Goodnight (played by Britt Ekland) is attractive, but she doesn’t seem like a great Bond Girl. A good Bond Girl is attractive, but can also be resourceful and effective when on a mission with Bond. Goodnight seems almost ditzy and cumbersome. She almost gets Bond killed, gets herself captured, and overall just comes off as the typical blonde you hear about in jokes. She is pretty much all look and little substance.
That being said, Francisco Scaramanga (played by Christopher Lee) is an excellent villain, one of the best so far. He’s evil, deceitful, and easy to dislike, but, at the same time, is smooth and charismatic just like Bond. The perfect villain. His sidekick, Nick Nack (played by Hervé Villechaize), isn’t bad either.
As far as the plot goes, The Man With the Golden Gun is much improved after Live and Let Die. Where the latter seemed very un-Bond and felt like it belonged in an Indiana Jones movie, this one feels much more natural. Flashy action, exquisite location, etc. It was all there, all the ingredients to make a solid Bond film. Still, one flaw is that the plot revolves around the villain wanting to simply kill Bond. These movies are definitely better when the whole world is at risk and then Bond comes in and saves the world. There is the small device that could solve the world energy crisis, but that is more of a convenience than an item that endangers the worlds’ well being.
All in all, an improvement over Moore’s first attempt at the 007 franchise, but it still falls short of the good Sean Connery films. One can only hope that the Bond series will pull itself out of this rut and reestablish itself…
Final Grade: B-
Other Reviews:
Reel Views: “It’s about as far from Ian Fleming’s vision of the superspy as the filmed interpretations have ever gotten, but for those who expect light, totally-unbelievable escapism, this movie does its part.”
Filmcritic.com: “…The Man with the Golden Gun, which ranks as one of James Bond’s more absurd outings, involving a maniacal genius (Lee) who’s assassinating folks and has Bond next on his list.”
Movie Vault: “Sadly, nothing about The Man With the Golden Gun is memorable, save for Lee’s commanding performance, Ekland’s bikini-clad adventure, and Villechaize’s diminutive-oriented material.”
EFilm Critic: “One thing a Bond film should never be criticised for however, is being boring. And that’s the cardinal sin that The Man With the Golden Gun commits.”
TVGuide: “Screenwriters Maibaum and Mankiewicz attempted to downplay the gadgetry this time around, but their attempts at adding more humor hinder plot development. The film’s pace lags until the climactic finale.”
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