decatur555

6/10

The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth installment in the James Bond saga and the second to star Roger Moore. Released in 1974, it follows agent 007’s mission to confront Francisco Scaramanga, an elite assassin who charges one million dollars per job, with his golden gun as his distinctive mark. Although the film features some memorable moments and presents an intriguing dynamic between hero and villain, it suffers from a slow pace and uneven execution, placing it among the weaker entries in the franchise. Roger Moore brings a more relaxed and elegant style to his portrayal of Bond, distancing himself from Sean Connery’s rougher, more aggressive take on the character. However, this version of Bond can feel too restrained at times, which diminishes the sense of danger or urgency that should permeate the story. Despite this, Moore manages to inject enough charm to keep viewers engaged in his mission, although his performance lacks the intensity required for a confrontation with such a formidable villain as Scaramanga. One of the film’s strengths is Christopher Lee’s performance as Scaramanga. The character is far from being a flamboyant or cartoonish villain. Instead, he is a cold, calculating assassin whose presence brings a constant sense of menace. The relationship between Bond and Scaramanga is one of the film’s most compelling aspects, as both characters share similarities that make them two sides of the same coin. Scaramanga doesn’t see Bond as a traditional enemy but rather as a worthy rival, adding depth to their conflict. The script raises interesting questions about morality and the nature of Bond’s work but fails to explore them in depth. The film attempts to highlight the parallels between Bond and Scaramanga, but these ideas take a backseat to action scenes and lighter moments. Despite an intriguing premise, the plot feels somewhat predictable and lacks surprising twists to keep viewers on edge. The film excels in showcasing exotic locations, including settings in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macau. These places add an adventurous, exotic touch that is characteristic of Bond films. Scaramanga’s island, with its stunning landscapes and isolated atmosphere, has become one of the franchise’s most iconic settings. The cinematography captures the beauty and danger of these locations, contributing to the film’s overall atmosphere. However, despite these positive aspects, The Man with the Golden Gun suffers from an uneven pace that makes it difficult to remain fully immersed in the story. The action scenes are well-executed, but the film spends too much time on dialogue and situations that don’t contribute much to the main plot. As a result, some parts feel unnecessarily prolonged, causing viewers to lose interest at times. One divisive element of the film is the inclusion of Sheriff J.W. Pepper, who previously appeared in Live and Let Die. His presence as comic relief may entertain some viewers, but it disrupts the film’s tone and detracts from the seriousness of the plot. This mix of humor and seriousness is a distinctive feature of Moore’s Bond, but it doesn’t work entirely well in this installment. Regarding female characters, the film introduces Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight and Maud Adams as Andrea Anders. Goodnight, an MI6 agent, brings a more comedic and light-hearted element to the story, contrasting with Bond’s serious mission. While she adds freshness, her character lacks depth and doesn’t significantly impact the plot. On the other hand, Andrea Anders plays a more relevant role in the story, but her character also feels underutilized narratively. Guy Hamilton’s direction follows the style of his previous works in the franchise, such as Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. However, this time his approach seems somewhat worn-out. The film lacks the dynamism and freshness that characterized his earlier entries, and some aesthetic choices don’t fully work. The music, composed by John Barry, serves its purpose but doesn’t stand out as much as in other installments of the series. The theme song, performed by Lulu, is one of the more forgettable Bond soundtracks. Compared to other films in the series, The Man with the Golden Gun occupies a middle ground. It doesn’t reach the level of the best entries, such as Goldfinger or Casino Royale, but it’s not among the worst either. The film has some interesting elements, like the exploration of the duality between Bond and Scaramanga, but it doesn’t fully develop them. In terms of pacing and action, it lacks the impact of previous installments, and its lighter tone may not appeal to all viewers. Critical reception of the film has been mixed since its release. Some critics consider it one of the weaker entries in the saga, while others view it as an underrated classic. Among the most praised aspects are Christopher Lee’s performance and the exotic settings, while the most criticized points include the uneven pacing, predictable script, and lack of innovation compared to other Bond films. Despite its flaws, The Man with the Golden Gun remains an entertaining film for fans of James Bond and spy cinema in general. It offers memorable moments and a plot that, while not surprising, holds some interest. The relationship between Bond and Scaramanga is one of the highlights, and Lee’s performance elevates the film’s quality in several scenes. However, those seeking a Bond film filled with adrenaline and constant action may be disappointed. In conclusion, The Man with the Golden Gun has its strengths and weaknesses. While it doesn’t reach the heights of the best films in the saga, it provides an interesting take on the hero-villain relationship and features some iconic moments that have endured in collective memory. For franchise fans, it’s a title worth watching, though it’s unlikely to rank among their favorites.

