When I read up about The Man With the Golden Gun I saw phrases like "lowest point" and "worst Bond film" so I wasn't expecting a whole lot going into this movie. I try to keep an open opinion about each movie despite knowing their legacy and I feel like I've done a good job of that so far. I will say I was a good way through this movie and really wondering what everyone was talking about. Everything was going smoothly. Then one scene literally turned the entire film upside down and it was a steep downhill drop until it smooths out again in the last twenty minutes. It all starts with Bond grabbing and squeezing a sumo wrestler's butt during a fight. What?!
Okay, let's start positive. There is a lot I love about Golden Gun. For one more Roger Moore as Bond who I've come to love in the role. Second, Christopher Lee is a great Bond villain. I had no idea he was in this movie and I love the very idea of it, I just feel like he was wasted and wished he was in a better Bond movie. I honestly think the plot was overly written as well. The idea of an assassin that is at Bond's skill level is even more interesting if you remove the solar energy subplot. It literally has no purpose in the film and Scaramanga doesn't even explain his place in it all until the final confrontation, of which he flat out says (with a smile on his face) that he is ignorant to science and has no interest other than selling. It all just seemed forced in there. Scaramanga is a great villain and even though Knick Knack creeped me out as much as the Leperchaun did as a child he is a great henchman. I just would have rather have seen a lot of Bond vs Scaramanga because spy VS. assassin is a much more interesting story. The scenes with Bond and Scaramanga talking back and forth at the end were easily my favorite part of the film.
Both Bond girls in this movie are beautiful but Agent Goodnight is a ridiculous name (in keeping with other ridiculous Bond girl names. I'm looking at you Christmas) and she is honestly the worst agent I've ever seen. She is barely a step above damsel in distress. I miss Tracy from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Scaramanga's mistress was a much more interesting character and I honestly felt bad when she was killed off. She served the plot and it was a role played well by Muad Adams. One thing I should note is that this is the first time that Bond has blatantly used sex as a spy tool to the extent you later see in Casino Royale and I thought that was interesting. This is also something that I have failed to mention in any of my previous reviews but I love Bernard Lee as M. He has been better and better with each film and really shines in the scenes where M is just tired of Bond's shenanigans. He's great as M and I love his few scenes in this film probably more so than any of his other appearances.
Okay, I've said enough good things about this movie, now lets get into the bad. First off, the sumo wrestler fight is just a ridiculous idea and was probably thought of on set. Just have Bond grab his cheeks and give him a wedgie. Well that was a terrible idea fellas. While not necessarily a bad thing but I did notice this was more of a risque Bond movie. A lot more naked women barely covered and with the HD upgrade to these films you see a lot more nipples that were before hidden behind grainy or dark video that are now clear as day. Go back and watch Diamonds are Forever for full nipple on Plenty O'Toole. Some of these movies could probably get an R rating now if they were re-rated. The horrible cherry on top of this film is the return of the most stereotypical and awful character in a Bond film (the first time a side character has made two appearances I believe) is the American sheriff J.W. Pepper. Holy shit they just had to bring this guy back again. Running into Bond on his vacation feels right out of a Loony Tunes cartoon and it is just awful. Not to mention he gets crammed into another pretty good car chase (last time was boats I know) which is complete with a pretty impressive stunt where the awe is completely crushed by the presence of slide whistle! UGH!
Seriously the time from sumo butt grabbing to Bond vs Scaramanga almost kills this entire franchise and is easily the quickest drop of enjoyment in any film I've ever seen. The silly factor just goes out of control for too long and too close together for almost the entire middle of this movie. Luckily there are some great aspects of this film with the whole Bond vs Scaramanga plot line, but literally everything else could be cut out for a more enjoyable film. In good conscious I can only give The Man With the Golden Gun a 2 out of 5. Solid performances and there's a hint of a great film here but the middle drags it down.
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