The Man with the Golden Gun
(C or 2/4 stars)
In his 2nd outing as 007, Roger Moore brings his humorous side in 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (directed by Guy Hamilton). In this installment, Bond heads off to Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, & then the South China Sea in search of an elusive solar energy weapon, the Solex Agitator. His arch-nemesis is Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee, terrific), a high-priced assassin who kills his targets with a 'golden bullet'.
When a golden bullet marked with "007" is found, Bond sets out on a global chase to find him. With help of the beautiful, bikinied Mary Goodnight (whose slipshod efforts to help Bond) & Scaramanga's own lover, Andrea Anders (Maud Adams), Bond tracks the enigmatic assassin to his clandestine island where it's discovered that HE'S the one building said solar-powered doomsday weapon. Action culminates in a duel btwn. the 2 men as they settle the ultimate fate of the Solex.
'The Man with the Golden Gun' certainly has its moments. It has all the elements of your typical Bond film: gorgeous women, cool gadgets, stunts (like one where a car flips over a river & lands on 4 wheels), martinis, & a great villain. Speaking of that villain, Christopher Lee makes for a perfect one; locked & loaded with his dastardly plot & oddball henchmen. And yet, something just feels off about the whole thing. There's a so-so feel to it. The movie feels like a lesser effort than the Bond greats of the 1960s. It's not as smart; not as slick; not as chic. The humor (and there's a lot of it) feels misplaced (hindering plot development in the process). It almost comes off as goofy, at times. And I don't think a Bond film EVER wants to be considered goofy.
The crazy funhouse motif of Scaramanga's island lair seems really goofy by any standards. Furthermore, the best Bonds had/have Sean Connery; plain & simple. His absence is sorely felt, here. You know, I wonder what die hard Bond fans think of this movie. Either they embrace it because, well, it's Bond - OR - they know good Bond when they see it & may loathe this. I think it's a big mixed bag of the great and not-so-great. And this movie goes to show that exotic locales, spiffy one-liners, gadgets, gizmos, & a few car chases won't always add-up to a stellar Bond film.
When a golden bullet marked with "007" is found, Bond sets out on a global chase to find him. With help of the beautiful, bikinied Mary Goodnight (whose slipshod efforts to help Bond) & Scaramanga's own lover, Andrea Anders (Maud Adams), Bond tracks the enigmatic assassin to his clandestine island where it's discovered that HE'S the one building said solar-powered doomsday weapon. Action culminates in a duel btwn. the 2 men as they settle the ultimate fate of the Solex.
'The Man with the Golden Gun' certainly has its moments. It has all the elements of your typical Bond film: gorgeous women, cool gadgets, stunts (like one where a car flips over a river & lands on 4 wheels), martinis, & a great villain. Speaking of that villain, Christopher Lee makes for a perfect one; locked & loaded with his dastardly plot & oddball henchmen. And yet, something just feels off about the whole thing. There's a so-so feel to it. The movie feels like a lesser effort than the Bond greats of the 1960s. It's not as smart; not as slick; not as chic. The humor (and there's a lot of it) feels misplaced (hindering plot development in the process). It almost comes off as goofy, at times. And I don't think a Bond film EVER wants to be considered goofy.
The crazy funhouse motif of Scaramanga's island lair seems really goofy by any standards. Furthermore, the best Bonds had/have Sean Connery; plain & simple. His absence is sorely felt, here. You know, I wonder what die hard Bond fans think of this movie. Either they embrace it because, well, it's Bond - OR - they know good Bond when they see it & may loathe this. I think it's a big mixed bag of the great and not-so-great. And this movie goes to show that exotic locales, spiffy one-liners, gadgets, gizmos, & a few car chases won't always add-up to a stellar Bond film.