benoliver999

2/10

Roger Moore returns for the ninth film in the series. Bond gets a golden bullet in the mail with his name on it and takes it to be a threat from Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), an assassin who has a golden gun. Bonds sets off to find him and take him out before Scaramanga does the same to him. This is a decent premise. Bond is anything but a secret agent at this point so it makes sense that someone would know who he is and want him dead. A battle of wits wouldn’t hurt after eight films following the same basic template. How, then, does this end up being one of the worst films we’ve seen so far? Whilst the light hearted tone sort-of worked in Live and Let Die, here things go way over the line. They give the villain three nipples, and we see them. There’s an entire scene with the clutzy sheriff from the last film. Bond gives someone a monster wedgie. The list goes on. None of this is funny at all. Not even in the “so bad it’s good” sense. It is boring, sloppy film making. One scene sums up the whole film nicely. Towards the end Bond gets into a car chase and they pull off a very impressive 360 flip in a car. It’s an incredibly difficult stunt to do, but here it’s flawless. Why then, did they play a swanee whistle over the top? They had ONE good scene, and they pissed all over it. The performances are lacklustre. Moore has dropped the charm and carefree attitude of the last film and instead tries to channel Sean Connery’s brute-ish persona. This does not work for him and gives Bond a slightly unpleasant tone. Christopher Lee does manage to generate some interest in his wealthy hitman character, but he’s a bit of a ham. In a different setting he would have been a good villain but here he’s carrying the film, and it stands out too much. Nobody wants to watch two old men floundering about yet Hamilton seems only too happy to provide this. Britt Ekland plays the female lead, MI6 agent Mary Goodnight. She has striking good looks that stand out on-screen however she gets royally screwed by the writers who have her play a moronic, clumsy, dim-witted blonde. It makes her unappealing and makes it difficult for Moore to act alongside her; unlike Connery he’s better when he charms women that are smarter than him into doing things, rather than just slapping them about like part of the furniture. Once again they are ignoring the fact that the most entertaining & compelling women in these films are those who can stand alone. It wasn’t just Ekland who lost out, The Man with the Golden Gun is so sadistically boring we are lulled to sleep as an audience. Much like how they tried to mimic the popular blaxploitation genre last time round, here they are going after Kung-Fu movies. It’s a shit-show of epic proportions. It’s hard to tell if this is parody or just a shameless knock-off, but it doesn’t matter; there are 30 minutes of dreary fight scenes that could have been cut straight out of the film. It doesn’t help that the whole thing revolves around a solar death cannon, again. This time it’s “harnessing solar power” and the laser is on the ground rather than in space, but it’s still sun-based shit that makes other shit explode. Even the MacGuffin looks like a cassette tape, the same device used in Diamonds are Forever. The only difference is that Scaramanga killed the inventor of the machine, and now doesn’t know how it works or how to operate it. Bond seems to be an expert on the subject however. This is a sort-of funny idea but it doesn’t exactly make for a thrilling climax… Nothing works in this film. The music (worst theme tune so far by quite some way), the direction, the editing - it’s all second-rate work made in too much of a hurry. At this point it would not have been surprising if they had pulled the plug on the whole thing. The franchise showed promise with Moore’s new Bond, but it’s taken a real nose-dive here. The Man with the Golden Gun is forgettable dross; not fun, not clever and not entertaining in the slightest. http://benoliver999.com/film/2015/06/10/themanwiththegoldengun/

