L'homme au pistolet d'or

My Take: Christopher Lee's turn as the villain can't save this silly, mostly boring 007 entry. I have long regarded "The Man with the Golden Gun" as the weakest entry, not just of Roger Moore's, but the entire franchise. This film boasts a fine performance by Christopher Lee as the lead baddie Francisco Scaramanga, but Moore is obviously unsatisfying in this entry and Britt Ekland only manages to steal a scene in the last half hour in her sexy bikini, otherwise she's totally useless. The film concerns an attempt to assassinate James Bond. An attempt by assassin Scaramanga and his golden gun, which is mainly composed of everyday items, all made of gold. It's up to Bond to stop him, which leads him to Thailand, a confrontation with Scaramanga and his feisty little sidekick Knick Knack (Herve Villechaize), a Kung Fu battle and a boat chase (once again). On some parts, the fantastic stunts are fun. But for most parts its a bit boring, and filled with the silliest elements even for a Bond film. Even the title song (sung by Lulu) is arguably the worst of all the Bond theme songs. An attempt to make a goofier 007 movie isn't always successful (see DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and OCTOPUSSY), and this one most likely demonstrates the worst. Worth seeing if you're a Bond fan, otherwise a weak and rather unsatisfying entry with too few moments with Lee and the stunts. Rating: *1/2 out of 5.

While some can never get over Sean Connery not being Bond, and while 'Live and Let Die" may be more fun, "The Man With the Golden Gun" may be one the of the best made of all Bond Films. No, this movie did not have many of the tell-tale eye-candy and explosive action of other Bond films, it had a thorough story, instead. it also lacked the megalomaniacal world-conquering super-villain, replacing such tomes for a true and realistic espionage story. We often forget that Bond is a "spy," not a superhero. Some get so caught up in the formulaic Bonds (the last couple of Connery's, the majority of Moore's and Brosnan's), that good spy adventure movies get lost or ignored. In this movie, Bond must track down a hard-to-find killer who has apparently marked Bond for death. In the midst, a new energy technology (the "Solex")has been stolen and is being put up for auction to world powers who may exploit it for weapon technology. These two plots intersect in the person of Francisco Scaramanga, the "man with the golden gun," a hot-shot assassin who is the perfect foil to Bond's personality. Scaramanga is played aptly by Christipher Lee and has all the genteel education and affectations as Bond, but with a 180-degree moral view. The movie is quieter and much subtler that the explosive "Live and Let Die" which preceded it and the return to the more-formulaic cheesy-super-villain Bond films which followed ("The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker.") The lone weakness of this film is the one formulaic character of the clumsy and scattered-brained female agent. Ms. Goodnight (Bond's secretary in the novels), who is obviously in the film for eye-candy and sex. The movie is often listed as a "bomb at the box-office" which is not true, it made several times its cost, but did not do as well as "Live and Let Die" (which was a fun movie and did well- probably from the action and the curiosity of audiences to see the new Bond), and later Bond epics. But remember, this came out in 1974 when the world was in the midst of a economic crunch and most movies did not do well in theaters in 1974. The three years taken between this movie and the next ("Spy Who Loved Me") saw a major change in America and led to the Bond movies' financial successes again, even with poor scripts and lame stories ("Moonraker" "View to a Kill"). In my opinion, "Golden Gun" is the smoothest of the Moore era and ranks up there with "From Russia With Love," "Goldeneye," and "Casino Royale (06)" as the best-made Bond stories. It may not have all the expected formulaic parts of the more popular films, but the plot is stronger, more realistic, and the storyline much less chaotic than most other Bond films. This is Bond being what the Bond of the novels was- a spy and hit-man. If you are after good stories and not easily distracted by the usual allotment of Bond bimbos and unbelievable super-villains, this is a must see.

The nefarious (I've no idea what that means, but I know it works) super-assassin Francisco Saramanga is out to kill Bond. Because he's like that. Scaramanga charges a million dollars a hit and is the only person in the world who has a slim chance of getting to Bond. Concerned for his safety, M takes Bond off active duty. Never perturbed (not really sure of that word either), Bond still investigates and soon discovers that Scaramanga has stolen the 'priceless' Solex Agitator. Oh yeah, one of those! A mere MacGuffin and no more. In his mission to retrieve said 'agitator' Bond travels to Thailand and Hong Kong and gets into many silly fights, one involving a midget butler. He even finds time stress-out hillbilly Sheriff JW Pepper once more and...erm...'roger' his gorgeous assistant Mary Goodnight. It's very dumb and thoroughly unsophisticated but it's all in the name of fun and Roger Moore's light, somewhat innocent way of playing Bond just keeps you smiling all the way through. I also liked John Barry's score, despite the fact he claims it's his weakest effort on the series. TMWTGG was the last Bond film to be shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and I do feel that if it was shot in Panavision then it would have more slick and polished look. 33 years on, TMWTGG looks too grainy and dated and appears older than it is. I'm not sure why Guy Hamilton chose to film it this way when 4 previous Bond films had already been made in Scope widescreen. Definitely one of the lesser Bond movies but saved by sense of humor and never-ending fun. Rent this one.