LarZieJ

7/10

"Mr. Bond, bullets do not kill. It is the finger that pulls the trigger." I still get a kick out of Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga, I still love the Golden Gun, I love his island, Nick Nack is alright, Britt Ekland looks stunning in a bikini and she can not conceal any guns in a outift like that, I could have done without J.W. Pepper, a third nipple, Nick Nack, the fun-house style room, a flying car, Q would've made a better one, the whistle sound effect, Kung fu and we needed more gadgets. The Man With the Golden Gun is still entertaining but it had potential, especially if you have Christopher Lee as the bad guy. I to be honest, having played a lot of James Bond games back in the day and especially split screen multiplayer. We played GoldenEye: Rogue agent a lot and especially the Fun-House stage which was based on the the Man with the Golden Gun. And in GoldenEye on the N64 we had a rule that everyone would hunt the player that had picked up the Golden Gun. Lovely memories which for me, helps me feel more nostalgic whilst watching this one. Anyway, I get the fact why people think this is one of the lesser entries but to me, alongside the nostalgic feelings, is still a very entertaining entry.

LNero

7/10

I've known the Moore Bonds were on the sillier side from the couple that I've seen, but I had no idea of the barrel of laughs this one would be. _Moonraker_ was a favorite, though it had the typical problem of being overly long. This one doesn't have that problem, despite not having a plot that rivals MR—but I don't think any Bond film will rival the concept of the _Moonraker_ film and its Drax. Moore profited from following the full on sixties chauvinist, woman-manhandling, supremely cocky SOB of the Connery days, but with a goofier flair, so you still get the culture-shockingly hilariousness of his brazenness with the cavalier absurdity of... well, you'll see. The opening starts the film off with a deceptively over-serious and lamely pulpy edge, and it's easily the worst Bond theme and opening I've seen, so I wasn't surprised I'd never heard of it amongst all the amazing Bond theme classics. It's so bad I actually skipped to the end of the opening. The visuals aren't even sexy or aesthetically interesting—they're just blurry. After that it just gets funnier and more ridiculous at a steadily rising clip, and is one of the few old Bond films that has what I'd consider good pacing. Instead of feeling interminably bloated it has a nice, calming '70s pace that I found rather cathartic. I would just about count the "James gets captured after going to the villain's estate, but he isn't killed for ~reasons~" trope as subverted because it just straight up does not take the scenario seriously at all, and is all the better for it.

CinemaSerf

0/10

Sometimes a film is more than just what you see on the screen. I will always recall this fondly as it was the first film I ever saw in a cinema that wasn't a cartoon - and I really enjoyed it. This time "007" receives a rather intriguing golden bullet through the post. After some detective work he concludes that he is a target of he eponymous character - "Scaramanger" (Christopher Lee) who charges $1m per hit. Why, though? Off to Hong Kong he goes, and soon his own dangers are intertwined with a perilous search for a "solex" - a revolutionary gadget that can convert solar energy into electricity. Of course the ending is never in doubt, but Guy Hamilton makes the most of an on-form Roger Moore with plenty of action. There is also enough light-heartedness - not least the canal urchin with his teak elephant and "bloody tourist" and some engaging - if very of their time - interventions from Clifton James returning in his role as the imbecilic sheriff "J.W. Pepper". We have two "Bond" girls - Britt Ekland as the light and fluffy "Goodnight" with Maud Adams ("Miss Anders") the unloved and unhappy girlfriend of the gunman who tries to help "Bond" stay alive, and of course there is the legend that is "Nick Nack" (Hervé Villechaize) who at three foot tall, provides much of the menace and a fair degree of the humour throughout. The scenarios give the photography a chance to shine - beautiful Thai locations, some kick boxing and a fun river boat chase before an suitably pyrotechnic denouement. One of my favourite Bond films - well paced and with a strong baddie. Under-rated, I think - well worth a watch.